rengaya

one thing better then korean bbq?

japanese bbq!

the older bro restaurant of martin places suminoya is really an upgraded version. the quality is superior in every way - some of the best quality bbq meat in sydney.

the side dishes are also pretty decent here, i suggest the broths and tartare.

go for the all you can eat if you are feeling hungry.

this place is quite pricey and the service is not the best but this place is quality.

have been here in past but only for a-la-carte. went today to try the bbq buffet that's offered at $86 pp. time restriction of 2hrs eating time and last orders taken at 90mins. food items are chosen using an ipad which is great, also shows how long u have left to order and eat, plus they have reminders towards the finish time. items ordered came very quickly, they had plenty of staff on hand and were very attentive.
the buffet of wagyu range from wagyu beef rib finger, rump steak, flap, outskirt and a few others. i found the flap meat to be the most tender followed by the rump. the other cuts had a lot of muscle chewy and hard to swallow bits. sashimi was very fresh and served with fresh wasabi.
oh their vanilla ice cream is made with real vanilla bean, and the strawberry ice cream with real fruit pieces. yum
overall is it's good but i will not return for the buffet, it's very similar to its chain suminoya which offers an very similar menu and is only $60pp.
will stick to just ordering a la carte when i return, they have amazing wagyu grade 9+ that just melts in your mouth. (obviously not offered in their buffet menu, i wish! 😂)

great place to have japanese food.

we went there yesterday during lunch time. we made a prior booking. as soon as we entered we were directed to our reserved space.

ambiance: beautiful, very clean and perfect for dinning experience- romantic, official, casual.

food: great food... try box here. grill/ teyaki- chicken/ salmon anyone. beautiful and good size portion. check out saki - otokoyama here. it was good.

service: a smiling welcome, order were taken quickly though we were 15 confused people.

we liked the place so much that we had 2 more rounds of beer. lolz... we are going again soon !!!

rengaya is not new to the restaurant scene having been in business for nearly 20 years. it’s reputation is clearly evident when all the tables are full by 6.30pm on a monday night!. we are seated in one of the 3 main areas that are set in a ‘traditional’ style. there are 2 private dining areas that you can book if you want to have something more secluded.

been here a couple of times now & it's worth paying the all you can eat price even though it's quite expensive!!! there's a variety of wagyu meats so make sure you are a fan, but not really in other things. the wagyu is top notch for a "buffet", but then again you are paying for it in the "price"! 2 hours is plenty of time to eat even though it may not seem like it, but the speed of service is sufficient enough even when it's full house! overall would go back if i felt like unlimited wagyu as long as they don't keep increasing the price to over $100 per person!!!

i started coming to this restaurant with my family when it first opened. yakiniku (japanese bbq) was not commonplace (nor was korean bbq), so the concept of grilling your own meat at the table was quite novel at the time. however what we really came for was the wagyu beef. back then, rengaya boasted that they sourced export quality australian wagyu that would generally be shipped straight to places like japan and never reach australian dining tables. of course this came at a price, and back in the early noughties, it would usually cost in the vicinity of $50 to $70 pp for my family of 5 to eat here. we were always well looked after, especially by the manager at the time, shiro.

the restaurant's decor hasn't changed at all since they opened, but unfortunately - like their (once) affiliated(?) restaurants, koh-ya and suminoya - their menu has gone the way of the buffet. the restaurant now appears to be mostly geared towards serving lower cuts of meat on an all you can eat basis. i believe they charge about $86 pp for 90 minutes.

the idea of bbq buffet has never really appealed to me, and the main draw of rengaya has always been their 7-9+ score 'premium' wagyu. premium wagyu is still available on the menu, but at a higher cost than ever before. whether this is due to pure greed or a sheer lack of demand for premium cuts due to most customers opting for the buffet option, i don't know. i do however feel like $150+ pp for a wagyu 'amusement' each (a tasting plate of premium wagyu), sashimi, a few accompaniments and a small carafe of low-mid range sake is way too expensive on principle.

i understand that customers' demands change over the years, but i miss the days when rengaya was a bustling, family friendly restaurant focused on offering an a la carte selection of premium wagyu at a moderate price point. as the saying goes, nothing gold can stay.

given the wide array of japanese food in sydney, it’s proving to be a challenge as foodies unite to try and rank all the different restaurants. many restaurants delve into fusion, or try really hard to come out with innovative creations, but rengaya is none of that, staying true to its japanese culture, thus i highly recommend it to anyone who’s in for an authentic japanese experience.

if there's one place in sydney to go to for yakiniku (or, as it's commonly referred to, japanese bbq), it's rengaya in north sydney. having been open since 1993, it was the first authentic japanese bbq restaurant to open in australia, and has since been an iconic destination for meat and seafood lovers alike.

the menu is built around premium meats, seafood and the humble grill. a large portion is centered around a fifteen-plus strong selection of 9+ grade wagyu, from loin, rib and rump to 'amble' cuts like tripe and intestine. if wagyu doesn't float your boat, then perhaps try the pork shabu shabu, milk-fed rack of lamb, or pick and choose from the wide array of vegetables to grill on the bbq. cooler weather calls for steaming pots of sukiyaki and shabu-shabu, and hints of korean cuisine are evident in small selection of side dishes like kimchi, hearty soups and bibimba grilled stone pots.

worked late night until 8pm at a client in north sydney and friend also had too in uni. met up and discovered this place by chance. we heard the audible sounds inside, and assumed it would be popular. table for 2? nope! we got a table for 4, for some seriously needed leg/arm space.

got the stone pot bibimbap for $18 and the crisp of the cooked rice and the mixed egg brought the textures together. friend got the basic udon although that tasted average (we should've tried the jap bbq). the service of the staff was a huge plus for me, almost immediately pouring water whenever we finished our glasses. would go again!

the meat is high quality and service is very efficient. despite this being an indoor bbq restaurant, the ventilation is really good so your clothes won't smell like bbq afterwards.
the price is significantly higher than other jap bbq places.

还没去吃过~！！！！！！！！！！！！！
期待！

we visit rengaya often for business lunches and dinners.

the sashimi is always fresh and the wagyu cuts are tender and flavoursome.

service is friendly but it can get quite busy so sometimes it's a bit hard to get the attention of service staff.

recommended dishes are sashimi and any bbq wagyu. scampi sashimi is a must try, and ask for the scampi heads to be used for miso soup.

if you think of rengaya as a wagyu specialist, and design your meal around beef, you certainly won’t leave disappointed. take your mouth on a journey through eight different textures of beef, starting with premium wagyu ‘yukke’ ($33.80). 'yukke' is the japanese spelling of the korean raw dish ‘yukhoe’, and combines premium grade beef tartar with a mix of egg yolk, sesame oil, garlic and finely chopped shallots that ensures it slides down your throat.for something a little more toothsome, premium wagyu beef sashimi ($23.90/6 pieces) is the perfect way to examine the grade 9+ wagyu’s fat marbling and flavour, against a smear of freshly grated wasabi and soy.it’s also the perfect excuse to crack into quality sake, like the pretty kuromatsu hakushika gouka sennenjyu junmai daiginjyo ($43/300ml).refresh your palate with a couple of korean vegetable selections: assorted kimchi ($9.90) and namuru ($9.90) of blanched, seasoned and dressed vegetables, both work nicely to prepare your palate for the meat onslaught...

this is one of my favourite japanese bbq places with a huge selection of quality meat, various cuts of beef, a specialty in wagyu & seafood. its in an odd spot under an office building in a corner but it is always filled with people who know. the staff is friendly & always smiling but it is the enticing smell & food dancing on your tongue that really wins you over.