It had been a while since I caught up with Cherie and Matt so we headed out to have lunch at a place that we new to both of us down in Southport. Nestled at the back of a bunch of shops on the corner of Cotlew St and Bundall Road, the Teppanyaki Cafe is a great way to eat affordable teppanyaki down on the Coast.

Although this cafe is by no means large, they still have a decent number of tables but I still suggest that you book for larger parties, so you do not get disappointed. Lunch was fairly busy and the three of us ended up sitting up near the Teppanyaki grill where you could watch the (non Japanese and rather apathetic) chef prepare the teppan meals, an experience that you normally pay more for at the more spectacular and upmarket Japanese Teppanyaki bars.

Eleven dollars was enough to get us a full teppanyaki set, starting with a traditional Japanese salad, miso soup, then followed by the chicken and vegetable grill and rice, and finally finished off with a scoop of ice-cream. Their lunch menu also offers a wider range of Japanese food including your typical tempura, katsu curry and sushi. Food hot off the teppan grill is guaranteed to be great and we were definitely not disappointed there.

Details: Teppanyaki Cafe
Found on: Shop 8, 201 Ferry Road, Southport
Contactable via: 5591 7155
Highlights: Teppanyaki style Japanese at really affordable prices. The freshness of the food is obvious to all customers.
Room for improvement: You will probably never see the spectacular food throwing chefs you find at the more expensive Japanese restaurants, but for the price it’s still not a bad deal.