By Marie-Antoinette Issa.
Move over karaage katsu chicken and katsu pork - there’s a new crispy contender in town and you don’t need to plan a trip to Tokyo to tuck in!
Instead, after hitting menus in Melbourne, Queensland and across Japan’s buzzing food scene, gyukatsu - Nippon’s cult-favourite deep-fried beef cutlet - has finally made its way to the Harbour City. Sydney foodies can now get their hands (and chopsticks) on the dish at Gyuniku in Haymarket.
The fact that Gyuniku is the first to bring this dish to Sydney is worth celebrating in itself. Sydney’s food scene is no stranger to Japanese favourites - ramen, sushi, izakaya bites - but gyukatsu has somehow remained elusive. Until now and it’s about time.
Already a popular go-to for its all-you-can-eat Japanese BBQ buffet, Gyuniku has just added gyukatsu to the menu and has included it in its AYCE offering. This makes Gyuniku not only the first venue in Sydney to serve gyukatsu, but the first to do it in a bottomless, buffet-style setting. It’s luxe, it’s crispy, it’s juicy - and now it’s limitless.
For those unfamiliar, gyukatsu is like the beefy cousin of tonkatsu. It involves premium cuts of beef - usually Wagyu or sirloin - coated in Panko breadcrumbs, then lightly fried to golden perfection. The inside stays tender and rare, while the outside crisps up into crunchy, golden goodness. The result is a high-end, textural masterpiece that’s somewhere between steak and schnitzel.
It’s long been a sensation overseas. Just Google ‘gyukatsu’ and you’ll find lines snaking down the street outside Tokyo’s famed restaurants like Gyukatsu Motomura. Closer to home, Reddit threads have been bubbling with Sydney locals asking the same question: "Where can I find gyukatsu in Sydney?” Until now, the answer was: you can’t.
That has all changed with Gyuniku. Located in the heart of Haymarket, this buffet destination is known for its sizzling Wagyu cuts, fresh seafood and modern take on the traditional yakiniku experience. It’s a place where you can grill your own meat tableside, load up your plate with sushi and street food and finish with a swirl of DIY frozen yoghurt.
The addition of gyukatsu is a game-changer. It elevates an already premium buffet offering and sets a new bar for Japanese dining in Sydney. It’s also a smart move - this dish has social media virality built in. Just imagine the cross-section shot of a perfectly pink beef cutlet encased in crunchy crumbs. If that’s not an Instagram moment, what is?
You can try the gyukatsu as part of Gyuniku’s standard buffet sitting, which means unlimited access to the hot food section, sushi conveyor belt and meat stations. You’ll find Korean-style street snacks, Japanese curries, fresh salads and cold dishes on rotation, plus bottomless drinks and desserts depending on your package. It’s the kind of place you go with an empty stomach and stretchy pants.
So, whether you’re a Japanese food purist, a fried food fiend, or just someone who wants to say they tried the latest viral dish before everyone else - this is your moment.
Gyukatsu isn’t just food. It’s a crunchy, juicy, bite-sized taste of Japan’s evolving culinary culture and with Gyuniku’s buffet format, it’s never been easier to go back for seconds…and thirds…and fourths.
