2nd Chance?

Kumo Izakaya is the latest addition to Melbourne Food and Beverage industry. It was only 2 weeks old when I popped on a Tuesday night.  The building looks amazing and it stands out among all others along the street. The restaurant decoration in both interior and exterior looks very polish and grand. The designer cover every single detail regardless how tiny it is.



I like the tableware and it's available for purchase at the restaurant. It doesn't come cheap. Wonder will they feel the pinch when their staff breaks them? Or the staff have to pay for the damage?

We arrived 30 minutes early than expected but that wasn't a problem as it was pretty empty. Got seated and served really quickly.  Up to this point, the impression I had was good. But sadly it stop there.

Might be due to large number of serving staff available that evening, we were being questioned every 2 minutes whether were we ready to make some order. The over attentiveness being to irritate us.



Mr. was driving plus he doesn't drink therefore ordered a mocktail : Elderflower Cloud - Elderflower Syrup, Peach Bitters, Mint and Basil topped with Ginger Beer



The rest, we shared a bottle of Sake - Kizakura Nigori. It's very sweet but smooth. I like it.



To start, we ordered 6 dishes to share. Was advised that we might to double every dish as each potion was catered for 2. Lucky we sticked to our order.


Wagyu Beef Tataki with Tosazu
Beef tasted very average without much marbling and soaked with light teriyaki sauce. The attention to detail was poor, execution was lazy because it tasted like a very commonly prepared dish which can be done by anyone. It shouldn't command a premium price.


Seared Scallops with Butter and Soy topped with Bonito Flakes
The scallops were cold, bland and tasteless. It doesn't taste like what it claim to taste.


Sashimi Jo-moriawase Premium Chef's Selection (26)
Another disappointing dish with the half of the scallops wasn't fresh, tasting weird. In fact other than the scampi sashimi, all the rest of the sashimi wasn't fresh at all. This dish cost us $50!


King Prawn Fry Wrapped in Potato with Green Tea Salt
The potato was very crispy but the prawn was overcooked. It wasn't fresh, dried and had a fridge smell. It was frozen prawn that they used?


Assorted Kushimori Chicken Skin, Thigh and Breast Skewers
The chicken skin wasn't crispy. It tasted like it was boiled and then very lightly grilled. It wasn't pleasant to eat. The breast was way overcooked, very dried and tasteless. Even for the thigh, it was dried.


Housemade Black Sesame Tofu Tempura
The skin was very crispy but the black sesame tofu tasted weird. It wasn't smooth and with a slight hint of black sesame. Another disappointing dish.

To save the night, Golden Field was picked to continue with our night dinner. Before we left, we had to spend 5 minutes trying to grab any staff attention to get the bill.

Other than the drink, there wasn't a single dish we enjoyed. It was definitely over priced! Will I give it a 2nd chance 6 months later? Seriously no idea especially with so many restaurant out there to pick.

p.s. we did feedback about the food. he looked surprised by our feedback. maybe it was his 1st time receiving negative feedback?