A 21-year Teneriffe Japanese favourite announces closure

Popular Japanese restaurant Mizu will close at the end of March. The Teneriffe institution broke the news on social media on Tuesday.

“After much consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close our store,” Mizu owner Michiko Marunishi wrote in the post, announcing the final day of trade will be Saturday, March 28.

“Until then, we will continue to operate during our normal business hours and look forward to welcoming you.

“We would like to express our heartfelt thanks for your support and kindness over the years. It has truly been a pleasure to serve you, and we hope to see you before our final day.”

Mizu opened in 2005 and quickly became a local favourite on the back of its unfussy, generous mid-market approach to Japanese cuisine, which was distinctive for the time.

In its early days, it served a popular weekend breakfast, but later became known for its lunch and dinner menus, which included perennial dishes such as fried octopus dumplings, grilled miso-marinated black cod, and sand crab and soba salad.

It also hosted regular cooking classes, sake appreciation nights and origami classes. It was an early Brisbane mover in allowing guests to keep a bottle of alcohol (in this case, sake) at the restaurant long-term.

Owner Michiko Marunishi took over Mizu five years ago; she’d previously co-owned popular Racecourse Road restaurant Hosakawa.

When contacted by this masthead on Wednesday, Marunishi said the closure was for personal reasons and declined to comment further, except to reiterate her appreciation for the restaurant’s longtime clientele.

“I just want to thank you for supporting us for over five years,” she said.

Marunishi said the restaurant is nearly fully booked from now through its final service on March 28.