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Bounty of the Sun

A cosy izakaya serving contemporary Japanese fare and cocktails.

Dani Valent and Emily Holgate

Konnyaku aglio olio.
1 / 5Konnyaku aglio olio.Joe Armao
Clams with chinese doughnuts.
2 / 5Clams with chinese doughnuts.Joe Armao
Inside the Balaclava restaurant.
3 / 5Inside the Balaclava restaurant.Joe Armao
Miso baba ghanoush.
4 / 5Miso baba ghanoush.Joe Armao
Chef Ryo Domaya.
5 / 5Chef Ryo Domaya.Eugene Hyland

Japanese$$

Bounty of the Sun chef Ryo Doyama moved from Japan straight from high school; he’s been in Melbourne for 25 years. This izakaya (a boisterous drinking place with snacks) is the first time he’s cooked Japanese food, but it’s imbued with influences from a career plating Mod Oz, Italian and cafe fare.

The space is cosy but includes a covered deck where you can pull up a bar stool for people watching across the Carlisle Street-adjacent precinct. Cocktails, beer and sake are the drivers: a shochu and vodka lemon sour laced with yuzu tea is just as easy to sip alongside fresh shiso and chive oil-dressed oysters served with a kabosu mignonette, or grilled butterfish marinated in saikyo miso.

Dani ValentDani Valent is a food writer and restaurant reviewer.
Emily HolgateEmily HolgateEmily is the Assistant Producer for the Good Food App at The Age. She previously wrote for the likes of Broadsheet and Urban List.Connect via email.

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Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/goodfood/vic-good-food-guide/bounty-of-the-sun-20250416-p5lsav.html