In a city that is full of Japanese eateries it can be difficult to find a standout, but it has been found. Saké.
Looking over the Eagle Street Pier dining precinct in a slightly secluded location next to the Bavarian Bier Cafe, Saké offers a modern insight to the wonderful world of Japanese cuisine. This is immediately noticeable from the elaborate furnishings which comprise a mixture of a bar with typical high table and bench seating, restaurant table seating, a handful of sunken group tables with cushion seating and bar-style seating around the kitchen. The walls and ceiling throughout are graciously filled with Japanese artefacts and artwork.
Even the food menu follows the theme with its folded square design, mimicking origami. The menu itself consists of a range of traditions and modern Japanese dishes. There is a selection of the staple sushi and sashimi, tataki, teriyaki, tempura and yakitori along with some creative touches like tuna belly, tonkatsu cups, stuffed quail and popcorn shrimp – an absolute must as an appetiser. A couple of tasting menus with popular options cater for those who cannot choose from the mammoth array of food on offer.
On this visit I ordered the popcorn shrimp, wagyu new-style with ginger, chives and yuzu soy, yellowfin tuna belly with edamame & jalapeño purée, sautéed shiitake mushrooms, asparagus spears and nori dressing and steamed prawn dumplings with spicy ponzu. This sounds like a lot of food but the popcorn shrimp the wagyu new-style are starters designed to share.
The juicy shrimp, the melt-in-your-mouth wagyu strips and the succulent tuna, it all came together in a sensational, flavour abundant dining experience. The dumplings were particularly notable with the creative use of a nest of thin noodles as their skin.
Service was spot on with attentive and polite waitstaff. With exception to the popcorn shrimp, the remaining dishes all arrived together which was a little surprising at the time, but due to the portion sizes and styles of dishes this wasn’t a problem.
With establishments also in Sydney and Melbourne, Saké is at the forefront of modern, creative stylings of traditional Japanese cuisine.