Shimbashi Soba & Sake Bar - Melbourne

Shimbashi Soba and Sake Bar offers Japanese specialties in the heart of Chinatown. Apart from sake, the cafe offers soba noodles. Soba noodles are usually served in broth. The noodles are made of buckwheat, grown in Tasmania. Buckwheat is a seed, not a grain, so it's gluten free. Soba noodles require quite some skill in the making, they are quite tasty.

Soba is Japanese for buckwheat. Buckwheat is not a grain, it is a seed, so it is gluten free. Soba can be eaten cold, or hot with broth. In Japan, most soba is grown in the northern island of Hokkaido. Shimbashi make their own soba noodles in-house, from buckwheat grown in Tasmania. The noodles come with a dipping sauce (mainly soy) and wasabi. Shimbashi have a good range of wines, sake and beer. I had a Kirin Megumi First Press beer, my favorite Japanese beer.

Having been lured by the attractive menu, I chose terryaki chicken. It came is a box with a number of side dishes, including a delcious side of eggplant, which had been baked and came with a carmelised glaze. Miso soup and water is included. I also had a Kirin Megumi, a first press Japanese beer which resembles a malty pale ale. It came with its own special chilled tankard. By the way, if you pay cash your received a 10% discount.The meal was excellent and quite inexpensive.

We were wandering around the CBD in Melbourne and we had initially thought we'd try another place on Liverpool St, but there was a lengthy wait, and Shimbashi we could basically walk in. We were greeted by a host that seemed to be eating at the time when we walked in. Found that a bit odd, but no matter. There was a cute little table for 2 which was perfect. Shimbashi, like soba places in Japan is very small interior. There were tables for 2-4 along the wall and then a communal table of ~10 in the middle of the restaurant. We were provided menus and then it seemed to take a while before the servers came around. The servers would drop food at adjacent tables but then quickly scoot away. Once we ordered, it was mere minutes before our food was on the (very small) table. We had ordered some edamame, gyoza, tempura, and okonomiyaki. I was surprised by how quickly our food was out. Hot and fresh ! All was very good ! Our Server when dropping off food, had to wait while we tried to clear room on the table for the next dish. Overall, the interior of Shimbashi seems a bit tired, but overall clean. Food is very good and is served up hot and fresh. Service here is a bit confusing, but our servers were very pleasant. I would definitely recommend Shimbashi. When we were ready to head out there were a large number of people waiting to get it. If they take reservations, it might be helpful to make them.

Great little place with a simple menu of a range of soba noodles and Don etc. The Japanese tapas selection is wonderful. Good sake as well.