Japanese Fast Casual Continues To Expand

Sitting between fast food and casual restaurants, fast casual establishments are already pretty much the norm in America. More expensive than fast food but cheaper than casual dining, and relying on counter service to keep costs down, fast casual restaurants can be found around the country in both food courts and on the street.

In the last few years, they’ve rapidly become popular here in Melbourne, too. Whether it’s chains like Guzman Y Gomez and Grill’d, or small independent Vietnamese restaurants, salad bars and the like, fast casual dining can be found all over town, usually packed with students or business people, particularly at lunchtime.

Compared to fast food, fast casual restaurants use fresher ingredients and there’s a much more ‘healthy’ vibe. The interiors are often funky and pop culture-inspired, too. Whereas fast food is just cheap and fast, fast casual adds delicious, healthy and chic.

Since last year, we’ve also seen the rise of Japanese fast casual restaurants, which are even drawing attention from within the local Japanese community. The most recent example is Udon Yasan, which opened in October on Burke Street. For those who may not know, udon is a traditional Japanese noodle dish that ranks alongside ramen in terms of popularity in Japan. Among the various udon types, Sanuki Udon – a thick, firm udon from Shikoku area – forms the basis of fast casual udon restaurant menus throughout Japan.

Unsurprisingly, Udon Yasan emphasises quality ingredients as a key selling point. Whether it’s the flour in the noodles or the vegetables and seafood in the toppings, everything is fresh and locally-grown or caught. They even import what is traditionally considered the ‘soul’ of udon cooking – the dashi soup – directly from an established Shikoku restaurant. To order, you combine your chosen udon and soup varieties then add your desired toppings. It’s simple, and means you can enjoy real Japanese-style udon from only a few dollars.

Other Japanese fast casual restaurants, like Rice Workshop and Pepper Lunch, have been here far longer and already started establishing outlets in the suburbs.

Fukuryu Ramen and similar ramen establishments could also be considered fast casual.

Until now, Japanese food in Melbourne has generally been split into ‘high-end’ or ‘sushi roll takeaway’ extremes, but now there’s a new wave of fast casual restaurants to fill the gap between them. It proves Melbourne’s Japanese scene is getting more diverse, and for Japanese food fans, that’s brilliant news.