花火本屋 Hanabi Robata Izakaya — Restaurant in Johor

The two star is totally for the environment, the shop has a very weird direction to the overall concept. It feels like an izakaya, but the food doesn't really tasted like izakaya food, the choices is more towards a Japanese Restaurant/Diner instead, the menu items are very generic and it's almost the same genre as the other few Japanese restaurant located in Mount Austin.

Tried their skewers and ohh boy, their overcook-ness was over the top, had never tried meat that tough and charred as charcoal like, some of the meat/seafood have a very distinct taste, it literally tasted old, as if their ingredients has not been rotation and left in the freezer.

Their side dishes was ok, but not really seeing any izakaya dishes from my experience, the food was actually quite basic and common, would have been nicer to include some simmer dishes or even pressure cooked dishes.

Their main course dishes such as rice or noodle, was quite shocking, Korean instant noodle and some very weird looking rice bowls, the rice bowls are a staple Japanese dish which I can ignore, but why Korean instant noodle this was quite difficult for me to get a head around it.

Finally was their menu, with my experience of Izakaya (which from the review section, their response was, they are an Izakaya establishment, not a Japanese Restaurant, that they are willing to accuse the customer review) They should have a small menu with very special dishes or special menu items, as an Izakaya, their menu is comparable to a Japanese Restaurant, and the items are very very close related. On top of this, their dishes are all way to common to be called as an Izakaya.

Overall, I would not give them a second chance, or recommend to my friends circle. Do note that there are currently way too many Japanese Restaurant and Izakaya around Johor area, if your competitor is in the bunch and the menu provided is that common, it's just a waste of the...

My first experience visit here... Parking space is seriously limited as there are many patron at this place.

It's advisable to do reservations as maybe you need to wait for a long time if there is a que.

Food wise for me does not have the wow factor but it's good and acceptable...

It might look expensive... (well there is expensive menu depend on what you order.) But there is a lot of affordable price food as well.

If not mistaken there is a service crew fees as well which I think it's not worth to pay, but if for the record who is taking service for the table is acceptable in case there is anything.

Overall.. for the price.. it's not the best but the food is ok for me and somehow there is afternoon and night menu which means some are only available before dinner time.

Comparing with the normal japanese cuisine restaurant.. here they served alcohol as well.

Anyway it's not disappointing and worth for a visit for a different...

Chanced upon this place by accident and found the vibe of the place really spot-on! Stepping into this place made me feel as though I was in Japan 🇯🇵

The owner and servers were really welcoming and friendly despite us reaching about 1-1.5 hours before closing. Everything we ordered was freshly made, unlike some places where servers will say certain food items are unavailable or just reheat whatever that is left.

I gave it 4/5 stars mainly because the menu is relatively limited compared to other mainstream japanese restaurants, but this restaurant is relatively new (opened only for 3 months) so I'm sure the number of items on the menu will increase over time, and the quality of the food will only get better :)

Price wise, locals may find it a little steep but Singaporeans visiting JB for a short trip will think it is relatively affordable and value for money.

Will definitely visit the place again when...