Rōnin Ōmakase https://roninomakase.com/ Melbourne First Korean Fusion Omakase Sun, 25 Oct 2026 23:14:32 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://roninomakase.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/cropped-RONIN-MASK-LOGO-RED-1-1-32x32.png Rōnin Ōmakase https://roninomakase.com/ 32 32 Omakase Cancellation Policy at Rōnin: Why a Card Holds Your Seat https://roninomakase.com/omakase-cancellation-policy/ Sun, 25 Oct 2026 23:14:32 +0000 https://roninomakase.com/omakase-cancellation-policy/ Cancelling a Rōnin booking more than 72 hours ahead costs nothing, and groups of 4 or more need 7 days. Here is how the card guarantee works and why the counter runs this way.

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Home Omakase Cancellation Policy at Rōnin: Why a Card Holds Your Seat
Chef lifting grilled beef off the charcoal at Ronin Omakase

Omakase Cancellation Policy at Rōnin: Why a Card Holds Your Seat

The Policy in Plain Terms

At Rōnin Ōmakase, cancelling more than 72 hours before your booking costs nothing. For a group of 4 or more the free window is 7 days, and a cancellation or no-show inside either window is charged in full to the card on file.

Nothing is taken when you book. Card details hold the seat, and the bill is paid at the counter at 445 Little Collins St once the meal is over. The omakase is from A$195 per guest (no prepayment required), with a surcharge of 10% on weekends and 15% on public holidays. The exact wording sits on the FAQ page; this article explains the thinking behind it.

Why a Ten Seat Counter Charges for Late Cancellations

The policy gives its own reason. As an omakase, ingredients are procured fresh and to order based on confirmed guest numbers, so a late cancellation leaves costs that cannot be recovered. There is no printed menu and nothing to order à la carte, which means the produce bought for a booking is bought for the courses that guest was going to eat.

The room is small, too. Rōnin seats ten at one counter, and every seat faces the chef. Chef Liam Lee cooks alone, finishing each of about ten courses at the counter and handing it straight across, and the evening is planned around the guests who are confirmed for it.

A Card Guarantee, Not a Prepayment

The card works as a guarantee rather than a payment. No charge is made when you reserve on OpenTable, and full payment is collected in the restaurant at the end of the dining experience. The card is only charged when a cancellation or no-show falls inside the window.

The 72 hour mark is the time to watch. For a Saturday booking at 6pm, a free cancellation is possible until 6pm on the Wednesday before. A party of four booked for that same Saturday needs to cancel at least 7 days prior to the reservation date, so by the Saturday a week earlier.

Check Two Things Before You Book

Dietary needs come first. Rōnin runs on a single chef, and the FAQ is direct about it: the kitchen cannot cater to dietary alterations, and that answer is given to the allergy question as well. Anyone in your party with a restriction should read our page on dietary requirements before a seat is held.

Timing is the other. The counter is dinner only, Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm, and a sitting runs about two hours. Service starts on time and late arrivals follow a set rule; see the FAQ for it. If plans change, tell the team as early as you can on 0401 721 491 or at info@roninomakase.com.

Seats for each month open at 8pm on the 20th of the month before, and how booking works at Rōnin walks through the release. When the date you want is open, book your table on OpenTable.

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]]> November at the Counter https://roninomakase.com/november-at-the-counter/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 23:13:35 +0000 https://roninomakase.com/november-at-the-counter/ November seats at Rōnin Ōmakase open on Tuesday 20 October at 8pm Melbourne time. Here is what a late spring sitting looks like and when December seats open.

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A clay pot course with tea service at Ronin Omakase

November at the Counter

November Seats Open on 20 October at 8pm

Seats for November at Rōnin Ōmakase open on Tuesday 20 October at 8pm Melbourne time, and they are booked online through OpenTable. The counter runs Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm, dinner only, so those are the nights you will see in the November calendar.

If a November date is not showing before 8pm on the 20th, it has not been released yet. A seat is held with card details, and nothing is charged until the end of the meal. The monthly release on the 20th is explained step by step in how to book Rōnin.

What the Counter Serves in Late Spring

November is the last month of spring in Melbourne, and the produce on the counter moves with it. The cooking is Korean in direction, built on fermentation, jang and charcoal, with Australian produce chosen by the season. Every banchan and every ferment is made in house.

