26 February 2010

Matsuri Japanese Restaurant, Surry Hills (24 Nov 2009)

614 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010


Unfortunately No BYO

On this particular night I was keen to have Japanese at ever so popular Sushi Suma on Cleveland Street but the lineup outside at 7.45 pm was way too long to bother waiting. So I ended up trying Matsuri on Crown Street with my friends for the first time. There were plenty of seats available so we were quickly seated. All the dishes were OK and freshly cooked although I worry when I see rocket as a side garnish in a Japanese restaurant — is that authentic? The fresh Mixed Vegetable Salad had a nice soy dressing and the tempura dishes had a good crispy batter. The gyoza was more crispy fried but I generally prefer the soft version. The Teriyaki Tuna was pretty generous for the price and quite nice. You get four small pieces on the Soft Shell Crab Tempura which go quickly. In hindsight I would have not ordered the salad because you get enough salad with the main dishes. I'm suspecting it's not as popular as Sushi Suma because there's no BYO and from memory Sushi-Suma works out cheaper because portions are more generous.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Friendly service, Quiet, Fair amount of seating
CONS: No BYO
MUST TRY: Lining up earlier for Sushi-Suma

Mixed vegetable salad with soy dressing $8

Vegetable Tempura $8.50

Prawn Tempura $12 for 4

Age Gyoza $8.50 for 4

Soft shell crab tempura $12

Teriyaki Tuna $10.50

Chicken Katsu $18

Dining area

Outside Matsuri Japanese Restaurant

Sushi-Suma line up so full at 7.45 pm



View Larger Map
Matsuri Japanese Restaurant on Urbanspoon

6 comments:

joey@forkingaroundsydney said...

Still looks good though! Am craving tempura at the moment but must resist ....

Elaine (Three Wise Pigs) said...

I'm having a craving for tempura prawns now :)

Y said...

Interesting looking place, although I'm not sure it stands out amongst what else there is on offer in this city.

john@heneedsfood said...

The food looks quite decent and nice prices as well. No BYO? That's just cruel

Von said...

Love the fried foods! The soft shell crab look so good- but it's such a small serving!

Simon Leong said...

hi joey, can't beat a good tempura.

hi elaine, me too actually, and with a great dipping sauce.

hi y, i think there's quite a few other japanese places which i prefer going too.

hi john, definitely a shame about the BYO. i think it doesn't help them at all.

hi von, it was quite a small serving. nothing like the serving i had at Akaneya http://simonfoodfavourites.blogspot.com/2009/04/akaneya-sydney-29-april-2009.html

Simon Food Favourites Map

View Simon Food Favourites in a larger map Key: BLUE - Location visit and review PINK - Simon Favourites and places offering something special

Small Bars in Sydney map


View Small Bars in Sydney in a larger map