Nakashima

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  8     

I dined here last week in a group of 8 and was very impressed with the food and the value for this little place tucked down a lane in the rocks. The restaurant is very casual and informal in style. Despite being in a group of 8, the service was very prompt and efficient.

We ordered sharing entrees which arrived promptly and were delicious. Special mention must be given for the Beef Sashimi which was outstanding. The pork maki was delicious as was the roast eggplant.

For my main I had an udon broth, the noodles being silky and delicious. My husband had the wafu steak which was very good.

Overall the experience was very good. It is a shame the restaurant does not stay open later as we were all slowly finishing our drinks when we were told that they were closing. This is a hidden gem in the Rocks and I will definitely be back.

Feb 11, 2012 

5.5 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  2      Value  8     

Food - was average. I had the udon and sushi set. Found the udon soup overly salty and the fish used for the sushi seemed a bit rubbery, almost stiff. I dined with a large group of people, 4 of them ordered the nabeyaki udon. The chicken could not be found in the 4th nabeyaki udon, I'm not sure if it was a counting error or just miscommunication in the kitchen.

Service - was slow. It took about 10 minutes for us to get the attention of the waitresses. Value - was alright. I don't think I'll be visiting again.

Dec 09, 2011 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

Love this place. Up a laneway, and staffed by lovely friendly people the restaurant features pretty generous Happy hour drink specials.

Entree wise the Gyzoa are tasty, edamame crisp and not too salty and Beef tataki is a little chewy but not unpleasant.

For mains we had Teriaki Beef - is also a little chewy but very tasty, and the vinegared fried chicken is always perfection.

The menu is varied and we'll be back.

Nov 08, 2011 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

Very good for lunch. Very small and very busy. Service is very polite and prices also good.

Oct 10, 2011 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  8     

Nakashima is a lovely local restaurant in the Rocks. Has a lovely outdoor eating area in a little pedestrian laneway, which is pleasant in summer and winter.

The food is excellent. The lunch boxes are great value, the main meals generous, teriyaki chicken or fish are my favorites. The gyoza are good, but could be crispier, even though you can tell they are cooked from frozen, I can’t have a meal here without ordering them. Sushi and sashimi serves are on the small side but beautifully prepared and presented.

The service is polite, but always slow and inattentive, though you get the impression it is not out of any sort of ill will – just a bit useless. That said, I happily eat there once a week and you come to expect the service.

Apr 01, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

The food is pretty good. Had the Grilled Eggplant and the Pork Maki. Both entree dishes were awesome. For main I tried the sushi and sashimi plate which was good, sashimi was fresh. This restaurant is great if you are after a good casual restaurant serving fresh food at a reasonable cost.

Dec 14, 2010 

6.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  5      Value  7     

Ate here on a Saturday night approx 9 pm and was ultimately content with the meal, despite early service disappointments. I think we arrived post rush and it appeared that the staff were taking the opportunity to start winding down for the evening. Our waitress in particular seemed to be new and inexperienced. After she took our order (which we had to wave her down to do so) she then forget to bring our drinks which we had just ordered.

Instead she proceeded to clear and wipe empty tables rather than cater for existing diners. Happy to put up with this, however, it was compounded when we had to wait 25 minutes for our entrees to arrive. What made it worse was seeing adjacent tables arrive after we had ordered, yet they were receiving their meals before us.

A more experienced waiter was most apologetic on several occasions, and when the food arrived it was worth the wait and saved our experience from a disaster. Another 5 minutes wait for the entrees and we were prepared to walk and leave our bad experience behind us. To their credit they promptly delivered the rest of our meal and didn't charge me for my Kirin.

Good food and good value for two of us less than $70. Nice alleyway creates a nice feel, espeically if sitting outside with nice weather. I would recommend going there and we would go there again, just putting our initial bad service down to an anomaly.

Nov 29, 2010 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

The food here was pretty good, we enjoyed the home style japanese cooking in this busy little restaurant hidden in the laneway. It is packed with people on the Friday evening when we visited it. Their price and food quality is pretty good and I would consider coming back again.

Oct 25, 2010 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  10      Value  10     

Great little Japanese restaurant. Not a fancy restaurant, but great food, great service and fantastic value. One of my favourites!

Oct 22, 2010 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Really nice little Japanese restaurant in The Rocks. The inside in particular is gorgeous. I love the Crab meat salad entree, but I haven't been here and had anything I didn't enjoy. One of Sydney's best, most intimate places in a great location.

Oct 20, 2010