The Best Omakase in Melbourne
This multi-course Japanese dining experience has surged in popularity over the past few years — with sushi lovers fighting to get an exclusive counter seat.
The Best Omakase in Melbourne
This multi-course Japanese dining experience has surged in popularity over the past few years — with sushi lovers fighting to get an exclusive counter seat.
Omakase restaurants have surged in popularity over recent years, with many new, innovative players entering the game. Omakase, which translates literally to "I leave it up to you", is a traditional Japanese dining experience, where diners are treated to a chef's choice of menu, usually at a counter seat, with seasonal, premium ingredients at the heart of the menu.
While traditional omakase menus may focus on meticulously crafted nigiri and the freshest seafood (often at a premium), Melbourne has seen many new, creative takes on the set-menu format emerge. If you know where to look, you can find the likes of a Korean-influenced omakase, an intimate sushi counter in an unexpectedly quiet suburb, and even a surprisingly affordable chef's choice of maki rolls. Use our guide to the best omakase in Melbourne to find your next celebratory spot, or to try something new for your next date night.
Recommended reads:
The Best Japanese Restaurants in Melbourne
The Best Sushi in Melbourne
The Best Ramen in Melbourne
The Best Restaurants in Melbourne
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Opened over twenty years ago by chef and owner Hiro Nishikura, and his wife Suzy, Shira Nui is the type of restaurant where looks can be deceiving. The dining room’s design is fairly basic, and the menu is laminated — but the food is nothing short of incredible.
You can come here and order à la carte, but the fairly casual omakase experience is an absolute banger. Not only are each of the courses carefully balanced and made with only the best Aussie produce, but Nishikura is an absolute blast to hang out with — as are the rest of the staff. Compared to many of the other Melbourne omakase spots on this list, Shira Nui is considerably more chill and fun.
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Nobu at Crown brings Nobu Matsuhisa’s esteemed fusion of traditional Japanese food with South American flavours to our city. Within the two-storey fine-dining labyrinth, you can feast from a bunch of different menus, but its omakase experiences showcase the chefs’ greatest strengths.
Particularly if you’re dining with a group, the omakase menu is an excellent way to sample the best of the menu. Many signature dishes may appear, such as the yellowtail with jalapeno, the lobster with spinach and dry miso, the black miso cod, and the wagyu with truffle teriyaki.
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Tucked away in Flinders Lane is one of the most striking dining rooms in all of Melbourne. Think black granite, dim lighting, sleek leather furniture and a dazzling, illuminated red ribbon streaking across the room from the ceiling.
Akaiito’s Omakase at Your Table Experience offers a highly seasonal ten course menu, that blends Japanese craftmanship with contemporary French technique. You might start with beef tartare with yuzu emulsion and smoked ocean trout with beetroot rodse waffle, before moving onto prawns with seaweed butter and dry-aged duck with apple and duck jus.
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Chef Yong Hyun heads up the kitchen at Kew’s Sushi On, bringing his twenty-plus years of experience in Tokyo and his time at Melbourne’s Komeyui and Kisumé to the rolling mat. His philosophy is all about the beauty of balance — with creativity, appearance, consistency, taste, innovation and heritage all given equal footing.
Yong’s skills are applied to create one of the best omakase in Melbourne. His two versions consist of a 22-course omakase dinner and a 16-course lunch experience. The courses change every night, so it’s impossible to know what you’re in for, but think scampi with bento butter, sardines with pickled kombu, King George whiting nigiri and Tasmanian oysters.
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There may be no shortage of Japanese omakase restaurants in Melbourne, but finding one in the inner-east suburbs is perhaps less expected. KIRISHIMA, a new 12-seat omakase experience, has opened its doors in Camberwell, with a chef who has over 20 years of experience. At the heart of an omakase experience is the celebration of seasonality, and KIRISHIMA is no different.
Here, the intimate atmosphere is shaped by the close interaction between the diners and the chef. Led by owner and chef Junha Park, KIRISHIMA focuses on rare ingredients and pristine flavours. The omakase menu evolves each day, based on sourcing the finest seasonal ingredients, and is left in the chef’s trustworthy hands to create precise, technique-driven dishes. The experience gradually unfolds, taking the lucky diner on a journey through the likes of the freshest sashimi, signature tempura, torched nigiri, and claypot rice with wagyu.
