KURA - Robata & Sake

Overview

The best things are often kept in the cellar: fine wines, precious possessions, rare treats. But in Kura ('cellar' in Japanese), it's good food, sake and the simple beauty of sharing them with good family and friends. That's the essence of this Brunswick establishment, which opened in 2022 to much praise as one of the best spots for sake and yakitori in the city.

The premise is robata-yaki, a cooking technique originally christened by hungry and inventive Japanese fishermen who wanted to cook meals without having to disembark their vessels. The answer came in the form of charcoal grills. Kura cooks all of its hot food in the same way, with local seafood taking centre stage.

The a la carte menu offers starters such as woodfired edamame, beef tataki and poached Hokkaido scallop, assorted sushi and sashimi for fresh flavours, and crowd-favourite yakitori. For those, take your pick of grilled firefly squid, chicken and leek, pork belly-wrapped enoki mushrooms and eggplant with sesame and spring onion.

On the refreshments front, the aforementioned sake collection is the standout, with six pages and a diagram dedicated to them on the menu. But the liquid offering extends well beyond the rice-based spirit to house beers, wines, cocktails, umeshu, shochu and non-alcoholics.