Tomo-An chef Tomotaka Ishizuka serves his Aussie-fied Japanese kaiseki menu to six guests at a time.
16.5/20
Japanese$$$
In an obscure, inner-Melbourne laneway, there’s an old corner warehouse with grey-blue brick walls and a timber door offset by a pale, slatted screen. There’s no clue as to what’s inside. Push through and you’re in chef Tomotaka Ishizuka’s calm, elegant world, where everything has been arranged for your visit. For the next few hours, Tomo-san and one helper will look after just six guests, serving kaiseki, a formal progression of Japanese courses.
The minimalist concrete room is a blank canvas that allows colourful touches to stand out: exquisite ikebana flower arrangements; a shimmering, gold moon-carving high on one wall; tactile pottery, glassware and lacquered dishes.
“Walking in here feels like finding a portal to Japan.”
A long timber bench bisects the restaurant: diners on one side, chef and his workspace on the other. Kitchens can be clattery places, suffused with a chaos of competing aromas, thick with tension and urgency. Tomo-An’s isn’t like this. Most of the prep has been done.
Courses are finished with quiet attention and presented to each diner synchronously. It’s quiet but not austere: your vibe is beaming awe rather than garrulous whooping.
Kaiseki is to dining what the sonnet is to poetry. The form offers structure as well as opportunities for individuality and play.
Ishizuka’s style is Kaga kaiseki, a tradition anchored in Ishikawa, a varied prefecture where gourmet treasures are gathered from mountains, rivers, ocean and farmland. His Melbourne rendition dances delicately through 13 or so dishes.
The menu changes each season, always starting with a platter that reflects weather and clime, then moving to soup, raw fish, something grilled, a simmered dish, a vinegared course, fried morsels and so on, through to fruit and dessert.
Tomo-An’s dishes are precise, sensitive and delicious. Prawn mousse bobs in a glistening bonito and kombu broth that’s adrift with chrysanthemum petals. Sea perch is grilled and served under a singed magnolia leaf for two layers of smoky flavour.
Nimono – a dish in which each ingredient is simmered separately, then arranged in dashi broth – is a kaiseki signature. In Kaga style, it’s made with duck breast, which has been starch-coated before poaching so the broth becomes shiny and thick. Also in the bowl are taro, bamboo, sugar snap and konnyaku – a slippery, gummy yam jelly. It’s a sublimely balanced course, hearty and subtle at once.
Although walking in here feels like finding a portal to Japan, the experience is somewhat Aussie-fied; not a bad thing when it means toro (premium fatty tuna belly) sushi is added to the menu. It’s not Kaga, but it is sublime.
Tomo-An is expensive, but the value is evident in every gesture and offering. Ishizuka is a craftsman of the highest order and we’re lucky he’s in Melbourne. He first lived in Australia in 2005, then returned to Ishikawa to study Kaga kaiseki. In 2011, he moved to Melbourne’s Koko at Crown. He briefly worked at the eponymous Ishizuka restaurant on Bourke Street when it opened in 2018 (it’s still going strong).
Before opening Tomo-An in 2024, the chef spent six years consulting, helping develop concepts and training staff at restaurants including Bansho and Bincho Boss. Tomo-An is a culmination: a haven of peace for diners, and a site of artistry and determination for its owner, every detail considered, every ingredient treasured, every customer honoured.
The low-down
Atmosphere: Hushed and formal, yet friendly and engaging
Go-to dishes: Zensai (seasonal delicacies platter); kamo jibuni (simmered duck breast); toro nigiri (tuna belly sushi); wagyu tataki (seared beef)
Drinks: Matching sake to kaiseki is a tradition, and there’s a lovely list here. Start with the light, fresh Tedorigawa Daiginjo Arabashiri. Did you know Japan makes wine? The Chanmoris Koshu white from Yamanashi Prefecture is dry and savoury; it’s available by the bottle only ($95).
Cost: $350 per person, excluding drinks
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