Niigata, Sydney CBD

WHERE HAS TAKERU GONE? My beloved Takeru Japanese restaurant seems to have changed hands/management and is now called Niigata. I am relieved to see that my favourite dishes are still on the menu.

I have lunch with my work colleagues and head to one of my favourite cheap and cheerful restaurants which is now called Niigata. As we walk there, I tell her about the very tasty Japanese Pizza ($10.50, top and left photo) which had chicken, (they have now removed the potato dumplings from this dish and called it a Teriyaki Chicken Pizza), cheese, mayo on a thin lebanese bread base. You add tabasco sauce on top. This is a must order dish.

I also order the spicy takoyaki (pictured at the very top, $6.90). This is a potato and octopus ball that is topped with pork floss, a spicy sauce and seaweed. It's quite nice but I think I prefer this dish without the sauce. It's a nice entree to share. The kaarage chicken salad ($8.80, below) wasn't too appetising so perhaps skip this dish.

I decide to order a half dish of Chicken Namban with cold ramen noodles ($7.80). There's also a bigger main size if you feel like it. I love the noodles in the namban sauce. The mayo can be a bit over powering on the chicken but I still quite like this dish. You just have to be able to handle how rich the mayo is.

They have lunch specials (12pm to 5pm) and I got the eel bento box which comes with a serving of eel, rice, agadashi tofu, potato croquette, crumbed prawn and salad (below, $13.90). It also comes with a miso soup.

Highlights: The Japanese Pizza will always be my favourite although it's shrunk in size and is quite small. It's so tasty and it's the perfect combination of flavours.  I like the bento boxes as well along with all the other dishes. It's very reasonably priced.

Suggested Improvements: N/A, aside from the kaarage chicken salad which was not appetising. This is a favourite of mine and the new owners seem to have kept the majority of my favourite dishes. I'll have to come back to see if the cooking has changed but I love this place. Another favourite of mine is the Kaisen Don which is a sashimi with wasabi, mayo and soy sauce dish on rice. Love it.

Location: 339 Sussex St, Sydney

Opening Hours: Mon-Sun, 12pm to 9:30pm

Summary: Lisa's Rating: Check it out if you are in the area. It's a nice casual eatery

Food: 9/10 for casual dining 

Customer Service: 7/10

Atmosphere: 7/10
Value: 8/10