KAPPO Marta | Modern Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Victoria

I saw Marta Cafe featured in EAT magazine and so I immediately put it on my food bucket list to try. I’m going to try to write a fair review as I didn’t have a positive experience. The location is tricky to find parking. Street parking only and much of it is residential parking. When you walk inside it’s very simple, white, maybe blandly decorated, but it’s at least calming. The seats are VERY close together and one of the staff members kept coming over and chatting loudly with a friend and we literally could not hear ourselves talk because of the acoustics. I looked at the menu which is fairly small but looked like it had some good options, but it turns out the brunch menu is far better, but wasn’t available during the week. I can’t have any dairy, but I love protein and that was a real challenge for them. They weren’t willing to switch breads for the breakfast sandwich to the dairy free ciabatta bun. Basically at the end I had to order 4 sides to make my own meal (soft-boiled egg, toast, avocado and bacon, but they were out so they switched to sausage). This is such a basic meal it surprised me that they don’t just have something like this on the menu. They had yam toast as an option, which was unique, but the yam toast meals had no protein and it was a small portion. Anyway, when you go to a new place and can’t find a meal that works and you have to order sides, is that really getting to experience the place? Not sure. The food they brought out was a good temp and well prepared and well presented. They added a homemade tomato jam which was a nice touch. I also ordered a hot drink which came in a glass on a plate. I’m not going to get into the ridiculous story of customer service I got with all of that, but don’t put hot drinks in a glass that literally burnt my fingers when I touched it. There are so many business owners that are committed to hearing the feedback of customers and value improving. Basically, your grumpiest customer has the most valuable feedback - so take it! Not...

We visited Kappo Marta a few days ago and my partner and I are still raving to each other about our experience.

The food is fresh, fresh and so beautifully presented. First we ordered the chicken Gyoza (dumplings) and Rock Shrimp. Omg, each was soooo delicious that we made very short work of them. The gyoza was tasty, a little crispy on the outside with a delicious blend of spices but just enough to make the whole taste a special experience. The Rock Shrimp were out of this world! Crispy yet juicy and fresh with a sauce over top that in combination made it an absolute Wow!

For our main course I had the tuna set and oh did I enjoy it. The tuna was very lightly seared and almost melted in your mouth. The taste was fresh, sweet and delicious. After my first mouthful I had my partner taste it as I was sooo blown away. The set includes many dishes on a tray and everything was a delightful taste experience. There was a small bowl of rice, another bowl contained a steamed vegetable that was served cold with a lovely dressing/sauce on it. And other bowl contained an assortment of pickles. They were brightly coloured with an interesting taste that went well with the rest of the meal.

My partner had the assorted set which included chicken and prawns. Again the set came with the same assortment of little bowls of goodness.

We left the restaurant absolutely stuffed and the biggest smiles on our faces. Our server was excellent and patient as many of the dishes were new to us. The entire place was spotlessly clean including the washroom.

This was an absolutely fabulous experience which we will definitely repeat when we are next...

We came on a Sunday at 11:30am and we were the first ones seated. It quickly filled up by 12pm. I got the assorted katsu set ($23) and the buta don set ($23).

The assorted katsu set comes with 2 shrimp 2 pork and 2 chicken. The katsu is so light and crispy. Not oily whatsoever. The cabbage comes with the usual sesame sauce which balances off the katsu well. Their side dishes change every day which is nice. Today's side dishes was spinach, dumplings, fried shrimp on veggies. Each set also comes with miso soup and rice.

The buta don set was pretty basic. Seasoning wasn't too strong. This is definitely home comfort food. I loved that it came with lots of salad. The meat goes so well with rice.

Love their sets as they offer a huge variety of items. Their side dishes are always well thought out and always includes some kind of tempura.

We had asked them if they have dessert and they said they had a sesame ice cream dessert which comes with red bean and sesame balls ($8). This dessert is a MUST ORDER if you love sesame. It wasn't overly sweet (except for the red bean but I think that's the offset the slight bitterness of the sesame). I would come back for this dessert alone.

Overall I loved the vibe of this little Japanese restaurant/cafe. They don't do they sets to go yet so keep that in mind. I believe they have different things for to go menu. Their service is super friendly and nice. The food also comes out really fast. Would recommend if you are in the are and looking for some home cooked...