Motto Motto is the latest venue from William Liu, the clever chap behind Brisbane favourites Sono and Nagomi. After mastering the art of fine Japanese dining, then taking on the quick takeaway market, William decided it was time to find a middle ground – offering premium-quality, fresh and healthy Japanese cuisine, but in a casual dining setting. The result is Motto Motto Japanese Kitchen, with its first location opening a few weeks ago in Westfield Garden City, Upper Mount Gravatt, and plans to expand in the coming months.

Taking a look at Motto Motto from the outside, you’ll realise immediately that it is not your average food court offering. Sitting on the cusp of the entry way, half inside the shopping centre and half on the border of the newly developed Town Square, it gives hungry shoppers a halfway mark too – high-quality cuisine, but at food court prices and with the option to takeaway. Much like its Japanese cuisine, every detail of the fit out has been carefully considered. Origami patterns carry through from the menus to the upholstery, and even the restaurant’s facade juts out like the folds of the Japanese paper craft.

William’s aim with Motto Motto is for its customers to have an authentic Japanese experience. The menu is clean and simple, but offers an incredible variety of dishes to select from. Fresh seafood and Wagyu beef is hand prepared at sister restaurant Sono each day, then couriered over to Motto Motto’s kitchen. Diners can choose from a selection of traditional Japanese donburi rice bowls, including Wagyu beef with asparagus and king oyster mushroom, or the raw seafood chirashi, with Tasmanian salmon, Pacific Ocean tuna, scallop and yuzu citrus sauce. Noodle dishes include 12-hour ton-kotsu ramen soup, or cold soba with tempura shrimp and sweet soy. Japanese-style rolls are also on offer, with fillings including teriyaki chicken with salad, pickled cucumber and mayonnaise, or crispy prawn with salad, pickled cucumber and tartare. If you’re feeling especially peckish, turn your main into a custom bento with a choice of two or more sides – think fries with seaweed salt, gyoza and soft-shell crab – and you also get a free drink. And your bento won’t come in its usual box – Motto Motto serves up its dishes in custom-made bowls that perfectly hug each other. Japanese authenticity stems right down to the beverage list as well, which has been hand selected especially for the restaurant, many of which are exclusive, such as Tomomasu Japanese fruit ciders and boutique Hitachino While Ale.

For opening hours and contact information, head to our Stumble Guide.