Kenzan Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

I took my wife here for her birthday 18/11/2020 , and we were both disappointed for a few reasons. The table seating was poor. We were crammed up in the corner of the restaurant without a view of anything except a wall holding a couple of old Japanese drawings that didn't do much for us (no disrespect intended), so expect that if you are booking a table for 2, if you book with more people you will get a better seat in the restaurant. Having never been to an authentic Japanese restaurant before, i did a lot of research and read the reviews before selecting Kenzan Japanese restaurant as i wanted this to be a special night out for my wife as we rarely eat out in the city or spend this sort of money on dinner . We didn't know what to order so we ended up going with the Chef's recommendation $80 per person banquet. The first few meals (Miso Soup, Tofu , prawn dumpling) tasted good, however they were nothing too special and the portions were too small. We were both looking forward to the mixed Sushi & Sashimi selection which was presented well , but again small portions. the Main meal was beef Katsu with rice, and 2 cloves of broccoli which was actually quite delicious. So the meal cost $160 for 2 , and an extra $20 for our drinks. It felt like we paid $180 for $60 worth of food if that, and the Sushi /Sashimi we were so looking forward to was a disappointment(although it was presented well) due to lack of variety & portion size (i am comparing this against what you can buy from nearly any Sushi shop in a shopping centre / take away store with equally as good quality and a lot better value for money). The positives were the wait staff were polite as expected , the service was speedy, the ambience in the restaurant was nice (from what we could see)from where we were seated. As you can tell from the review we most likely will not be coming back here again, or recommending it to anyone, I hope the restaurant takes on this feedback and can implement changes in a positive way so nobody else in future will feel disappointed & ripped off as what we had...

We've come here consistently for special occasions over the years. I find the food to be fantastic with the sushi and the oysters to be my favourite dishes. You can't go wrong with any of the sushi sets that you choose as they are all absolutely outstanding. The tempura unfortunately is not the best with a heavy and oily batter that kind of falls apart. The portions and the choice of vegetables for the tempura could be better. Sweet potato, carrot and bean seem to a bit uninspiring since other places serve eggplant, pumpkin, and asparagus. The waitstaff are friendly but I find the standard of service to have dropped significantly. Small things such as forgetting to bring water, forgetting to explain what the sushi types are things we have noticed recently. Nothing major, but we find that the professionalism has dropped. Also, I find the constant cleaning and packing before closing time to be extremely distracting. When you have two or three waiters cleaning and removing things around you and everyone is rushing around to clean, it makes you feel rushed and kills what should be a great experience. One thing that has stayed the same is how insanely rude and unfriendly the restaurant manager is. I have seen him on a number of occasions and he has been consistently rude. He chooses to be friendly with select customers and he is unbelievably rude with others. He does not greet you when you enter the restaurant even though he has made eye contact with you. Also when you leave he just looks at you and gives you no acknowledgement. Definitely not welcoming. I think he would be the worst part of the restaurant. The reception area needs a lot of work. For the amount of money you spend here, you would expect a bit more. Five years ago it was a 5 star experience but sadly it is...

After reading several reviews about Kenzan I decided to give it a try during my visit to Melbourne.

First of all, the fish is indeed fresh, so freshness is not an issue at this place. The main issues I found are: The selection available is not that great. For example, no UNI? No SHIRO MAGURO? No SABA? You kidding me right? The California Roll was below average. The avocado was past its prime, ripe point. Mushy and with an aftertaste. Come on people, ice in the water I do not think most people should have to ask for that. Or simply for water.

Overall, price wise, it is really not that much different from any decent Japanese restaurant around the globe (I am comparing it to the Japanese restaurants I have tried in California, New York, Miami, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Reykjavik, Valleta, Tokyo, Taipei, Sao Paulo, Rio, etc - so pretty much everywhere around the globe). Certain pieces are indeed WAY above average for pricing. ONE single Sushi Piece of Toro, $12. Yes, you are not reading this wrong. $12. Sure it was GREAT Toro, but not EXCELLENT. VERY GOOD indeed but definitely NOT worth $12.

For one person I spent $89 but I indeed ate more than I should have. Expect prices in the $55-$65 per person for a good dinner. Would I recommend this place? Sure, it is worth trying it. Is it the best place I have ever been? No and more than that, there are SEVERAL other places around the globe, with more reasonable prices, that put Kenzan to shame.

I am sure Ogata Kenzan is not proud at all of having his name on...