For some Japanese food is quite bland. You know, all that raw fish and clear soup kind of stuff. However, for me Japanese food is more than that. It provides you choices – you can want it strong or you can just have it light, kind of like alcohol in some sense.
Izakaya Goma is an establishment on Anzac Parade near the Bowen Library towards the Maroubra Junction way. And for me, it represents this choice. From sashimi (raw fish) to light broth to strong grill, Izakaya Goma always managed to have something on the menu for my different preferences on different days.
If you are looking for a fancy Japanese restaurant, Izakaya Goma will not be your venue of choice. But if you are just looking for somewhere you can just sit with a few friends, chill and relax with some homey Japanese food, this place will not disappoint. The décor is simple yet warm and welcoming, it is just like your average suburb Japanese kitchen where while you are having a chat with friends, chilling on your sake, your friendly chef is cooking up a feast in the kitchen behind glass counter right to your left. In that sense, Izakaya Goma completely filled its bill as Izakaya literally means small inexpensive bar serving snacks and drinks.
Of course, as an establishment, Izakaya Goma has a lot more to offer. I never had any issues choosing from the expansive lunch set menu from fancy Wagyu Steaks and Grilled Salmon to more popular and well recognised dishes like Chicken Katsu and Karage. Each set comes with miso soup, rice, salad and fruit. Pricing between $13.80 all the way to $27. It is really something for budgets of all kinds in my opinion. And mind you, prices only go up significantly if you opted for lunch sets involving sashimi, otherwise it will mostly be under 20 bucks. And if you are like me, who prefer to drink their free nicely fruit infused water instead of ordering other drinks for lunch, the set you order is the amount you are paying for.
Of course, it is a Japanese eatery so if the food is not good, whatever the price or décor are don’t really matter. So far, I haven’t tried anything I personally did not like. I am not a big fan of deep friend dishes as most of the time they tend to be really dry and overcooked. However, my experience with Izakaya Goma’s Katsu and Karage were quite positive. I usually order them when I just want a quick simple lunch without taxing on my bank account. To my surprise, the chef was able to consistently keep the piece of meat under the layers of crumbs and fried sauce very juicy and tender while keeping the crunchy layers, well…very crunchy. Even when you are having them served with the curry fried rice (Japanese curry not Indian curry), because the meat is still juicy and tender, it enriches the whole dish along with that savoury sweet and mildly spicy Japanese curry sauce. I rarely order deep fried meat, but Izakaya Goma is one of the few places I will do so.
If you prefer stronger taste dishes, I would recommend their grill dishes. I particularly like their grilled salmon because as a person who doesn’t like fish skin on his fillets, Izakaya Goma always managed to make me eat the skin, sometimes right from the start, because the skin was grilled to perfect crispiness even when it was dosed over by the grill sauce. The fish is always flaky enough without feeling over cooked or too dry (which I think is extremely important for salmon). I also enjoy dipping the rice into the grilled sauce as it makes the rice even more appetising.
As a Japanese restaurant, sushi is expected on the menu. I usually order sashimi sushi as I always have a thing that you don’t eat egg sushi at a proper Japanese restaurant. The sashimi I had so far were always fresh and the rice under the fish was just sticky and firm enough without falling apart when you picked the sushi up from the plate. From my point of view, if the rice fell apart as soon as you picked it up, that means the rice is stale and the sushi is not fresh. It is a big big taboo for me.
Personally, at the price and the quality the food it offers, I think Izakaya Goma is very value for money. And it is because of that I kept going back. Also, parking is quite easy in the evening with the parking island in the middle of the road right opposite to the restaurant. And in the afternoon, you can easily get 2 hours free parking there.
If you want to find out more about Izakaya Goma you can visit their web site here. If you want to know its exact address, it is at 693 Anzac Parade, Maroubra. Oh, they also offer party pack menu, though I haven’t tried them myself.
