In my blog, I don't often write second posts about restaurants I go to unless they change management, which warrants a reevaluation. The other exception I make is for some of my favourite venues which I keep coming back to, and hadn't written about for several years. Amimoto falls squarely into the second category as one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in Queensland. I make a point to come every time I am in the Gold Coast and they have been consistently great, so it's worth another post, seven years after my last.
Still situated in the dingy Lido Arcade, many other shops have tried to open in the laneway and have always had to close down. Nowdays only Amimoto remains. Before Covid, they expanded a fair way out into the laneway to serve more patrons, but when we recently went, it had noticeably shrunken to have all the tables contained inside the restaurant. As such, to avoid disappointment, a booking is essential.
The menu hasn't changed since I've been there, but prices have gone up ever so slightly in line with inflation however meals here remain exceptionally good value. If something like this opened in Brisbane, there is no doubt I would dine here at least once a week.
Having not been back to the coast for a while, I went all out and ordered everything my heart desired. It was a struggle for the two of us to finish it all, but the joy of seeing it on my table was well worth it.
Starting off always with the large sashimi, the cuts remained the same as before with three pieces of each fish but the slices were definitely larger than I had remembered. Each piece was unbelievably fresh and generously cut. My favourite this time was the combination sashimi sushi that contained all cuts of fish, avocado wrapped in seaweed.
Also consistently delicious is the Sake Oyako don, which was of course salmon and ikura atop a bed of rice. The amount of ikura was very generous and we both had quite a few, despite sharing. The salmon was again fresh and thick cut and the rice was lightly vinegared to perfection. As you can see in the photo, the rice to topping ratio was superb.
Despite our large sashimi, we also had a Chirashi Don to share, because there is no such thing as too much sashimi. The components were similar to the sashimi platter, with the addition of prawns, crab sticks, scallops and avocado. This was less easy to share as some cuts only had one piece, but I was lucky Dr L let me pick what I wanted. Of all the cuts in the bowl, my favourite here would definitely be the scallops with ikura which were sweet with popping umami goodness. Basically this was happiness in a bowl.
Although we were very full, I couldn't help but order another serve of tuna sushi. For $4.50 this was excellent value. Again the tuna was fresh, lean and meaty. There was a good amount of rice and the sushi was rolled on the spot by the chef. The meal was heavenly as usual and I can't wait to come again.
Price Range: $25 - $35pp (we paid $50 each but definitely over ordered)
Taste: 9/10
Value: 10/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 5/10
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