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Related Editorial Content
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User Reviews on Bonsai Japanese Restaurant
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 32 comments
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| Overall |
 
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Highly Recommended |
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Food 8 |
Ambience 8 |
Service 10 |
Value 8 |
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Apart from the massive portion, I don't have any complaints about Bonsai. We were the only visitors (on Easter Sunday night) but the service was perfect. Do not expect traditional Japanese food with rice or miso soup because Bonsai is a contemporary Japanese restaurant. Very interesting though!
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ai05 -
See my reviews 16 , 13 April 2010
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| Overall |
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Below Average |
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Food 4 |
Ambience 4 |
Service 4 |
Value 4 |
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Hmm...I wasn't really impressed with this place at all. For a restaurant that openly boasts about winning lots of awards, I expected award-winning food and service but the restaurant shares a kitchen with the place next door?! I really found this odd considering the wait-staff have a touch of snobbery, yet they walk next door to collect your food, then have to walk outside with your plate of food (with buses rushing by) and then bring the plate back inside to Bonsai.
I found that a bit gross, all the dust and dirt could have been landing on my plate on the journey from one restaurant to the other. For such a "classy" place, why can't they afford their own kitchen? Why do they share it with the joint next door?
They should have a back-door so that they can bring the food from behind the two restaurants and not have to take your plate outside in the elements!
We ate at night and sat outside. So, it was too dark to appreciate/see the beach and we constantly had buses/cars zooming by (as there is a bus stop right outside the entrance, only a metre from our table!). I would suggest you eat indoors and go in the day, so at least you have a view of the beach.
The food was ok but my Chicken Tepanyaki was such a big chunky fillet, that I had to use a knife and fork to cut/eat it. I don't normally complain about there being too much food, but I always thought Japanese food should be small, bite-size pieces you can pick-up with chopsticks?
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TheFussyEater -
See my reviews 18, 21 February 2010
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
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| Overall |
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Below Average |
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Food 6 |
Ambience 5 |
Service 2 |
Value 3 |
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It is sometimes difficult to give a problematic review to a reasonable restaurant, but I am afraid that after thinking about it for several days, Bonsai does not merit a favourable rating.
When a restaurant is given a fair amount of praise, with some notable (and harsh) criticisms, as is seen in the other reviews here, you want to give a place not only the benefit of the doubt, but also a chance for it to be at its best. So my partner and I went to Bonsai on a quiet weekday evening, and arrived to an almost empty restaurant. The decor is austere, in a traditional Japan meets Sydney glass and chrome restaurant kind of way, but not unattractive.
We sat outside, and waited for a just a touch too long for the waiter to take our orders. We also read a notice on the menu about having two kitchens and that orders might not come out simultaneously. To be on the safe side, we ordered two "hot" dishes (chicken teriyaki and the seafood teppanyaki), so as to minimalize the chances for any mishaps.
Things started out well. The waiter brought us an unexpected and quite tasty bouche amusé, a slightly braised scallop, topped with fish roe, herbs and a light sauce. That certainly put us in a good mood and had us looking forward to our meals.
But from that time on, things started to slide. The food took an unreasonably long time given that there were only two other parties when we sat down. The tap water, which we received at our initial order, was not subsequently refilled or even attended to. In fact, after receiving our mains, we were entirely ignored until we requested the bill. To be fair, several parties had come after we had ordered, but there was ample staff. I can only assume that they were not able to effectively coordinate service with the restaurant they own next door.
The food was not what it ought to have been, either. While the ingredients were of high quality and had the Japanese minimalistic quality, the food served was really not Japanese per se, but a western tip of the hat to Japanese cuisine. As my partner said, "this isn't Japanese food at all!" I tried to explain what the cooks were doing, but it was a valid point. The food was good, but for it to be successful "concept" food, the dishes have to be superb. Our dishes were not.
A small thing, too, was that rice, which usually has to be ordered separately, was surprisingly expensive. That was not too bad in itself, but it arrived overcooked and actually far too mushy. Having lived in Japan, I can tell you that restaurants can live or die by something that small.
When all was said and done, the bill came to $72, which included no dessert, no alcohol, and no starters. I don't mind paying that much for a good meal, but I abhor spending a large amount on mediocre food and service. Certainly it is foolish to expect that a meal will be flawless. But taken in all, the service and food at Bonsai, unfortunately, fell into the category of mediocre.
