I’m so lucky that I work at a University that has a Japanese restaurant on campus! Tsubu is known by most staff and students for their gorgeous beer garden that is shaded by an enormous 120 year old plane tree. It’s a fantastic spot to have a beer and a snack on a Friday arvo after work, though once a week I like to take myself and a book to their dining room for lunch.
They have a really lovely and elegant menu with some classic Japanese items like miso soup, gyoza and okonomiyaki. Everything is served in such a pretty way and you really feel like they put a lot of effort into their presentation and the food itself.
They also have a nice mix of ‘bento box’ items like fried tofu, seaweed salad, bean sprouts and sesame vegetables though it’s their Tofu Steak (grilled silken tofu served with a mixture of sautéed mushrooms and a dashi sauce) that gets me coming back each week. You can request a gluten free or a vegan option of the dish and I generally opt for the vegan one. It’s not in the description, though since I’ve been specifically asking for the vegan version it is accompanied by broad beans as well as the mushrooms (yay!).
The tofu itself is so wonderfully soft and creamy and is actually the closest thing I’ve come across that gives me the same satisfying feeling of soft scrambled eggs….oh how I miss eggs! The tofu is seared so perfectly with a nice peppery crust, it’s a little magical actually because I just know if I tried to sear tofu this soft at home it would fall to pieces! The sauce has a great savouriness which really goes well with the mushrooms and beans. The rice is perfectly cooked and the lovely leaves on the side cut through everything perfectly.
I usually get a camomile tea to go with it which just takes me to a very happy snoozy place indeed.
The staff are always very friendly and accommodating with dietary requirements and the dining room is large enough to go with a group of people or even just on your own to sit and read a book without feeling self conscious and cramped.
I love it here 
