Go-Zen

By Franz Scheurer

It’s been a blessed week. First we get invited to dinner by Nick, a friend of ours who has jumped over his own shadow and decided that he could cook for us (and it was a fabulous meal!) and then keen foodie friends Bill and Suzy show us a new restaurant that you’d never find on your own.

Go-Zen is tucked away down a laneway, on the left driving towards the Spit from Mosman. It is BYO, very small and has a very large car park. The food, as you might have guessed by its name, is Japanese, but the menu is rather different from most. Although you will find Sushi (only 3 kinds) and Tempura on the menu, this is clearly not their forté. However dishes like ‘Soft-shell Crab’, terrific quality, small crabs, marinated in Mirin and deep-fried in a light and crispy batter is delicious. And ‘Crispy Potato Salad’ (a dish that looks a bit like a deep-fried poodle but consists of angel hair thin potato slivers, fried until crisp and heaped high on a platter, sprinkled with Go-Zen’s own sauce which tastes a little like a mixture of sweet soy and Teriyaki sauce) is a dish everyone loves. This would be a great dish to silence the kids with too.

We particularly enjoyed the half eggplant, steamed until soft and creamy served with a sesame sauce not unlike Middle Eastern tahini. The ‘Beef Tataki’ surprised with much thicker slices of meat, perfectly seared and raw in the middle, served on seasoned raw greens. The ‘Agadashi Tofu’ was a perfect example of ‘deep-fried tofu’ although not as unctuous and gelatinous as I’ve had. A dish of steamed chicken had great texture and I must say that all the flavours were clean and clear and all the food impeccably fresh.

Service with a smile, efficient, friendly and nothing is too much trouble. They’re happy to supply all the necessary glass ware for the wine you bring or transfer the sake to pottery vessels and heat it, if appropriate. Value for money is excellent and if you’re after something a bit different I suggest you give this place a go…. If you can find it.

Score: 6.5/10

Go-Zen Japanese Restaurant

Shop 5

142 Spit Road

Mosman NSW 2088

Tel.: 02 9969 8889