Sanpo Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Wollongong City Council

This is an unfortunate review as I had high hopes for this place. I’ve been here twice in less than a week - the first time being excellent to now with food poisoning for my wife.

The first visit was a take away lunch which we ordered the salmon bento box, tempura udon plus soft shell crab roll. The food was quite well priced, quick and service was pleasant.

Fast forward today got take away dinner. Tried the fish burger special, agadeshi tofu and the salmon bento box again since it was so good the first time.

Same bento box but $10 more? Dinner service maybe justifies the extra jump but the food was so different in a bad way. Salmon was not so flavourful, chicken was the fatty cuts. Fish burger was ok but the tofu was bad. It had a sour smell and taste which my wife was the only one to eat it then asked me should it taste like this? Well you know the rest of the story she’s on the toilet and not having any fun!

Such a shame as it was so close to home we could eat but sadly won’t...

Start with a crisp Asahi and a hot Miso soup with small pieces of fresh tofu. It's a great way to meddle into this Japanese restaurant in the middle of Helensburgh. The assorted sushi, with tuna, seared salmon, prawn, kingfish, and little maki rolls encapturing a piece of salmon hugging an avocado slice,is a gem. Served with a generous dollop of wasabi and pickled white ginger. Juicy, light and tasty. Snack on the slow cooked eggplant with miso, soft and buttery with a delicate miso flavour. Highlight for me was the kingfish collar, lightly crisped, cooked till sweet, and served with a light soy sauce, wedge of lemon and ginger. Pick up the bones, too. You know you want to. We tried the matcha tea tiramisu cake, slightly tea-like and a lovely way to finish this repast. One little thing, the sushi fish is fridge cold and would have benefitted if it was room warm. Next time I'll dive into the one pot with ramen noodles or a bento, which they offer at lunch. Sanpo is a must visit...

I'm writing this review not only to praise this Restaurant for being one of the best gems in the area but to defend the owners against the negative review by Agnus Lam. I was in the Restaurant when their child was screaming uncontrollably for an extended period of time when the manager very politely asked them to please take the child outside to calm her down. It was only for a few minutes when they brought the child back in and it starting screaming again. I praise the Managers for being considerate to the rest of the patrons in the restaurant that didn't want to listen to a child screaming uncontrollably. If you want great atmosphere, great food and great service this is one of best little spots...