IKKAI - Sukiyaki Izakaya & Donburi — Restaurant in Melbourne

[Safety concerns] We had dinner at IKKAI yesterday (12 Jan 2022) from around 7:00-8:20pm (2 people). We ordered sukiyaki (with stove and very very hot pot). However, we got a very small table with a pillar next to us, so the stove and pot were very close to us (see photos 1/2; the actual eating space we each had may look okay in the photos but it was actually really narrow). The restaurant was not very packed and I remember there was a four people table available throughout the time. At a point, while moving my hand around this narrow space, I got burned by the pot’s handle. I reached to a staff; he let me rinse it at their kitchen and gave me ice and burn gel (photo 3 shows the burn after rinsing and icing). I told the staff they should give customers a bigger table for safety reasons when serving sukiyaki (stove and hot pot). The staff did show concern for my burn, yet there did not seem to have any staff with more management power yesterday. When we were leaving, the girl seemed to want to provide proper compensation but could not find anyone to consult with. We still paid the full bill amount ($73) and she only offered me to take a bottle of drink (photo 4). While the burn is not severe, it still hurts a bit and will leave a small scar with that part of skin being darker, which will take quite some time to fade (photo 5 shows the scar as of today). I got a minor burn from a heating oven 3 months ago and the small scar is still dark (the fading process can take months or longer). Yesterday I was lucky and only got a minor burn, yet it could be much worse if it happens to another customer; eating so close to a heating stove and pot can be very very dangerous. My friend also expressed that because the pot was so close, the hot liquid spilled on her a few times. I hope the manager or owner can see this, improve their safety precautions of using stove on table (properly exercise duty of care), and provide me with proper compensation besides just a bottle...

Premium Japanese wagyu sukiyaki in Melbourne CBD!

📍Ikkai Premium Japanese comfort food, with high quality wagyu perfect for meat lovers! Just in: new Denver sukiyaki series - the marbling is beautifully balanced. It's juicy and tender, without feeling too oily. The restaurant is hidden along Hardware Street, conveniently located in the CBD, but not too crowded or noisy.

Featured in video M9 wagyu Denver sukiyaki set (2 people) ($138) Eel chazuke ($30.80)

Summer special HALF PRICE Ebi fry ($5.90) and Takoyaki ($3.90)

Ice peach tea ($5) Ramune ($8) Lupicia green tea ($4.80)

While it isn't cheap, it's not overpriced, and you're definitely paying for good quality. It's perfect for something fancy, or a nice date night! Ikkai is well known for high quality premium meat and I've been meaning to come here for a while.

I went all out, but I feel like a nice dinner here for 2 people would cost around $150. (we did not finish the sides or chazuke and ended up taking away, sukiyaki set is more than enough)

The Denver wagyu sukiyaki set has a generous portion of meat, and comes with all the vegetables, noodles, tofu and sides for sukiyaki included. There are also Japanese pasteurized eggs for dipping the cooked meat in.

The sukiyaki base is simple and clear with a rich umami. It makes the natural flavour of the wagyu stand out, and you have to dip it in the egg. The rich and creamy egg yolk adds such a nice and smooth texture to the beef.

The eel chazuke has a delicious green tea soup base, with high quality unagi. The meat is soft and deliciously grilled with a nice glaze to it. The serving size is generous, and the rice to meat ratio is perfect. It's a large portion, and perfect for sharing if you're having other sides.

They currently have a summer promo with up to 50% off on combos and side dishes too! These sets are perfect for nights out, and feature a beer tower, with fried dishes. 10/10 would recommend the takoyaki here. The ebi fry is nice...

Despite the restaurant being full, there wasn’t the slightest aroma of food in the air, in a sukiyaki restaurant, of all places! It already felt like a bad sign, and sadly, that first impression turned out to be true.

I couldn't believe a japanese restaurant in CBD can't cook rice properly, they are soggy and sticks together in clumps. The donburi arrived cold with equally cold wagyu on top! Everything came out within seconds of ordering, perhaps that explain why.

Fried dishes like karaage, prawns, and chicken katsu were another disappointment. The batter was far too thick and uneven, leaving parts soggy and others rock-hard, which only made the food taste stale rather than fresh. But the biggest letdowns were the takoyaki and the sukiyaki. In Melbourne, wagyu is everywhere, and this restaurant prides itself on using premium wagyu imported from Japan. Yet the quality was so underwhelming that it felt like a complete waste of money on something worst than food courtquality.

Not even halfway through the meal, we already didn’t want to keep eating. It was a strange, overwhelming flavor, whether from too much seasoning or MSG that left us reaching for fizzy drinks just to cut through it. Even without eating much, everything felt cloying, like palate fatigue setting in far too quickly. Hours after the meal, I could still taste an unpleasant heavy seasoning aftertaste lingering in my mouth. I wasn’t going to comment on service at first, but since reviews ask for a star rating on it, here it is. There were about ten staff working in this tiny restaurant, plenty of hands on deck. They were super friendly and attentive, clearing plates all the time even while we still had food in our mouths, they asked if they could and remove a plate that still had a small piece left on it, along with untouched mayonnaise that we were about to use for the karage next to it. The efficiency was impressive and gave us a not so enjoy...