Following in the successful footsteps of its sister restaurant in East Row, Iori Japanese Restaurant, Coo Japanese Izakaya brings the sushi, sashimi and sake experience to Canberra once again. During the day, Coo operates as a takeaway-only service called "2GO4U", where the bento boxes come and go like wildfire. At night, Coo comes to life as an authentic Japanese "izakaya", or sake tavern, jam-packed with imported sake and exotic house cocktails, and a more diverse food menu, too. Night-time nosh includes wafu steak, hokke (chargrilled marinated atka fish), renkon chips (deep-fried lotus root), and this rolling stone of a dish, the "Mick Jaguar" (beef and vegies simmered in sweet soy sauce).
Adam Bub
Open
m
t
w
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s
Breakfast
Lunch
O
O
O
O
O
Dinner
O
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O
O
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Late
Eat-in: Mon-Sat 5.30pm-10pm (closing time may vary) takeaway only "2go4u" Mon-Fri 11.30am-2pm (closes when sells out)
Japanese and Tapas
Signature dish: Yosa Nabe hot pot - seafood, vegetables, mushrooms, bean curd, and vermicelli noodles, in a hot broth cooked at the table
Entree: $5-$15
Dessert: $5
Set menu:
2 courses,
$30
Lunch: $2.50-$18 (including bento boxes); Dinner: Banquets $30-$35 per person; hot pot dish $50
Payment accepted: MasterCard, Visa and EFTPOS
Licensed with bar. Wine is available by the glass. BYO $9 corkage per bottle.
This venue accepts bookings. Group bookings are supported.
All reviews and ratings are the expressed opinions of our users, and in no way reflects the opinions of yourRestaurants, its staff and its affiliates.
Posted by:
greenbottle
|
29 March 2010, 3.57pm
Good value, nice flavours
Was a little apprehensive entering Coo, since it doesn't look like much from the outside. The bright interior and plastic table covering didn't help the cause much either. But after being greeted by the waitress and chef like a couple of long-lost friends, the evening turned out to be a wonderful suprise.
There were two of us, and we decided to order a few small dishes to try more things. The Edamame Beans were cooked just right and were very fresh (though had a bit too much salt for my liking). The Mixed Sashimi was very small, and the salmon was not particularly fresh, but the tuna was very good (probably not the best value compared to the other offerings). Spider rolls were full of flavour and the half size we ordered was very generous - made from tempura soft shell crab, avocado and salmon. The grilled kingfish in miso sauce was absolutely delicious and came with a really nice and light salad - great portion size for the price of $10. We also had a fishball and vegie soup that was jam-packed with really fresh vegies and real fishballs (not the kind that are half flour). And we also had chicken yakatori skewers, and while the chicken was cooked just right, it could have done with a bit more flavouring. For all of these dishes, it cost us $50 in total and we were really full by the end of it. For the quality and variety of food we got, it was an absolute bargain.
We went on a Friday night, and I saw that they had to turn away quite a few people who had not made bookings - so make sure that you book in advance.
I'd highly recommend eating at Coo. It's fun to try out lots of little dishes, and with prices averaging around $7-9, it's a great way to eat your way through authentic japanese offerings. The staff are also really lovely.
Food:
Visit: Fri 26 March 2010
Mealtime: dinner
Service:
Atmosphere:
Posted by:
Caiterpillar
|
3 October 2009, 8.28pm
A really amazing evening
We went here for a birthday dinner, faintly concerned from other reviews that Coo would be suffering from "opening month jitters", a concern that was completely unjustified. The staff were all in fine form- brilliantly friendly, fluent in Japanese and enthusiastic, especially the manager who was a great host. I have in fact never had better service in a Canberra restaurant.
Most importantly, the food- amazing, and this is coming from a real Japanese food nerd and cook who has also eaten in Japan. To start off with, we had edamame and the cheese sushi- sushi rolls with prawn tempura topped with *melting cheese*- must try and amazing with beer and plenty of soy sauce. For mains we grabbed the deluxe chazuke- complete with ume, shake and medaiko, shishamo (grilled sardines) and the Coo Zen for my boyfriend- a huge box filled with takoyaki, gyoza, chicken wings, prawn tempura, grilled steak, nikujaga (beef stew- adorably called Mick Jaguar here) To wash it all down, we had the house sake, plum wine and beer- the sake was free with an opening week promotional voucher. We were still hungry so we called the attentive staff and grabbed the 'ohitashi'- steamed spinach in dashi sauce with bonito flakes (warning, quite a 'Japanese' taste if you're only used to sushi and teriyaki- but do try it) and taiyaki- fake 'sea bream' waffles filled with red bean paste, and this was nice- with strawberry jam and maple syrup icecream on the side.
Unfortunately they haven't remodeled it much past the Vietnamese place that was occupying it- the lights are a little dim and the decor is not generally amazing compared to somewhere like Tasukes- but this is hardly relevant to more important things like food and service! They've done their best with quirky touches like having "The Japanese Tradition" playing in the background and plenty of Japanese paraphenalia around as decoration.
Go here, whether it's for a special night or just some snacks and beer- really well done.
From the boyfriend: The most enjoyable restaurant experience I've ever had in Canberra. Don't come expecting anything fancy in the way of decor, the empasis is on simple, friendly, comfortable atmosphere with exceptional, simple food, which Coos pulls off flawlessly. Highly recommended.
Food:
Visit: Sat 3 October 2009
Mealtime: dinner
Service:
Atmosphere:
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