Coming Soon: +81 Sushi Kappo Is the Long-Awaited Restaurant Sibling to Aizome Bar
The award-winning West End bar will soon open an ultra-intimate 12-seat omakase next door.
When it opened in West End in December 2024, +81 Aizome Bar was billed as something of an entrée before the metaphorical main course. To wit: the +81 precinct would also soon welcome a refined kappo-style restaurant alongside the intimate, Ginza-inspired ten-seat bar. And while Aizome has since become an award-winning destination in its own right, the team is now ready to unveil that next chapter — +81 Sushi Kappo, a 12-seat omakase restaurant opening next door.
Set to open in February, Sushi Kappo echoes the restraint and precision of Aizome's cocktail program through a tightly choreographed dining experience. 'Kappo' translates to 'cut and cook', a format that places both the chef and the ingredients at the heart of the experience. Each course is prepared at the counter and served in sequence, bringing a sense of quiet theatre to the meal without tipping into performance.
At the helm is Executive Chef Ikuo Kobayashi, who has garnered decades of experience at some of Tokyo's most influential sushi kitchens. Kobayashi trained at prestigious Ginza institution Kyubey before joining the founding team at Sushi Kanesaka and working alongside the masters behind Sushi Saito and Sushi Iwa. At Sushi Kappo, he pairs this classical training with a deep understanding of regional craftsmanship and seasonality, shaped by a self-led culinary pilgrimage across Japan.
The dining journey unfolds as a multi-course, seafood-focused omakase beginning at $450 per person, evolving with local micro-seasons and complemented by select specialty ingredients from Japan. A standout is Kobayashi's signature sushi rice, or shari — served in only one other venue globally — which strips away sugar, mirin and salt and appears here in two expressions: a charcoal variety and a vivid blue spirulina-enriched version.
Much like the culinary philosophy, the setting itself is deliberately pared back. Dark neutral tones, soft metals and gentle lighting create a quietly immersive space that keeps the focus firmly on the counter, and what's being prepared on it.
A considered beverage program completes the offering, anchored by an extensive sake list spanning producers from Hokkaido to Fukuoka, alongside premium Japanese whisky, champagne and a tight wine edit. An adjoining lounge welcomes diners for an elegant nightcap following their omakase — and of course, with one of Brisbane's very best bars right next door, the evening doesn't need to end there.
+81 Sushi Kappo opens on Thursday, February 5, at 259 Montague Street, West End. For more information, head to the venue's website.
Images: Markus Ravik.
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