Aka Tombo - Glen Eira

We read good reviews about this place. It was nestled in a small street off busy Chapel Street in Prahran, Melbourne. We thought let's give it a go. It was around 7 pm, and we managed to make a booking about 20 minutes before. So, lucky us! We believe we got the last table for reservation as it was a small place and when we walked in, there were a few tables that were empty, but all had the 'Reserved' sign on them.As soon as we sat down, we noticed that they used real Japanese chopsticks. I am very happy with that as I absolutely love using real Jap chopsticks. Nothing like going into a Japanese joint and they let you use chopsticks from their motherland. Our happiness pretty much ended there... or maybe I should be kind and say that the experience started to go downhill from that point.For a Japanese restaurant, the food wasn't too bad. It certainly was not Nobu-quality but it was not $2.50 sushi rolls that you find at train stations either. It was average, but what made us annoyed was the service. The food came out at snail's crawling speed and I can assure you that if there were grass seedlings in front of us, we would have seen some sprouting by the end of the night. Don't know what happened in the kitchen but it just wasn't a pleasant wait. We wanted to eat and go, but we ended up sitting there for about 2 over hours for the little food that we ordered. And the food was not something that needed a lot of preparation!

Recently back from Japan and had a craving for Japanese food. Went back to Aka Tombo which my husband and I had enjoyed previously. Had an excellent Kyoto style vegetable tempura for lunch. The price was very reasonable to say the least and the service very pleasant. I definitely recommend it.

We really appreciate fresh thinly sliced sashimi and receiving fresh ginger without having to ask for it. The sashimi selection was beautifully presented, chilled and fresh.

Sometimes I think we are too easily seduced by the decor of a place and can often miss out on a great culinary experience because a restaurant doesn't 'look' the way we want. Last week I had thought we were going to another Japanese restaurant in Greville street and to be honest was disappointed when I realised my friends had chosen a much less ....... glam restaurant. However the food at Aka Tombo was great! Exquisite fresh oysters, age dashi tofu (subtle but tasty), their signature scallop dish was delicious; one friend had the salmon (a little dry for my taste) and I and the 'birthday girl' had the kingfish special. A selection of sweets was the perfect finale to a very satisfying meal. Oh and did I mention the warm sake? Perfect! All up, around $70 a head. Wonderful service too.

We were lucky enough to go to this restaurant with friends who knew the chef well and had been going there for years. It is a small place at the end of Greville St, near Chapel Street. The looks hide well what is to come. Very casual with small tables but a welcoming staff. We started with a wonderful little dish of spinach, mushrooms and a delicate broth. Many courses followed, Steamed oysters, Sea Bream with some lovely mushrooms, lovely fresh sashimi selection, tempura and sushi. It was all fantastic, and we asked the chef to pair a different Sake with every course. When you are exposed to the "'take away" type of franchised Sushi available you really appreciate it when a talented chef is making such wonderful food. Everything was perfect. One of our dining colleagues is Japanese and she assured us that we were getting food as the Japanese get it. Can't rate this highly enough. It was superb.