Melbourne's new restaurant, Yūgen, is dressed in dramatic design and serves creative dishes filled with Japanese culinary influences upstaged only by the adventurous cocktail list.
LK Hospitality Group's new addition to Melbourne's dining scene, Yūgen, is here and serving up an à la carte menu that makes the mouth water. On the corner of Chapel Street and Toorak Road, the new restaurant hidden beneath its sister venue, Yūgen Tea Bar, is sprawled over two levels and is where you can dine on a feast of sashimi, barbecue pork coated with fermented chilli, and smoked eel finished with brown butter and crispy chicken skin. The restaurant also boasts the Omakase Bar, meaning "I leave it up to you" in Japanese, where diners are invited to sit back and leave it up to head chef Alex Yu and head sushi chef Samuel Chee to create the perfect personalised menu for a bespoke dining experience to be enjoyed with the house's signature cocktails including the Sudachi, made with agave and rice vinegar, and tequila. Accessed via a glass-walled lift, the restaurant boasts six-metre-high ceilings and features raw concrete walls, natural stone finishes and cracked bluestone-paved floors, taking inspiration from Godia, the five elements of Japanese culture, earth, water, fire, wind and void, with a dramatic sculptural chandelier floating above the bar lighting up the evening of opulence, culinary talents showcased in appetising dishes and creative signature cocktails.