"Kenzan's GPO sushi bar under Kentaro Usami — omakase at the counter, sashimi from A$39. Book the bar to close a deal."
The sushi counter runs along one side of the old General Post Office on Bourke Street, eighty seats split between the bar and long timber tables. Kentaro Usami works the counter, slicing and torching to order, and the omakase here goes until you call a stop. Sashimi opens at A$39, the deluxe jyo sushi at A$42, and a full dinner lands between A$100 and A$200 a head. Kenzan has cooked Japanese in Melbourne since 1981; this GPO room is the group's casual table.
Kenzan opened on Collins Street in 1981 and is one of Melbourne's longest-running Japanese kitchens; the GPO room is its relaxed sibling, trading the fine-dining hush for a bistro-style floor under the arches of the heritage post office. Sushi chef Kentaro Usami runs the counter, where the move is to sit at the bar and order omakase — the chefs feed you sushi and sashimi until you stop. The deluxe jyo sushi at A$42 and the sashimi selection are the benchmarks, with tempura, grilled fish and donburi filling out the table service.
This is precise, classical Japanese rather than the fusion rolls the GPO's casual setting might suggest: clean cuts, properly seasoned rice, and fish handled by a kitchen with four decades in the city behind it. Sashimi runs A$39 as an entrée and A$52 as a main, and a full dinner sits between A$100 and A$200 a head depending on how far the omakase runs. The room is at Shop 28G, 350 Bourke Street, in the Melbourne CBD, seats eighty, and finishes with a green tea crème brûlée worth saving room for.
The GPO room trades on its bones: high ceilings and stone arches of the 1860s post office, with the sushi bar along one wall and long communal timber tables filling the floor. Sound is lively at lunch and into the evening — this is a working CBD room, not a quiet one — and lighting is bright and clean rather than moody. Seating runs to eighty on stools at the bar and benches at the tables; dress is smart-casual, the Melbourne office default. Sit at the counter for the show.
Book the Kenzan @ GPO counter to close a deal because the bar seating puts you side by side with the chef and the work, the omakase paces the meal without a fixed three-hour commitment, and the central Bourke Street address is a two-minute walk from most CBD offices. Take seats at the sushi bar, run an omakase, and let the chef set the rhythm while you talk. For more rooms that suit the working dinner, see our best restaurants to close a deal, or the wider Melbourne dining guide.
Not for a quiet, intimate dinner: the GPO room is a bright, communal-table space that runs loud at peak, better for business than for a hushed date.
Yes, for reliable classical Japanese in the CBD. Sushi chef Kentaro Usami's counter omakase and the deluxe jyo sushi hold to the standard Kenzan has kept since 1981, and the central Bourke Street location makes it an easy lunch or after-work table. It runs loud and communal, so it is better for business than romance. See more in our best Japanese restaurants worldwide.
Book ahead for the counter, walk in for the tables. Kenzan @ GPO takes reservations directly through the Kenzan group, and the eighty-seat room turns over quickly at CBD lunch and dinner peaks. The sushi-bar seats are the ones to reserve a few days out; the communal tables usually take walk-ins. Specify the counter when you book if you want the omakase experience.
Smart-casual, the Melbourne CBD default. There is no jacket requirement and no formal code; office wear, a collared shirt, or smart separates all fit the room. The GPO setting is handsome but the floor is relaxed, so you will see suits from nearby offices alongside casual diners. Dress as you would for a city lunch and you will be right.
Plan on roughly A$100 to A$200 a head before drinks at dinner. Sashimi runs A$39 as an entrée and A$52 as a main, the deluxe jyo sushi is A$42 to A$68, and a counter omakase climbs with how far you let it run. Lunch sets are the cheaper way in. Sake and a longer omakase will push the total toward the upper band.
Sit at the sushi bar and order omakase, letting Kentaro Usami and the team feed you sushi and sashimi until you stop. If you prefer to order, the deluxe jyo sushi and the sashimi selection are the benchmarks, with tempura to round it out. Save room for the green tea crème brûlée, the room's standout finish.
Book directly through the Kenzan group. Request a sushi-bar seat for the omakase.
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Kenzan @ GPO sits in our Japanese guide as Melbourne's casual CBD counter from a kitchen running since 1981.
Read the Japanese guide →