Best Lunch Restaurants in Willoughby

Fabulous restaurant with wonderful food and welcoming host and staff. Highly recommend

This was such a wonderful experience! We got the 5 course degustation & every dish was made to perfection. Highlights were the pavlova dessert (zesty & refreshing) and the zucchini flower / salmon first course. I commented to my friend that I wish I could do this every day. It’s a wonderful restaurant for special occasions.

Good experience had - timely and friendly service, food is good.

Waiting staff and food was exceptionally good. Waiter Dimitri was attentive and we did not feel hurried

We came to Jihomakase for my dad’s birthday and had such a lovely lunch. The whole experience was very personal — the chef runs everything himself, from preparing and explaining the ingredients to serving each dish. He is Korean, but his Japanese cuisine is beautifully done. Everything felt clean, precise and well organised, and there was absolutely no strong fishy smell in the restaurant. We chose the lunch omakase at around $80 per person for about 10 courses. It was perfect for us as we had older family members who don’t eat huge portions. If you have a bigger appetite, definitely ask about the extra dishes — we added wagyu for each of us, plus a bottle of Kubota sake, and it made the meal just right. The restaurant is very small and intimate, with only around eight seats around the kitchen. Sitting at the counter means you can watch the whole process, which was probably my favourite part. The chef also explained and showed us the ingredients as he prepared them. He told us he personally selects the ingredients every morning, which really came through in the quality. For my dad’s birthday, he even prepared an extra mango mochi-style dessert and wished my dad “万寿无疆” (wishing him a long and healthy life) in Chinese. Such a thoughtful little touch. The whole lunch took around two hours and felt very relaxed and smooth. There are also plenty of sake options if you enjoy sake. At the end, the chef personally walked us to the door, which was a lovely way to finish the meal. Overall, a really comfortable and thoughtful omakase experience. Highly recommended for a small celebration, a date, or if you want to take your parents somewhere special without an overly formal or rushed atmosphere. One tip: if you’re worried $80 won’t be enough for a bigger appetite, just quietly ask the chef about extra dishes. He’s happy to add more for an additional charge. We’ll definitely come back. ❤️