kuuraku

i wanted to try this restaurant for a long time but was very skeptic to go this restaurant because usually japanese cuisine has very less veg options( yogiyanukku iruttula enna velai). so finally i went here and here is my 2 cents
1.ambience- tick oo tick
2. hospitality - tick oo tick
3. sevice - ok ok . your patience will be tested. better order all at once.
4. taste - sooper oo sooper. i ordered veg gyoza and veg ramen and they both tasted good. the ramen could have been better though.
5. amount - quarter kidney 😉 worth the try

ps: don't order sarakku here.. it's very expensive.

was here for dinner on a sunday, booked reservation through zomato pro for 4 members. booking was quick & modification of reservation was also easy. was pretty excited when we got seated because of theambience& also the private dining area that we got. the menu was extensive & self explanatory with pictures (it was very helpful to make an independent choice as we didn't need anyone to help), but there was no one to take orders. after 20 mins of initial excitement we started looking out through the door so that any one could notice us,but our attempts were unsuccessful.

i had to go out to the reception to remind them that we were waiting, a person dressed in kimono appeared (yeah authencity!) we quickly ordered teppan gyoza, chicken nanban, crunchy ebi roll( sushi), kawari dane kushi course ( we initially ordered tori kushi course but the staff advised us that, it consisted of the not so usual parts of chicken like heart, gizzard, tail etc so we safely avoided it)

another good 20 mins passed by, gyoza arrived tasted good with the soy sauce and garlic sauce they served, but that wasn't enough. we started to have the garlic sauce & soy sauce since the other three starters took some more time. upon reminding, all the three arrived together. all the starters were good, while having the starters we ordered the main course.

for main course we ordered, katsu curry with rice and 2x half portions of kuuraku ramen. again nothing to complain. desserts were below average, we ordered baked cheesecake & something caled shiratama zenzai, vanilla ice cream in a thin rice wrapper. could have avoided it but no avail.

to spoil the ambience, there was a youtube channel which was conducting an interview. the person was too loud, even though they were seated in a room which were two rooms away from us. mood killer for all.

overall, the experience of japanese cuisine was good. the bill was around 5k , with zomato pro we paid rs 4k (20% pro offer, good offer!). only disappointment was ,very very slow service. i would really like to know whether this is how japanese cuisine actually works?! we arrived by 8pm and left by 10pm, eventhough the restaurant wasn't crowded at all.

amazing place to dine. the restaurant was a proper japanese restaurant with authentic japanese cuisine. food was very good. drinks were as well. theambienceand setting made you feel like you were dining in japan. the customer service was very friendly and the staff and crew were native japanese. i would definitely recommend this place. definitely worth the price. only thing missing was sake to enrich the experience.

theambiencewas wonderful, the staff were very warm and the food was incredible! the staff greet you in japanese when you enter and leave and are trained to share the japanese hospitality for all visitors alike. you can also play jan ken pon or the dice rolling game for half priced drinks. our favourites were the crunchy ebi roll, gyoza, taj mahal sushi, kuuraku ramen, annin tofu and the yukimi daifuku. will definitely visit again!

great place for japanese cuisine!
tried sushi for the first time and absolutely loved it!!
tajmahal sushi - vegetarian’s delight!!
very good music,ambienceand hospitality!

this is our first time here and i must say we enjoyed the experience. theambienceis great with nice warm interiors. hygiene maintenance was good. the staff was polite and friendly. we thoroughly enjoyed the grilled skewers (only complaint is portion size is too small), california & dynamite sushi, really loved the grilled chicken dumplings with the dip (must try), ramen, tokyo curry rice and sutamina don were all delectable. will visit again. i recommend it. 👍

tldr:ambiencethat teleports you to japan. delicious food that entices your tastebuds. service that matches japanese hospitality and attention to detail. an all-round experience to be had.

full review: we both love japanese food and planned a dinner visit to kuuraku for my birthday. easy way to reach here is to navigate to hotel green park. don't put kuuraku location in navigation! google maps took us to some tiny lanes where we ended up at a dead end. the restaurant is located in the basement of hotel green park next to forum vijaya mall on arcot road, vadapalani.