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The simplest way to describe Kisumé may be this: three storeys of considered grandeur. You can go a la carte here but it’s hard to turn down The Chef’s Table multi-course dining experience. For this, you’ll be guided away from the restaurant and into one of the best private dining rooms in Melbourne — the 12-seat Chef’s Table space.
Here, guests can either book out the whole room themselves or dine with a few strangers, watching on as the omakase chef creates an elaborate multi-course seafood feast — although wagyu and duck often feature as well. There is also the option to sit at the Kisumé sushi counter where you can enjoy a feature box, a platter, or a five-course chef’s menu.
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Head to Lincoln Square in Carlton to taste Osakan-style delicacies in a minimalist yet upbeat space slinging inventive highballs and Japanese set meals. Atsu has built a steady following of diners who seek out the sleek spot for crunchy katsu and refreshing bevs, and they offer a unique omakase-style tasting option.
Chef Patron Jin Oon leads the kitchen team with unwavering precision and skill. At Atsu, each protein is brined, dried, coated, and fried to order, using specific panko crumbs to achieve the ideal texture. If you visit for lunch, try a traditional katsu donburi bowl with a rich, soft egg and onion simmered in dashi broth. Once darkness falls, it’s all about the Osakan speciality of kushikatsu, which features skewered ingredients coated in crumbs and deep-fried, traditionally enjoyed alongside cool drinks. For an immersive experience, nab a seat at the chef’s counter to dine on an omakase-style kushikatsu menu, where skewers may be loaded with anything from tsukune with schichimi to menchi katsu Scotch egg to Wagyu with leek and onion jam.
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Omakase is typically extremely seafood-forward. But Yakikami — home to some of the best steak in the city — serves up a menu that champions top-quality wagyu beef. For this fine-dining journey, you’ll leave the main dining room and enter the ten-seat Josper Room.
Here, guests will feast on a 13-course wagyu-centric feast that showcases just how much can be done to beef — especially when you have a Josper grill on site. One of Melbourne’s best omakase restaurants, the dishes here are rich, packed with flavour, and brimming with clever technique. And recently, the team has added a few more seafood offerings to the South Yarra omakase. That means you’ll now get a bit of everything at Yakikami.
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From impeccably fresh sashimi to an enviable rare whisky collection, Yamagen is taking Japanese dining to new heights within the popular Russell Street Hotel. Enter through Portland Lane to find a contemporary yet warm space, designed by Luchetti Krelle in collaboration with EVT. At the centre, chefs showcase their craft at a bar that offers front-row seats to an impressive show.
Reflective of the attention to detail is the use of specialty knives from Tanto, a knife and sharpening house with a lineage of tenth-generation sword makers, frequented by Melbourne’s best culinary talent. By night, the Tanto space transforms into an intimate private dining room extension of the restaurant, where guests can experience the restaurant’s philosophy of perfection and precision firsthand. The omakase menus offer the best of the diverse menu, taking diners on a journey through the kitchen’s signature dishes such as sashimi tacos and soft shell crab rolls.
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Taking over the former Madame Brussels spot was going to be big shoes to fill for anyone. For Melburnians, an afternoon at the former footloose and fancy free hang-out, with coveted skyline views in the background and a large jug of Pimms on the table, was like a rite of passage. Many have missed the Madame since she left and have been waiting patiently to see who would replace her. It’s only fitting, then, that those who have stepped up to the task have a wealth of hospitality experience across our great city, MAMAS Dining Group.
Their new multi-faceted venue, designed to transport diners to the energetic era of 1980s Tokyo, is the group’s most ambitious to date. Taking its name from the Japanese word for ‘disco’, it’s no surprise that party tunes and feel-good vibes are at the heart of this venture. For a special occasion, venture to the red, glowy, eight-seat omakase bar, and be transfixed by master sushi chefs as they create a refined, multi-course menu right before your eyes. And for warm summer nights, the terracotta terrace, which takes advantage of those city views, is poised to be an ultimate after-work hang-out spot.
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While most Melbourne omakase joints are traditional fine-dining experiences where you delight in multiple courses of artful, meticulously crafted dishes served in hushed tones in a sophisticated atmosphere, things have always been done differently at Ronin Omakase. Following its previous iteration as a good-times, high-vibes, tequila-fueled experience under the playful eye of Chef Patrick Kwong, Ronin has now welcomed a new chef ready to take the venue in a fresh direction. Under the watchful eye of Chef Liam Lee, Ronin will introduce one of Melbourne’s first Korean omakase experiences.
