Flair and fresh produce are why we’re repeat guests at this, Melbourne’s best Japanese dining experience. Set down a Richmond side street, it’s an intimate experience, where food is the focus – alongside the incredible knife work of the man with his name on the door, Koichi Minamishima.

Having worked in kitchens for more than 25 years (working his way up from dishwasher), Minamishima’s mastery adds the theatre to what’s being served – a set, 18-course outing that’s the closest thing to the luxury sushi bars of Tokyo, without going to Japan.