The café and restaurant crowded Rosalie Village in Brisbane's suburban Paddington has another reason to spend the time to find a park in the busy side streets.
Moga Izakaya & Sushi is modelled on the izakaya (bar with shared food) style of dining which is popular in Japan. It’s very Japanese in its appearance from the staff to the décor with the relaxing ambiance that flows from detailed design.
Sonya Fitzpatrick of South Brisbane’s Hana Sushi, is the operator behind this new venue.
The restaurant is located on the corner of Baroona Road and Haig Road near Milton State School in a renovated building that used to be a doctor’s surgery. Dining with my star bar reporter and son Xander Stone, we reminisced about our most memorable visit to this building and our family doctor which involved him being raced off to the Wesley for an emergency appendectomy. Looking back on the incident, he remembers being disappointed on missing out on an ambulance trip to hospital and the strange feeling of lying on a trolley in the lift. Oh the life of a nine-year-old!
As the restaurant at Moga was undergoing renovations, we were limited to the sushi train offering which was no problem. We sat in the front, restaurant section of the venue rather than around the sushi train and our happy and helpful waiter brought them to the table. It’s very open in this part of the restaurant but a large heater kept everything toasty.
We worked our way through a considerable selection of sushi, a touch of tempura and some chicken karaage. The seafood was exquisitely fresh, particularly the scallops. According to our waiter the beef ribs are one of their most popular dishes and after sampling their tasty tenderness I would certainly be back for more.
I’m keen to try food from the Robata grill which burns binchotan charcoal (burns three times hotter and more cleanly than normal charcoal) which gives great flavour to their grilled meat and seafood. There’s also a French influence in their classic meals menu that would be interesting to try.
The restaurant is filled with the images of young Japanese women in flapper Western style dress dating from the 1920s and 30s. The name, Moga, means ‘modern girl’
Bottom line: Dish prices range from $7 to $18, dessert is around $13.
Best tip: Allow time to hunt for a park or dine early.
Moga Izakaya & Sushi
Shop 2, 146 Baroona Road, Paddington
Kerry Heaney
Disclaimer: Ed+bK paid for this meal
