goros

ilovethe location and the decor, definitely a point of difference to the other bars out there. the taco sushi was different and definitely a combination of the two cultures. ilovethe tunes, upbeat and making me want to dance in every song.

goros and tokyo bird are only a street apart in surry hills and if i had to pick somewhere to live in surry hills, it would be somewhere round the corner between the two. both are japanese bars with japanese snacks and small dishes, but they could not be more different in terms of atmosphere. ilovelovelovelovelovetokyo bird which i have been familiar with for years (see my review here) but goros is a relatively new find for me. while tokyo bird is small, intimate and perfect for date nights, goros is large, casual and loud with the music pumping. both are great in their own way.

i wasn’t expecting much from the food at goros but it turned out to be pretty decent. the pan fried gyozas were juicy and flavourful on the inside but crispy on the outside. the salt and pepper calamari were crispy, chewy with a nice tang of heat from the chillis. for sure, i’ll be going back to try their yakitori skewers.

full review is at imhangry.net/2018/10/15/goros-surry-hills/

looking for a place to hangout & kick off a sat night that also offer nice food. a friend recommended this place. have only previously walked passed this during day time, and it always seemed pretty quiet. got there about 7pm, still pretty quiet & we got a table easily. first impression was that i was transported back to uni days, in a good way ☺️. funky bar, air hockey, karaoke, cocktails, music. great chillax vibe, casual, people are there to chill & have fun. the food were also a rank above the average bar food. the izakaya style yakitori were great, along with the crispy chicken burger & zucchini fries, but absolutelylovethe shoestring fried with the curry ketchup! will definitely come back again on another night out!

good vibes, nice interior. the prices are quite good and the cocktails are pretty good. ilovehow they have pool tables and gaming machines.

goros is like an 'underground hippie bar' that you find on the streets of japan. the interiors and decor are very cool and suits the japanese theme very well. it's also got like a mini arcade inside and the whole vibe is rather quirky. 

in terms of food, the karaage chicken, edamame, gyoza and pork yakisoba were all super delicious, so definitely give those a try!

for drinks, we tried:

1. goros shochu infusion 'peach & yuzu' - quite a nice taste when served with lemonade, but can barely taste the alcohol
2. goros shochu infusion 'strawberry & blueberry' - really nice as well, sweeter than the peach & yuzu one
3. yoshinogawa 'gensen' umeshu - not that nice, taste a little like chinese medicine
4. kunizakari 'tanrei' yuzushu - tastes very refreshing, one of the best!
5. hombo 'green tea' - tastes exactly like a mix of green tea and alcohol
6. hombo 'brown sugar' - expect a sweeter taste to this one than the ones above
7. sake sonic - do not order unless youlovethe taste of bitter alcohol
8. moshi moshi #2 -lovethis one in particular because of the popping pearls and it's got more of a sweeter/fruitier taste to it

feel free to follow me on instagram @pignic_ for more foodie adventures.

a lot of fun, unpretentious, well done japanese izakaya street food in a bar/restaurant/games/karaoke house in surry hills. goro's is a cool little place in surry hills that has a lot of personality and brings something new to sydney with surprisingly good food. there are a mix of booths, long tables and sectioned off dining areas that flows into an open bar with high tables, a small dance floor (even a dj on the night i went) as well as an air hockey table, pool table, arcade games and a few karaoke rooms. you order at the bar and we chose a mix of dishes to share. a short menu with all your classic japanese street food with a few small modernised twists. the grilled skewers were good the pork belly was probably my favourite, smokey and fatty. karaage chicken was crispy and juicy, chips were a bit lame fat chunky chips would have soaked up the curry sauce better which was a nice twist. the standout was the pork schnitzel sandwhiches, perfectly cooked, crispy and worked well with the soft bread, coleslaw and jap mayo. takoyaki was also done well in a typical style. gyoza were crispy but could have been juicer and filled more. sushi of the day was not good. the chicken and avo were too mashed up and not seasoned enough. plain rice would be good to have on the menu. presentation overall looked good, service was excellent and the bar staff are friendly and having a good time. dance floor was happening, drinks were flowing and the free karaoke had people singing their hearts out. just make sure to book for karaoke as it is popular and you get 2 hours. love this place it's versatile, refreshing and doesn't seem too try-hard or disrespectful to japanese culture.

goros would be a good place for a few drinks with friends. my boyfriend and i went there for the tuesday night $15 kaarage chicken. it was pretty quiet for a tuesday night, and was definitely more of a pub/bar vibe than we expected. regardless, the chicken was really delicious. the batter was seasoned perfectly and the outside was deliciously crispy with the moist soft inside - the antithesis for which i always seek out in fried chicken! i ordered the agodashi tofu which was cheap (only $12) and a good serving for the price but i was still pretty hungry. it was okay, certainly not the best agodashi tofu i've ever had, being a little bit flavourless. i wouldloveto try some of their chip options, like tougarashi fries that are unfortunately only available after 10pm thursday to saturday. i also ordered a shochu infusion drink which was fun, as i had never tried a shochu drink. overall, goros wasn't bad, with the fried chicken definitely the highlight. i would go back with friends for a few drinks and the chicken, but wouldn't go back just for dinner.

walk through the doors. major "otaku" vibe. air hockey, point blank and street fighter arcade machines sit nearby the karaoke room. a massive garfield sits on the couch near the pool table. turn tables pump hip beats. posters of retro anime and samurai films plaster the walls. there's japanese geek paraphernalia everywhere.loveit.

