Jugemu & Shimbashi

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  8     

My favourite Japanese restaurant. Clean, classy, quality food, quality service. Good quality yakitori and okonomiyaki, and of course best soba and soba related foods. Try the soba dip, it's great. Cold hand-made soba is definitely refreshing after a long day. Came again on Sunday night and we were all full, everything was good, price was reasonable too. Will definitely visit Ricky and his team again soon.

*updated 11May2012* - Came back to visit and cannot fault the consistent and reliable quality of their signature items, okonomiyaki and soba items (yaki soba, soba crepe, cold soba, soba dip!). They have also started making their own tofu dishes and definitely worth a try, so light and tasty!

May 11, 2012 

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  8     

Stellar service, attention to detail in this area is impeccable. They held our leftover container while we had dessert, they took our coats for us, which is unheard of unless you have 3 chef's hats. The wait staff efficient and aware.

The ambience is gorgeous, dark and slick in the "Jugemu" teppanyaki side, light and airy in the "Shimbashi" side which is exactly how a soba house in Japan looks. The okonomiyaki was perfectly cooked, with crispy pork on the bottom and lashings of sauce on the top. I had the scallops with garlic butter which were other-worldly in their translucent freshness and perfect teppan-caramelized crust.

The spinach in sesame sauce was slightly too sweet for my taste and without the characteristic creamy sesame sauce, but the flavourful gyoza made up for it ten-fold.

Overall I rate this as one of my favorite Japanese food experiences in Sydney, so hard to find good okonomiyaki in Sydney let alone proper teppanyaki. Highly recommended.

Apr 26, 2012 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

There's quite a range of japanese dishes to try at Jugemu, ranging from their amazing fresh soba noodles (with the most delicious soup) to sushi, to teppanyaki dishes. Their frozen plum wine is also a must try.

Read more on my blog

Mar 27, 2012 

6.3 Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  4     

We have been waiting to try Jugemu for years and went last night and we were really disappointed after reading such great reviews. We have the large sashimi - some slices were good, others were very thin and uneven. The spider rolls were small which would have been fine but nothing special about them. Gyozas tasted nice but the wrapping was falling off them as you picked them up off the plate. We then had the special soba dish which was split in 2 which made for very easy sharing. Really fresh and lovely soba and very tasty broth - the only thing I would come back for would be the soba.

Service was lovely - one person told us they didn't have any of one type of the soba noodles but it turned up anyway which was a nice surprise. Including a glass of wine and a beer the dinner came to $105. Items were tasty but felt very overpriced when there are other great Japanese places in Neutral Bay with better food (except for soba) and better value. Oh and they don't accept AMEX as stated above.

Feb 05, 2012 

6.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  4     

One of the top Japanese restaurants in Sydney. The sashimi is always fresh, the specials regularly updated, and the home made soba delicious. However, their prices have increased significantly in recent times which I feel has discouraged many of their regular customers from returning as often as they used to. Recommended, but currently too expensive.

Jan 22, 2012 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  7     

We have been regular visitors since this restaurant opened. The decor is very Japanese, the food very authentic and without exception delicious, interesting and beautifully presented and the service always very attentive. We have always left after each of our many meals feeling very happy and satisfied.

The prices are certainly not cheap, although their lunchboxes are very reasonably priced, but they are excellent value for the high quality which is provided. There are many japanese restaurants in Neutral Bay and as devotees of Japanese foods, over recent years we have tried most of them. This is clearly the best. We highly recommend this restaurant for consistently good dining and service.

Dec 02, 2011 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  8     

Ate here for the first time last night, at first reluctantly as we have our fave Japanese restaurant in the area but I certainly was not disappointed.

The service is excellent. Having said that this was our first time, the lovely friendly waitress gave us recommendations on what to try, what would be a suitable number of dishes to order.

The tuna tataki was delicious and the spicy edamame were divine. Aburi sushi was really interesting, the only downside being that this and the tuna both came in 5's so one there was one person getting the 5th piece!

We ordered a Japanese pancake on the recommendation of the waitress, fantastic and so delicious. We ordered one portion of the noodles which were split into 2 bowls which was a very considerate way of serving as we were to share. Possibly the most delicious noodles I have ever eaten!

Overall a really fantastic experience and I will definitely be back. As previous reviews have suggested, this is not the cheapest Japanese in the area but the level of service and the deliciousness definitely make it worth a try. If I had one criticism it would be that there is not BYO, however, we chose a lower priced Riesling which was very nice.

Nov 12, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  6      Service  9      Value  7     

The food is always super fresh here. Not the cheapest Japanese restaurant but I have never had a bad meal here. Ricky and his staff are very attentive. Miso Cod & Salted Duck dishes are divine.

Sep 29, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  8     

Soba and Yaki taste good. Serving size of udon is a bit small. Overall, I will recommend this restaurant to my friends.

Sep 28, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

The lunchboxes and Japanese pancakes are good, the soba is great! The soba has that amazing fresh, alive taste that makes it so yummy. I agree with the reviewer below that this is a classy place. Hope to try the teppanyaki side sometime.

Sep 17, 2011