Tanpopo

4.3 Below Average

Food  10      Ambience  5      Service  1      Value  1     

Super expensive! Long long long wait for the food (I'm talking 2 hours) and Bad service. In saying that, however, the food is delicious, so if you just want great food and not bothered about the rest then this is your place!

Beautiful presentation and really really yummy food!

Apr 24, 2012 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  7     

This little Jap restaurant is a standout amongst its competitors in Neutral Bay. The staff are super polite and very welcoming. The food is fresh, generous in portions and very delicious. Love their spider rolls and bento box!

Mar 31, 2012 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  8     

Great service, the staff are ever so welcoming and warm. The ramen was one of the best I've had! The value and the portions were right. Will definitely go back!

Oct 30, 2011 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  9     

Good noodles served at this restaurant. Fresh ingredients.

Sep 29, 2011 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

I love this place. It has fabulous food, super polite, accommodating and ever smiling staff, and is authentic Japanese. I live 5 minutes down the road and stop by very often for a takeaway or a quick dinner.

The food is fantastic, not like the myriad fly-by-night Japanese places sprouting up everywhere. Many a time while waiting for a takeaway, I've observed the staff preparing the food. They take great pains to prepare even a simple bowl bowl of takeaway ramen, they pack the noodles and soup separately. They take great pride in how they prepare the food. The spider rolls are out of this world. Highly recommended. And I've eaten at many Japanese restaurants all over Asia.

Feb 01, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  8     

Having read gastrofreak's review before going here, and being extremely surprised to read about their "shooing" experience, I was curious to see if the staff were Japanese. Because anyone who has spent a decent amount of time in Japan would know that they are one of the politest cultures in the world with very high levels of customer service.

After eating here today, I can confirm that they are in fact Japanese. And with all due respect, I believe gastrofreak has had a cultural misunderstanding. The Japanese beckoning gesture is a waving motion with the palm down and the hand flapping up and down at the wrist. However, in Australia this motion could easily be mistaken for a shooing gesture.

I believe it is infinitely more likely that gastrofreak was invited into Tanpopo with this gesture rather than being shooed away, and therefore I believe their review is unfair and should be edited. Onto the food, and the main reason I came here was for the ramen, which didn't disappoint. I had the shoyu ramen with an optional boiled egg and it was delicious.

Jan 16, 2011 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  9     

I've been here twice now and have been happy both times. First time I had the ramen, it was a little different in style to the awesome ramen at Ryo's but still delicious. Not quite as many added bits and pieces like the one at Ryo's.

Second time I had a bento box with tempura and chicken teriyaki. All the food was excellent quality, and very filling with all the sides. The sashimi tasted fresh and looked to be good quality. It's a little bit less than you get in a lunchbox at Kyushu, but also slightly cheaper; it still fills you up though! Definitely worth a visit!

Oct 22, 2010 

10 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

Tanpopo have owesome ramen. They are using good soup. I like to have soy ramen and miso ramen. These are really excellent flavour. And sushi was also fresh and great! Wagyu beef is cheap and delicious. This is my favorite restaurant!

Oct 22, 2010 

3.5 Below Average

Food  6      Ambience  4      Service  1      Value  3     

Food: Had the Shoyu ramen which was ok, not spectacular but for what we have probably our better options.

Ambience: Basic and would be nice if the staff would pack away the card board boxes between the kitchen counter and the fridge. Sitting near the fridge area it was very uncomfortable as it is Not pleasant to look at cardboard boxes stacked above each other and a tray with a water jug sitting on one. Also no a warming atmosphere the first time I tried to go I got shoo'd away by gesture.

Can see that they were busy but human decency would be to apologise then ask the guest to comeback later. The service is below human decency. Who do they think they are. The only time that they finally make you realise you're a guest is the mechanical "irasshaimase" and "Arigato gozaimasu" apart from that there was one girl with a genuine smile.

Also don't collect menus halfway through a meal. Collect it at the start or leave it there. When one person sits down clear the other chopsticks and napkins. I'm concerned if I am ever stupid enough to go back I may have to use a napkin/chopstick that was on a table and someone may have slurped their soup on to.

Value: $9.50 is a standard price, however, for a rich soup based noodle it is probably commonsense to offer water without asking and also the portions is that a Kids Kids size? honestly I am a small eater and I had to go to the pub-the oaks to drink beers to fill me up, after a full bowl at gumsharra or Ryos I am unable to drink 4 beers let alone resort to that to be full.

Having worked in varying restaurants and bars ranging from japanese Soba/Udon place and pubstyle meal spots to hatted restaurants I think this place needs to capture the basics of customer service. By all means not a terrible product just a terrible excecution. May not be the best and may not be targeting to be the best but with remotely abit of care this place could be more profitable and could have more people return.

However, I will not return and many others will not return if this stay this way. I only went today cos I wanted noodles and had already been to noodle star relish the other day. Tanpopo after my first shooo shooo experience I thought I would never go back but seeing this review I was glad I didn't eat the first time and I regretted giving them a second chance and eating.

Never Again is firmly printed in my mind. Unless they learn the difference of customer and service provider and also learn about comfortable eating environments.

Yes it is just an eatery but the things I stated are quite basic to survive in the market we are in. Don Don's noodle is disappointing but I prefer to go there for an overall experience if I only want to walk around neutral bay, or even koh-ya's chilli ramen is the other better choice where you pay a similar price but get decent portions and feel like a guest.

BTW: I have been to japan many times, speak the language, watch the television and my girlfriend is japanese so I don't believe it was a cultural misunderstanding. However I may just be unlucky with my experience.

Oct 07, 2010 

7.3 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  7     

Nice ramen, possibly the base/soup is a bit on the heavy side. Lovely place all round. I wonder if it is based on the great Japanese film on food, ramen and the meaning of life, Tampopo?

Oct 01, 2010