Sushi-Ya

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  8     

My wife and I come here when we are craving down-to-earth, no fuss Japanese food. The decor is nothing to write home about, it's clean and basic and that's more important.

We ordered the potato salad, the agedashi tofu, the chicken karaage, tuna tataki, the grilled mackerel (my wife, not me! More on this later) and the salmon sushi. We had some warm sake to drink.

The potato salad was a very small portion, it was ok. The agedashi tofu was a good portion to share between two, it was very good, especially with the bonito shaving on top. The chicken karaage was good, could have come with more mayonnaise on the side though. The tuna tataki and the salmon sushi were both good and fresh.

My wife, who is half-Japanese, wanted the grilled mackerel. For $14.90, it was a whole mackerel parted in half and grilled. I was not fond of the "fishy" smell, but my wife loves it and basically ate the whole thing herself with a bowl of rice. Beware that it is not a filleted mackerel, it comes as a whole fish, which is normal for my wife but for westerners who are more used to eating filleted fish, it might be strange.

Overall, a nice little Japanese restaurant, nothing fancy, just decent food and sake.

Jun 16, 2011 

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  7     

We came here for lunch on Sat. Sushi-Ya in Artamon is a simple place located in a little clusters of mostly Japanese groceries and eateries. The restaurant is quite small and the sitting area is limited, more tables outside of the restaurant in an uncovered area compared to a few small tables inside. We ordered the kingfish sashimi.

The sashimi was very fresh, was sliced well and of good quality cuts. Absolutely loved it. However, the Tropical sushi was not great. It was an assortment cuts of fish with avocado on top of california rolls. The roll was way too chunky and I didn't like the huge chunk of square looking fake crab meat in it (but I think that is normally what you get in a California roll).

The udon was nice, noodles was cooked just right and the miso coupled with generous portion of seaweed. The Agedashi tofu was nice and came with all the necessary ingredients, finely shredded radish and nice dashi soup.

I think they should replaced all their bowls, plates and even teapots with real porcelain instead of using melamine ones. I can't believe when we got our green tea it came in a melamine/plastic looking teapot, don't think that would be good for you, pouring hot boiling water into these types of materials. Might bring my own teapots and plates/bowls when I come next time!

May 22, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  5      Value  9     

We absolutely love Sushi Ya, it's our local and always fantastic! We love the relaxed ambience and the fantastic value for money. The must haves are the beef tataki with special sauce, tempura dumplings, deep fried chicken, tuna tataki, tuna sashimi (so fresh!), tsukune, teriyaki beef roll, wagyu aborio sushi and the desserts are great too, you have to try the green tea tiramisu. The service isn't great, but this isn't fine dinning so we can live with that..the food makes up for it. Love Sushi Ya and can't wait to go again.

Feb 12, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  9     

I eat at this place all the time, but make sure you go with more than 2 people so you can taste more things. The prob I have with this place is that the servings are quite large. 2 entrees and 1 main fill me and my bf up. We struggle to finish the meal. It is all day am tasty, but one thing we found was we were really thirsty after eating. Hope there is no msg. I would highly recommend this place. It has a home/backyard feel, and they are authentic jap people serving jap food.

Feb 10, 2011 

4.5 Below Average

Food  4      Ambience  8      Service  4      Value  2     

I had been meaning to try this place for months based on a recommendation from someone who dined there over 3 years ago, but can only voice disappointment.

The place has atmosphere but that is about all it has going for it. Serving sizes are average to large, as are the prices. The Takoyaki is passable, the karaage very dry, oily and salty (even more so than you would expect!).

The grilled eel was acceptable in a large quantity but the chicken teriyaki was as salty and oily as normal karaage from somewhere else. The service is a bit inattentive, we had to wave our arms a bit to get a waiter's attention, and most of the time that was met with a nod or gesture but not always followed up.

For all the salty flavour they bring, if you like cold drinks, don't come here, this place has *no* ice at all, not for your wine (that was "cooled" in a cooler sleeve, no ice bucket, no pouring of the drink despite $3 per person corkage).

The water they served was maybe a few degrees below room temperature. We will not be going back any time soon.

Jan 09, 2011 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  8     

I used to live around the corner from Sushi-Ya, but moved away to the Central Coast. Whenever I can, I come down for lunch or dinner because I love it so much. The food is amazing and always fresh, and is great value for money. The only bad thing about Sushi-Ya is that is has spoiled me, because I have yet to try better Japanese food. I will keep returning.

Dec 17, 2010 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

I absolutely love the beef tataki, it is the best I have ever had and the special home made sauce is sensational. The gyoza dumplings are always fresh and crispy and not soggy. Sashimi is always fresh and the red bean dessert is a must have!

Service is always pleasant and the place is small and cosy. Definitely one of my favourite eating places!

Oct 05, 2010 

4.3 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  3     

This place has become one of the worst places ever! Service has gone downhill, they hire Japanese waiters who continue to speak to each other throughout our dinner, taking their time to take orders, had to ask multiple times to take our orders! It used to be one of my favourite places with good ambience and great food but now, it's terrible.

Food is average, mind you the price has gone up alot and is continually to go up.
They need to hire some new waiters. I won't be heading to this place again!

Aug 24, 2010 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  8     

This is great example of a modern izakaya restaurant meeting the needs of Western Clientele as well. This place is best described as somewhere in between a Izakaya in Tokyo, and a franchise Sushi shop in Australia. Service is great, and speak Japanese (rare in Australia). Food is fantastic with a great range of Japanese cooking, and dishes that even the "sushi-phobic" will enjoy. BYO is great as well. I would say the best place to seat is outside (more room).

May 24, 2010 

6 Average

Food  5      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

The food we had was average but the shime saba and tempura set was really disappointing. The shime saba seemed like it was off, it smelled a bit too fishy and when I went home I had a little stomach ache. The tempura set was enormous, good for value but got bored before we could finish it as it was too oily.

Overall I think the portion sizes are good value for money but def won't be ordering those again.

Apr 28, 2010