Yu-u. What a funny name. And one of the best lunch deals in the hidden laneways of Melbourne.

There’s nothing to mark the entrance to this sleek Japanese restaurant except a steel warehouse door with peeling salmon-pink paint. Step down some concrete steps and it opens out into a dimly serene wood and stone room, with a large sushi bar taking up most of the space.

For lunch the restaurant only offers a set menu: a choice of a main meal, from seafood to meat to tofu, accompanied by a bowl of rice, soup, the appetiser of the day, a small dish of pickled vegetables and just for fun, a deftly sliced orange segment ($18). Sadly they no longer serve their hand-made soba noodles as part of the set lunch menu.

As you’d expect from the Japanese, the dishes are carefully presented on a lacquered tray, with each dainty part held in a different porcelain or ceramic dish. Our table gave the thumbs up to the sashimi and pork belly main dishes. The serving of salmon and tuna sashimi was fresh, colourful and generous, while my pork belly with Japanese BBQ sauce was just the thing to fire off my tastebuds on a cold day. Service was quiety unobstrusive and efficient – we were seated, served and billed in an hour.

I’ve not been to the restaurant during dinner, but my lunch experience has definitely encouraged me to try it. What’s your experience been of dinner at Yu-u?

For other great value lunch sets in the city, try Cafe Vue and Shoya.

• Yu-u, +

I confess that even though I’m a food snob, when it comes to Japanese food I can’t really tell the difference between good and excellent. If it’s Japanese then I’ll tend to like it (gluggy rice aside).

Not so my friend Ev, who has lived in Japan, visited the country many times and is very selective about the quality of her food. So it’s quite surprising that she actually has a recommendation for Japanese food in Melbourne – the cheapy laminate cafeteria Sushi Ten, tucked away in Port Phillip Arcade . The kitchen is run by Japanese people and the dining room is frequented by Japanese international students, so you can safely assume a certain level of authenticity. My lunch sushi pack ($8) was great value, with nigiri combining large slices of fresh fish and non-gluggy rice and generous rounds of makisushi. The other value meal to try are the fish bones ($4) which are basically the offcuts of salmon still with meat on them, grilled and served in a teriyaki and sesame sauce.

• Sushi Ten, +