Vegan Japanese restaurant Izakaya Midori opens on Gold Coast

The Gold Coast’s first fully plant-based Japanese restaurant and bar — reinventing mouth-watering favourites such as curry, katsu, karaage and nigiri — is set to throw open its doors very soon.

THE city’s first fully plant-based Japanese restaurant is set to officially throw open its doors on the Gold Coast tomorrow.

Izakaya Midori, loosely translating as “green Japanese-style bar’’, is owned by former Kiyomi at The Star chef Fumiyoshi Iwasaki, his wife and marketing manager Yuka Otani, as well as business partner and front of house manager Yuki Kanazawa and his wife and barista Lilian Chang.

It is the city’s first restaurant offering a full suite of traditional Japanese menu items – “veganised’’ – across lunch and dinner.

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It’s all plant based! Picture Glenn Hampson

Mr Kanazawa said they offered “plant-based sushi, a typical Japanese curry, karaage, katsu and teriyaki ‘chicken,’ all the typical Japanese food for lunch’’.

“It is more tapas style for dinner, like agedashi tofu, edamame, gyoza, and a fusion dish, ceviche, which is a cold dish of mushrooms with a miso-based teriyaki sauce and vegetables,” he said.

The Reedy Creek restaurant also offered poke canapes, soba, udon, and ramen.

Its gyoza, sushi and creamy “korokke’’ croquette would be signature dishes, he said.

Yuki Kanazawa and wife Lilian Chang, with Yuka Otani and her husband Fumiyoshi Iwasaki, toasting their hard work. Picture Glenn Hampson

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“We’ve got the chef’s special, which is handmade nigiri rice with sliced fish on top. We use marinated vegetables that taste like fish,” Mr Kanazawa said.

“All the flavours are authentic and the chef has used his experience working at Japanese restaurants to create traditional recipes.”

Mr Kanazawa said the restaurant was a year in the making after the group’s vegan friends “struggled” to find a Japanese restaurant with sufficient plant-based options.

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Yum! Picture Glenn Hampson

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He said it was his wife, Ms Chang, and Ms Otani who inspired them all to become vegan, concerned about the environment and cruelty to animals.

Mr Kanazawa said the restaurant had a “very green, organic feel” with inside plants and smatterings of Japanese touches, such as lanterns and noren door curtains.

A generous vegan wine and alcohol list was available.

A soft opening was held on June 30.

The official opening of Izakaya Midori will be tomorrow.

The restaurant, at Shop 7, 50 Woodlands Drive, is open Wednesday to Monday from 11am-8pm, but closes later at 10.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

The restaurant opens tomorrow. Picture Glenn Hampson