Located in Redfern, this restaurant has a sophisticated Japanese vibe to it. Dimly lit, long tables and some seating up at the chefs space. Lovely craftsmanship in the bowls and teapots and the minimalist cafe has a good aura to it.

We’ve been eying off Juan bowl for a while now after seeing delicious pics on Instagram. This little restaurant is selling a short menu of savoury don, Japanese for bowl. Essentially these are rice bowls (with your selection of rice) and your topping selection. Some of their offerings include a Hainan Chicken Rice or Wagyu Bowl.

We tried the tonkotsu: the 2 hour slow cooked pork is coated in a golden thin batter thin batter, served with onion, free range scrambled eggs, apple mustard mayo, roasted tomatoes, red cabbage, miso sesame sauce atop a bowl do rice. The vibrant colours make it look so beautiful and appetising and the taste proves it! They also have a range of teas and they pair the tonkotsu with lemon Myrtle tea.

Our only issue that to eat in you must spend $30 each. This may be to do with securing bookings for Covid but when we went there weren’t that many people. When the bowls range at approx $20 and teas approx $5, you essentially need to order 2 meals or drinks to reach their minimum spend. Hence, we ordered takeaway. It’s also not that easy to order takeaway. You need to text your order and wait for a reply rather than a phone call, which would really seem all that more normal.

The food is great and we’re keen to return to dine in, perhaps when things are a bit more normal.

Juan Bowl and Tea

94A Pitt St Redfern

https://m.facebook.com/juanbowlandtea/