Tea drinkers get their just desserts at this coffee-free Japanese cafe

If anywhere rivals Melbourne’s penchant for hidden bars and laneway cafes, it’s Japan, where some of the best spots sit out of sight or in unassuming locations – a byproduct of population density and limited space.

No wonder, then, that local Japanese restaurants seek out the spaces others might overlook, adding to Melbourne’s collection of rewarding dining finds. From a sushi shop tucked into a car park to an izakaya down a side street and a tea bar inside a Japanese dessert shop, these four new venues are worth tracking down.

For tea and treats: Towa

Unlike most Melbourne cafes, this one is a coffee-free zone. “From our drinks to our desserts and our savouries, everything has a tea element,” says co-owner Mo Zhou (Gaea, Calere). He collaborated with pastry chef Jasper Chui on this pop-up, operating out of dessert bar Sebastian Kakigori by day.

Drinks are ambitious: China’s prized miaojian green tea combined with shiso leaf syrup and cucumber-lime granita; lapsang souchong tea with brown butter foam and roasted macadamia.

To eat, there’s hojicha buckwheat cake, a matcha and pineapple sage dacquoise, and an oolong financier with macadamia praline and tofu cream. Open-faced sandwiches are on shokupan bread.

The pop-up is slated to run for six months, with plans for a permanent space to follow.

203 Queen Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/towa_melb

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For sparkling sushi: Tochi Deli

Eight months after closing its outrageously popular Brunswick Mall kiosk, sushi shop Tochi Deli has resurfaced. The new site, further north in Coburg, is also within a mall, but handily, it faces a car park and the first three hours of parking are free.

The menu remains largely unchanged, but a larger kitchen means rotating specials such as soy-simmered kingfish collar on rice. Onigiri and handrolls are reliable grab-and-go options, while a daily selection of raw fish – served as nigiri or chirashi bowls from $25 – is the main draw. There are also plans for a liquor licence.

4/12 Victoria Street, Coburg, instagram.com/tochideli

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For sleek sake sessions: Bar Kaeru

After a stint at Carlton’s now-closed Leonie Upstairs, Sean Then developed a lasting interest in sake. Despite swapping late nights for early mornings at his North Melbourne venue, Cafe Tomi, he’s returned to his first love with Bar Kaeru.

The sake list spans more than 100 classic and experimental styles, alongside sake-based cocktails, with personalised service to guide drinkers through the range. “If I can turn just one person into liking sake each day, it means a lot to me,” says Then.

A small, snacky menu by chef Jayden Chiang draws on both Japanese and Chinese influences, and includes toasted rice panna cotta with sake foam. Later this month, Then will add a bakery and tea house upstairs.

62-64 Little La Trobe Street, Melbourne, barkaeru.com

For Japan’s own fusion: Furaibou

Before katsu’s current ubiquity, Gypsy & Pig was one of the few places dedicated to the dish of crumbed and fried pork. It closed in 2023, but owner Kenji Higuchi has since returned with Furaibou, set on a backstreet in Prahran.

The menu incorporates Chinese, Korean and European flavours, but the format feels distinctly Japanese – or more specifically, yoshoku, a term for Western dishes interpreted through a Japanese lens. Hamburg steak – a bunless burger patty – and pasta dressed with mentaiko (cod roe) sit alongside pork-stuffed chicken wings, katsu of all kinds, and escargot.

Nab one of three bar seats to watch Higuchi run the kitchen solo.

25A Clifton Street, Prahran, instagram.com/furaibou_chapel_st