Nara Japanese Seafood Restaurant

3.5 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  5     

Nara is a not too fancy family sushi place. They serve good food but the service is Terrible. I would definitely not recommend this place as it will ruin your mood for the entire day. Eating in with a group of 7 friends, the waitress was not attentive at all. We rang the bell three times for a waitress to ask for some water but nobody came. We actually had to go to the counter to ask for water and the waitress came ten minutes later, pretty much slammed down our cups as if we were wasting her very valuable time.

My family and I live in the area so we tried to give a phone order so we could pick up, they told us to wait half an hour before coming in so we went in after around 25 minutes, they still had not started preparing our sushi! We ended up having to wait over an hour for our order. Ridiculous! Maybe as a one off on a busy night this would be forgivable but it has happened three times out of the four we have ordered from here. My family and I now avoid this restaurant like the plague. Would Not recommend.

May 13, 2012 

4.8 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  6     

My working friend and I went to lunch on Friday (13th Jan 2012), the new waitress was impatient when taking our orders as if we were in her way since it was a rather busy day for the restaurant, being others were still closed for the season holiday.

The food was Ok, but the deep fried oysters were dried out and overdone, and now it has become a "used to" favourite dish! By the time we finished our meals, we requested a top up of our tea, and it wasn't responded to until a second request was made. The same waitress took our cups away, came back and "banged" them on the table, now we could not tell our cups apart and they were only half-full. Half-full meaning we could leave sooner as there were 5-6 Australian ladies waiting for a table and another waiting to be served at the take-away counter.

This waitress had the nerve to come and asked us to move to another table so that she could accommodate the waiting customers. No restaurant would do that to Any patrons! Nara had set itself apart from the others that one patron's business is not as good as the others. We are not going back, it's a shame that a long time patronage has to end on a sour note!

Jan 15, 2012 

4.5 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  4      Value  4     

We went for dinner last night with some friends after reading a few of the reviews here. We love our Japanese food, however, this was an underwhelming experience. The greetings were not your typical Japanese style friendly and welcoming more like we had intruded on something. The korean influence of cooking migrates into the dish presentation and flavour. Much better restaurants out there than this one.

Dec 30, 2011 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

Authentic Japanese restaurant with wonderful amazing fresh seafood and japanese fare. Great service for a local makes it completely worthwhile to visit. I have been here many times over the years and the food and service are still as good as it was.

Oct 10, 2011 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

Loved the presentation, and atmosphere. The little private rooms gave the restaurant a uniqueness, as I haven't been to a Japanese restaurant that has those. The food was also very very fresh and tasty, and yes, I'll be going back again. Maybe tonight?

Aug 31, 2011 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

The food was amazing, very fresh and beautifully served. Final plus is reasonable prices. I would definitely recommend this restaurant.

Jul 17, 2011 

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

Service is slow and the staff are incredibly miserable. Pretty much the worst service I have ever had the misfortune to experience. I've heard other people say the food is good but the food we had was poor.

Apr 03, 2011 

4.3 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  4      Service  4      Value  4     

Maybe my expectations were too high for downtown Epping where I've never eaten before, but I thought while the food was perfectly ok the service was woeful (involved a lot of looking around and waving, nothing was forthcoming without asking!). Nothing rude or anything like that, just inattentive.

Feb 02, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

The sashimi and sushi are as good as what you would find in Tokyo. The Sushi Chef is from the Sheraton Japan and takes pride in the freshness and quality of the sushi. The Tasmanian salmon steak is a favourite as is sushi American, a nice starter. This is a regular spot for me and as long as you go in with an open mind about service as the staff are Japanese and Korean and English is a second language for most, you won't be disappointed. These things add to the authenticity and if you have a group book the private rooms and sit on the floor Japanese style!

Oct 03, 2010 

6.3 Average

Food  6      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  5     

For a set menu, I didn't get much. I got my eel and rice, a piece or orange/ tomato, miso soup and some salad, I was expecting more from it! Or maybe I didn't order the bento box, which I thought I was buying. Ambience, looks like they got private rooms in the style of traditional japanese restaurant. Nil issues with service, food didn't take long to come out. Value wise, I've only ordered once from here but I was expecting more. I would come back just for the ambience.

Sep 28, 2010