VAN Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Efate

Vanuatu beef is the star of the menu at VAN Japanese Restaurant. You’ll find this large, indoor/outdoor restaurant on Wharf Road, in the site of the former Kanpai, with views taking in the lights of Port Vila. It’s quite popular, so reservations are a good idea.

Your night kicks off with an amuse bouche of deep fried tuna. We dabbled with appetisers, including potato salad (800VT)—a mound of cold mashed potato dotted with vegetables and bound with mayonnaise—that reminded me of a Russian salad. Plump golden octopus pancake balls—takoyaki (1500VT/10 pieces)—drizzled with duelling sauces and bonito flakes are delicious. Salmon and tuna sashimi (2000VT) presents eight folded slices of fish separated by a wall of Tahitian lime. Both fishes are pale, but the tuna in particular offered good flavour.

The fireworks start with the beef: first there’s lightly seared Vanuatu beef nigiri sushi (600VT/2 pieces). Beef tataki (1400VT) arranges gently seared beef slices under glistening pearls of ponzu jelly. Try a slice wrapped in the vibrant green basil leaves decorating the plate. Premium beef tartar (1000VT) is dressed in a spicy miso sauce and eats wonderfully spooned onto the crisp green cucumber slices that are fanned across the plate.

The Vanuatu volcano roll (2300VT) is the perfect collision of Vanuatu and Japan: eight beef tartar-stuffed sushi rolls with cucumber and avocado draped with roasted Vanuatu beef under springy local cabbage drizzled with spicy sauce. If you can, splash out on a bottle of the Dassai 45 junmai daiginjo sake (7500VT): it’s pretty enough for sashimi and full flavoured enough for beef. Like this restaurant, it didn’t put a foot wrong across...

We were so disappointed. Japanese cuisine is one of our favourites and we thought VAN was going to be a great meal with our son and his partner. We were horribly disappointed. The volcano and miso soup was good but everything else was poor. The pork katsu was delivered almost cold and the meat was tough, not tender at all. The fried mix platter was also cold. All the food was cold, maybe lukewarm at best when first received. The chips were cold as were the panko and mayo prawns, karaage, tempura chicken and chicken cutlet. It is the first time we have ever been served cold meals at any Japanese restaurant. We also had to send back the sake we purchased as they initially tried to give us a small portion when we had ordered the largest one - it was obvious to us it was the wrong amount. All in all it was a very disappointing meal and a waste of good money we could have spent elsewhere. Unfortunately we cannot recommend this restaurant at all based on...

Great addition to the dining scene of Vanuatu offering Japanese/Asian-style food. Nothing wow if you’ve been to Japan before, but reasonable pricing, great food presentation, and clean restaurant interior were much appreciated.

Friendly and efficient service by all the staff members.

I’d recommend coming here if you want a change from local/Western food to dine out around Port Vila area.

Credit card accepted with no surcharge a definite plus.

They adapted to dietary requirements as well when you ordered.

(Insulated metal cup to hold the iced water was a nice...