After establishing two premier Wagyu grill destinations in Melbourne with both Wagyu Ya and Niku Ou, Emily and Roy Yu have boldly opened the doors to their most prestigious space yet. Just two doors up from Wagyu Ya the all-new Yakikami located on Toorak Road in South Yarra is an opulent escape to a world of premium grade wagyu, flame-grilled Nomad chicken Yakitori and top-shelf sake.
As one of the two restaurant groups in Australia to hold the license to import Kobe Beef from the Hyogo prefecture in Japan, Yakikami's selection is of the highest quality with A5 certification and a marble grading score of 6 and higher.
The menu has been developed in part with star Japanese chef, Hirokazu Sasaki formerly of the Michelin-starred Tokyo diner, Niku Kappo Black. The result of this is a selection of dishes with a classic Japanese-style approach, minimal intervention and championing the quality of the ingredients; take the Wagyu which is only lightly dusted with white pepper before being grilled over the charcoal.
The 70-seat diner is spread out across 350sqm of sleek marble flooring and features a dedicated Yakitori bar with charcoal Josper (Hibachi) grills that churn out skewers of chicken, seafood and vegetables. On the other side of the venue is the chef's table; an intimate 10-seat dining experience with a team of chefs preparing a range of dishes right in front of you, from the Shinjyou a prawn and bonito soup to the A5 Wagyu tartare with smoked caviar.
Other highlights of Yakikami include their standout nine-hour chicken ramen, the zero-waste approach of the kitchen developed the recipe to utilise all the chicken left over from the Yakitori. The drinks menu equally matches the level of prestige in the kitchen, you can opt for a slew of Sake which ticks all the way up to the Juyondai Honmaru at $1350 per bottle as well as a more accessible range of wines and beers. Yakikami is open now, head over here to book.
Check out Melbourne's best Japanese restaurants over here.
Image credit: Robin Tran (Yakikami)