The best Japanese restaurants in Melbourne

Minamishima might just be serving Melbourne's best sushi. Former Kenzan sushi master Koichi Minamishima will guide you through the set menu; sommelier Randolph Cheung (ex-Flower Drum) will keep the saké flowing.

Ishizuka is a Japanese restaurant specialising in a kaiseki menu. In a commitment-phobic world it almost requires a session with a therapist to sign up for a 10-plus-course, two-plus-hour procession of miniaturised dishes for $220 a head, sans drinks. But Ishizuka is worth the time, expense, and trouble of finding it. 

The Japanese-ish, French-ish modern restaurant from Daylesford has swum against the tide of real estate refugees moving to central Victoria and upped stumps to the city. It’s an evolution of the Daylesford mothership in every regard. There are several ways to tackle Kazuki’s, starting at the a la carte option of two courses for $75 and heading northwards to the chef’s menu of seven courses for $150. Our advice: go one of the tasting menus, if only to commandeer the four snacks as the first course. Your quartet might comprise meaty little Goolwa pipis on the shell, a mouthful of ocean heft with a ginger and soy backing track. A fat profiterole filled with the holy union of chicken liver parfait and thick Davidson plum and umeshu jam gets extra sweet/sour edge from the plum dust sprinkled like icing sugar over the top.

Komeyui may be lesser known among the general public, but Japanese food fanatics will feel a twinge of protectiveness if you try to recommend this restaurant to anyone uninitiated. Seats are few, the sushi is excellent value and expertly prepared, and there is a strong following for its sea urchin and sake degustations.    

Being almost impossible to find, and seating just 12 people, Hajime is definitely at the expensive end of the range. This is a real tempura house, and the quality of these morsels of magic compared to some of the Japanese available in Melbourne is like the difference between line-caught blue fin tuna and the fish John West rejects. 

Press the buzzer and you’ll be collected at the door that seemingly leads to nowhere and you'll be escorted into this shrine to grace and decorum. Match refined izakaya-style snacks with updated classic cocktails like the Negro-kan (Negroni) with plum-infused gin, umeshu (plum wine) and Campari, or taste through their extensive sake and Japanese whisky collection.

Supernormal is no longer just Tokyo-inspired; it now lends its flavours to some other big cities like Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai as well. Dishes like the New England lobster roll and the twice-cooked duck leg bao have never left the menu, but newer items like the tonkatsu sandwich and the sweet, soft, double-steamed, once-fried, O’Connor braised brisket and leek buns accompanied with a sharp, black vinegar, spring onion and fermented chilli sauce arguably outshine the classics.

Bincho Boss is an izakaya with food revolving around the bincho tan – a grill fuelled by premium, dense Japanese charcoal. As with most izakayas, the aim of Bincho Boss is to drink and soak up all the drinks with outrageously delicious booze-friendly snacks. 

This Japanese grill-centric restaurant in the off-Lygon precinct of Queensberry Street – opposite Super Ling and next door to Tuan Tuan Chinese Brasserie, which anchors the same apartment development – was opened by chef Jinwook Park and is bringing some keen snacks to a burgeoning restaurant precinct.

It's a half hour drive from the city, but Shira Nui is definitely worth the trip if you're a lover of Japanese cuisine. For lunch you can get sashimi and nigiri specials with miso and salads. Otherwise, share a platter with friends or choose from the sushi menu. Call and book because these guys fill up fast.

On a Carlton corner, Ima Project Café is breathing new life into smashed avo. Japanese twists on archetypal breakfast dishes can also be found in Ima’s miso-infused tomato baked eggs and the porridge drizzled with Mitarashi syrup, a traditional Japanese sauce made from soy sauce and sugar. Plus, the classic Japanese breakfast set of fish and rice is on the menu. 

Descend below street level for this taste of Tokyo that pays equal attention to its dishes and drinks. The corridor-like space is adorned with an extensive range of sake and beer, and food from the open kitchen arrives quickly. 

What if belly-warming food could be also wholesome and healthy, satisfying without tasting soporific? Leave it to Neko Neko, a cosy little eatery cooking homestyle vegan and pescatarian Japanese for which it has amassed a loyal following. Forgoing dairy and red meat – staff instead pack dishes with vegetables cooked, raw and pickled while working in plenty of seeds and whole grains, elevating dishes that would usually leave you feeling comatose into lighter but no less satiating weeknight dinners. 

Andre Bishop has captured the essence of a Tokyo izakaya down to the snacks, staff and Japanese rock’n’roll. The place is no larger than a train carriage, with only bar seating and a few satellites for intimate couples, but this isn’t a bad thing, as it keeps the celebratory atmosphere of the place at a maximum at all times. 

With a focus on quality organic ingredients, this café offers an honest and endearing approach to food. Offering a mix of Japanese and Western breakfast and lunch options, the Japanese breakfast plate (weekends only) is where this humble gem really shines.

If you loved Congress’ pigs head sanga, you’ll be pretty happy with Future Future’s crumbed meatball katsu-sando. Recipe: take one fat puck of beef, introduce it to a fryer, slap it in spongy white bread with a shameless amount of Kewpie mayo and tonkatsu sauce, then salvage its dignity with the fresh crunch of daikon. 

The opening of a restaurant from Chris Lucas, the svengali behind Melbourne greats Chin Chin, Hawker Hall, Kong and Baby, is generally accompanied by the kind of media hoopla reserved for retiring members of the Royal family, so here’s the deal: all you have heard about Kisume, the Lucas Group’s three floors of Nipponesque dining power, is true, and then doubly so. 

Brace yourselves Japanophiles: Ganbare Kaz on the Windsor end of Chapel Street is set to become your new destination for creative, top-shelf sushi train, with low prices and a fit out that will impress the fussiest of hipsters.