ku-kai izakaya - 43 Admiralty Rd W

A very nice place to hang out, a little abroad vibe with views overlooking Johor, at one of the very end (or literally the most northern part of mainland Singapore). Of course, it is quite far and if you don't drive, spending money on cabs on top of the food and drinks there is not going to be cheap. However, the ambience, setting and views coupled with nice sea breeze is definitely worth an occasional visit. Good choice of food selection, but felt maybe a bit lacking with the grill selections. Would love to see more varieties from meat (various parts of meat, poultry etc.) to vegetables. The other items like fried chicken cutlet and squid were also delicious. Probably not worth to order were the fries with mentaiko sauce and the okonomiyaki. Drinks wise tower only have Suntory black and white, and would like to see Asahi or Sapporo for tower selection as well for the future as definitely preferred the last two for easier drinking.

We will be back again with the family! We really enjoy the skewers. The hot house sake was surprisingly good. And service was fabulous, crew came with a mosquito coil when she realised I was struggling with the bites, and her gesture caught me by surprise :)

Came here due to the hype of the location and the ambience. Really scenic place w yachts. The little outdoor izakaya with a tiny tori gate really is a very breathtaking scene out of Singapore. Sunset made the view amazing. However in summary, won't come again because it's paying for the ambience only. Walked in on a thursday evening 7pm and there are 3 big groups and 2 small groups. 5 empty tables outside with reserved sign. Food wise it's pretty pricey and you can get better for less elsewhere... Taste wise is pretty average... and takes forever to come even though it wasn't full house. Staff didn't update our missing beef skewer after so long to realise they are out of stock cause the bigger groups ordered more.. but regardless they are polite and smiley so I guess it's fine. ? Ordered a Skewer set of 7 and we only liked the chicken thighs and Meat ball. Juicy and tender with good sauce. Rest is dehydrated from the grilling and some overly charred it's black and dry. I rate 2/5 ? ? Tempura ala carte. Tempura ingredients were 2 shrimps, 1 lotus root slice, 1 egg plant, 2 sliced carrotsn 1 slice of pumpkin and 2 veg thing we cant tell with panko batter. Shrimps were small and is not as savory. Batter is thin and lightly fried. Lacked of flavour. Ponzu sauce lacked in umami too.. I rate 1/5 ? ? Grilled squid w Mayo was pretty good. Charring was nicely done and has a good smokey flavour. Chewy and would be great as a pairing w drinks. I rate 4/5 ? Water is not complimentary and its $1. Green tea is $3 non refillable

To be objective, we didn’t face most of the issues highlighted in other negative reviews. While we did have to wait for the BBQ skewers to arrive, it was approximately 30mins or so from our ordering time, and other dishes also came in between so we weren’t sitting around with no food. So the waiting time was fair for us. We did observe that people who came later than us did wait quite a period of time for their food. The skewers were delicious and nicely charred, but it was honestly quite overpriced. 1 skewer averages around $4-5 :/ We also tried the oden which had so much potential to be delicious but a pity it was served to us lukewarm. The grilled squid was also served lukewarm, which is puzzling why they didn’t serve us food that was piping hot if they’re freshly prepared. Fried chicken and tempera did come hot, and they tasted good. Ambience was great, only if it happened to be windy. But it isn’t in their control to be fair. Just be warned that it can get quite humid. One issue I have is that they serve iced water at $1, and the size of the cup is ridiculously small (refer to pic). I mean yes, they refill it for free but it’s near to impossible to catch the servers’ attention and even if you do, they take ages to refill it. Not sure if it’s a tactic for you to order other more pricey drinks but this really left a bad taste for us. Overall, just…. Overpriced. We paid $350 for 5 pax. And at this pricing, we can honestly get more/better. Won’t be returning unfortunately, but there is a certain novelty in heading there (just once).

We had a different view in the afternoon before the rain. Peaceful but a bit hot. Food is nice with the reasonable price just the place is far from the city and lonely. I made a film filter for the photos which is the mood of the day. ?

First time been there. Well, a faraway place to get there. Scenery is something that you won't want to miss it. Food is so-so as most of the skewers of food is a bit more on the salty side. Now, the worst had come. If you've chosen to sit at the outdoor, they didn't provide even a small table lamp or even candles to light the tables, so that you know what you're eating. A few of us have to use the handphone torch to on it so to eat our food. This area, was quite disappointing. When asked why, the answer is so that it creates more romantic. My gush, what about a family dining celebration? How to be romantic? Nonetheless, the drinks and the food is probably reasonable in price, but the outdoor place is definitely a daunting experience with my family, esp you're there to celebrate mother's day.

Contrary to some of the negative reviews here, my group of friends and I had a wonderful experience here! The ambience was just nice on a weekday night and we could get a seat immediately upon arrival at 8pm. The waiters were attentive and approached us shortly after we reached. The location really complements the vibe that this izakaya is going for. They aren't kidding around with their food! The prices are a little steep, but worth every cent in my opinion. Every dish is served piping hot and comes with a little taste of "char". It's a real wonder how they aren't more popular yet! 2 out of 2 friends both confessed on the spot that they would love to make a second visit. *chefs kiss* visit them before they blow up!

Thought I need to save the bad reviews it gotten.. the restaurant was not bad! My family and I went on a weekday dinner (6.30pm) and it was not crowded food was served promptly (~10mins). The sea breeze and tranquil scenery made it a good place to chill and relax. The food served was fresh and in good portions. The waitress explained and recommended us dishes to order and they were pretty decent too! I don’t write many reviews but I thought this restaurant is really not too bad and decided to put in some time to draft this out. Worth the visit definitely. We will go again!