Courses are never published before a sitting, which is the reason there is no printed menu and nothing to order. Expect about ten courses over roughly two hours, each finished at the counter and handed straight across.

The person handing them over is Chef Liam Lee, who trained at Gyungbokgung Hanjungsik in Seoul and has led Australian kitchens including Nomad, Firebird and Studio Amaro. He took over the counter in 2026, when Rōnin turned to Korean cooking. The restaurant itself opened in 2023.

Before You Book: Price, Drinks and Dietaries

The omakase is from A$195 per guest (no prepayment required) at the soft launch price, paid at the end of the meal. The FAQ carries the current price along with the cancellation terms: cancellations more than 72 hours before the booking are free, groups of 4 or more need 7 days, and cancellations or no-shows inside that window are charged in full.

A few answers guests often look for. There is no lunch service. BYO is not available, and drinks are ordered at the counter. There is no dress code, and gift vouchers are not on sale at the moment. Late arrivals are handled in a set way on the night; see the FAQ for the wording.

Read one line before paying. Rōnin runs on a single chef, and the kitchen cannot cater to dietary alterations, including for allergies. If that matters to anyone in your party, settle it first.

Planning Ahead: December Opens on 20 November

The release after this one is on 20 November at 8pm, and it opens December. That is the date to put in the calendar for an end of year dinner, and the Christmas party page sets out how a small team can book the counter. Larger groups and private events are arranged by email at info@roninomakase.com.

Rōnin Ōmakase is at 445 Little Collins St in the Melbourne CBD, and questions before booking can go to 0401 721 491. For a longer read on the cooking, the Korean omakase in Melbourne page covers it. When the release opens at 8pm on 20 October, book your November seat here.

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]]> What Is Banchan? Korean Side Dishes Made in House in Melbourne https://roninomakase.com/what-is-banchan/ Sun, 11 Oct 2026 23:13:47 +0000 https://roninomakase.com/what-is-banchan/ Banchan are the small Korean side dishes that sit beside the rice and the main plate. At Rōnin Ōmakase, 445 Little Collins St, every one of them is made in house.

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Home What Is Banchan? Korean Side Dishes Made in House in Melbourne
A plated main course with sides at a place setting at Ronin Omakase

What Is Banchan? Korean Side Dishes Made in House in Melbourne

Banchan, in One Paragraph

Banchan are the small side dishes served with rice at a Korean meal, set beside the main plate rather than ahead of it. The word splits into ban, meaning rice or meal, and chan, meaning side dish, and the family runs from kimchi and pickles to seasoned vegetables, braised and pan-fried dishes, as the Taste Korean Food guide to banchan sets out. At Rōnin Ōmakase on Little Collins St in the Melbourne CBD, every banchan and every ferment is made in house.

That last line is the point of this page. In Korea banchan are the everyday part of the table, placed in the middle to share, and the same guide notes that most restaurants there refill them for free. At a ten seat counter serving about ten courses over roughly two hours, they are not a bowl on the side. They are part of the cooking, which changes how they are made.

Why Rōnin Makes Every Banchan In House

Rōnin opened in 2023 and turned to Korean cooking in 2026, the year Chef Liam Lee took over the counter. The kitchen has made its own banchan and ferments since then. Buying them in would be the easier path. The cooking rests on fermentation, on jang (the soybean and chilli pastes at the base of Korean food) and on charcoal, with Australian produce in season, and the banchan draw on the same ferments and the same jang as the courses around them. The Korean omakase in Melbourne page describes that base in full.

Chef Liam Lee trained at Gyungbokgung Hanjungsik in Seoul before more than ten years leading Australian kitchens, among them Nomad, Firebird and Studio Amaro. Hanjungsik is the multi-course Korean table, and its structure is part of why small dishes have a place at this counter. His background is on the chef page.

If you are weighing this against a Japanese counter, the short version is that the format is the same and the kitchen is not. How Korean omakase differs from Japanese omakase covers the rest.

How Banchan Fit a Ten Course Omakase

There is no printed menu at Rōnin and nothing to order, so which banchan appear on a given night, and where they sit among the roughly ten courses, is not published before a sitting. The reason is the same one behind every course: the produce and the chef decide, and the thinking is set out in why there is no printed menu.

What you can count on is the counter itself. Ten seats face Chef Liam Lee, each course is finished in front of you and handed straight across, and a full sitting runs about two hours. The gallery shows the plates as guests see them, small dishes included.

