Coo Izakaya

Location: 15 East Row, Sydney Building, Canberra
Phone: (02) 6257 2233
Link: www.iori.com.au/coo/index.htm
Cuisine: Japanese

I've had Iori, and its sister restaurant Coo, recommended to me a few times, so when my parents came up to visit me, I decided to try out Coo.

Coo had a nice set up and sported an almost-tapas like menu with an extensive range of smaller dishes and a few larger ones. We decided to go tapas-style and ordered an assortment of the smaller dishes.

renkon chips - deep fried lotus root

First to arrive was the renkon chips, essentially deep fried thinly sliced lotus root. The crunchy slivers of lotus root had an interesting texture. and were lightly seasoned. 

spider roll - inside-out sushi roll filled with tempura soft shell crab,
lettuce, avocado, cucumber and seafood stick, wrapped with
special Aburi salmon

This was one of the most interesting items on the menu, and there were no regrets in trying it out. The spider roll was a beautiful combination of flavours and textures. 

Shio Saba - grilled mackerel

This dish was a bit of a disappointment for me, both in size and in quality. The serving size was rather small and the sauce was rather lacking. The mackerel was a tad overcooked and had a dry and brittle texture.

Coo ramen

The ramen was a bit of a gimmick - served in a stone pot over a flame. The broth was light and flavoursome, the noodles 'al dente' and the vegies plentiful. However, the ramen was nothing like the ramen I've had at Ramen Ya and Meshiya, it was missing the menya (picked bamboo) and would have tasted a significantly better if it had some meat in it.

Teri chicken

The highlight of the night was the teri chicken. The tender juicy pieces of chicken were smothered in a beautiful teriyaki sauce and the salad was light and refreshing.

We finished off the meal with a scoop of green tea ice-cream. The ice-cream was unlike normal ice-cream and had a slightly chewy texture, as though tapioca powder had been added to the mix. The result was a scoop of ice-cream that did not melt and collapse into a puddle as easily as normal ice-cream would, in fact, it managed to hold its shape until the very last bite.

.

The service was varied, The main waitress who took our orders and looked after our table was rather rude and dismissive, something I would not have expected at a restaurant of Coo's standing. The other waiter who brought us some of our dishes, on the other hand, was quite friendly and eager to help.

Food-wise, the experience was great, but I won't be rushing back for the service. Might give it's sister restaurant, Iori, a shot first.

Overall Impression: 7.5/10