Citizen
South Wharf's all-day Japanese bar serving up brekkie, ice-cold beer and creative cocktails.
Overview
Melbourne's South Wharf has an all-day Japanese bar serving up freezing cold brews, creative cocktails, share plates and even breakfast seven days a week.
Citizen's major draw here is its cocktail menu ($18-20), which offers Japanese sake, umeshu, gin and whisky concoctions. Fans of sours will be happy to find a matcha version — mixed with Nikka gin, ginger syrup and egg white — or the Jasmine Yuzu, combining yuzu gin, jasmine tea, honey and egg white. There's also the Canteen Spritz (Nikka whisky, prosecco and elderflower syrup) and the Bubble T (souchong tea, amaro, Cointreau, lime and milk) to choose from, among others.
The bar has also partnered with Asahi to bring Melburnians sub-zero beers, which have been chilled to -2.2 degrees. A succinct wine menu is also on offer.
As to be expected, Japanese-inspired snacks are available alongside the drinks menu. There are miso eggplant chips ($12), prawn and chicken chilli dumplings ($16) and crispy barramundi wings with seaweed mayo ($16). For more substantial eats, go for the pork tonkatsu sando ($17) or one of three brown rice bowls, including a beef short rib number with kimchi and miso barbecue sauce ($26) and the grilled koji tofu with asparagus and yuzu ($21). For dessert, there's a matcha ice cream sandwich ($11) and a miso chocolate brownie ($11).
Open from 7am weekdays and 8am on weekends, diners can also nab coffees and typical Aussie brekkies here — think Dr Marty's crumpets with miso honey ($10), along with ham and cheese croissants ($9), baked eggs ($14) and BLTs ($12). But this daytime vibe quickly disappears come evening, when the neon-lit bar comes alive to transport punters to Tokyo for a night.
Information
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