We came here for dinner last weekend on recommendation of a friend.

It’s quite a funky looking restaurant from the street and we were looking forward to trying out a new Japanese restaurant.

The dining room inside is very small but the wooden chairs and tables are very rustic looking and the fairy lights hanging from the roof give it an intimate touch.

There are some very interesting/strange menu choices blending east and western foods such as tofu lasagne, garlic chips, wasabi garlic bread and tofu dip Japanese nachos….

We ordered Edamame beans $4 and tempura prawns and vegetables for entree $18. I prefer it when the edamame beans are still slightly warm from the boiling water - these were cold and they could have been saltier. The tempura was nice but felt it could have been better value and should have included some more vegetables.

For mains we ordered chicken teriyaki $16. I normally prefer it with a crispy skin and with a bit of a western blend, it came out with a dab of mashed potato. I also ordered from the specials menu somen noodles. I haven’t ordered this before and for some reason when reading the description I was sure it was a noodle soup dish but instead it was a cold noodle dish with chopped raw vegetables, a raw egg yolk and some strange fermented sticky beans. To say the least I wasn’t a fan but that was my fault in not reading the menu. I was disappointed though to have wasted the money on a dish I didn’t like.

I prefer more traditional Japanese fare and perhaps someone who is more willing to experiment and try new blends of cuisine would appreciate this restaurant more.

Service was good, it was just unfortunate that we were seated next to a couple with two young, noisy children which dampened the mood as the restaurant is quite echoey.

Bistro Lamp
Japanese

Shop 5, 3021 Gold Coast Highway
Surfers Paradise, 4217

Phone: 07 5538 4377
Web: http://www.bistrolamp.com

Outside Bistro Lamp

Edamame Beans $4

Tempura prawns and vegetables $18. I thought it could have included more vegetables to make it better value for money

Inside Bistro Lamp

The teriyaki chicken which came with some mashed potato $16

The somen noodles I wasn’t a fan of - from memory approx $17

Technorati Tags: bistro lamp, restaurant review, japanese restaurant, japanese food, dining review, surfers paradise, gold coast, japanese