We are very fond of Japanese culture, so much so, that Japan is the country we chose to visit for our honeymoon a few years ago. It’s a cuisine that is number one choice for us when trying to decide where to dine. We like the clean food, quality proteins and flavour combinations, amidst the careful planning and plating. When we heard about Tokyo Laundry, we were overwhelmingly happy to visit.

The location couldn’t be more convenient, only about 100 metres from Circular Quay station. In the Gateway Plaza, it occupies a spacious area of the first floor, seating for 180 customers. We got the train in and made our way over to the restaurant. Dimly lit with purple hues from the art and lights, it feels like a sophisticated dining space.

Headed by ex-Yoshii and Saké chef Naoki Hozawa, he has curated a wonderful menu of Japanese dishes. A modern take of the traditional Japanese Izakaya style of food, which is great for group dining. In Japanese, Izakaya is typically designed for you to share some plates of food together. That’s exactly what we did, ordering a few things to share between the two of us. If you’re not into sharing, the serving sizes are incredibly generous you can easily eat something yourself or even grab a mix of foods in the daytime bento box during the lunch rush.

They also have a fully stocked bar with wines and Japanese beers as well as unique list of interesting cocktails amongst traditional cocktails.

The menu was extremely appealing, with it being divided into appetisers / small plates, noodles and rice, mains and sushi and sashimi.

For entrees we loved the fresh Kingfish ceviche, served with cherry tomato, onion, yuzu kosho dressing.

We also liked the Chicken gyoza with ponzu jelly, and we tried some of the bao, new to the menu. The beef bao, a Smoky truffle flavour was delicious and the pork belly also comes highly recommended.

Being a huge fan of Wagyu, especially at Japanese, due to its high quality and precision cooking, I of course ordered the wagyu steak.  An MB5+ wagyu rump steak is served feathered on the plate, the meat thinly sliced, seasoned by the amiyaki sauce (soy based). It came with a small serving of corn, pickles and some shredded crispy potato. All items worked super well together and I’m glad to have selected this.

The other main we selected was also a great choice – the Teriyaki chicken donburi with seasonal vegetables had an awesome flavour which it was marinated in and it was an extremely generous serving.

If you want to try some of their weekly cocktails, we recommend happy hour, where they are $10 and selected beers and wines for $7 between Sundays to Thursday 5:30 – 7:00pm.

Drinks wise, I went for what is known to be the popular ladies drink – the ‘Geisha Kiss’ is a lovely cocktail, mixed with sake, gin and Cointreau. It is beautifully presented in a short glass with lychee and topped with foam and rose water petals. Certainly very easy to drink! For the non-drinkers, there are mocktails and sodas, and the Yuzu and lychee soda was very refreshing.

For dessert we tried a lovely matcha cheesecake, served with a biscuit crumb, strawberries and sorbet. Light and clean and the flavours worked well together.

Staff were extremely efficient and very competent in their work. Food came out cash and we were also delighted to chat to the chef.

Thank you to the venue for their hospitality and to @foodshot for the invitation to dine.

Tokyo Laundry

Address

Level 1, The Gateway Plaza, 1 Macquarie Place

Hours

Lunch

Monday-Friday 11.30am – 3.00pm

Saturday-Sunday Closed

Dinner

Monday-Friday 5.30pm – 9.30pm

Saturday 5.00pm – 9:30pm

Sunday 5.00pm – 8.30pm

Website

http://www.tokyolaundry.com.au/