Miyako Japanese Cuisine & Teppanyaki — Restaurant in Melbourne

This is the BEST FAKE Japanese restaurant I have ever been to. The decor and the ambiance inside is superb and tranquil. Its like you've stepped back in time into some corner of Japan. Once you enter you are greeted by supposedly Japanese women dressed in their traditional Ku-mono outfits and greet you in Japanese... giving you an experience like no other.

The location and views are very memorable overlooking the river and city.

But this is where the buck stops. Again people, if you're the sort of person who walks into a restaurant, especially a Japanese one; one would be looking at everything into detail; not just the food or the surroundings, but in fact the people that serve you.

If I go to a Chinese restaurant, I am expected to be served by Chinese people or at least individuals who have spent a great deal of time learning the arts of cooking based on the differences of culture and the expectations are high to get things the right way every single time. If I go to a Korean restaurant, the same applies to being served and cooked by Korean people.

My visit to this restaurant was back in 2005 and I have to say that this place can easily catch you off guard if you don't know what you're eating is in fact cooked or prepared by a Chinese person rather than the real McCoy. To make things worse, that the waiters and waitresses including the fake Ku-mono people at the door, all speak Cantonese and/or Mandarin... NOT JAPANESE.

Non-Asian people will not know the difference, which is why this is unacceptable and misleading to a visual perception.

I can honestly guarantee you, if you go to a Japanese restaurant, you want the food to taste "authentic" and as "real" as possible... almost as though you're in Japan some where. This restaurant did not meet up to my expectations, the price was an utter rip off and the customer service was completely lacking... especially it took approximately 15 minutes to get served.

I would rate this place one star but the decor was so...

ORDERED: Take 竹 ($98.00 pp) 🥗  Miyako Wafu Salad 🐟 Sashimi and Sushi Roll 🥣  Miso Soup

🦐  King Prawn 🦪 Scallop 🐟 Salmon 🐑 Lamb

🥩 Black Angus Eye Fillet 🥗 Assorted Vegetables 🍚  Fried Rice

🍰  Dessert of the Day

I paid $101 here because I also bought an extra genmaicha tea.

REVIEW: Teppenyaki is hard to judge. You know you're not going to get the best produce because it's primarily about entertainment. In saying that, though, my favourites from Miyako were: The creamy buttery scallops seared right in front of us! Crispy fried king prawn heads Juicy lamb Fried rice with little crispy bits from being left on the grill for a bit (which he was telling us was his signature move).

Take is Miyako's most popular Teppanyaki menu. It doesn't make sense to spend an extra $27 for the Wagyu porterhouse fillet when it won't be cooked to perfection. When I reached the angus eye fillet portion for this Take menu, I was too full to fully enjoy it anyway. 😔 Sashimi also wasn't fresh, so don't expect extremely delicious stuff.

It was quiet on a Friday night. We were the only 6 diners in the Teppanyaki section for our time slot. Nonetheless, we had brief interaction from the chef at the start with the large fire wall, then again when we played 2 games. Catching the egg in our mouths and the guys catching their rice bowl. Expertly thrown by our chef! I prefer the teppanyaki at Mount Alexander a few years back. I found that the chef there had more interaction and was more playful compared to my experience at Miyako the other night.

I felt bad that the chef had to reach over the hot area to put food into our plates. The teppanyaki in Chinatown had a plate in the middle, one for the chef to put hot dishes into and for us to reach and put into our own plates. This seems the safest method - we found ourselves holding out plates up to make it easier...

Don't go here.

We booked well in advance and paid a deposit. Sat us down at 839 (confirmed in google maps) and 1 hour in there was still no one on the grill. When we asked when we would be eating they sent out a new guy who clearly wasn't up to the task. Prawn wasn't even de-shelled. The cook just walked off at one point and then they gave us a new chef who proceeded to ask us how we wanted our steaks and overcooking them. Rare was served medium. Wasn't worth half what we paid.

response: I am telling people not to attend your restaurant on a public platform, why would I be returning!

We were all seated at 839 which is confirmed by my google maps. If you have your last service at 9 why was it we needed to ask for someone to come to the grill after that time, shouldn't you be trying to get it all done asap?

Your first "chef" wasn't capable so you sent out a second chef who was, as you have confirmed, unable to cook a basic steak. this was after a slew of barely seasoned and sub par food. no one is giving you a second chance to cook an overpriced steak a second time. You didn't give us the steak on the house, you failed to deliver the order. Absolutely pathetic effort and the abuse you received was the result of all of the above boiling over and ruining everyone's night.

Also it is extremely creepy having your management stare customers while eating.

This is just the kind of response I would expect. Blaming the customer for your bad service and food. No one comes to a venue in a bad mood. Everyone was really excited to have a nice meal and your...