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UnknownEater -
See my reviews 18, 14 November 2009
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Food 9 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 9 |
Value 8 |
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Overall top marks. Top Tip - take up the midweek Bonsai Beliini free cocktail offer and also remember you can collect Qantas points (take your card).
Went last night. We booked Bonsai but ate in Swell as they had closed the Bonsai side but was not a problem. The free Bonsai Bellini was a great way to kick off the meal and I forgot to print the offer but they were still cool when I mentioned. The Bonsai menu is good. Its a tad more pricy than the average Japanese places we've been to but with the free drinks, great food and good portion sizes, plus Qantas points I regard it as good value.
Food quality excellent. With 2 sharing, we had edemame and an awesome sashimi salad with lime chili sauce to start. Some sushi and a lovely scallop and shrimp with ginger dipping sauce as main. Save some room for dessert. We had the green tea creme brulee which was good but the hot chocolate pudding was the best, absolutely delicious.
I'm not sure if the chef is Japanese but my Japanese girlfriend gave it 2 thumbs up.
The starters took a while (or maybe this was just my impression as I was starving) but overall the service was very good and friendly and with the generous portions I left very content. 2 people, 3 courses, free bellinis, a few beers, some plumb wine $134.
Will return, maybe next time in the day time to check out the Bronte Beach view.
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bukwiki -
See my reviews 11, 31 July 2009
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| Overall |
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Average |
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Food 5 |
Ambience 5 |
Service 5 |
Value 4 |
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This review is for swell but I am putting under Bonsai as I know they are both owned by the same person. I have reviewed Swell before and I gave them top marks. But know it is all different where is the souffle? The braised lamb? The home made pasta? Where is all the modern french flavours I loved so much?
Now Swell and Bonsai menus have been joined together and Swell now serves a boring mixture of typical east meets west modern Australian style dishes. If I wanted to pay $30 for angel hair pasta or fish with curry sauce, then I would go to a Thai restaurant and order better food for two people.
Breakfast has also started to slip where are the baked eggs? Or the poached eggs with hash and branston pickle. It seems all the things that made Swell "Swell" are now gone? Now it is a typical egg and bacon fry up place on the beach. I don't write this to be mean or cruel the food is still good at Swell but not what it once was. Maybe I will start eating somewhere else each Sunday. Why fix something that is not broken?
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Damien22 -
See my reviews 2, 11 November 2008
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Food 10 |
Ambience 10 |
Service 10 |
Value 10 |
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Can't review this place highly enough. I'm generally very careful about portion control ... that went out the window, and it was worth it! I had the sashimi platter which was fantastically fresh and tasty, and a chocolatey bean pudding of sorts for dessert which was also to die for. We had some confusion with the waiters concerning a voucher, but they were so obliging and after we'd cleared it up, they gave us all three of our desserts on the house to compensate for their mistake! Will certainly be back!
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Lara888 -
See my reviews 5, 12 October 2008
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Food 10 |
Ambience 10 |
Service 10 |
Value 9 |
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Bonsai has been a favourite of my husband and I since it opened. My two children love it and will eat just about anything from the menu with their fave being the Tepenyaki scallops and king prawns. The staff are wonderfully friendly and make your dining experience special. Sitting on the outside table on a balmy night is sensational.
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Michellew -
See my reviews 1, 05 October 2008
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Food 9 |
Ambience 8 |
Service 9 |
Value 9 |
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I came here with my husband for our anniversary, the site said it was romantic and definitely (on saturday nignt) it's not! But the food was good and the service too ...We were close to the entry door and it's not the best place in winter.
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Célinita -
See my reviews 1, 03 August 2008
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| Overall |
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Recommended |
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Food 8 |
Ambience 7 |
Service 8 |
Value 6 |
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Very tasty, original dishes, but a little overpriced, which I assume is due to its beachside location. I was impressed by the decor and the friendly Japanese waitress. However, we went on a Saturday night and it was almost empty, which was disappointing. Our bill was $80 for 2 (no wine). Also, they charged $10 for green tea which I thought was a little steep considering most Japanese establishments either don't charge for tea or it is $3-$4 per person bottomless service.
In summary, fantastic food and an imaginative menu, could be better value, but I would return here should I find myself in the area.
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eatyourheartout -
See my reviews 36, 12 May 2008
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Food 9 |
Ambience 8 |
Service 9 |
Value 8 |
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Without doubt my favourite restaurnat in Sydney at the moment. I go often and have never been disappointed. Everything is fresh and beautifully, and artistically presented.
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Bethela -
See my reviews 5, 09 May 2008
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