By Gary Lee
ILZA Japanese Cafe Seddon is a relatively new addition to Seddon. It’s bright and welcoming, offering a casual, comforting twist on home-style Japanese cuisine.
The interior is polished and contemporary. Overhead large, round paper lanterns hang (I think they are a type of chochin) adding to the cosy Japanese-inspired ambiance.
The set-up lends itself to solo meals or catch-ups with friends and family. In fact, that was the exact configuration for when we visited, three tables of twos and a solo diner tucking into some soft-shell crab baos (I was scouting the room for meal ideas).
The first thing that caught our eye was their rather unique drinks menu and we hurriedly ordered a matcha latte and the peanut butter latte, which arrived promptly and were extremely delicious. Whilst one was sweet and the other distinctly savoury, they both were served hot and velvety. I am keen to try their ube latte next time!
The menu features highly descriptive photos that made it easy to choose our meals! We ultimately ordered the rice bowls (donburi), simple, classic Japanese comfort food.
We had the pork belly don, sliced pork laid over a bed of steamed rice and served with a soft-boiled egg (onsen tamago) and salad on the side. The chicken karaage don consisted of Japanese-style fried chicken made of crispy, bite-sized chicken pieces (like popcorn chicken), served with rice and salad.
The pork belly was tender and flavourful, coated in a rich glaze, although it was a little sweeter than my personal preference. The karaage was enjoyable, though I would have loved them a bit crispier for that extra crunch. That said, the ILZA signature house mustard sauce really elevated the dish and brought everything together.
We also tried the beef Menchi balls (known as), appetising minced meat croquettes that you can get for half price on Fridays.
ILZA offers special promotions for the week if you want to plan your visit around your favourites including a 15% off for udon on Thursdays, half price karaage on Saturdays or $10 cakes on Sundays – all dine in only. But do check in with them before you come in to make sure the offer is on.
Itadakimasu!
ILZA Japanese Cafe
105A Victoria St, Seddon.
