Kobe

2 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  2      Service  4      Value  1     

One of the worst Japanese meals I've ever had. Warm sushi (a capital offence), greasy tempura (you could taste the oil!), wafu steak swimming in brown water (sauce?) and not surprisingly the wait staff didn't speak a word of Japanese.

Apr 21, 2012 

3.8 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  5      Service  4      Value  3     

Chinese ingredients and cooking trying to pass of as Japanese cuisine. Ordered soba and was served hokkien noodles, told the waitress who couldn't care less. Foodcourt meal at Japanese restaurant price! Not recommended at all!

Jul 09, 2011 

2.3 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  3      Service  2      Value  2     

I went to this restaurant for dinner. The miso soup tasted like packet soup. We had to wait 30 minutes between a course, it seems they forgot to place the order we were told, even though we were on a banquet. The kobe meat come out and was raw! the meat was almost purple on the inside, when I showed the waitress she did not care, nor was anything offered. Very poor will never return.

Jun 26, 2010 

4.8 Average

Food  5      Ambience  7      Service  4      Value  3     

Soup - seemed to be made from a packet and should be served at the end of the banquet not at the beginning.

Tempura - greasy due to oil temperature being too low.

Spring rolls are not Japanese! nor are dumplings!

Service was too "slap it on the table" and not as would be done in Japan.
All in all, a very disappointing evening. Not to be recommended.

Apr 12, 2009 

6.5 Recommended

Food  5      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  7     

My wife and I went here on the strength of the reviews on this site. The decor is quite nice but the Teriyaki Beef I had was very rare and equally tough, so tough I could not chew some of it at all. My wifes fish was also slightly underdone. When asked I told the lady who looked like the senior staff who before asking me even said the "It looks a bit rare", she chose, however, to do nothing about it.

As they are not interested if they serve below standard then we are not interested in going back. Service was also slower than comfortable, we waited so long for the dessert menu that we left before getting it. This is a classic example of a business that does not know how to treat a dissatisfied customer, they asked our opinion and when they got a negative ignored it!

Result we vote with our feet and I write this review. Wouldn't it have been better to have made a small apology and an offer that would have kept us as customers?

Jan 17, 2009 

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

When a restaurant is 3/4 full on a Thursday night in Melbourne, it is a good sign.
We have been to Kobe several times, over a 5 year period. We have found the food consistently interesting and appetizing, the service typical of a good Japanese restaurant and the atmosphere relaxing, and understated. On this visit, we chose to order six entrees, trying to sample a wide variety of menu items.

Starting with a good sashimi, we moved through mixed tempura, a wonderful Tofu dish topped with fine shaved fried onion, (curling with the heat of the Tofu as it was placed on the table) in a delicious beef stock or I think a mirin/soy sauce, crispy chicken, gyoza, (a Japanese style of dumpling) and seared scallops.

I didn't pay much attention to the wine list, however, there are a couple of good Japanese beers available. Kobe also boasts a separate teppanyaki area and a sushi bar. Make a note of Kobe. Not particularly outstanding in any specific area, but a good honest Japanese restaurant, where you are made welcome at any time. And compared with other Japanese restaurants, it is quite good value.

Jan 28, 2008 

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

I have been back to Kobe more than a few times being quite satisfied with the restaurant on a whole. The majority of the dishes I have tried have been done well but remain below the mark of many of the CBD's Japanese restaurants. Value wise Kobe ranks quite high up there though, dishes are not overly pricey not do they hold back on the ingredients - so while some restaurants pride themselves on quality Kobe matches it with quantity. The venue itself is also nicely decorated with a Japanese feel to the overall restaurant.

To answer the authenticity question, Kobe's staffs are all Chinese and not Japanese. However, I still recommended it for a local fix of Japanese food.

Dec 12, 2007 

7.3 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  6     

Main courses and wine rather pricey but food is excellent. Service variable and last time for lunch had to go to counter and call for attention because two staff were downstairs.

Sep 27, 2007 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  7      Service  10      Value  10     

I have to say I had the best time eating here, they really put on a show and you couldn't ask for more bang for your buck. I hired a private table. Fresh ingredients, vegetarian options, great fun. They have plenty of secure parking.

Oct 31, 2006