Jugemu & Shimbashi

Jugemu is located along military road in neutral bay. There are two entrances into the restaurant, but doesn’t matter which side you choose it’s the same restaurant and menu. Theres two types of seating though, left side has normal tables and right side has normal tables plus sunken tables. Reservations are highly recommended as this restaurant is popular, in the past I’ve never been able to get a table walking in. Jugemu specialises in authentic teppanyaki hot plate grill, okonomiyaki pancakes & shimbashi their hand made soba noodles. The pancake is beautifully decorated with mayo and tastes really nice. While soba noodles come with nice dipping broth, there’s actually only a small amount of soba noodles (not made for sharing). ‘Oroshi’ soba is my favourite dish, it looks like a bibimbap but once all the ingredients are mixed together the flavours all complement each other and taste delicious (Oroshi taste best cold). The duck and Japanese mushroom soba has a nice hot dipping broth, however there wasn’t enough ingredients to go with the soba (there was only one slice of duck from memory). If you’re paying $28 for a meal, I expect to see more slices of duck and mushroom! All the dishes seem quite expensive and small, however I did enjoy the food. The chef has done a good job with the flavours of each dish. Overall, the average spend per person you’re looking between $20-40, since the portions are small you’ll be more than likely to order more. The main highlights for me are the savoury pancakes & hand made soba noodle dishes especially Oroshi.

Extraordinary Japanese dining experience. Thank you very much to the staff they kindly looked after us. Dinner for two, called in to book an hour in advance (better than that get turned away at the entrance) We enjoyed the menu and staff recommendations. Can't say enough of the walnut soba, I've never tried such delicious flavours. Also had the chicken teriyaki, again, one of a kind. Sushi was good. Very welcoming and cozy atmosphere.

We had our lunch near the end of 2023 at this favorite place and ordered their Jugemu Special okonomiyaki, Oroshi cold soba, Korokke, Sesame Tofu, and Grilled Hokkaido scallops with garlic butter and wasabi. All dishes are good, refined Japanese dishes and we like all of them. The Sesame Tofu is a unique, understated but surprisingly good opening dish and we wish we could get a bigger portion 😋 The place ambience is nice and quiet, so you can enjoy your meal in zen. We especially like the special and limited seating arrangement with sunken tables which is a must if you can book them. Customer services from staff members are good as usual in an established Japanese place like this place. You can pay with all types of credit cards and pay additional surcharge of 1.1% which is quite reasonable policy. We usually catch a bus ride to visit this one since parking spots are hard to find around the area.

This restaurant is known for their handmade soba and okomoniyaki (Japanese pancake)! I don’t usually get soba (having a personal preference for thicker chewier udon noodles), but obviously this being the special I had to order soba, choosing the tempura option. I enjoyed having something different and could tell the noodles were very fresh. The tempura was average; it was crispy, but limited in flavour. We got the Genki Dama and Wagu Beef Okomiyakis which were both delicious! The meaty toppings worked really well with the veggie base. I personally preferred these to the soba. I also thought the “I 💗 Snowball” (mochi ice cream) dessert was fantastic! I loved the black sesame flavour (it was distinct but not overly strong) and the mochi skin was so stretchy and chewy! The interior is cozy and has a nice ambiance and atmosphere. The staff were also friendly and accommodating, however the food was SLOW to come out; we were waiting a long time between entrees and the soba which doesn’t seem like an excessively timely dish to prepare.

This place is seriously so authentic, it’s like you’ve been transported straight to Japan. Even the waiters took our order in Japanese. The trick is to get there early so you can steal a spot at the famous sunken tables - there are only 3 and they fill up quickly! Our favourites were the wagyu Beef skewers which melted on your tongue and it was our first time trying real wasabi, which was sweet and complimented the savoury flavours. You must order their special okonomiyaki platter too. Took my partner here again for his birthday and they brought out a surprise giant snowball mochi icecream cake with a sparkler candle! 🎂🎉🍡

Can't recommend this restaurant enough! We came here on Friday for an evening meal and thoroughly enjoyed it. The atmosphere felt very much like Japan and felt calming. The food was delicious! I had a deluxe okonomiyaki and my parter had the walnut Soba noodles (cold on the side). Both were fantastic, especially the broth of the noodles.

Probably one of the most authentic Japanese restaurants you can find in Sydney. Soba is made fresh every day and you can really taste the difference. The wasabi is real wasabi too and not the fake stuff that comes out of a tube. Can't recommend this enough. I recommend the soba with tempura and cold dipping broth. They also have a nice Suntory Premium Malts on tap to wash it all down.