Shira Nui

4.8 Average

Food  6      Ambience  4      Service  6      Value  3     

Opportunity to have an early dinner on the way back from Mornington and thinking it would be a perfect way to end the holiday. Did the Omakase, maybe I was tired but each plate fail to impress. It's not bad but wasn't blown away especially when the bill came. Nearly maxed out my credit card.

Apr 07, 2011 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

The omakase by Hiro and Yuki is sublime, have enjoyed every visit and will continue to return. The green tea and soy bean ice cream is to die for.

Mar 24, 2011 

6.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  5     

Shiranui do 2 sittings for Saturday dinner so we went to the first one 6pm. It's necessary to book and that wasn't a problem but when I booked I was told that if we went Omakase we could not order off the A-la-carte menu so we booked for A-la-carte and I was extremely disappointed and annoyed to see people who were doing Omakase ordering from the A-la-carte menu. Obviously the person who took my table booking didn't know everything properly.

Since there is a limited table time, which they do let you know about politely we ordered fast and I'm pleased to report that the food came quickly but the waitstaff did have one small problem. What my friends and I decided to do was order a heap of tiny dishes to share and the waiters had some problem wiht that and kept trying to get us to order a main.

The food was good and the gyoza were yummy though somewhat oddly shaped, as was the sushi and sashimi though not all of it was of the quality I would have expected from a restaurant that was trying to be upmarket Japanese in Glen Waverley. It was only one piece but some of the salmon was tough and that bit should not have been used for sushi.

The food was good and we had dessert for which I'm suffering buyers remorse, I should have gone for the special. Over all Shiranui is a nice restaurant but I don't think that it's quite worth the hype.

Mar 01, 2011 

3.3 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  4      Service  2      Value  2     

Although this restaurant is quite famous, it really really disappointed me! I can't even remember any impressed dish, never ever to mention their terrible service, keen to serve those customer who looks "richie", doesn't even want to talk one more word to the others.

The kitchen staff might think he's creating some "Art work" but I am sorry none of us appreciated that! Well, the last and most important thing is: 4 of us had dinner there and ended up 2 fell ill that night! I will never recommend this restaurant to any of my friends!

May 07, 2010 

5.8 Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  3     

Generally happy with the food. A bit shocked by the price. Beware of the Omakase.

Oct 17, 2009 

4.5 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  2     

Japanese restaurant aficionados of Melbourne, my girl friend and I wanted Sushi, went to Shiranui, big drive. Arrived a few minutes before opening time, together with a few other couples. It was windy, raining and cold, and there the three couples waited outside. Exactly 6 the doors opened.

Would have been nice to have let us in 4 minutes early and serve hot tea but, ok. Opening time is opening time. (Missed hospitality/service chance.)

Walked in, initial impression, friendly waitress staff. Comfortable small restaurant, cheap furniture, air conditioner (right in my face, above sushi counter), approx 40 seats. Small fish selection in sushi counter showcase.

All waitresses are friendly though had difficulty explaining the menu and didn’t notice empty glasses. We chose the "Omakase course", the chef’s selection from the sushi bar, no prices.

We were served sushi as follows: Cod with lemon juice and salt, cheap fish but a good job for an average result. Salmon, Excellent. Tender, Juicy and tasty. 8.5 of 10. Beef slice, Strong soy/miso. Salty taste, could not taste beef. Aka Gai (Ark shell). Questioning that it was frozen. No sea taste and texture like rubber. Tuna, Great color but no taste. Okura with fish mince, tempura style.

Can you get any cheaper? Okura filled with fish mince and tempura batter, deep fried. Sliced in half and served as sushi with miso paste on the top. Brilliant money earner for the restaurant. 2 out of 10 for taste. Marinated Kingfish, Generous piece, why marinate good fish? Marinade is too sweet. Kaki, Oyster with heaps of J - mayonnaise. Could not taste the oyster.

Enough! 9 servings (18 pieces of sushi). Just the food bill, $162. Only the salmon (two pieces) were really enjoyable. (Note : Sushi rice all pre-prepared, and kept under plastic wrap).

Summary: What a rip off. Prefabricated, cheap ingredients, but wow what a good business plan! Disappointed and would not come back. I feel totally ripped off.
You guys around Glen Waverly, if you like good Japanese food, it’s worth the trip into the city.

But, as a Japanese, I can say that the senior staffs of this restaurant have an unusually good business plan, and Good luck to them!

Aug 30, 2009 

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  8     

Loved the food, have dined here twice, best Japanese that I have tasted, though it is not my favourite cuisine.

Nov 21, 2008 

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

I've edited this review slightly to try and put forward my point of view clearer in a way.

I really have a bit of trouble working out why people enjoy Shiranui so much. Especially the food critics who should know better (Update: in 2009 edition, its lost is Chef Hat in Age Good Food Guide. Now 14.5 out of 20. I concur with that rating).

There is a reason why a lot of Japanese people don't enjoy the omakase-sushi here and it is because the Shiranui + Aburi (flame-grilled) style sushi has so much spices on top (most of it Sichimi Powder which is only $5.0 a bottle), you can't even taste the fish. Authentic Aburi-sushi style in Japan is nowhere near as heavy in add on tastes and sauces to such a critical point. Most other Top Sushi Chefs in Melbourne don't understand and despise people who enjoy this place because the style of the sushi is wrong. I'm not even trying to compare this to Japanese expectations, but its just a matter of balance. Let's compare it to say Nobu for instance.

