Kenzan

Mietta's Eating & Drinking in Melbourne 2000

Contributors' Choice
Page 31

How can a good restaurant keep getting better? It's about quality - the raw materials, the preparation, and the service. You come expecting things to be just right at Kenzan, and they are. Having eaten at Japanese restaurants in Japan and around Australia, this is the one to beat here.

One will always see Japanese people at restaurants serving their own food - but Kenzan is stacked with them, from executives of the multinationals, to tourists and to young couples. It's not unusual to be the only non-Japanese person here, but you'd hardly notice because the bilingual staff will always make you feel at home.

The standard dishes - sushi, sashimi, tempura, yakitori etc. - are made to the very highest standards, from the freshest material, and it's terribly hard to go past them. Personal favorites are the special sushi, or the grilled eel served on a bed of rice and soy sauce; if you like your selection to turn a few heads when it arrives then the beautifully presented platter of mixed sushi and sashimi is for you. But if you're adventurous, go to the special entree list, and you'll blow your occidental mind! Scraped salmon roe, entrails of squid . . .flavours I'll swear you'll never forget. Great bar and wine list, which includes a selection of sakes which the connoisseurs here consume chilled.

Kenzan has long been famous for its sushi bar and despite the departure of the long cutting chef there, standards remain and may even have improved. The dining room management remains under the constant care of Mrs Miya who remembers your every idiosyncracy.

Collins Place
45 Collins Street
Melbourne
Japanese Cuisine
Melways reference 1B:U8
Phone: 9654 8933
Opening hours: Lunch: Mon-Fri 12 noon-2.30pm. Dinner: Mon-Sat 6-10pm
Licensed
Accept credit cards
Seats Inside: 90
Closed: Christmas & Easter
Features: Restricted smoking, private room seats 22
Favourites: Sushi and sashimi combination $27/$45/$65, Gyu teriyaki $19, Ebi shumai $11