Kagaya, Hurstville

Kagaya is one of those places you're tempted to keep to yourself. It's crowded enough. It doesn't need more patronage. How on earth will I get a table on Friday nights now?

We are in Hurstville, in Sydney's south-west, and although it is barely 6.30pm on a Friday night, Kagaya is already packed out. Thank goodness we have a booking (of course)!



My companions have been here before and recommend the set menus as "the best value". The teriyaki set, they say, was particularly good.

Teriyaki Dinner $31.80
* Sashimi or Sushi
* Agedashi tofu or chawan mushi
* Beef tataki or yakitori (3 pieces)
* Chicken teriyaki or beef teriyaki
* Miso soup, rice
* Green tea ice cream and Japanese tea

That sounds pretty good, I think. "So $31.80 is per person?" I clarify.
"No, that's $31.80 for two persons", my friend responds.
I almost start to ventilate. "For both? So each person is only $15.90?"
They nod, bemused by my shock.
I brace myself using the table for support. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breath out.

Finally my breathing returns to normal, vision returns and once again I review the available options. Eventually we just settle on the teriyaki option and because we are ordering two sets, we ask for all options so we can taste-test them all.


Cold noodle salad (complimentary)


Green tea


Sashimi


Sushi


Agedashi tofu


Chawan mushi


Beef tataki


Yakitori


Chicken teriyaki



Beef teriyaki


Miso soup


Green tea ice cream


Whoah... now that's a lotta food. Needless to say, we were stuffed and could not finish everything.

Particular highlights for me were the beef tataki and the yakitori, both of which were tender and flavoursome. In terms of award-winning cuisine, I don't think Tetsuya has much to worry about, but at these prices, the food is excellent value, and any lack of finesse is easily forgiven.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look again at what you get for $31.80 for two people.
Either this...

(plus rice and only the beef tataki, sashimi and chicken teriyaki are shared. The other pics are individual portions)

or this...

(plus rice and only the yakitori, sushi and beef teriyaki are shared. The other pics are individual portions)

From what we overheard, the chefs are actually Chinese, not Japanese, but the food is all prepared freshly by the friendly chef in the open kitchen.



Other set menu options (yes, that's for sharing by two people) include:
Teriyaki dinner $31.80
Tempura dinner $32.80
Eel dinner $33.80
Grilled dinner $55.80 (incl deep fried soft shell crab or grilled salmon fillet)
Deluxe sashimi dinner $68.80 (incl deep fried soft shell crab or miso steak)
Live lobster dinner $98.00 (incl live lobster sashimi or teppanyaki lobster)


Kagaya
175 Forest Road, Hurstville
Tel: 02 9580 8099
(bookings strongly recommended)

Opening hours:
Lunch
12pm-3pm daily

Dinner
5.30pm-10.00pm Sun-Thu
6.00pm-10.30pm Fri-Sat