Previous SlideNext Slide

A gold rush-era bank with lofty ceilings in Beechworth is perhaps the last place you’d expect to find a restaurant so devoted to Japanese cuisine. But owner-chef Michael Ryan’s reverence for the culture and eye for regional ingredients (such as Harrietville trout) makes it feel entirely natural.

The flatware helps. Four courses – each featuring up to six individual dishes – are presented on an array of ceramics arranged on wooden and lacquerware trays collected on Ryan’s travels. Some dishes, like the strips of dried squid known as ichiyaboshi, feel faithful while others take licence.

Red-centred Robbins Island wagyu is partnered by “Cafe de Tokyo” butter. A gilda headlined by swordfish gains depth from soy braised kombu and edge from yuzu kosho. High Country wines are celebrated, while Ryan’s own amaro, offered as granita or by the glass, is a rousing bittersweet finish.