Intimate Fine Dining in Melbourne CBD
The CBD’s fine dining rooms are mostly large: a tower restaurant, a marble bar, a hotel dining room with forty tables. Rōnin is the opposite. Ten seats at one counter, one chef cooking in front of them, about ten courses, and a room small enough that the chef knows every name by the second course.
If you are looking for a fancy restaurant in Melbourne CBD that is still small enough to feel personal, this is the case for a counter rather than a dining room.
This page is for people who want fine dining in the city without the dining room. The food is Korean omakase. The price is A$195 (no prepayment required). The rest is below.
What Ten Seats Changes
Nothing is carried from a kitchen. Each plate is finished a metre away and set down by the person who cooked it. The pacing is set by the chef, not by a floor team, so the night moves as one sitting. For two people it is private without being silent; for ten it becomes your own room. Why only ten seats is on the journal.
Korean, Not Degustation by Numbers
Fine dining in Melbourne usually means a French or modern Australian tasting menu. Rōnin’s is Korean: jang, fermentation, charcoal, banchan made in house, Australian produce. It is the only counter of its kind in the city. Korean fine dining in Melbourne and the Korean tasting menu explain what arrives.
A$195 in CBD Fine Dining Terms
Signature tasting menus in the CBD towers run well past A$300 before drinks. Omakase counters in the city run from about A$195 to A$325 for dinner. Rōnin is A$195 (no prepayment required), paid at the end of the meal. What that includes is set out plainly.
Dates, Birthdays, Clients
The counter works for a date, for a birthday or anniversary, and for a client dinner where the cooking does the talking. It does not work for anyone who needs to control what they eat, because the courses cannot be altered.
Price, Hours and Booking
A$195 per guest (no prepayment required). Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm, dinner only. Seats open on the 20th of each month at 8pm via OpenTable. No dietary alterations, no BYO. 445 Little Collins St, near Southern Cross and Flagstaff stations.
FAQ
How long does dinner take?
About two hours for roughly ten courses.
Is Rōnin suitable for a business dinner?
Yes for groups up to ten, and the whole counter can be reserved. The night runs about two hours.
Can I get a table rather than counter seats?
No. Every seat is at the counter, which is the point of the room.
Do you have a wine list?
Drinks are available at the counter, including Korean whisky when it is being poured. BYO is not available.
Is Rōnin a fancy restaurant?
It is a chef led counter with about ten courses at A$195 (no prepayment required), so it suits a special night. There is no dress code.
Book a Seat
445 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Wed to Sat, 6pm to 11pm (dinner only)
0401 721 491 | info@roninomakase.com
Guides
Akaiito Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · Aoi Tsuki Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · Best Date Night and Romantic Restaurants in Melbourne CBD, Compared · Best Fine Dining and Fancy Restaurants in Melbourne CBD, Compared · Best Omakase in Melbourne: How to Choose · Best Private Dining and Group Dining in Melbourne CBD, Compared · Birthday and Anniversary Dinner in Melbourne CBD · Chae Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · Chef's Table in Melbourne · Date Night in Melbourne CBD at a 10 Seat Counter · Degustation in Melbourne CBD: A Korean Degustation Menu · Dietary Requirements at Rōnin: What We Can and Cannot Do · Dinner Near Southern Cross Station: A 10 Seat Omakase Eight Minutes Away · Doju Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · Is Omakase Worth It in Melbourne? An Honest Answer From a 10 Seat Counter · Ishizuka Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · Kentaro Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · Kisumé Chef's Table Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · Komeyui Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · Korean Fine Dining in Melbourne · Korean Omakase in Melbourne · Minamishima Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · Modern Korean Restaurant in Melbourne CBD · Nobu Melbourne Omakase Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · Omakase Prices in Melbourne: What A$195 Covers at Rōnin · Omakase vs Kaiseki: What the Difference Is, and Where Rōnin Fits · Places to Eat Alone in Melbourne CBD: Solo Dining at the Counter · Private Dining in Melbourne for 10 People: Book Out the Counter · Rōnin on Little Collins Street: Getting Here · Sushi On Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · Tasting Menu and Set Menu in Melbourne CBD · Tipping and Service Charges at an Omakase in Australia · Warabi Price and Booking, Compared With Rōnin · What Is Omakase? Meaning, Etiquette and How It Works · Work Christmas Party and End of Year Function in Melbourne CBD
Journal
November at the Counter · What Is Banchan? Korean Side Dishes Made in House in Melbourne · 10 Seat Korean Omakase in Melbourne: Why Rōnin Keeps the Counter Small · What to Expect at Your First Omakase in Melbourne: Etiquette, Timing and Price · Korean Omakase vs Japanese Omakase in Melbourne: What Changes at the Counter · How to Book Rōnin Omakase in Melbourne: The Monthly Release on the 20th · What Melbourne's Food Press Says About Rōnin · Why There Is No Printed Menu at Rōnin Omakase, Melbourne