tuesday evening. chillaxed vibe. walk over to the bar, super wide. not too busy. we order sapporo's and asahi's. they're poured fresh from the tap. the best way to drink these beers. fresh. sip. aaaaahhhhh. so fresh. look at the menu. everything's deep fried, fried, grilled, barbecued, charred. you're in an izakaya. f*ck your salad.

we sit down in our monster sized izakaya booth.lovethe roominess, the size is a japanese dream. nothing like this in tokyo.

food arrives.

first, goro's fried chicken with wasabi mayo ($17.00). the plate is massive. pick up a piece of karaage. piping hot. crunch, crunch, crunch. awesome flavour, bites crunchily. is that a word? who cares. the chicken's been marinated properly. good. that's all i care about. and the crunch. did i say it's crunchy? yep.

second. pork gyozas ($14.00). steamed. should balance out the deep fried goodness of the chicken. pick it up and pop it in the mouth. nice and tender skins. flavoursome pork filling. sprinkled with shichimi. nice little spicy kick but not over-the-top. i like it.

thirdly. piece de resistance. teriyaki wagyu beef cheeseburger with crispy bacon and a plate load of fries ($18.00). too much food. cut it in half. sharing is caring. bite into it. fantastic smoky char on the wagyu meat patty. teriyaki sauce, tomato sauce, japanese mayo all mixing together in my mouth. cheese, bacon. it's a heart attack waiting to happen. life's short. enjoy. eat.

goros. it's a good time. only two people the other night. next time, bringing a small army. next time, drinking buckets of sake and downing japanese highball whiskies.

nb - on a wednesday night after 5pm, arcade games, air hockey, pool and karaoke are all free. games unlimited. thursday nights, there's a double teriyaki wagyu beef cheeseburger. it's called a godzilla burger. how cool is that?

ilovethe level of detail there is at goros with its japanese decor - from it's cute kawaii figurines, to the paper lanterns, manga wallpaper, karaoke rooms, neon arcade area.. even if you go here for a visit and not for food, you'd still be in for a treat. 

i went here with a group of 4 so we sat at one of the booths in the middle of the room. the colours of this place really transports you to another world & the down-to-earth-ness of the staff make you right at home. we also went here on a wednesday evening which was the $15 curry special with kirin beer.. my god the serving of this was huge for $15!! and it tasted pretty good as well, i recommend their curry! 

after a few drinks and food, we tried out their karaoke room (free!) which was a load of fun, especially with their wig selection that you can wear while jamming out. 

just a note that the food here is good, as long as you know what to order.. the beef short rib show down sounded promising however did come out quite small and also not satisfying enough for $12..
the perfect atmosphere to hang out with friends, and make sure to take the time to wander around the place, i'll be back again for sure!

goro’s

a nice addition to this end of town. it’s kind of in an odd spot for a bar, but we need a lot more bars in odd spots, in the fairly quiet areas of town if we have any hope of catching up to melbourne’s epicly saturated bar culture. within a stone’s throw of central station, it’s a super convenient location.

less than a 5 min walk from the likes of the wild rover and tio’s. it’s impossible to miss with the cool neon signage.

goro’s reminds me of your average cheap and cheerful tokyo izakaya, with a few small differences.

it’s larger than any tokyo izakaya, but it doesn’t feel too big for it’s own good.

you keep your shoes on.

and there is no all you can drink/eat options which is a shame, but this is australia.

this is a place i’ll keep coming back to,

i haven’t tried the karaoke yet, but that’s definitely on the cards...and i’ve since been told a little secret about the karaoke i might just keep to myself

they’ve got a cool selection of drinks, some japanese whisky’s like nikka and suntory, a decent selection of japanese draft, orion, sapporo, asahi, kirin. wouldloveto see some hokkaido ale or the ever elusive yebisu in the future. became a fan of the “unusual negroni” which adds some umeshu into the mix...umeshu is a sweet (although can be sour) japanese sake fruit mix.

the booth seating is a winner, reminds me of many a nights in tokyo getting smashed with friends out in shibuya, playing drinking games, crowding everyone into a tiny booth and then more, smashing our way through epic nomihoadi sessions

the foods not bad,lovethe sweet potato fries, i hit the wasabi stick on the roulette wheel. which took a little bit to get over. but it wasn’t crazy hot like my first wasabi experience; sticking a spoon full of the stuff in my mouth.

the foods very simple, nothing crazy over the top, it’s what you get in pretty much most izakayas in tokyo. wouldloveto see some okonomiyaki at some stage in the future. its just easy quick finger food, tasty as all hell...the slider was pretty impressive. totally forgot to take a photo of it as i demolished it in seconds.

i’m really impressed with what they’ve done at goro’s. it’d be so easy to try and go over the top in trying to make a japanese themed joint. this really captures the simplicity of a tokyo izakaya so well. they’re not the most amazing bars, they’re just fun, friendly, cheap and cheerful places to catch up with friends. except this is the 1st one i’ve been to that has a karaoke room...probably because in tokyo the izakayas would be within mic swinging distance of a karaoke; there is no real need to add one.

the only real complaint i have with goro’s is that they don’t have a couple of street fighter ii hyper/super/champion ed. to relive the good old days.

slightly disappointed. everything seems to be alright here,lovethe variety of japanese drinks they provide here. food was nice, slightly a bit over-priced. one thing that was very disappointing was the ramen. we ordered a ramen and expecting a whole bowl with chashu, however it was very disappointing - what was served was a small korean cup noodle with a thin slice of pork on it for $12. could have done better for this.