The Meshiya ‘Teppanyaki & Ramen’ Japanese restaurant is an elongated length at the end of QV along Lonsdale Street. I’m personally fond of modernist ambience, where shades match and colours don’t collide, so with the exception of blaring J-pop when we first arrived, I don’t have that many qualms about the décor and suchlike. That said, I still think they should leave the soy sauce and wasabe on the table – minimalism shouldn’t infringe on convenience, especially when it comes to food. Chilled water came in glasses that looked like they were meant for hard liquor, which can either mean they really like us, or they’re a bit behind on the washing. Still, it goes with the make up of the place.


The menu talks the standard Japanese out-of-Japan routine, with a few minor twists and turns. At this point, I must highlight that they feature ‘Teppanyaki & Ramen’ as a specialty, so they aren’t really big on sushi per se - which is weird because they’ve got some of the best rice we’ve tasted in a while. Don, udon, soba or ramen accompany most of the dishes here. (i.e. Gyu Niku comes in the form of either don, udon or ramen.)


The Katsu Don ($8.30) exemplifies what dishes that share a similar name should be like - decent Japanese rice, accompanying sauce that is a good blend of sweet and salty though our taster prefers the Katsu a tad crispier. When you’re in this line, you tend to be critical about the way your pork is fried. It is, nonetheless, a recommended dish.


Unique to this place is, perhaps, the Meshiya Tekka Don ($8.30) – think minced sashimi with soy sauce on rice. The wasabe comes in a separate saucer. Our taster thinks the tastebud “damage” should be limited to 1 or 2 mouthfuls, not a whole bowl. Too much of this savoury stuff and you could end up in the latrine for a while. Not recommended for weak stomachs. Another way would be to, perhaps, exclude the salty additives from the dish and leave it to the diner’s good judgment. This dish is probably something to share with a good many friends for maximum enjoyment.


Our taste neurons trembled at the mention of the ever familiar Teri Tori Don ($8.30) , that is, teriyaki chicken with rice. This rendition does fall short of expectations, though. Our taster comments on the lack of marinade and the inclusion of too much saltiness in the chicken, tender as it is. There’s also celery which is, admittedly, rather out of place amongst the standard greens that grace the dish.


The Ume Bento ($8.80) offers a variety consisting of prawn tempura, teriyaki chicken and fried fish with, well, rice. This “lesser” bento cannot boast of much, save its carbohydrate staple and its fried fish. It was common consensus that the prawn tempura was of the ‘scrawny’ variety, with too much oil retained in its batter, making it something more like tempura prawn, than its reverse. More rice would’ve been good as well.


The “greater” Sakura Bento ($10.80), in the opinion of our taster, didn’t quite live up either. Our beef biscuit was something, I quote, ‘out of a Chinese hawker’s’ frying pan and the chicken, non-teriyaki, rather disappointing. The only thing vaguely authentic to the Japanese tradition was the Unagi, or seasoned eel, though our taster prefers it a little less limp. The rice, brilliant as it was, could’ve been in more abundant proportions.

The Bentos, to say the least, aren’t recommended. I won’t even try to include the ‘value-for-money’ point in this discussion.


Our tasters, at any rate, prefer the Gyu Niku Udon ($8.80) and the Ten Zaru Soba ($8.80) over most of the rice dishes so far. The “tempura prawn” that comes with the soba has already been mentioned, so we’d just like to praise the soba itself here. It, thankfully, didn’t clump together, as is the tendency of cold or soggy noodles. The Gyu Niku Udon has got noodle that doesn’t squirm in your spoon, thus splashing soup on your prized outfit. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t flaccid either – good mixes are what pleases this taster. It passed the standard chilli sauce test I subject my udon to: chilli (in proper portions) shouldn’t kill the taste of the soup, but instead enhance it. In conclusion, we had a thoroughly good afternoon with the noodles.

On the whole, I’d rate the authenticity of the food at a score that’s a slight better than the average. I’ll leave the number up to you. It is a disappointment that the place doesn’t offer an assortment of sushi and I’m not talking about the hand-rolls. We weren’t exactly raving about it, but perhaps the rice is the best feature of this restaurant. Our waiter either forgot our chopsticks and serviettes or decided to leave them till everyone got their food, but I’m the forgiving kind. After all, they were quite prompt with the food and responding to requests.

We’ve reached the point where we gripe about the munny. In essence, I suppose you’re paying for the ambience of the location as well as the, rather, prompt service on top of the food, as minimal as the modernist décor is. Expect for it to burn a hole that’s slightly larger than your average loop. ‘Service charge’ doesn’t appear in the receipt. I’d recommend this little eatery if you’re in the mood for some starchy substantial with a straight dish and you want to leave an impression on whoever you’re bringing along. A good one that is.

Lesson learnt: Food aside, odd corners are always interesting locations.

16/20 budds


Meshiya QV Japanese Restaurant
200 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne Vic 3000
T 9654 6242
F 9654 9434