Daikoku Albany — Restaurant in Upper Harbour

Wheelchair parks NOT avail. but it is a HUGE car park, so not an issue to find a space, even on a very busy night. However it's an issue (& was for me) if you need a spot very close to the restaurants, we had to park a good 10min walk away & for myself, who suffers from multiple chronic illnesses, including severe fatigue, my husband had to drop me at the door before finding a park & then come back to pick me up once we'd finished dinner.

Wheelchairs have access along the footpath & into the restaurant, however, the hallway down from the very small waiting area to the tables inside is quite narrow, with a large table taking up the entire waiting area, purely designed to sit & drink at. Our party chose to stand as I was the only one that HAD to sit due to my fatigue, so all 7 of us took up all of the waiting area by the cashier, this would be an issue waiting for your table, then having to get down to the seating area, and get around once seating especially and/or if you needed going to the bathroom as the tables are very close together

It's quite a spacious restaurant, meaning a lot of tables not area, as they have an indoor and outdoor seating area.

No smoking at all of course, that's to be expected, but also no vaping in the outdoor area which I find odd since new vapes give off barely any steam at all.

I've had better experiences in terms of more flair from the chef, but of course the chef was very polite/friendly, may not have spoken much English as no matter what you said or asked he just smiled and nodded... Of course as part the Yeppan, he did the flaming onion which I don't get as part of the onion always gets burnt and mostly not cooked, however, this chef cut the onion and cooked it properly. There was of course throwing food to diners to catch in their mouths (or not haha) only 2 people at our table and only 1 from our party of 7 (I actually hate this, so of course declined as I always do, as I prefer to eat my food not have it thrown at my face, though it was entertainment seeing egg on my Bro in laws face hehe) Otherwise food was extremely well cooked and the meat was juicy, even the chicken which at some Teppan places can be quite dry, my Chicken was moist which was a pleasant surprise.

Hubby got the steak and chicken set which he said was really well cooked. Everyone else said food was good. Not great but good. Special fried rice tasted like all the "special fried rice" at other Teppan places .

I got the chicken and Prawn set.. For the price I was mildy surprised that you get 2 as part of the "set" however for the $20 extra I paid, I got 6 prawns, so $5 each, not sure I would get again even though they're pretty juicy and nicely cooked. Just enough yum yum sauce but since we have that at home we don't find it as "special" as it's a common sauce we use a lot.

Though we booked a table for 8, they managed to squeeze 2 more onto our table!! Thankfully for them as I was about to make a HUGE complaint, our party ended up being 7, but it was definitely an 8 seater table!! Yet they squeezed 9 in??! The 2 woman told us how they desperately wanted to eat Teppan there that night, BUT, knowing Our table was for a 60th birthday with best friends it was quite rude to Pack another 2 people in with us and the table was squished & we're not large people either, more on the small side. Thankfully the other 2 were lovely & didn't expect to join in on conversations or as part of our party (I booked for our best friends & my sister + Bro inlaw) I found it interesting & a little odd that the 2 woman said they accepted their booking, BEFORE I even told them that one of our best friends couldn't make it as he only told us last minute. So would they have packed us onto an 8 seater with 10 people?!

Out of all the Teppan places in this area.. I would definitely NOT recommend this place, purely due to how quite rude the staff were not just compared to other places but also as they knew it was a significant birthday.

Quite disappointed, only upside is they didng charge extra for cake I...

Wow, we just left the restaurant with full of disappointment!!! We had a couple of excellent experiences with Daikoku in town, and this time we chose the one (in Albany) to have my daughter's birthday, that turned out to be a shame!!! BTW, we still spent more that $300 at the venue.

It was absolutely difficult to find a car par there as so many competitions on the site, I had to park my car in the street. My wife (a pregnant young lady) with 3 lovely children just sat down to read the menu while I was looking for a car park, the waitress came to her 3 times to ask her what she wanted to drink. My wife told her that she needed more time to read the menu, and was waiting for me to come in.

When I just walked into the venue, the same girl and the manager (I assume he was) asked me that if I was the guy who brought the cake in. I said yes. The waitress asked me to order my food asap. I had no idea what was going on, and left them with confusion.

My wife told me that the waitress came to her to ask her to order food a few time while she was busy settling down the kids and waiting for me. My wife was totally annoyed!!

Within 5 minutes, the waitress came to me 3 times and tried to take orders, I said to her I needed a bit time to read the menu. We felt like we did something wrong to offend them.

I talked to a lovely couple next to me, we both agreed that there was no rush. The borders are closed, we are not going anywhere due to the pandemic. Bit of laugh...

BTW, we are not very happy with the management and the service we received!! Total disappointment!! Even though we love Japanese food, Dakoku Albany will never ever get a penny from me!!! If you love Japanese food, go somewhere else.

BTW, the girl who looked after our cake was really nice and helpful, I would love to give her a 5-star for...

I’ve been to this Daikoku a few times now and its always been delightful. What is Daikoku? Its basically a restaurant where you have a chef that comes and cooks your orders at your table, while also providing a bit of entertainment.

If cost is a concern for you then definitely take advantage of their lunch specials, as dining at night time can be a but steep on your wallet. Its better to go with a group of 6-8 people otherwise you may sit with a bunch of stranger (which is not all bad).

Interior: The interior is quite nice and it does have that lovely Japanese vibe to it.

Service: The service is what makes Daikoku, Daikoku. The staff will politely greet you and take your to your table and one of their many chefs will come and serve you. Depending on which chef you get, they will provide you with entertainment and perform some tricks that you usually only see in movies. My personal favourite is when they scoop small pieces of the food they cook, and toss it towards you which you try and catch with your mouth. I did find that if you go during lunch time or in pairs you will likely get a more passive chef that just comes to cook the food. If its entertainment you want then best to go at night, in a big group and definitely book in advance.

The Food: The food itself is always cooked well and very delicious. Most courses are served with a salad entree, miso soup, your selection of meat with some steamed rice and dessert. I highly recommend getting the additional chop chop rice, its definitely worth paying the extra $5.00.

All in all, the overall experience we had at Daikoku is always nice. The food is always great and I highly suggest checking this place out if you would like a bite to eat or just some place...