In Nobu, a lot of the Peruvian influenced dishes means it has a bit of oil and chilli flavours infused into the raw fish taste. Even in some French or Italian restaurants that serve raw fish as cured fish or carpaccios, ceviches, etc, you can still taste the freshness of the seafood in these instances. It is not overwhelmingly so.

The reason why I do not enjoy Shiranui as much as I did enjoy during my first surprise visit, is that, whilst there is no problems with Aburi (flame grilled) style sushi, Hiro the chef puts way too much Togarashi Sichimi powder on the Salmon or the Tuna Maguro, or sweet Tane sauce on the beef, or too much Salt and Lemon on the White fishes such as Hapuka or others sometimes. Or the Kewpie mayonnaise with Miso grilled Oyster on Sushi that I really love in a way but has robbed the sushi of its original flavour. You can say it is enjoyable for a lot of people, but that's because Australians are too addicted to strong flavours. Shiranui is stronger than Nobu in my opinion. In fact the word around town is that Shiranui's flavours are so strong, because the chef here is always drinking during the job and as such it makes him want stronger flavours, not to mention his arrogant nature as a chef has to do with this approach.

You can no longer taste the freshness and 'tane' of the seafood in some cases. People come here to have the sushi obviously but that's its strong point, as well as its weak point to people who really want to eat the fish. It’s like drinking a delicate French wine vs a new world wine, or smooth blue mountain coffee vs a strong Columbian blend. Where does the border or limit end? However, to be fair some of the other sushi they prepare in a more traditional way such as Akagai, Amaebi sweet prawn and Uni-Urchin can be great. Toro when in season is also great and the chef leaves it in its natural state instead- kudos to him.

If you go order sushi at say Kenzan or Aya or Horoki and even cheaper places like Sushi Masa or Izakaya Chuji, in fact, these Japanese restaurants also SERVE Aburi style sushi if you want them. You just need to know how to order them. They also tell you whether to have soya sauce or no soya sauce as well. Its just that Shiranui has taken it to the level where it became the main attraction, which is unfair to other sushi places which serve similar.

For example, if you sit at the sushi bar in Kenzan and order the same Omakaze course, sometimes the chef also does their version of either raw or Aburi grilled or even broiled sushi for the customer. In this case, the end result is a well balanced and not overly spiced sushi/sashimi of which you can taste the wonderful aroma and oily texture of aburi style sushi, as well as enjoying the original taste of the fish. That's Japanese harmonious food.

I dare anyone who has tried Shiranui, to go to Kenzan's sushi bar and order Omakaze course as well, and not be more awed and enjoy the more subtly balanced flavours of sushi offered there. Educate your palates instead of going for saltiness or sweetness or big barossa reds.

The other thing I dislike about Shiranui is the fact that they force you to have them by 2 pieces at a time in the Omakaze course (unless you're willing to pay 75 Cents more per piece, which is again a ridiculous policy).

Although in Japan it is normal to serve 2 pieces at a time, unfortunately, during an Omakaze course, you're trying to eat a lot of varieties of sushi as a tasting. 2ndly, the Omakaze is determined solely by the sushi chef, which means even for sushis you might not enjoy, you are forced to PAY and eat them by the 2s. Besides, Japanese nigiri sushi sizes are a bit smaller. If you wanted to try say 8-10 different kinds of fishes, that means you're stuck to eating at least 16-20 pieces of nigiri sushi.

Surprisingly the dessert is very good in this restaurant. The creme brulee, cheese crepe and ice creams. The sorbet could be a bit smoother however, it's too icy. Service can be bad sometimes, especially with regards to changing of booking - they don't like it at all. If you ask the staff any big question about the fish or the food he serves, he'll turn away and not even bother to answer your questions. That is very rude and most of our friends don't like that type of attitude. He just walks away. Ultimately, it is this type of egotistic and patronizing personality which means he can create the same type of egotistic, bold and over-whelming style of sushi. In fact, I tried making the flame-grilled salmon, tuna, beef and mayonnaise-oyster sushi at home myself using a flame gun bought from Home. Tastes exactly the same. All spice and salt and sweet sauce. The underlying flavour of the meat/fish no longer becomes important anymore as it doesn't showcase itself!

Sep 05, 2008 

7.5 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  6     

The sushi here is simply DELICIOUS. Don't let other people convince you that it's not authentic and flavour is brash etc; At the end of the day it all comes down to whether the food tastes good or not, and for that shiranui omakase is a no brainer. I do find the price quite dear; ~$100 pp with drinks, bit more if you add dessert which is also quite worthy. I wonder if their sushi menu ever changes though, been there twice with 6 months gap and found them serving the same menu for their sushi omakase. Hot foods are not bad either.

Jul 01, 2008 

7.5 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  7     

Superb restaurant. What a gem. Never disappointed. I go there at least once a week. Hiro is a gem of a chef. Funny how when I was at Nobu at Crown recently, I was asked by the sushi chefs where I normally go for Japanese and when I told them I love Shiranui, the the sushi chefs there all knew Hiro and eats here on their days off.

Jun 04, 2008