Kimusabi Sushi — Restaurant in Sydney

LAZY LUNCH REVIEW

Being a lifelong vegan, I’ve not had much experience with Japanese food, as it’s traditionally quite meat centric. To further complicate matters, I’m gluten, chilli and edamame sensitive…argh!

However, our eldest son has been encouraging us to try his favourite restaurant of its type, Kimusabi Sushi in Newtown.

Knowing Peter’s other eatery, Vandal Sydney, and his fabulous grocery store, Greens Super Market we had no doubt of Kimusabi’s high quality offerings. I just wasn’t sure if my allergies could be catered for adequately.

How wrong was I you ask? About as wrong as could be and more! Our lazy lunch there last weekend was out of this world. The food was simply sensational, the service was second to none and the atmosphere was just lovely.

To top it off, our little rescued K9 son, Charlie, was welcomed in the alfresco section. Plus he was spoiled for attention by our gorgeous wait staff.

Speaking of the wait staff, I must mention the lengths they went to, in order to find suitable dishes that I would enjoy and not regret later.

The whole experience was wonderful and we cannot recommend Kimusabi highly enough. We will be back at the first opportunity, with bells on and a big...

Unfortunately, I don’t know where to start with the disrespect. My good friend - who has never lied in her life - arrived at the venue to be told that she booked a bar spot instead of Al fresco, and was horrendously gaslit when she was able to show evidence to the contrary. Past this point, this group of five (5) diners, was impolitely forced to order from a set menu, which I’ve never experienced in a setting below 8 diners. This wasn’t written on any of the venue’s literature - not on the menu, not on the website, not even in the booking system. This would have been acceptable had the food been enjoyable, but the wait between courses was immense - we waited fifteen minutes between courses that would have been served concurrently if the proper a la carte decorum was observed. Eventually we asked for expedited courses (because we weren’t about to spend 2.5 hours waiting for 7 entrée sized snacks?) and we were met with incredible disdain.

I wish I was the type to complain, but I’m usually the type to feel guilty. This review pains me to post. I’m the type to tip 20% (in Australia - consider the gag of THAT), this was not even worth the final bill.

I expect more from the plant...

First the positives: creative take on sushis, very well presented: beautiful plating. I particularly loved the classic "salmon" makis, the cauliflower tempura and the shiitake nigiri in which I found interesting texture and subtle tastes. A nice touch was the homemade pickled ginger as a side. Service was swift and very on point for a soft opening period.

What I did not love was the use of mayo or sriracha mayo in almost everything else. It makes everything taste too similar and overpowers the delicious flavours they created. I feel like it really cheapens the experience and I hope they will come up with more interesting or less sauce. They also give you a side of chilli you can add to your taste AND put a fair bit of chili in most dishes which again overpowers the more subtle flavours characterising Japanese food. Also, it's only outdoor seating along Enmore Rd which has a lot of noisy traffic, buses and planes flying above. Not exactly a set up for a romantic dinner. Finally, a bit pricey for the quantities: spent $50 each (no drinks) and...