0 of 26 critics answered, Apr–Sep 2026
You replied to 598 of your 644 reviews in those months, but to none of the critics (reviews at 3★ or below).
Rival A answered 45 of its 57 critics, Rival B 1 of 15, Rival C 3 of 6 (Apr–Sep 2026).
Diners comparing you see Rival A and Rival C answer their critics while yours go unanswered.
Answer your 2 critical reviews
2 from September 2026; 24 older ones from Apr–Sep 2026 are still unanswered.
Also check: a review spike (April 2026 had 237 reviews, 26x your usual 9 a month) and 3 reviews that mention a reward for reviewing. Signals to check, not findings.
What changed since the August 2026 report: 1 change.
Dark = answered, light = not answered. You answered 0 of 26; Rival A answered 45 of 57.
Critics answered, Apr–Sep 2026: You 0 of 26, Rival A 45 of 57, Rival B 1 of 15, Rival C 3 of 6.
| Venue | Reviews | Avg ★ | Replied | Critics replied | Median reply | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| You | ||||||
| Rival A · 150 m | ||||||
| Rival B · 300 m | – | |||||
| Rival C · 350 m |
You answered 20 of your 22 reviews (91%) but none of your 2 critical ones (3★ or below). Rival A answered all 3 of its critical ones.
Consistentyou answered 0 of 26 critics (reviews at 3★ or below) in the last 6 months (Apr–Sep 2026), and 0 of 31 since Jan 2026 while you replied to 598 of your 644 reviews (93%) in the same 6 months.
Rival A answered 45 of its 57 critics in the last 6 months (Apr–Sep 2026); you answered 0 of 26.
Rival C answered 3 of its 6 critics in the last 6 months (Apr–Sep 2026); you answered 0 of 26.
Rice (incl. don / rice bowl) has drawn complaints in 8 of 14 mentions over the last 6 months (Apr–Sep 2026), against 3% of your reviews overall (critical mentions Apr–Jun 2026). It is costing you stars. Last one: June 2026.
“Sadly the rice dragged the whole meal down.” (2★, April 2026)“The rice was dry and tough going, and it didn't suit the fish at all.” (1★, May 2026)Diners keep praising the sukiyaki: 57 mentions, 4.86★, 1 critical (the last 6 months (Apr–Sep 2026)).
“Fantastic sukiyaki, would recommend”Diners keep praising the wagyu: 23 mentions, 4.87★, 0 critical (the last 6 months (Apr–Sep 2026)).
“The wagyu sukiyaki nabe is lovely, with a deep, rich broth: real comfort food for a cold night!”The dashed line is your average (4.81★). Rice (incl. don / rice bowl) sits well below it.
Average rating of reviews naming each dish, Apr–Sep 2026, against your 4.81★: Wagyu 4.87★ (23 reviews), Sukiyaki 4.86★ (57 reviews), Rice (incl. don / rice bowl) 3.43★ (14 reviews).
Steady: the last 3 months against the 3 before are within normal month-to-month swing.
Average rating by month, Apr–Sep 2026: April 4.80★ (237 reviews), May 4.86★ (224), June 4.63★ (63), July 4.86★ (96), August not plotted (2 reviews: too few to plot), September 4.64★ (22).
Steady: the share of critics moved within normal swing over the same months.
Share of critical reviews (3★ or below) by month, Apr–Sep 2026: April 4%, May 3%, June 6%, July 3%, August not plotted, September 9%.
Average stars from a small sample (August 2026: 2 reviews): read the change with care.
Review spike under check: 644 reviews in Apr–Sep 2026, more than a quarter of the 1780 Google ratings in our listing data. Your group may move once we have checked it.
3 reviews mention a reward for reviewing. We flag this under Review health; it does not change your group.
You are in group 4 of 5 for now (group 1 is the top 200 of 1,000 venues). Every measure below is something you control, so this can move.
Next step up: Group 3 venues answer 25% of their critics (reviews at 3★ or below) and group 1 venues 60%; you answered 0 of 26.
| Measure | You | Group 3 median |
|---|---|---|
| Critics answered (reviews at 3★ or below)Group figure: median of venues with 3+ critics. | 0 of 26 (0%) | 25% |
| Median time to answer a critic | no replies | 27 h |
| Reviews at 3★ or belowJudged against the typical share for your kind of venue. | 4% (26 of 644) | 12.8% |
| Average rating of your reviews | 4.80★ | 4.50★ |
| Month-to-month swing in review numbers (0 = steady) | 1.45 (2–237 a month) | 0.49 |
| Listing basics (menu, hours, website, photos, booking)Missing: a confirmed menu. | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 |
April had 237 reviews, 26x your usual 9 a month.
“You get a free drink for posting a Google review.”6 Jun 2026 · 3★
“Now I get why the rating went up: they hand out free ice cream if you leave 5 stars.”27 Apr 2026 · 2★
“There's a QR code on the wall: scan it, review them, get a free drink.”19 Apr 2026 · 1★
Based on the Google reviews we hold for this venue: continuous from 2 April 2025, last fetched 19 October 2026.
22 new Google reviews in our data, average 4.64★, 5% at 1-2 stars complete
Google rating 4.2 from 1780 ratings (date recorded unknown).
Reviews posted each month, from the Google reviews we hold.
| Month | Reviews | Average | Our data |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | 237 | 4.80★ | complete |
| May 2026 | 224 | 4.86★ | complete |
| June 2026 | 63 | 4.63★ | complete |
| July 2026 | 96 | 4.86★ | complete |
| August 2026 | 2 | 3.50★ | complete |
| September 2026 | 22 | 4.64★ | complete |
Reviews +20; average stars +1.14.
Average stars from a small sample (August 2026: 2 reviews): read the change with care.
Google rating: First report: no earlier Google rating snapshot to compare with.
September 2026, 20 reviews with text. Quotes are copied from real reviews.
Sukiyaki nabe
cited in 6 of 20 reviews read
“The sukiyaki nabe is their signature dish and it's wonderful.”
Friendly floor staff
cited in 5 of 20 reviews read
“Everyone on the floor was lovely, and the sashimi was excellent as well.”
Fresh, authentic food
cited in 4 of 20 reviews read
“Everything tasted so fresh and genuinely authentic!”
Rude, dismissive service
Early signal · cited in 1 of 20 reviews read
“The staff were rude and brushed us off; I've never been treated like that.”
Cheese katsu and sushi value
Early signal · cited in 1 of 20 reviews read
“the cheese katsu was disappointing and the sushi costs far too much for what it is!”
90-minute table limit
Early signal · cited in 1 of 20 reviews read
“We only had 90 minutes at the table, which was a little disappointing.”
Nearest venues shown on Curateria that list Japanese (your primary cuisine) among their cuisines. Reviews in the 90 days to 30 September 2026.
Rival A
Melbourne, 0.15 km away
Google 4.8 from 5240 ratings · 516 reviews in our data, average 4.85★
Rival B
Melbourne, 0.3 km away
Google 4.7 from 236 ratings · 75 reviews in our data, average 4.59★
Rival C
Melbourne, 0.35 km away
Google 4.6 from 1180 ratings · 86 reviews in our data, average 4.85★