Local Guides World
Reviews — 8
Oi Izakaya used to be our favourite restaurant in Burleigh. We hadn't been for 18 months or so and were disappointed when we returned last night. The menu isn't as good now and the service was pretty ordinary, I suspect, because they are understaffed. I could mention lots of specific issues, but I don't want to be negative. I hope that the restaurant can improve things and get back to the standard that they used to be. Best wishes for that, but I don't think we will be back.
Julia made us feel very welcome. Her recommendations on the menu were spot on. Will recommend to friends and definitely come back.
This is a nice little find tucked away in Burleigh. Although more in the pricer side, every dish was perfect and couldn’t fault it. The quality is really good, will be back. Favourite was the sushi and the sushi tacos.
Was skeptical after reading reviews but decided to try anyway.
Food itself was disappointing:
- $17 agedashi: tempura batter wasn’t crispy, felt undercooked, also had a weird gelatinous/ glutinous layer encasing the tofu
- $22? Seafood okonomiyaki: pancake texture, minimal cabbage in the batter, minimal ingredients (think there was 4 small prawns)
- $15 cream Philadelphia roll in Panko breadcrumb: pretty plating, but very small pieces & 90% rice, small piece of salmon as imaged. This dish is equivalent to 1.3x the size of a $3.50 sushi roll at sushi hub. Fried breadcrumb was a hard type of fried batter, oddly.
I think I’d be more understanding of the food quality if it was busy, however we were 1 of 3 patrons and this was the standard. I can’t justify the price for the quantity and quality.
Service was nothing special. As other patrons pointed out, they’re all non-Japanese. On their website it’s marketed as a ‘wanna-be izakaya’, it lives up to that. Also provides a loophole when being criticized on non-authentic Japanese dining/experience, which doesn’t sit right with me.
The store is tucked away in an alley along James St, nice wooden interiors with LED lights for the vibes. Does tick the box for a good beer drinking spot, but would not come back for the food. You’re paying overpriced food for the concept not the quality. I think the store would do a lot better if they mastered some basic traditional Japanese food recipes; if not quantity (since it doesn’t fit with the concept of bar snacks), then quality has to be improved.
Food itself was disappointing:
- $17 agedashi: tempura batter wasn’t crispy, felt undercooked, also had a weird gelatinous/ glutinous layer encasing the tofu
- $22? Seafood okonomiyaki: pancake texture, minimal cabbage in the batter, minimal ingredients (think there was 4 small prawns)
- $15 cream Philadelphia roll in Panko breadcrumb: pretty plating, but very small pieces & 90% rice, small piece of salmon as imaged. This dish is equivalent to 1.3x the size of a $3.50 sushi roll at sushi hub. Fried breadcrumb was a hard type of fried batter, oddly.
I think I’d be more understanding of the food quality if it was busy, however we were 1 of 3 patrons and this was the standard. I can’t justify the price for the quantity and quality.
Service was nothing special. As other patrons pointed out, they’re all non-Japanese. On their website it’s marketed as a ‘wanna-be izakaya’, it lives up to that. Also provides a loophole when being criticized on non-authentic Japanese dining/experience, which doesn’t sit right with me.
The store is tucked away in an alley along James St, nice wooden interiors with LED lights for the vibes. Does tick the box for a good beer drinking spot, but would not come back for the food. You’re paying overpriced food for the concept not the quality. I think the store would do a lot better if they mastered some basic traditional Japanese food recipes; if not quantity (since it doesn’t fit with the concept of bar snacks), then quality has to be improved.
Good selection of food and drinks. a little bit on the expensive side of things but we went on one dollar gyoza night which was convenient so filled up with 6 plates 😉
Nice atmosphere, but it’s not really traditional izakaya. Not a Japanese worker in sight! I get the vibe that it’s more of a place you go if you want to step it up a little. But then again it’s Burleigh
Nice atmosphere, but it’s not really traditional izakaya. Not a Japanese worker in sight! I get the vibe that it’s more of a place you go if you want to step it up a little. But then again it’s Burleigh
It’s a nice place to have a few drinks and some snacks. But if you come here for a meal, I’d say it’s very pricey. Our group of 8 (4 adults and 4 children) spent over $500 for our dinner. Although most of the food we ordered were quite tasty, I don't think it's worth the price. Especially the sushi taco ($13-$15 each) and the teriyaki chicken yakitori ($22 for 2 skewers) were total rip-off.
wonderful dining experience with attentive staff and timely service. the food offers a unique blend of tastes - we had the salmon & kingfish tacos, edamame (one of the best I've had, love the spice), grilled oysters (yum! first time to try them grilled), miso soup and passion fruit coconut margs. will definitely be back to try more of the menu.
I just had dinner with my partner. Was AMAZING. I love the simplicity of the menu, but the flavour of the food won’t disappoint you. 😋
My favourites was the Wagyu Gyoza and the Geisha Roll. I had the best serve with Julia tonight, she was so lovely and nice.
By the way the fish was so tasty and fresh, and by the way the rice, was incredible, nice texture and seasoning.
Amazing job of the team. Thank you for the meal and service. Definitely coming back.
My favourites was the Wagyu Gyoza and the Geisha Roll. I had the best serve with Julia tonight, she was so lovely and nice.
By the way the fish was so tasty and fresh, and by the way the rice, was incredible, nice texture and seasoning.
Amazing job of the team. Thank you for the meal and service. Definitely coming back.