Written by John Wastnage
Tuesday 8 April 2025
Cafe Japanon is one of our favourite places to grab lunch in Ultimo. It's located on The Goods Line just 100m from the stunning Frank-Gehry-designed UTS Business School building and has indoor and outdoor seating. Our taste testers rated Cafe Japanon coffee as among the best in Ultimo, and true to its Japanese roots, Japanon's Matcha latte is hard to beat.
The real source of our love affair with this local favourite is its delicious food menu and friendly customer service. The cafe is owned and run by Marcel and Hiroki, and their love infuses everything they serve and the way the whole team operates. Marcel is of Lebanese origins and Hiroki comes from Japan, which explains the cafe's name Jap-anon. They serve the best food from each of those culinary superpowers:
Lebanese Manoush wraps (zataar, labneh, kibbeh & fattoush and felafel with katsu!
Japanese-style sandos, bento boxes, rice bowls and burgers
The City Quokka go-to dish is the Japanon curry rice bowl with karaage chicken or ebi prawn ($16.50), and Marcel's personal recommendation was the beef yakiniku bowl ($15). All are bloody delicious and filling.
Student Deals?
You can't go wrong with a karaage & chips snack pack ($12.50)!
All in all I love this place. I get cravings on certain days and I'm always satisfied with whatever I order.