Dining reviewer WENDY JOHNSON visits a new Japanese restaurant where things are done a little differently…

OMI’S claim to fame is “Japanese done different”. 

We landed at Omi after another Japanese restaurant we had planned to visit on Northbourne Avenue was closed, even though all online sources falsely promised it was open. 

How hard is it for hospitality to update websites and social media with accurate information or provide a phone number and message bank for double checking? Grrr.

Anyway, the food at Omi on Bunda Street, Civic, didn’t disappoint. It’s been open for about four months and the fit-out is clean, minimalist and attractive.

Omi’s specialty is modern Asian flavours with traditional Japanese staples such as rice bowls and udon noodles. 

The menu is designed around customer choice… choose your protein, rice or noodles and then a signature sauce Omi creates in house. 

It’s an impressive selection, ranging from light and creamy sauces to heavily spiced. Think salted egg sauce, truffle mayo, Singapore chilli crab, black truffle, black pepper, teriyaki, wasabi mayo and more. 

Those fixated on fries will be intrigued with Omi’s salted-egg fries, truffle fries and wasabi-mayo fries.

To start, our vegetarian gyoza (5 for $11.90) went down well with Singapore chilli crab sauce. Our tofu starter was delightful. Thinly sliced, the tofu was silky and drizzled with Teriyaki sauce ($11.90).

Omi specialises in wonderfully marbled wagyu and sources from award-winning farms such as Blackmore Wagyu (loved by the likes of Neil Perry and Matt Moran), Sher (cattle are pasture fed until 18 months and grain fed for around 400 days) and Robbin (where cattle enjoy Tasmania’s cool climate and pristine environment – even walks along the beach).

Our Signature Wagyu dish ($22.90) was massive, and we were glad we shared. The ingredients were carefully presented in a large black bowl and were super attractive. Bright red Mentaiko looked stunning on the egg. This Alaska pollock roe – marinated in sake, konbu and yuzu and then lightly fermented – is super tasty. 

We loved the texture of the green edamame and the red Japanese pickles added crunch. The rice was perfectly sticky and the wagyu divine. Its marbling was true perfection and the beef not at all fatty or greasy… just succulent and high on taste. We loved the Wasabi mayo sauce.

Although we didn’t indulge, desserts include green-tea crepe cake and Houjicha/Matcha green-tea crème brûlée.

Omi’s service is fast, but our ordering wasn’t. Customers order at their table with a QR code and pay at the end. It didn’t work on one mobile and although it worked on the second mobile the system was fussy and not entirely intuitive. A staff member happily helped by just taking our order. Seems we weren’t the only ones taxed by the system.