At 4 Lord Street in Richmond, behind a door that offers nothing to the passing street, sits the restaurant that most convincingly challenges the assumption that the finest Japanese food exists only in Japan. Master Koichi Minamishima opened his eponymous restaurant with a single, clear purpose: to serve omakase sushi of the highest possible order, in a room built for exactly that. Nothing else. No distractions, no concessions to those who might want something different from the counter.
The result holds Three Chef Hats in the 2026 Good Food Guide — the highest rating available in Australian dining — and has earned a reputation that draws food pilgrims from Tokyo, New York, and London. Eighteen seats arrange themselves along a counter of pale timber and clean stone. The space is quiet, spare, and deliberate in the manner that Japanese design applies to the service of exceptional ingredients: nothing is present that does not serve the meal.
Master Minamishima works the counter with the focused intensity of someone who has spent decades pursuing a single form of perfection. The omakase runs to approximately 20 courses: a sequence of nigiri, tsukidashi, and cooked preparations that unfolds over two to three hours. Fish is sourced from the finest suppliers in Japan and Australia — bluefin tuna from both hemispheres, live-caught sea urchin, seasonal shellfish at the peak of their year. Rice is prepared to a specification that most diners will, upon tasting it, reconsider everything they thought they knew about that ingredient.
The price — approximately AU$300 per person — reflects both the quality of ingredients and the rarity of the experience. Reservations open weeks in advance and fill immediately upon release. The restaurant does not accommodate dietary requests beyond the most fundamental restrictions: this is an omakase in the purest sense, where the chef decides and the guest receives. Those willing to surrender control find themselves in one of the finest dining experiences available anywhere in the world.
