Taruhachi Restaurant

Shop 5
83 Mount Street,
North Sydney, NSW, 2060
Ph. (02) 9954 6441
Hours: Mon - Fri 12pm - 2pm & from 6pm

You certainly can not get more traditional Japanese than Taruhachi in North Sydney. What a find! Traditional, it certainly is, with the tv playing our all time favourite Japanese shows, right down to the manga magazines on hand.

The walls are lined with the usual specials, mostly in Japanese. The lunch menu consists mainly of set bento boxes consisting of a main (choose from the menu on the wall, with a side of salad, fruit, rice and miso soup), while the dinner is A La Carte. The lunch trade is also extremely busy however, the evenings tend to be a lot more quiet suitable for an intimate dinner for two or a group gathering. The restaurant is not large so there is limited seating.

Tempura ($18)

Our recommendation, come here for the Tempura and Agedashi Tofu. Definitely the best we've ever had. The tempura is so crisp, light and not oily. There is a great variety of veggies and seafood in this dish. The Agedashi Tofu is also crispy on the outside and delicately soft on the inside. I'm told by the waitress that this is their signature dish.

Agedashi Tofu (Deep-Fried Bean Curd, $8.80)

Other dishes worthy of a note are certainly the Agedashi Nasu and Negi Maki.

Agedashi Nasu (Deep-Fried Eggplant, $8.80)

Negi Maki (Marinated Beef wrapped around Shallots, $9.80)

Some other dinner dishes on offer include:

- Torikara-age (Marinated Deep-Fried Chicken, $9.50)

- Yakitori  (Skewered Grilled Chicken, $10.80)

- Sushi ($22.00) & Sashimi ($28)

- Teriyaki Chicken or Fish ($15.80)

- Teriyaki Beef ($17.80)

- Tonkatsu (Deep-Fried Crumbed Pork, $15.80)

- Nabeyaki Udon, Tempura Udon or Soba ($15.80)

- Oyako-Don ($15)

- Katsu-Don ($18.80)

- Natto ($4.00)

- Oshinko ($5.00)

Sushi ($22)

The Japanese dinner menu is more extensive than the English one on offer so just ask the friendly waitress to translate, recommend or you suggest a dish.

Deep-Fried Garlic (From the Japanese Menu)

Maguro Sashimi (From the Japanese Menu)

This restaurant is very popular with the local Japanese and North Sydney workers alike. It is not cheap, however the quality is certainly worth the price. For two we generally pay from $50 - $70 for dinner but the good news is, this premises is BYO with a $1 corkage. Expect to pay around $18 - $20 for lunch and a possible wait due its popularity.

Sanma Chips (From the Japanese Menu)

Highly recommended if you are after authentic Japanese food and to reminisce about being in Japan. We are now regular diners of this restaurant and the only let down is that they aren't open on the weekend!