Tasuke

Ph: (02) 6257 9711; Sydney Building, 122 Alinga St, Canberra 2600

Japanese, $
Open Lunch Mon-Sat noon-4pm Dinner Tue-Sat 5.30-10pm; Licensed, BYO , Corkage $4 person; MC V EFT
Chef Yuji Takeda (29-11-08) Owner Donna Mao (29-11-08)

Mietta's Review
The Alinga St window is decorated with packets of extremely Aussie looking sandwiches. Inside the door the desk is packed with similar items - giant Anzac biscuits, extraodinarily colourful plastic sundaes (a mix of Japanese and Australian culture), lollies and all manner of other kiosk ephemera. The small narrow room is decorated with illustrated, texta on paper, specials fluttering along an entire wall. It all adds up to a rather nice, if slightly eccentric, place to eat a cheap Japanese meal. Extremely courteous and efficient service masks any deficiencies the food might have.

Other published opinions

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 13/20 "Being a modest hole-in-the-wall right next to Civic's main bus station might sound like a culinary liability. Nonetheless, the folks at Tasuke, who have been in the same location for years, have managed to turn this Tokyostyle cafe into a very desirable eatery, with simple pine benches and hand-written and illustrated flags that pass for a menu"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 13/20 "Tasuke is a well-hidden gem of Tokyo-style eating snuggled into a narrow space fronting the city bus depot"

Canberra Times Bryan Martin, 14-03-07 " Probably the best of its style in Canberra, with a vast array of unique and classic Japanese foods at a very reasonable price. A place to, go back to again and again."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 13/20 "Tucked away opposite the less-than- glamorous city bus interchange is a marvellous Tokyo-style Japanese eatery. The tiny narrow room is decorated with flapping menu flags with drawings of specials and explanations in Japanese and English, as well as shiny plastic panels with photos showing standard offerings."

SMH Good Food Guide 2006 Score 13/20 "Disguised by an unassuming front window full of workaday sandwiches and giant Anzac biscuits, Tasuke is a hidden gem. This tiny hole-in-the-wall diner is festooned with paper flags advertising specials and menu staples, so take your time and relax on the pine benches that run along the wall. Chef Yuji Takeda works away in his minuscule kitchen, producing the national capital's best Japanese"

Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide 2006 - Best cheap eats "In the city, Tasuke is serendipitously both the city's best Japanese and one of its cheapest."

SMH GFG 2005 Score 13/20 "From the outside it may look as if you're at a bus interchange in Canberra. From the inside it's as if you're in a little diner in Tokyo, with the narrow room's purple wall, blue marble-like tables and the specials written in Texta on the squares of paper above the kitchen. They flutter like prayer flags, the drawings of dishes done in the, let's be kind, naive style."

Gourmet Restaurant Guide 2005 mentioned in Best Cheap Eats for Japanese food.

SMH GFG 2004,Score 13/20,'Their freshness is remarkable when you consider the modest surrounds and the service is friendly and assured.Students of Japanese culture can satisfy their cravings for nasu dengaku and edamame while diners on the go can make the best of meal-in-a-bowl noodle dishes and bento boxes.'