LiHO Shokudo — Restaurant in Melbourne

Oh my god I am OBSESSED! 👏🏼

I have found my new favourite Japanese restaurant in Melbourne! I cannot believe such an unassuming restaurant could be so damn fabulous! I mean I saw the reviews beforehand but you know, you never know till you try it yourself!

What we had: 🌸 Kingfish sashimi 🔥 Tuna Seaweed Salad ⚡️ Homemade Gyoza 💥 Omu Katsu Curry with miso soup, salad and otoshi ✨ Wagyu Yakiniku also with miso soup, salad and otoshi 🍷 2 x glass of Pinot 🍰 Yuzu Crème Brûlée

All for a total of $105 🤌🏼

We started off with the small plates, the sashimi was incredibly fresh, complimented with a spicy yuzu onion dressing which was superb, the spicy tuna seaweed salad was the perfect combination of flavours and a great palate cleanser, the homemade gyoza were unlike any gyoza we had ever had- I was expecting the dumpling like gyoza but these were deconstructed. The depth of flavour in them was incredible and was complimented with a beautiful sesame dipping sauce 🤌🏼

On to mains we had the Katsu and I have never had katsu in my life that crispy, flaky and moist! The sauce was divine and I was wondering where my rice was, lucky I didn’t ask as it was encased in that gorgeous golden egg 😂 My partner had the Wagyu which was beautifully tender and melted in your mouth, the onsen egg was perfect! Both dishes came with miso soup which were the best we’ve ever had and a salad to break down the richness!

Of course with how phenomenal our dishes were we had to squeeze in some dessert and so glad we did! The yuzu crème brulee was bursting with gorgeous citrus notes, it was perfectly crispy on top and I will think about it forever!!!

If you live in Burwood, or if you live on the other side of the city like me- I would hands down recommend you visit this unassuming restaurant with phenomenal food and incredibly kind service! 🤍

5/5!!!! One of my faves of...

Food very good. Adult meals (e.g., Katsu curry) are reasonably (but not competitively) priced, and provide reasonable value (food) for money. Kids meals NOT good value for money (laughable). 10% surcharge on a weekend, but as a first visit here, I wondered whether things are 10x slower on a weekend. Went with a group, and practically no food (apart from edamame) came out for 1 hour after being seated! Didn't seem that they delayed bringing out meals until all meals were ready to serve, either (to bring out in unison). Meals came out over a period of about 30 minutes (after the initial 1-hour wait). Other patrons arrived (smaller groups), ordered, ate, and departed during this time. Upstairs also very cold with draughts coming through. No heating on during a cold winter day. Probably trying to save on energy costs, but at the discomfort of patrons. Table and chair set-up not really fit for the reservation. My guess is this is a Chinese-run business serving Japanese food. In my experience, Japanese people would be extremely embarrassed and apologetic about the 1-hour wait time for food to be served. No haste/embarrassment/apology was observed. The only saving grace with regard to service and atmosphere was a polite...

I made a reservation for lunch at this restaurant for 12:30, but due to traffic, I arrived at 12:34. To my surprise, I was informed that our table had been given away to another guest, even though we were only a few minutes late. No prior notice or phone call was given to warn us that our reservation would be forfeited if we were even slightly late. To add to the disappointment, when we were finally seated after a 30-minute wait, our order was incorrect. We had ordered three main dishes, but only two were served. Despite checking with the waitress multiple times, we received no response. When we asked for the third dish for the third time, we were told it would be another five minutes before it was ready. Frustrated, we decided not to wait any longer and asked to cancel the dish. However, when we approached the counter, the owner proceeded to berate us for being late and blamed us for our table being given away. At first, he didn't apologize and acted as if it was entirely our fault that we were having a bad experience. His apology came across as impatient and insincere. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone. The staff was unhelpful, and the owner was unfriendly. Our experience was entirely...