J's Surf and Turf

133 Were St
Brighton, VIC 3186
Tel: 03 9592 6500

I first read about J's Surf and Turf from Jfox on Flagrant Food Fawning. I was fawning all right, over the unlimited oysters you can have. I know that other buffets have all you can eat oysters, but to combine that with sushi and sashimi as well, I'm in heaven.

Finally, after months of organising, I went there with my work mates. The restaurant is this weird little shop in the middle of a bunch of tiny shops along a housing road. Their reputation must spread far and wide though because the place was packed out for three sittings that night. Wow. I didn't think they could do it, but I was sorely wrong, with the service faster than McDonalds drive through.

The instant that we sat down, we quickly ordered knowing the clock was ticking. We ordered lots of Sashimi and Sushi, which arrived so quickly that they must have been pre-made. The Sushi and Sashimi were ok, not the worse, but not exactly great.


We then asked for our oysters, 6 dozen between 7 (although 3 didn't want to eat any hehehe, you do the maths). So I had slurped down my two dozen oysters, which were fairly good but again, not fantastic.


We ordered most of the dishes off the menu. The Beef and Asparagus salad was very good, the sesame sauce being the highlight.


The Tempura Prawns and Vegetables again were quite good. The prawns were large and fairly juicy.


The Takoyaki was a bit disappointing, the batter being ultra gluggy.


Other dishes like Smoked Eel, Teriyaki Chicken, Yakitori, Fried Chicken and Gyoza weren't quite so successful. Overall, it didn't really live up to my expectations. The oysters were the big drawcard for me but having said that, I probably wouldn't go back. I actually prefer Yamagata, which is also all you can eat Japanese. Service at Yamagata is atrocious, but the food there is better and has more variety. It doesn't have the oysters though.

There isn't much of an ambience there, just a large white room with lots of packed together tables and people. Service is ultra efficient and helpful. I would say it's probably value for money if you scoff two dozen oysters like I did. But having said that, I wouldn't go back just for the oysters.

Overall Rating: 11/20, The oysters are a drawcard but most of the food is not that good.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20:Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.