Bay Nine Omakase

Overview

Located at the Campbell's Stores waterfront precinct, Bay Nine Omakase is right at home among its fine-dining neighbours. But unlike its neighbours, there's no menu at Bay Nine Omakase. 'Omakase' translates loosely to "I'll leave it up to you" — and the chef you'll be leaving your dinner to is Chef Kim Kihoon.

Chef Kihoon is a gastronomy master who brings his natural talent, dedication to creativity and passion for the dining experience to the table. He has honed his skills as head chef at Besuto and during his tenure at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute in Seoul, Korea. 

"People feast with their eyes. The surprise is in the flavours, but upon presentation of food, I believe in clarity. Chefs often tend to get overly elaborate with their plating," says Kihoon.

So what about the restaurant? Well, Bay Nine is a quaint dining room with just a few tables and a cosy 10-seater counter where you sit around Chef Kihoon while he prepares 11 courses of high-quality Japanese food.

All you have to do is watch and eat. It's dinner and theatre, all in one. The fit-out is classic wabi-sabi minimalism: all blond timber and soft underlighting, wrapped in a heritage-listed 19th-century warehouse space.

Declan Blackall Photography

The omakase menu changes daily, depending on what's in season and what fish is available at the city's best seafood suppliers. 

To accompany your sushi — that comes seared, salted, blanched, steamed, grilled and everything in between — there's a 40-strong sake menu, including dedicated sake flights (highly recommended) and a solid range of Japanese craft spirits. If you're feeling really fancy, there's also Bay Nine's Icon Collection, which includes a $3,500 magnum of 1996 Penfolds Grange Hermitage Bin 95.

Top images: Steven Woodburn and Declan Blackall Photography