Okami, Silverwater

Hello Sydney! Okami Japanese Restaurant is a popular chain with 24 stores in Melbourne and is now available in Sydney in two locations - Marrickville and newly opened Silverwater. Okami is known for their "all you can eat" menu for $34.80. Silverwater is my closest so I was curious to see what the experience would be like hearing about this from one of my friends.I enter Okami at 12pm on a Sunday with a reservation and can see a small queue forming outside already. This tells me that it is best to book or you will potentially be disappointed. 

So how does it work at Okami ? Basically for $34.80 (or less if you are a senior or child); you can order anything off the food menu in a two hour sitting with a minimum of two people. The dishes are served when ready and are served up in tapas style portions. I suggest ordering 3-4 dishes and then ordering more later as you can only fit so many dishes on a table. Please note that Okami do portion out the dishes according to how many people are there. The portions shown in this blog are reflective of two people.

As I was looking through the Okami menu, there are lots of dishes that are tempting. There is a wide variety of dishes to choose from. My friend had mentioned her favourite dishes were the vegetarian gyoza and mushroom salad so I make a mental note to try the dishes she likes. 

Mr Weekend Food Escapes appears to be more tempted by the protein dishes, so we hastily agree on what we will be ordering today

Okami has BYO wine available or you can purchase beers or sakes on the menu. Mr Weekend Food Escapes opts for a refreshing Kirin Beer for lunch where as I order a Coke Zero. I see other tables who have brought BYO wine.

Please note that Okami in Marrickville is still in the process of obtaining their liquor license. 

I eye off a tray of nigiri sushi from the corner of my eye as we order the drinks.

I start ordering some dishes off the menu. First to arrive on our table is the mushroom salad. The oyster mushrooms are coated in a light sauce that is mildly sweet. This is quite an enjoyable dish to eat and quite a healthy dish to start off with. I agree with my friend's recommendation if you are a mushroom lover.

The dishes come out reasonably quickly and old plates are cleared in a timely manner. Mr Weekend Food Escapes orders the beef carpaccio. The lightly seared raw beef is cut into thin slices and has a lightly sweet dressing, topped with some mayonnaise.

I have some food limitations at the moment as I'm pregnant so unfortunately I can't enjoy the sushi however Mr Weekend Food Escapes orders the nigiri sushi platter. He feels the sashimi quality is adequate for the price of the all-you-can-eat experience. I would suggest you come to Okami for the variety of Japanese dishes rather than focusing on any one dish. The nigiri platter is a nice little taster if you want some sushi.

The Karaage Chicken arrives and is served up with a mayonnaise dipping sauce. The chicken is crunchy and the exterior texture is a cross between a karaage and katsu texture and was nice to eat. 

I'm a big tofu fan so I ordered the agedashi tofu which is served up with one piece per person which is good for a little taste without becoming too full. I enjoy the light, mildly sweet coating and the soft silken tofu underneath. A must order if you enjoy tofu. 

I devour the chicken skewer which has a light teriyaki sauce on top. Nom nom nom.

I think to myself that I quite enjoy the tapas style menu as it means you can try a much wider variety of food than you typically would when ordering à la carte. The next dish is served and it's the Miso Steak. The steak is served up in small cut up pieces and is drizzled in a light, sweet miso dressing. 

I do enjoy a gyoza and by recommendation of my friend, I also order the vegetarian gyozas. The gyozas arrive in a green casing, crunchy bottom and soft top which is what you want in a gyoza. I dip this in the soy sauce for some saltiness and enjoy. 

By now, I am getting quite full but Mr Weekend Food Escapes is happy to order one or two more dishes. We order the Soba Noodles which is coated in a light, creamy sesame dressing. He slurps away at the noodles and says he enjoys this dish. Being Summer, this is also a great refreshment, as the dish is served cold.

His favourite dish of the day however happens to be the very last dish we try - which is the eggplant salad. I think the eggplant salad is more like an eggplant steak - it is one chunk of eggplant cooked to crunchy perfection. It's served in the sweet miso sauce and topped with raw carrot. The eggplant is beautifully charred and has crunchy elements on the shell and soft textures on the inside. I concur that it is delicious. 

There is a dessert menu! So we have a look and decide on a daifuku mochi with a scoop of black sesame ice cream and a matching scoop of green tea ice cream. Mr Weekend Food Escapes loves the soft mochi texture with sweet filling. I like the smooth creaminess of the black sesame ice cream which is mild in flavour. The matcha green tea ice cream is much stronger in flavour and is equally smooth on the palette. 

Please note: there are limitations of one scoop and one mochi per person. 

Summary: Overall, I quite enjoyed the variety of food on the Okami menu. I can see why this chain has been so successful in Melbourne and predict this will also succeed in Sydney. Mr Weekend Food Escapes' favourite picks were the eggplant salad, soba noodles and mochi dessert. I would recommend the chicken teriyaki skewers, tofu and the mushroom salad.

Price: $34.80 per person for the all you can eat menu. Two hour limit. Two person minimum. 

Location: 53 Beaconsfield St Silverwater. There's suburban parking available.

Opening Hours: 

Sunday 12-3pm, 5-10pm

Monday 5:30pm to 10pm

Tuesday closed

Wednesday, Thursday 5:30pm to 10pm

Friday, Saturday 5pm to 11pm

Weekend Food Escapes was hosted by Papaya PR. All photos, opinions and words are my own.