as soon as you enter, you get a warm welcome from the staff where they all welcome you in unison from wherever they are. the decor will straight away take you to japan and you will forget that you are in chennai. there are few tables in the center and private cabins with japanese sitting around the periphery. we got one of the cabins. it had kind of a traditional setup with low seating (not on the floor but on low chairs). we felt comfortable in our seats. the table had wet napkins to clean our hands, set of chopsticks and a button to call the steward.

we got all the dishes that were recommended in the menu. there is a reason they are recommended, they are absolutely fantastic. this is all what we had - tori kushi course (5 assorted chicken yakitori skewars), crunchy ebi roll (prawn tempura sushi roll), teppan gyoza (chicken grilled dumplings), aburi chashu (broilled pork belly), ebi tempura (prawn tempura), garlic rice with chicken, kuuraku ramen (pork belly ramen noodles) and finished with affogato (vanilla ice cream with espresso coffee poured over). i also had british empire beer to sip on. everything was absolutely delicious! the texture, taste and even the dipping sauces were scrumptious. the standouts are broilled pork belly, prawn tempura and ramen. you might think affogato being an italian dish doesn't fit in the japanese cuisine. you are right, but it is available (also tiramisu) as there is an italian restaurant right next to kuuraku called piccante. we will give that a try someday.

the service was quick yet we had time to relax and enjoy our dinner. angao served us with a smile and was extremely courteous. as we were sitting low, she would also kneel down when taking order so as to be at the same eye level. you also need to take off your footwear to sit inside the cabin. these details makes you truly experience the japanese culture. this is precisely why it is important to pay visit to such places and not just order on online food delivery services. all of what we ate and drank costed us rs. 3,730, which is totally worth it.

when we were done, agao was at the door to see us off with assortment of candies and wished us good night. all the staff again thanked us and said goodbye in unison. we left with belly full of delicious food and heart full of love, already planning our next visit. thanks to my lovely wife for making my birthday dinner so special.

beautiful amalgamation of flavours that hit the right spot every time you take a bite. the presentation andambienceand subtle music on the background transports you to a different realm. the servers always serve with a smile and prompt to answer any query

theambienceis truly japanese, but i wonder if they have cutlery options for us indians, because we weren't offered forks. anyway, it's fun to have their food in their style.
the staff was helpful in recommending the food. you see lot of japanese people here..

perfectambienceand perfect japanese cuisine in town

tori kushi course was good , teppen gyoza was delicious , fried chicken was amazing , little disappointed with ramen noodles could have been bit more .
overall a good japanese dining experience , with japaneseambience, greetings and salutations in japanese and ofcourse with a lot of japanese people dining here ..

niceambienceand decor. tired only vegetarian food which is limited in options. good portion sizes and very tasty food.the veg curry ramen is average, somehow reminded me of top ramen noodles but their gyozo and veg sushi are must try!

i had the picante signature pizza and mushroom stuffed balls. the pizza was thin crust and soft. the cheese was overflowing which i loved the most. the veggies were overloaded n it gave different flavors. the mushroom stuffed ball was crunchy from outside and stuffed with cheese from inside. the mushroom was well cooked and along with cheese it gave a very satisfying taste. absolutely loved the hospitality. theambiencewas calm and beautiful. last but not least "you can't buy happiness but you can buy pizza here and that's kind of the same thing".

we loved theambienceand the aesthetic of the restaurant. the entire experience felt very authentic and not at all forced. the service was impeccable and the food was amazing. the ebi roll was particularly good and the skewers were very flavorful. the menu has a lot of options. we'll be coming back again. oh oh and the fish cakes are to die for. bring your chechis here ;)

kuuraku is by far the best sushi place in chennai and a must visit for japanese cuisine lovers. crunchy ebi roll is my pick of the dishes. the only let down is the lack of options in sushi (they only have prawn sushi's). located in the basement of the green park hotel theambienceis soothing.