Kujin is our go-to place for dinner if we’re catching a show at the Hayes Theatre nearby. It’s great-quality, reasonably priced and delicious Japanese food. I was a little worried when we arrived that the service might be a little confused, as the waitress seemed quite tentative about taking our order and responding to our requests for wine and water.
But as the evening went on, I was very impressed (especially as a friend had had a terrible experience of service earlier that day at a high-end restaurant). The many dishes were paced perfectly; dishes were cleared; they were always available if we wanted something. So, well done on the service, Kujin.
Now for the food, this time I was able to exert control and decide on the menu. I ordered a sushi roll with wagyu beef (which didn’t quite hold together but was delicious), a weird eggplant with miso and cheese (delicious!), and some juicy pork gyoza. The mushroom tempura were perfection, as was the chicken karaage. The tofu salad was more average, as was the grilled miso kingfish, which I imagine was an effort to do miso black cod, a favourite dish of mine, but that fish is near impossible to find here in Australia. The kingfish was a little dry, not a perfect substitute. We also had an okonomiyaki, which was delicious, the traditional filled pancake-omelette sort of thing. Five dishes great, two dishes average, two bottles of nice enough white wine, and four happy diners. All for $200, about $50 a head.
Definitely recommended.