goros

don't waste your time. bouncer on a power trip, would never attend again.

we planned a group karaokenightwith our work team 2 weeks in advance, only to be constantly harassed with rude emails from the organisers leading up to the night. after arriving and lining up for 45 minutes; the first words that came out of the bouncers mouth once we approached the front of the line was "you've had too much too drink and won't be coming in tonight" - despite the fact that we were all completely sober, well groomed, and well mannered. startled by the bouncers abrupt first comment and apparent complete misjudgement of our situation, we questioned his reason and tried to understand why he thought we were not fit to enter the venue. knowing well that growing up in sydney nightlife it has always been a common conception that bouncers are known to single people out for no reason other than their current 'mood'. ournightwas derailed simply because of the bouncers complete misjudgement of our situation and desire to exploit his authority. it's also worth noting that in most cases, had we have actually had a few too many drinks and were turned down, this would never be an issue. we spent our money elsewhere.

came here for the cool vibes on a fridaynightat 730 and it was completely packed. had to wait for 5 minutes for a table/booth to clear but not an issue.

the chicken karaage was nice as were the gyoza. my friend really enjoyed his fried chicken burger and i had a taste of the fries which were also yum.

looking for a place to hangout & kick off a satnightthat 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 absolutely love the shoestring fried with the curry ketchup! will definitely come back again on anothernightout!

staff wasn’t very friendly. took a long time to get a drink, would only visit this venue if it’s the end of thenightand doing karaoke. otherwise waste of time.

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 thenighti 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.

what a huge transformation from seedy central tavern to trendy japanese themed goros.  they reserved karaoke but moved it into two private side rooms.  centre of the bar turned into booths with hints of japanese decoration.  a few japanese beers are on tap including asahi and sapporo.  the $9 pinot gris tasted horrible, i should have known and sticked to japanese beer.  we visited on a saturdaynightand the place was packed. majority of the crowd looked in 20s, there were a few japanese themed fancy dress party happening as well.  music was somewhat rnb and somewhat pop, probably catering for the young crowd.  if you are still down with the kids, you might find this place exciting.

goros would be a good place for a few drinks with friends. my boyfriend and i went there for the tuesdaynight$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 would love to 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. love it.

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. love the 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 wednesdaynightafter 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?

before yesterday, we feel ashamed to say that we didn't even know this place existed. however, it will now be one of our local visits after our experience the other night. goros is a twist between your traditional bar and a japanese restaurant of some sorts. it blends both the traditional japanese culture with the western influence. they were even showing sumo wrestlers playing basketball on tv! hah! we were invited by renae smith from the atticism   to dine as their guest.  we are already thinking of going back just for the fried crab sandwich, wakame, tobiko! another reason for going back would be as a result of the impeccable service we received. the staff were very friendly, great to offer recommendations and we never had an awkward moment. they definitely made the experience much more enjoyable!  big shout out to lloyd for your hospitality and recommendations on the sake, chicken and crab sandwich, and to ben  for your excellent service at our table.  made us feel special! goros opening hours are surprising.  you're telling me i can wake up in the middle of thenightwhen i'm dreaming about the crab sandwich and wake up at goros?!  monday to wednesday - 11:30am - 12am  thursday - 11:30am - 1am friday - 11:30am - 3am  saturday 4pm - 3am. the moment we stepped foot inside goros, we felt like we were already in japan. the next couple of pictures show the difference between goros and your normal stand-alone pub. let us know if you can't notice the japanese/western fusion and we can show you. perhaps go have a look for yourself, you will not regret it. their table numbers are either the cutest or the freakiest experience i have had all week. i m still trying to decide whether or not my nightmares the last couple of nights were as a result of this table number that was watching us throughout our whole meal.  it definitely is something different...  cute or freaky? christie thinks it's cute.  matt on the other hand thinks that it is out to get him.  experiences come i