Ku-O at the Gabba

I and my partner have been here so many times. Food is always amazing. It’s one of our favorites Japanese restaurants in Brisbane. 🩷

Surprisingly quiet for such an amazing feed! The food was fast and delicious. We tried a lot of different dishes and have no complaints at all

Service and food is excellent! It's inside Trafalgar Lane. The Ungai Bento had much variety and I enjoyed all of it. Thr Rainbow Maki had good portions of frssh salmon and tuna - excellent. We also ordered karaage chicken which was also very tasty. Would love to come back for their hotpot which feeds two!

Favourite Japanese restaurant! Loved the Sunnybank restaurant but the Gabba one is my favourite! The food is always amazing and the atmosphere is so nice!

5 stars service and Great food!
Outstanding dining experience!
A diverse, extensive menu with abundant choices.
Impeccably fresh sashimi with beautifully presented dishes.
Exceptionally friendly and attentive staffs who generously treated us complimentary appetizers.

every dish were amazing.
beef salad was full of UMAMI
Tempura was crispy enough
and sashimi was so fresh
100% coming back

Great Japanese restaurant in Gabba. An extension of the original in Sunnybank. Had the wagyu sukiyaki set and mixed sashimi salad. Very tasty and good portion. Reasonable price as well. Quick service although look understaff, could hire another extra person on the floor to be less rushed. Nice Japanese decoration and atmosphere. Clean and well maintained. Highly recommended!

I love this restaurant and the lovely staff here. Japanese food and seafood are very delicious 😋 highly recommend

Regular dining and never disappoints! Consistent quality of dishes and friendly service.

Great food, chicken katzu is exceptional, the waiter is really friendly here, great option if you want to have decent jp food in reasonable price, will def come back again when visiting gabba!

Love this place. Beautiful restaurant, very comfortable atmosphere. The food is amazing. Cooked perfectly. Friendly service. We will definitely visit again. Keen to try the sashimi next time! 😋

FOOD & DRINK
We stumbled upon this fab little Japanese restaurant while trawling around looking for somewhere to eat, after our first choice bombed out. It was a quiet Thursday night in late October, and what a find it was. Only afterwards, did I look at the reviews, to see that Ku has an average score of 4.5. That’s no surprise, and it's well deserved, given the high quality of the food and the overall positive restaurant experience.

Being just my wife and I dining, we stuck to a fairly simple ordering protocol: a bottle of my fav Sapporo ale, a seaweed salad, a salmon teriyaki for my wife and a chicken katsu “set” for me. And what excellent meals these were. Serving sizes were generous, and everything was fresh and tasty. Clearly only the best premium grade ingredients are used. The seaweed salad was beautiful and crunchy, served on a stylish oval shaped bowl topped with lettuce to temper the flavour. My chicken katsu was succulent and tender, wrapped in a crispy batter with a white sauce sprinkled over each piece to spice it up. Included in the “set” was a serve of fluffy rice, and a selection of different vegetables and rounded off with a bowl of miso soup. A delicious all round meal. My wife’s salmon was similarly outstanding with a large piece of plumb salmon cooked to perfection and served with rice, salad and vegetables. We couldn’t have been happier with our meals. Chefs deserve a pat on the back.

AMBIENCE
The place has been tastefully decked out in a traditional Japanese style: Elegant yet unpretentious, with attractive timber features and a colourful display of Japanese style umbrellas hanging upside down from the ceiling. It was about half full, which meant that it was easy to get a table at around 7.00pm. The ambience was super casual, laid back and relaxed with good acoustics, strong lighting and comfortable furniture. It’s a homely, calm and welcoming space that you’ll feel happy to be in, the moment you walk through the door.

SERVICE
As one would expect from a place that excels in every department, the service was first class too. We were warmly welcomed by the friendly and polite maître d and even though we didn't have a booking, he found a nice table for us, near the middle of the room. Our orders were promptly taken and the drinks and food came out quickly. This place hums like a well oiled machine and it all runs smoothly. That’s just the way we like it.

