ÉN

Overview

In Japan, the humble rolled omelette is how you size up a chef. Folding stock through the egg without losing that soft, layered texture takes real precision — which makes the Dashi-Maki Tamago at ÉN, made with the kitchen's own dashi, a quiet statement of intent. The two-level Japanese restaurant opened on Thursday, October 1 on Bligh Place, a laneway just off Flinders Lane, and it's one of the few places doing kappo dining in Melbourne.

Kappo translates to "to cut and to cook". Rather than sticking to one discipline the way a sushi bar or teppanyaki grill does, it draws on the whole Japanese kitchen — grilling, simmering, steaming and frying — over a multi-course progression, with the chefs working right in front of you. It's still a rarity among Melbourne's Japanese restaurants. The name fits: in Japanese, ÉN can express bond, connection and fate.

Paawan Engineer, the operator behind Mill Place Merchants and Cuff, co-founded ÉN with two chefs who have more than five decades of experience between them. Yokohama-born Takuro Abe held senior positions at hatted Shusai Mijo and Warabi at W Melbourne. Shiro Fukushima spent 17 years at Grand Hyatt Melbourne and was head chef at Dendeke Japanese Dining, but his foundations were laid in Osaka, training under Norio Ueno at Mutsumi — the predecessor to the Michelin-recognised Ichiju Nisai Ueno.

The sushi is Edomae, the original Tokyo style, and the rice is seasoned with akazu, an unsweetened red vinegar made from aged sake lees that's deeper and more savoury than the usual clear stuff. It's a natural match for the zuke maguro nigiri — tuna marinated until glossy and jewel-like. There's namerou, a rustic fishermen's tartare from Chiba Prefecture of finely chopped white fish, miso, ginger and herbs with nori; saikyo miso black cod; seafood chawanmushi; and Kagoshima A5 wagyu cooked over hibachi and served with ÉN's own steak sauce. Produce is a mix of Australian and Japanese, and during the southern summer the kitchen sources counter-seasonally from Japan, when colder waters produce fattier fish. Dessert runs to hojicha panna cotta, yuzu cheesecake and house-made purin.

Upstairs, designer Victor Isobe has put the chef's counter at the centre of the dining room so the kitchen is on show. The palette is deliberately restrained — black timber, concrete, rust and gunmetal — anchored by a concrete feature wall patterned in karesansui, the raked lines of a Zen dry garden. Most of the tableware was made in Japan in small runs by specialist makers, and the staff uniforms, inspired by Tokyo street style, were created by Andy Cossar of Houndstooth Tailors alongside Engineer.

The sake list, built with certified sake sommelier Kana Aoyama, rotates through around 10–12 sakes, with seasonal pairings alongside the set menus and monthly sake dinners on the way. Toward the end of the week, the lower level turns into a listening bar modelled on Japan's record bars, pouring classic Japanese cocktails like the Cherry Blossom and the Yokohama. Dinner at the counter, records downstairs — it's a very Tokyo way to finish the week, without the flight.

Images: supplied.