Our favourite Teriyaki restaurants around Sydney

Descending a flight of stairs next to busy QVB, you’ll find a tiny underground Japanese diner that’s just like the dime-a-dozen eateries packed underneath railways in Tokyo.

This affordable joint with a prime location packs in a large crowd over both weekends and weekdays alike, and while you’ll see tables tucking into karaage chicken and salmon rolls, one unmissable (and perhaps unassuming) dish here is the teriyaki chicken.

The chicken teishoku set comes with side dishes, rice, miso soup, and features juicy grilled chicken thigh coated in umami teriyaki sauce. Perfect for a midday lunch break or a weekend brunch, Nazimi serves elite teriyaki.

The $19 Teriyaki chicken teishoku set at Nazimi gets Dish Cult’s tick of approval.

Taruhaci is a gorgeous Japanese bar tucked away down an alley in the Northern Sydney neck of the woods. Here you’ll find a charming handwritten menu with printed pictures plastering the walls, and some stunning teriyaki offerings including teriyaki-glazed kingfish and beef.

One of the city’s most authentic and value for money spots, you’ll want to keep coming back for their cosy atmosphere and quality bentos that won’t set you back by more than $20.

Fish-lovers rejoice, their teriyaki fish bento comes with 2 side dishes (that change regularly) and rice for $19.50 and gives you the option of salmon or kingfish. The fish here is delightfully fresh and the teriyaki sauce is neither cloyingly sweet nor overpowering – it’s just great stuff.

Sakura is a comfy, bare-bones Japanese joint serving up teriyaki set meals that are flat-out amazing. This hideout is comfort Japanese food at its best, and the katsu curry is second to none. The teriyaki bento sets are what you’re really here for though, and they come with options from wagyu beef to tofu, and each is perfectly done.

The chicken option comes juicy and bursting with flavour, while the wagyu beef is melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Each (very generously portioned) set meal you order here comes complete with rice, salad and miso soup to round off your hearty, healthy feed.

What should you order at Sakura Japanese Restaurant? Dish Cult recommends the $16 Teriyaki Chicken Set.

Miya reads like an authentic, hole-in-the-wall Japanese eatery where diners dash in for quick bites and casual catchups.

If you’re after a simple teriyaki bento that hits all the right notes the chefs at Miya have got you covered. Their heaping teriyaki chicken bento (at $21.90) comes served with rice, prawn tempura, vege gyoza, spring roll and your choice of salmon or vege rolls – talk about massive value for money.

If you’re looking for something lighter than a full-sized bento, they also serve teriyaki chicken and deep-fried tofu with a side of rice and salad for $17.5 a pop.

Named after the heavenly Japanese sauce in question, you’d expect nothing less than quality teriyaki dishes at this cosy little Balmain joint.

On the menu here are mains like teriyaki chicken, salmon, and beef, all of which come served with fresh green salad or steamed rice.

Teriyaki Boy feels very much like a no-frills homestyle dining room you’d find wandering the streets of Japan, and the ingredients here are fresh and masterfully prepared.

You can also grab other things besides teriyaki-coated goodness, and their yaki gyoza pan-fried dumplings work a treat as the appetiser to a round of sashimi and sushi rolls.

The $24 Teriyaki Beef at Teriyaki Boy is a popular must-try.

A Pyrmont hidden gem, Shiba’s Kitchen is sleek and contemporary goodness with a not-so-secret twist: their Shiba Inu obsession. Named after the adorable Japanese dog, Shiba Inu plushies line this invitingly warm wood-panelled restaurant and provide the cutest company to a mouthwatering meal.

The $19.80 Teriyaki Salmon (+$6.5 for bento set) is a fan favourite, and you can’t really go wrong with freshly grilled salmon slathered in homemade teriyaki sauce served with rice, miso soup, and three pieces of salmon sashimi and pork gyoza. Salmon is fresh and the skin is crispy, making for the perfect combination for a summer (or winter, or spring, or autumn…) day.

There’s lanterns, neon lights, Japanese art splattered on walls and bottles of sake, but most importantly, there’s cheap, cheery food and really good teriyaki.

Operating with the motto of “kanpai-ing” (or cheers-ing) the night away over great bites, the atmosphere here is lively and electric and there’s no better place to feel transported right to Japan’s streets.

With tons of dishes and yakitori on the menu, it’s easy to get lost and over-order, but it’d be remiss to leave without trying Yebisu’s mouthwatering Teriyaki chicken that comes in both original and gluten-free options.