Ibushi at Prefecture 48 — Restaurant in Sydney

Ibushi is an absolutely amazing modern Japanese place! The food is creative, flavourful and presented beautifully — every dish feels like a work of art.

I have to say, the Tuna Tartare, Yuzu Kosho, Crispy Sushi Rice, Avruga really stood out — so fresh, such clever texture with the crispy sushi rice, and that Avruga adds a luxurious touch. Then the Duck with Sansho Pepper, Plum Soy Glaze, Radicchio, Beetroot is just next-level. The plum soy glaze is mouth-watering, the duck is perfectly cooked, and the interplay with the radicchio and beetroot is so well balanced. Finally WA Octopus, Smoked Pomme Purée, Teriyaki Sauce — tender octopus with a gorgeous smoky depth, lifted by the silky pomme purée and teriyaki.

I also tried one of their cocktails — a white tea mix with cinnamon and a smooth alcoholic finish, complimented by the hand made leaf-shape biscuit. So smooth and elegant, absolutely perfect with the food. I can't remeber the name of the cocktail but it ends with the word 'koyo'. Unfortunately the mixologist said that it would be taken out from the new menu and I have told him to keep it.

The waiting staff were nice and professional — attentive, welcoming, without being overbearing.

Overall, Ibushi delivers a top-tier dining experience. Amazing food, creative drinks, modern Japanese atmosphere — I’ll definitely...

Ibushi was just okay. As a new restaurant, I will give them the benefit of the doubt, but personally, nothing was particularly great or justified through the price. The flavours were rather play-it-safe and felt like maybe they could be elevated even more. I can understand the representation of contemporary Japanese dining here, similar to the likes of Sokyo, Saké and Toko, but left the venue wishing for more from the menu.

The venue is beautiful and the waitstaff were really attentive. We went to the bar outside afterwards and had a really good time there. The staff there were really approachable and gave us great recommendations for cocktails.

At Ibushi, I did feel though that the sommelier didn’t have a strong grasp of the wine menu and was erring more to the side of providing us with recommendations on bottles that were just expensive (recommended us 2 bottles of saké which were both $300 each). After explaining some our wine preferences for Chardonnay and some of the tasting notes that we typically look for, the suggestions to have Sauvignon Blanc or Orange wine instead didn’t really make sense. I can understand if there was a follow up to justify the reasoning, but there wasn’t, so we just decided for ourselves.

Would love to come back after a few months to see how the...

Partner and I spent $500 on dinner including tip. So I am going to be a little bit harder on my review than other places.

Food, atmosphere and service was great. Certainly a good choice if you are after some luxury Japanese fusion dining. I would say outside of the mains all the dishes were amazing. I found the highballs/cocktails a little disappointing. They could have been a little bit fancier. The main reason for not going full 5 stars were the mains, market fish and Wagyu beef. The market fish was a little plain for such an otherwise nice menu, and the Wagyu, the most expensive thing on the menu was also a bit... It could have been the stand out here, I would recommend charging higher and having a better quality Wagyu, something that people will remember.

The beef tartare was the stand out for me. Probably the best beef tartare I ever had.

Finally, I really wish for a real Robatayaki restaurant in Sydney. If you have been to one in Japan you would know. So this is an...