KINTARO Japanese restaurant — Restaurant in Sydney

I'm confused about what happened with this restaurant. Looks like it was old Kintaro, then Mihana which relocated from Crows Nest, and now new Kintaro.

Anyway, having enjoyed dining at Mihana we went there tonight and were surprised to find Kintaro. Staff were clearly different though decor was more or less the same. The menu had completely changed from izakaya style authentic Japanese dishes to something much more ubiquitous and uninspiring. Nevertheless we decided to give it a shot.

I didn't end up tasting the udon so I can't comment on it, but both the wafu steak and teriyaki kingfish came in the exact same dressing with the exact same side salad and neither were very good. When the latter arrived, it looked unexpectedly like little triangles of deep fried tofu or cheese. I thought maybe it was someone else's dish so I asked the waitress what it was. Surprisingly she didn't know, and called over her colleague, who stared the white fish in the face and called it salmon. This was when I got a bit annoyed.

To wrap up the disappointing meal, the sushi came out last and was swimming in rice. I've included a photo of their California roll which I don't believe is how a California roll served in a restaurant should look. I can't imagine how one can get this particular roll wrong given it's available at a reasonable standard from most food court sushi vendors.

If it wasn't for the stark comparison to what was only a month ago our favorite casual Japanese restaurant in Sydney, I probably would not have reacted so negatively to our experience tonight. But I do think that with so much competition in this area in particular, Kintaro falls way below a...

Agedashi tofu was alright, the dashi broth was light and not too salty, but the spoon is a bit weird, not really comfy to use.

I know why the curry is a bit pricey, cuz other than the main dish, they have a stewed meat in the curry sauce, and they gave me a quelling spoon not a tablespoon 🤣💀

I was the first customer in that day but there’s no way my katsu is overcooked, like I know it can be happening if the kitchen is very busy, but I was there and the only customer before everyone came in, meat also taste bland like maybe they forgot to season the flour or egg wash during the prep time.

The waitress also told me that they’re close at 6:30pm if I’m not mistaken, but on Google Reviews it says 9:30pm, maybe they should change it before ppl come in and go home without any notice.

Waitress was working on her own, with no other crew,...

We had originally tried to visit this restaurant after making a booking, but unfortunately when we arrived, they didn’t have our reservation on file and we had to leave.

However, the owner personally reached out to us afterwards, sincerely apologised, and invited us back as their guest. We really appreciated the gesture — and we're so glad we gave it another try!

On our return visit, the experience was absolutely fantastic. The level of care, service, and attention was exceptional from the moment we walked in. We’re so happy we went back. This place has truly become our favourite Japanese restaurant on the Northern Beaches. Can’t wait to...