Say Arigatou to Fine Japanese Fare at These 5 Chef-hatted Restaurants

What really makes Japanese food different from other global cuisines is the essence of simplicity at the core of the country’s culinary dishes.

Most classic Japanese recipes comprise only a handful of ingredients, allowing the fresh flavours of the main components to shine.

In Australia, we are totally in love with Japanese food from exclusive, seemingly hard-to-book omakase restaurants to regional styles of ramen and noodles, we can’t get enough!

As we continue on our delicious drive around Chef Hat-awarded restaurants countrywide, here are five Japanese venues you need to visit:

Individual, season and produce-driven degustation dining experiences await at AOI.TSUKI. on Punt Road in South Yarra. Delivering an omakase menu and with a name meaning ‘blue moon’, leave yourself in the hands of revered Chefs to deliver ever-changing delights to indulge the senses in intimate surrounds of blond wood, black tiles and moody lighting.

 

Take a seat at the U-shaped sushi bar as the Chefs banter with guests and produce raw and cooked small bites such as individually made nigiri like squid, sea urchin, tuna, King George whiting and dry-aged salmon. Perhaps witness the show-stopping blowtorched Wagyu with shaved foie gras as you admire the dexterity and creativity on display.

Embark on a new culinary era with Parramatta’s first Japanese fine dining experience at Oribu on Church Street. Nestled on the rooftop of the Heritage Lounge, food artistry meets Japanese perfection at this moody and evocative venue where a magnificent olive tree sits centre stage, twinkling with fairy lights and food is served with flair and theatrics.

 

Stop by the bar for a cocktail and snacks such as a King crab caviar spoon with mandarin dressing, before delving into a kingfish and pineapple slaw taco with cabbage, coriander, jalapeño and eschalot; move on to share plates of beef tataki with enoki mushroom, micro herbs, shiso and garlic ponzu.

Bringing harmony, unity and binding people together through food is the aim of Komeyui Japanese restaurant on Wharf Street in Brisbane. Hailing from a fishing village in Hokkaido, Executive Chef and owner Motomu Kumano brought with him discipline and perfection for authentic, handmade Japanese cuisine.

Gather friends and family around the table in sleek and trendy minimalist monochrome surrounds of stools, high and intimate table settings; perhaps start with kingfish sashimi and white ponzu cucumber dressing, before mains of grilled saltwater barramundi and miso butter.

Elevate your dining experience at charcoal Japanese restaurant, Soka on Ocean Street in Maroochydore. Wind down in style from an eclectic selection of Japanese wine, beer and sake in an ambient, modernist aesthetic with gentle classical and jazz music pervading the venue; be transported to the streets of Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo as enticing aromas waft in the air to tickle senses and enchant palates.

 

Dive right in with tuna tataki, yuzu coconut and nori crisp, or wrap your hands around a pork katsu sando; burnt garlic chicken teriyaki, organic chickpea purée and sides of steamed rice and broccolini with yuzu goma dressing entice for the main affair.

Preserving the authenticity of Japanese culinary art and dishes, discerning Clovelly diners head to Wagyuto on Clovelly Road to experience contemporary cuisine. A moody vibe of subdued lighting, intimate table settings and exposed brick set the scene for inspired dining from a menu presenting an interpretation of modern Japanese and Australian cooking.

 

Say arigatou to dishes like aged bluefin tuna tataki, orange ponzu, cured watermelon, shiso leaf and oil, or slow-cooked octopus, potato, salted kombu and smoked chilli butter; for the main, think twice-cooked sticky duck, yuzu soy glaze and black salt, or Wagyu steak, charred onion and kombu butter.