COST
We paid a reasonable 63 pesos for a single beer, a seaweed salad and two main courses, the chicken katsu and the salmon teriyaki. That’s right on point for what we had, and given the high quality of the food and service and the perfect ambience we felt that was a fair price to pay, considering that a humble cup of coffee these days costs upwards of 5 pesos.

TOILETS
There are a few restaurants in this little arcade and they seem to share the same toilets, so one needs to grab a fob first. But the fob is prominently displayed at the entrance to the restaurant, next to the front desk. It’s on a hook and attached to a large spoon so it’s easy to spot. I’m not a great fan of shared toilets in public spaces, but these were well signposted, clean and adequately provisioned with a few unisex cubicles which meant that there was no waiting for one to become available.

PARKING
Easy street parking nearby.

SUMMARY
We had a satisfying evening here and I’d happily visit Ku-O again. The food was superb and served in generous portions. Service was fast, efficient and polite. The classic Japanese décor creates the perfect calm and laid back ambience to enjoy a relaxing meal with family or friends. Prices are reasonable, there are clean toilets and easy street parking.

Went for dinner with my partner and the quality of food for the price was exceptional. Even on the occasions I've just gotten lunch take away they still gave me water to drink while I waited. They even have a neat little rewards card, one of my new favourite places to visit when I'm up in Brisbane.

Stopped in for lunch and all of the food was fantastic.
Sushi rolls (eg spider roll) seem expensive at $18-20 but the portions are large, they are essentially a main meal.
The teriyaki chicken rice bowl was delicious, it has that thick rich teriyaki sauce.
Partner had a mocktail which was not worth the money.

Have dined here a few times and the food is always incredible. The restaurant is set out well and the staff are so kind and helpful to all. I would absolutely recommend trying the pork belly with yuzu vinegar at this wonderful restaurant

Always amazing food and a great atmosphere. The sashimi is always fresh and the spicy edamame is amazing. Never been to a place that has fresh off the stalk edamame before. The chef is very attentive and the attention to detail is unsurpassed. Highly recommended for those who love melt in your mouth sashimi. Even if it is your first time with raw fish, this would be the place to wet your feet.

Ku-O is the Hidden Japanese gem at Trafalgar Square. Dined in for lunch at 1pm. Ordered the Sashimi that came with Tuna, Salmon, Scallops, caviar accompanied with the House Beer. Took approximately 13 minutes from order to being plated. The server was good seemed a bit hesitant not sure why as she was doing a lovely job.

The scallops were buttery and the fish eggs gave that pop of Saltiness like tasting the ocean. The Presentation is Immaculate. Whoever makes these 10/10 for the beautifully presented dish as seen in the pics the ornate Swan like Lemon and Butterfly Carrot were pretty and added character to the plate. This is not your ordinary Japanese diner.

Secondly, had the Chicken Katsu and to be honest not my favourite as BBQ sauce with Fried chicken isn't my thing however the warm Miso cleared my pallet and the Crunchy sesame slaw balanced the tartiness of the sauce. I would go with the grilled chicken next time on request.

All in all I would come here again. They had a group lunch next to me of 20 people and did well to serve everyone. Hopefully the fish is a little bit more chilled next time but excellent dish
Would reorder. Spent about $45. Bargain for what you get 2x meals and a Beverage.

Such a lovely local restaurant. Food is always fantastic and very humbly priced. Service is equally as good. Always our go to!

Ku-O was getting absolutely smashed with a pre game cricket crowd. There was plenty of impatient rude customers, however the crew rostered on maintained polite fast-paced service. Food was wonderful. We will definitely be back!

What an absolutely delightful find! Although the pricing is around 20% higher than its general competitors, you can expect to receive a 120% return on quality. The food is exceptional, seafood is FRESH and the customer service is genuine.
They are unfortunately hidden from plain sight tucked down Trafalgar lane, so please for the love of god people, find it! Eat there! And spread the word! I don’t want this little gem to disappear!!!