![]() ![]() There are only a few seats at the dark marble omakase bar in the upstairs restaurant, but much like the sushi counter at Sydney's Sokyo, to claim one is to trade in so-so for something better. Had I not secured my booking with a credit card, I might have left when the DJ moped his way downstairs to change from one house track to another. The restaurant's main feature, a "red thread" shaped like a luminous strand of DNA, has a chintzy plastic sheen. Latches on the toilets threaten a lengthy sentence. And while I'm sure a lot of money has been thrown at the fitout by hotel-focused design company HBA, the veneer feels thin. The bartender promises table service, then forgets. Whether that's down to the beer taps not working (a problem unfixed for weeks, the frustrated bartender tells me), some wines being marked up by 300 per cent (the 2016 Leeuwin Estate Prelude Chardonnay, selling here for $20 a glass, is $34 a bottle retail) or the cocktail list being largely vodka and sugar-driven, is unclear.īut it is fair to say first impressions aren't strong. Early for my 8pm sitting, I'm ushered downstairs to the cocktail bar where, against a backdrop of timber beams, heavy stone walls and black and lipstick red furniture that's already showing wear, a smattering of workers are exclusively drinking bottled beers. This isn't the buzzy patch of Flinders Lane precinct, but the western side of Swanston Street, in the building that used to house Bluestone Restaurant. Surely this is a diamond hiding exactly where you should expect it. So when you hear that its premium offering is a $115 robata omakase experience – a 13-course epic of sushi and things from the grill, which needs to be booked 24 hours in advance and can seat just a handful at a time – there seems to be no mystery. ![]() Opened in May on Flinders Lane, it is, by its own words, a contemporary Japanese fine diner, and the prices it charges support that claim. For food fans, finding that diamond in the rough is as good as it gets, and a million blogs, books and TV shows are dedicated to the hunt.īut then there's Akaiito. Both Minamishima, our three-hat temple of finely sliced fish, and Tempura Hajime in South Melbourne are buried inside unlovely office blocks. ![]() Finding great Japanese dining where you would least expect it is part of what makes it great to begin with. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |