kambei japanese restaurant

as a regular patron of thisrestauranti recently discovered that there has been a change of hands to kambei. although the food is still delicious, the service was absolutely appalling. it's lost that true attentiveness the previous owner gave each and every customer. i do hope they improve or this well lovedrestaurantwill be a thing of the past.

fresh and delicious. venturing to ballarat for a 3 day conference gave us the opportunity to ask locals where the nicest japaneserestaurantwas.
the unanimous consensus was that kambei was number one.
it is without question that the masses were right!
from the welcoming smile to the receiving of the cheque, this truly was a marvellous experience.
one could not ask for tastier, fresher japanese food. 10 / 10.

the best!. ballarat is so lucky to have such an amazingrestaurantwhich has delicious, authentic japanese food, for a reasonable price. the service is brilliant- shinji especially is wonderful! definitely our favouriterestaurantin ballarat, and our favourite japaneserestaurantof all time!

beautiful littlerestaurantthat i definitely wouldn’t have expected to find. i got the kambei course for 40aud that included edamame, small dishes, sashimi, grilled fish, rice, and miso soup.

really even the sashimi and small dishes at the start would’ve set you back 40aud at any japaneserestaurantin the city. flavours were rich and simple and the food was filling.

will definitely go back!

kambei is the bestrestaurantin ballarat. this is the must place you should go if you are after authentic japanese. the food is amazingly fresh - especially sashimi. i selected their course menu whichrestaurantstaff recommended. i was glad to take their recommendation. i enjoyed the beautiful food and nice friendly service. i will definitely visit thisrestaurantagain!

the best japaneserestaurantin town!!
kambei is the first japaneserestaurantthat run by japanese people that i know of so they foods are authentic. (don't get me wrong but if you are japanese food freak like me trust me you will know the difference)
they serve best sashimi ever!! here in ballarat even though they have not so many choices.
the rest of them food are too and the service is excellent

the only negative part here is they have limited choice of food selection on the menu. on friday and saturday night the serve only banquet. they are open 5days/week which means if you want al ca cart you have to go on wednesday and sunday night only

hopefully they have more selection in the future

the land of the rising sun! japan! delicious food, amazing culture, diverse history…the list could go on forever! however, finding a snippet of that culture within regional victoria can be a bit of a stretch. queue kambei! named after head chef yutaka kimura’s great grandfather, thisrestaurantboth sits comfortably well and seems at the same time out of place in ballarat.

kambei is an amazing japaneserestaurantlocated right next to sovereign hill! being aesthetically pleasing with its japanese interior design, it is easily ballarats best japanese!

the vibe is tranquil, while also being unstuffy! service from the professional floor staff is friendly without being overbearing!

the food is fantastic too, with fresh seafood being shipped to ballarat from the footscray market daily! sashimi is a must, as well as the tempura. desserts aren't as strong in the flavour stakes, but still get the job done!

price wise i think it's pretty reasonable, with banquets being able to be paid for for around $60.

overall a greatrestaurantthe all ballarat locals should try for ace japanese!

located on the corner of lal lal street and main road, kambei restuarant offers authentic, traditional food and a great atmosphere. parking is limited in front, but there is a small car park with the entrance just to the right of the restaurant.

yutaka kimura is the head chef and in honour of his great great grandfather, who was the leader of his village in feudal japan during the edo period about 150 years ago, he named hisrestaurant‘kambei’.

therestaurantwas quite busy this afternoon. i arrived in ballarat within an hour of the end of their lunch session, and they were more than happy to accommodate me.

overall, kambei is quite pricey for a japanese restaurant, but you definitely get what you pay for. the staff were very friendly and service was quick. 

check out the review of kambei japaneserestaurantin the blog post below.

not bad.... for a regional experience. pretty good. very fresh and everything you'd expect from a good japaneserestaurantin melbourne or sydney - but not outstanding.
service is good enough and they try. happy.

i somehow found myself dining at this quaint little japaneserestaurantthis past valentine's day. thinking about it now, i'm wondering how i found myself in such a position... oh wait, that's right. i have a girlfriend now, hahaha!

anyway, the gentle souls at kambei were serving a valentine's day set menu which we -- yes, we -- decided to try out.

the sashimi, seaweed, maki and miso soup were all great. the beef on the other hand... well let's just say it wasn't really anything special. to me anyway, because i'm asian and i feel like i've eaten that kind of stir fried beef too many times to count in my life that it's just become something... meh. the decor is nice and fancier than mcdonald's, which is a plus if you are like me and have a girlfriend (if i was single i'd gladly go to mcdonald's, every day in fact.. but alas, i didn't choose the boyfriend life, the boyfriend life chose me).

being possibly the only authentic japaneserestaurantin ballarat, i would recommend these folks. pop in and say konichiwa if you are so inclined. wait, is that inappropriate?

a nice little restaurant. the staff were very friendly and the service was fine. the interior of therestaurantis good, just don't look out the windows. everything was clean and well presented. there was a good selection of japanese beers with a couple of different ones to the typical asahi etc, which i'm ashamed to admit i did not try as i can never go past some sake so i can't comment on them. the food was all nice apart from the tempura which is a personal dislike of mine. it was mostly nice with a few very good dishes slipped in amongst it all. we had the banquet as it was the best value and it certainly filled us up. overall a nice experience but let down by the exorbitant prices.

on a recent trip to ballarat, we booked in for lunch at late notice. they were very accommodating on the phone and we were greeted warmly on arrival. there were only two service staff on and it was reasonably busy. a little disappointing to be offered a limited menu but when i enquired we were offered the full a la cart menu, although they did not have sushi on the lunch menu, the kitchen was very accommodating and made sushi for my children.

overall the quality of food was very good, particularly for a regional restaurant, the only disappointing point was that the sashimi plate - although incredibly fresh and fantastically presented, the fish itself was cut too thick.

i highly recommend thisrestaurantto people who are visiting ballarat and for locals alike!

the food was amazing and the service impeccable... ballarat's best dinner or special occasionrestaurantby far!

this is the best japanese you're going to get in ballarat. therestaurantis quiet and clean, the food is delicious and the set menu us great value for money. i highly recommend this for a great night out.