Recent renovation is a bonus, it doesn’t add to the consistent taste of this Hawthorn locals favourite. Nothing fancy, all the usual Japanese fares, hence we tend to order the same food over and over again. Can it be one of the best value for Japanese food? WELLDONE!
Adam E.
Place rating: 2 Australia
Your basic food court quality sushi. Excessively salty udon. Rolls feature«crab stick». Teriyaki chicken was dry under the sauce and nori on the salmon roll was soggy, obviously prepared well in advance. On the positive side the staff are very nice and it’s not expensive. Whether or not you like this place will depend a lot on what kind of Japanese food you are used to. Good for a family I guess, as long as the kids aren’t too picky. Complimentary tea. No BYO or alcohol license.
Elleen P.
Place rating: 4 Boston, MA
I came here on a Saturday night to get some dinner and the place was reasonably full(but there was still space for more people). The restaurant itself is pretty small, but it has a warm homey feeling to it ;) I ordered the dinner box take away with miso soup, gyoza, oyakodon, and a green tea milkshake(for an extra dollar. Trust me though, it’s worth it.) A bit pricey in my opinion, but it seems as if everything in Australia is a couple of dollars more than it would be in the States. The gyoza was yummy :) And the oyakodon was great. Generous portions. The green tea milkshake is amazing… Get it! =) I would definitely recommend this place if you need to grab a quick bite. High quality food, fast service, and I just had an all around great experience here. :)
Pierre G.
Place rating: 4 Australia
Love it! Good food @ a great price!
Rebecca A.
Place rating: 5 Melbourne, Australia
Cheap Japanese. Awesome sushi rolls. The BEST eggplant miso paste dish ever. Fresh salmon. 3course meal deal and drink is $ 15. I love this place, the food is really good and the service very fast — you can get in and out in 30min. Lots of people who go tend to wear trackies, I imagine its full of uni students during the day, but I have taken my grandma and parents for dinner and everyone is a huge fan. Good for footy player spotting too. we like that.
Esther B.
Place rating: 5 Australia
One of my Favourite cheap Asian eats in Melbourne. Fresh food and prompt service. Can’t go wrong with a dinner box for $ 15. Ensure you book as it is always busy.
Clarissa Y.
Place rating: 4 Cardiff, United Kingdom
My friend and I came here for dinner about 30 minutes before closing time and they were happy to accommodate us. Bonus points~ Ambiance: A nice and modest restaurant that’s clean with cute napkin holders. Don’t come here for anything fancy though. Customer Service: I really liked the customer service for several reasons: a) The woman who served us was very friendly and attentive. b) The food came out pretty quickly. c) I love the whispyness of Japanese accents. Food: I had a really worth-your-money bargain dinner box for $ 16 which gave me soup, entrée, main, and dessert. SOFILLING and so worth the money. I ended up choosing: Miso Soup Gyoza Chicken Curry-Don Green Tea Ice-Cream All of it delicious! — I highly rate this place and would recommend it to anyone who loves Japanese food.
Shirley L.
Place rating: 4 Australia
How I miss Samurai life while in university! My constant order was the three pack menu… the grilled chicken as appetizer, katsu curry as main, and of course, the Hawthorn famous green tea ice blended drink! From my memory it costs $ 13 for all of those? Crazy cheap and generous portion! Curry was probably made from curry blocks, but still good enough for your busy uni nights when there’s no time to cook. Very fast, very crowded, so takeaway it !
Daniel Z.
Place rating: 4 Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
I don’t know what I would have done if Samurai did not exist whilst I was at university. It is so cheap here to order lunch it’s actually seems wrong. The quality of the food is not amazing but I still come back here numerous times a month. This was the first place that I tried green tea ice cream and highly recommend it. I also recommend the chicken katsu curry, or the teriyaki chicken, or the… wait a minute, the whole menu comes highly recommend by me. It gets so busy here and you will be lucky to get a table, the upstairs area is nice to get away from all the noise if you are lucky enough to get a seat there.
A E.
Place rating: 3 Melbourne, Australia
Let me warn you now, you’re not going to get the most flavoursome meal of your life here. Instead, this place offers ambiance, humble food, good portions, great prices and an overall relaxed, happy dining experience. When I first came here, I wasn’t too impressed. That’s because I didn’t venture upstairs to where the restaurant becomes divided into small rooms of a preexisting house. If you come with a group, these dining rooms provide for a wonderful atmosphere. There’s a lot to choose from on the menu so don’t be shy of things you haven’t heard of. The green tea milkshakes are really interesting and I recommend them if you’re game. Come for the cheap feed, stay for the chill factor.
Miriam S.
Place rating: 3 Melbourne, Australia
Samurai made it fun to be a student, well, only when it came to lunchtime that is. This is a place that aims to satisfy your belly and your wallet. Plus I have to admit that the quality ain’t half bad. Hence the queue. Without a doubt the best value choice has to be the dinner set. For $ 15.00 you get a soup, entrée, main and a drink or dessert. Their green tea cheesecake is quite good, considering many places don’t seem to be able to pull it off, and they also have the most amazing green tea milkshake, which I still crave to this day. Now you can’t really expect top-notch service, fancy décor and things like that, this is a budget restaurant after all. So just keep that in mind when you come here.