Chef Lee’s menu draws on personal memories and culinary traditions, presented through the precise, structured format of an omakase. Lee’s menu showcases Korean ingredients, dishes, and techniques, which are perhaps less well known across our city than those associated with Japanese omakase. Lee is dedicated to making everything that he can in-house and is meticulous with his choice of ingredients. The only challenging part? Scoring a seat.
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Yugen Dining is a multi-faceted drinking and dining destination with a dramatic aesthetic and an impressive commitment to detail. Downstairs is home to a lofty, open restaurant space and adjacent bar area with soaring ceilings and a majestic chandelier by artist Jennifer Conroy Smith cascading from one corner.
Meanwhile, the mezzanine above plays host to Yugen’s six-seat omakase bar, where you’ll find the extravagant and playful multi-course experience. The chef will guide guests through an evolving showcase of the finest Aussie and Japanese cuisine, tailored specifically for each guest. And if you really want to make a night of it, add the beverage pairings for a bit of extra fun.
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W Melbourne‘s omakase offering, Warabi, recently entered a new era. The appointment of Chef Hajime Horiguchi, who arrives after an extensive three-year search, signals a strong future for what is already one of Melbourne’s best omakase experiences. Hailing from Kyoto, Horiguchi brings a decorated resume from top-tier Japanese restaurants across Australia and Asia.
His philosophy? Fresh local produce meets time-honoured Japanese techniques. This manifests in a dynamic menu, changing at the whim of Horiguchi to reflect the top market finds and the narrative of the current season. We also highly recommend either adding on the sake and wine pairing.
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This tiny and intimate Footscray hidden gem serves the time-honoured craft of kaiseki. While similar to omakase, kaiseki, which originated from Japanese tea ceremonies, has slight differences. If omakase is relaxed, kaiseki is more formal. If omakase is a free-flowing menu with whatever is fresh that day, kaiseki is a predetermined set menu focusing on traditional structures.
It’s also less about sushi and more about other regional dishes served up like ornate works of edible art. If you manage to get a table when the monthly bookings are released, you’ll be in for one of the best Japanese dining experiences around.
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It’s the Japanese fine dining experience characterised by intricately plated dishes, an intimate setting, and a produce-led menu that celebrates that perfect balance of taste, texture and precision. But we bet you’ve never experienced the concept of kaiseki quite like you will at Ishizuka, a contemporary 16-seat restaurant led by Chef Katsuji Yoshino, hidden down a laneway in Melbourne’s CBD.The subterranean Bourke Street restaurant is only tiny, but delivers big things in the flavour department, as Yoshino delivers an expert interpretation of one of Japan’s most respected culinary traditions. As is custom, Ishizuka’s food offering is built around respect for fresh, seasonal produce and served with a healthy side of theatre. The oft-changing set menu of gradually progressing dishes is both refined and experimental. -
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Carving out its own unique offering in Melbourne’s omakase scene is Aoi Tsuki, a pint-sized, 12-seat Japanese restaurant nestled on a busy section of Punt Road — an unlikely location for one of Melbourne’s best fine-dining omakase restaurants.
Traditional Japanese omakase, this is not. Instead, Head Chefs Tei Gim and Jun Pak twist flavours with contemporary flair, serving up spectacular food without pretension. The result is an incredible, regularly rotating 20-course omakase menu underpinned by a deep respect for seasonality. And while you’re spending big here, be sure to get the sake pairings. These chefs are not just great cooks, they’re fantastic drinking buddies, too.
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When Minamishima first opened in 2016, it didn’t take long for people to notice. After 15 years at the CBD’s Kenzan, sushi master Koichi Minamishima decided to go out on his own, and he almost immediately started making waves in the world of sushi.
Let’s be clear — this is not a cheap and cheerful night out. But it is sushi as you rarely experience it outside Japan. The formal, pin-drop-quiet dining room reflects how seriously the team here takes their sushi. At Minamishima, standards are high (as is the price), and perfection is pursued relentlessly — it is one of Melbourne’s greatest showcases of omakase.
Feature image: Kirishima
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