Saké Restaurant & Bar, The Rocks — Restaurant in Sydney

Dined in here for my partners birthday. It was absolutely fantastic and the vibe was very lovely and professional, and felt well taken care of throughout the whole meal.

We arrived a little bit past our reservation time as we’ve never been to this place before and we weren’t sure what it looked like. We saw the sake restaurant banner and found the place, though it was quite obscured by the much larger, louder restaurants. The reception was kind and sweet, and we were seated quite quick and easy. We were given menus and a large beverage list, and had ordered the New Classics set for $99 pp, along with two cocktails. We were also asked what the occasion was for today, and I had mentioned it was my partners birthday. The entire restaurant looked quite beautiful, and we were seated under a beautifully dim yet brightly lit lamp, though there wasn’t a view for us to overlook as it was on the other side of the room.

The food slowly arrived bit by bit and we demolished every single bit of it. Everything was beautifully presented and freshly cooked and made, and we couldn’t get enough of it. A lot of it were also dishes I had never tried before in my life, so the experience was enhanced. The nori crisps were an interesting and delicious bite sized treat to start off, it was definitely one of the bests, and blends the different flavours so perfectly I had craved even more. The Hiramasa kingfish was decent, flavourful, and very much what fine dining would beget. Popcorn shrimp arrived next and was a familiar taste but had a much improved recipe with its sauce that was beautiful. Shumai were these oddly shaped dumplings that caught our eye for sure, where it looked as if it was carefully crafted with noodles as the shell. It tasted fantastic. The salmon arrived and it was one I was looking forward to the most, as I am a fan for anything salmon. This piece of salmon, though somewhat small, had absolutely blew my mind. It was so beautifully cooked and seared, it had torn off beautifully with piece I grabbed, as opposed to the hard, over cooked fast food salmon. The sauce was also just as incredible and I was extremely fortunate since my partner was already approaching her limit to have much more. Writing all this down makes me want to go back just for the salmon. The watercress salad was had by my partner, where she says, “yummy, I like the dressing.” The steak was up next and it was really for me too, since my partner was full. I was also approaching my limit, and we were very surprised with how filling this set was. I’m not usually big on steak, but this was quite outstanding. The sauce used was fitting for the steak, though a lot of it was lost as I picked it up since it falls off, so I had to stir it a fair bit. We were given our final dishes, goma, and also a surprise little cake for my partners birthday. I was pleasantly surprised with the effort they shown, and it was a wonderful gesture for them to do so with no added cost. The goma was a very rich chocolate mousse. Everything that is cooked and crafted from this restaurant just seems to be many tiers above the regular foods you would get. The chocolate mousse is easily the best of its kind. The little birthday cake was quite nice too, but we weren’t able to finish it and was given a little box for takeaway, an added considerate touch of the staff.

Definitely one of the best Japanese and fine restaurants I’ve ever been to. Everything was beautifully presented and delivered, along with its exceptional service. Would definitely come here again for another...

For a long time, I've always wanted to dine at Sake after seeing it on MasterChef years ago. Finally, I got the chance to when I took my sister out to lunch for her birthday. What an enormous disappointment!

When we arrived, no one greeted us at the door, so we walked in only to be told by the lady at the bar to go back and wait near the entrance.

The venue itself is pretty, and they gave us a roomy, comfortable booth to ourselves. Our servers were uninterested in their job. They seemed cold, and in a rush. As soon as we sat down, they wanted to squeeze every dollar from us. Sparkling or bottled water? Edamame to start?

We ordered the tasting plate for $125pp. With all the plates that came out, none were bad, but none 'wowed' us. To be honest, they were quite average and we've had better dishes at cheaper Japanese restaurants. The best dish was the kingfish sashimi, but even with that I've had better.

The dishes also came out way too fast, so we had no time to enjoy each dish. Our servers quickly placed the plates on our table and walked away. They never explained each dish to us or engaged in any casual conversation. We filled our own glasses many times, which I don't mind, but paying as much as we did, we expected better service.

It was near the end of our dining experience that incensed us the most. The server quietly placed the desserts on our table, which included a birthday cupcake. She didn't wish my sister a happy birthday, but even worse, she melted our Dragon egg without telling us. She never said a word. Therefore, we had no photo opportunity! So no photo of my sister with her Dragon egg! They ruined my sister's birthday lunch.

Then when the bill came, they helped themselves with $33.30 surcharge. They then expected us to tip them on top of the surcharge for POOR SERVICE and mediocre dishes.

It didn't end there, though. On the way out, we went to the toilets. It was absolutely disgusting! 4 cubicles had toilet paper everywhere, and it smelled like urine. We couldn't believe our eyes!

Our lunch cost me almost $400, yes, fine dining prices! However, our experience with the food, service and cleanliness is far from fine dining! I gave them an extra star as they gave my sister the birthday cupcake and candle for free.

EDIT to reply to Management - Here's the thing, we raised the issue with our server that afternoon at the end of our meal, and she promised she would provide feedback. Well, that obviously went NOWHERE! Great Management team and staff, Sake! But thanks for pretending to care by sending us a...

As soon as I walked in, the staff team greeted me in Japanese. The restaurant was decorated nicely, giving a strong sense Japanese culture. It uses dark lighting and instrumental music from what I can remember, which is a nice combo, very suitable for dates.

The customer service was great, very enthusiastic and friendly.

The food was mostly good. Started off with beef and tuna tartare taco, which was delicious, the tuna was tender and flavoursome, combined with the crispy taco shell (not traditional taco shell, but one that’s extra crispy) gives great texture and enriches the dish.

Then the sushi and sashimi were served. The sashimi was fresh, not much to say. The sushi on the other hand was something special. The most memorable one was definitely the fried soft shell crab.

Afterwards, the fried shrimp and chicken karaage were served. The shrimp was tender, coated with corn or potato starch, nothing special. The chicken karaage was succulent and tender, the dipping sauce gives it a another layer of sweetness and sourness, balancing the greasiness.

The highlight of meal was then served, the wagyu steak (cheaper version). Grilled to medium rare, the steak was tender and succulent, giving a hint of that fragrance from the grill. The accompanying sauce was on the sweet side, personally I think salt and pepper would be better, but it’s a Japanese restaurant so it’s understandable.

Desert was served afterwards, the dragon egg and the tiramisu. I would not recommend the dragon egg, because it’s way too sweet, as the egg itself is made of white chocolate, which is overly sweet to the extent where the consumer would need to drink water to balance it out. After the caramel was poured on top, the egg would melt and turn into an absolute disaster. It tasted like a complete mess and nothing really stood out except the overpowering sweetness of the white chocolate and caramel. The tiramisu on the other hand was quite nice, definitely not a traditional one, but made with ice cream I think and hauled the alcohol, but the biscuits on the side was pretty bad, as it tasted like it had been left out of the package overnight and lost its crisp.

And I was shocked when I found out that they charged me for bottled water, turns out it was from Italy, a brand called acqua panna.

Overall it was a nice experience, would recommend it, just a...