Yakinau Izakaya Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

On my first day in Melbourne, my husband and I were craving yakiniku, so we found Yakinau on Google Maps and decided to visit.

First day: We ordered deep-fried chicken skin, spicy wagyu fried rice, pork belly skewers, tonkotsu, karubi, ox tongue, grilled sweet potato, and rib finger (I think). We were amazed by the quality and pricing, having not had delicious yakiniku in two years.

The tonkatsu was a bit chewy at first, but after cutting it into smaller pieces with scissors, it became very tender and absolutely delicious!

The fried rice was quite delicious, and the pork belly skewer was also very good.

Second day: We returned for more! We ordered short rib, wagyu tartare, and ramen with extra kakuni and ajitsuke tamago.

The wagyu tartare was fantastic—it had so many dimensions: tender and juicy, with a crispy texture, hints of black sesame, and a perfect balance of sweet and sour. It was absolutely delicious.

The ramen was the biggest surprise. It was so delicious that my husband abandoned his fried rice to steal my ramen!

Among the meats, the short rib was the most delicious, followed by the karubi and rib finger. The ox tongue was good, though I prefer a flower cut over the thin slices.

The only minor letdown was the chicken skin on the second day, which was a bit oily and greasy but still good.

As for the grilled sweet potato, I loved it, but my husband, who doesn’t like sweet potatoes, said it was just okay for him.

Overall, food was delicious. The staffs were nice and friendly, and we left very impressed by the...

I should have known from the start, when the Japanese lady, who had obviously left her manners back in the homeland, sat us down in the worst seat in the place without hesitation and mentioned fleetingly that the set-menu was not available and that we would have to order individual dishes, that something was amiss, but alas...

Upon asking if they had any more intimate seating, the lady seemed off put and replied they could only offer the bar area, which was even worse. No matter, I thought we could endure.

Drinks were ordered and arrived, this time brought vy a very nice waitress - however, beer was not cold at all and I gave my partner a look. Okay....

Next, they told us, just as we were about to order, that all dishes with Karubi cut were not available - this excluded 3 dishes off the menu (2 we were about to order).

Okay, well, we decided to preserve and chose 3 other dishes and waited eagerly for something to eat

After 10 minutes, the nice waitress returned and apologised and said 2 of the dishes we ordered were no longer available.

At that point, we looked at each other and sighed, then cut our losses and walked out.... haven't had to do that for a very long time.

Disappointed is an understatement... had they told us more than half the menu was not available, we would not have wasted our precious (and their) time. Be honest up front, show courtesy and understanding, and don't run out of food at 8 pm at...

Wrote an email to management however the email doesn't work so pasting it here. For a $200 meal we'd have expected something far more satisfying.

Management Team,

I visited your restaurant for the first time two nights ago (Friday) with a friend and was completely disappointed given your high rating.

Uni Don: At $49 and under the Mains section of the menu, we expected a decent serving size. However, this was an entree size at best, it was the size a small rice bowl so we felt completely ripped off. Usually dons at other restaurants would be at least a soup noodle sized bowl.

Yuzu Cocktail: The drink tasted extremely bland and watered down - in hindsight should've asked it to be re-made

Skewers: While we ordered four skewers, one arrived after all the rest of the food, so the timing was messy which shows lack of time management in the kitchen. It was also overcooked and chewy!

Prawn Toast: Overly salty with low-quality white bread

Overall, the meal left us absolutely underwhelmed, especially at a cost of $200. If we are spending this much then we might as go to go a fine dining Japanese restaurant which actually serves delicious food. I hope you’ll take this feedback on board to improve the experience for future diners. You should also fix the email on your website since it...