One policy to read first. Rōnin runs on a single chef, and the FAQ states it plainly: the kitchen cannot cater to dietary alterations. That applies to the banchan as much as to the main courses, so if that line matters to your party, settle it before you pay.

Booking a Seat at 445 Little Collins St

Rōnin Ōmakase is at 445 Little Collins St, Melbourne CBD, and the counter runs Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm to 11pm. The omakase is from A$195 per guest (no prepayment required) at the soft launch price, paid at the end of the meal. Price, late arrival and cancellation terms are on the FAQ.

Seats for the next month open at 8pm on the 20th of each month, and bookings are made online through OpenTable. For a group or a private event, email info@roninomakase.com instead. When the date you want is open, book a seat at the counter.

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]]> 10 Seat Korean Omakase in Melbourne: Why Rōnin Keeps the Counter Small https://roninomakase.com/counter-seating-omakase-ten-seats/ Mon, 05 Oct 2026 03:15:05 +0000 https://roninomakase.com/counter-seating-omakase-ten-seats/ Rōnin Ōmakase seats ten guests at one counter facing a single chef at 445 Little Collins St. Here is what that number means for the cooking, the view and the booking.

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Home 10 Seat Korean Omakase in Melbourne: Why Rōnin Keeps the Counter Small
Chef serving seated guests at the counter at Ronin Omakase

Counter Seating Omakase in Melbourne: Why Rōnin Has Only Ten Seats

Ten Seats, All of Them at the Counter

Counter seating at an omakase means every guest sits facing the chef while the food is cooked and plated in front of them. At Rōnin Ōmakase that counter has ten seats, and it is the whole dining room at 445 Little Collins St in the Melbourne CBD.

The number shapes the rest of the evening. There is no printed menu and nothing to order, and about ten courses arrive over roughly two hours. Most restaurants keep one chef’s table for a lucky booking. Here all ten seats are that table, which is the idea behind our page on the chef’s table in Melbourne.

One Chef Cooks for Every Seat

Rōnin runs on a single chef, a fact the FAQ states in plain words. Chef Liam Lee finishes each course at the counter and hands it straight to the guest in front of him. There is no pass and no wall between the kitchen and the ten seats, so nothing sits waiting between the cook and the guest.

The same fact has a cost, and it is better to know it early. Because there is only one chef, dietary alterations cannot be accommodated. That line sits on the FAQ page and applies to every seat at the counter.

Chef Liam Lee has been the one behind the counter since 2026, the year Rōnin turned to Korean cooking after opening in 2023. He spent more than a decade leading Australian kitchens before that, Nomad, Firebird and Studio Amaro among them, having trained in Seoul at Gyungbokgung Hanjungsik. His full background is on the chef page.

What You See From a Counter Seat

A seat at the counter puts the cooking an arm’s length away. Charcoal does much of the work, and the ferments and banchan that go with each course are all made in house. With only ten seats along one counter, nobody is watching from the back of a room.

Because the roughly ten courses follow the season and the chef, nothing is published before a sitting. The reasoning is set out in why there is no printed menu, and the gallery shows the counter and the plates as guests see them.

If this is your first omakase, the two hours pass more easily when you know the order of things. What to expect at your first omakase walks through the evening from arrival at 445 Little Collins St to the last course.

Why Ten Seats Means Booking Ahead

With ten seats at the counter, booking ahead is essential and bookings are online only. Seats for each month are released at 8pm on the 20th of the month before. The omakase is A$195 per guest (no prepayment required) at the soft launch price, paid at the end of the meal, and how booking works at Rōnin covers the calendar in detail.

The counter is open Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm to 11pm. For a private event or a group enquiry, write to info@roninomakase.com instead of booking seat by seat. For everything else, book a seat at the counter once your month has been released.

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]]> What to Expect at Your First Omakase in Melbourne: Etiquette, Timing and Price https://roninomakase.com/what-to-expect-first-omakase/ Mon, 28 Sep 2026 08:03:01 +0000 https://roninomakase.com/what-to-expect-first-omakase/ A first visit to Rōnin Ōmakase, in the order you meet it: the two lines to read before booking, arriving at 445 Little Collins St, and how about ten courses arrive over roughly two hours.

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Home What to Expect at Your First Omakase in Melbourne: Etiquette, Timing and Price
Chef piping cream into dessert glasses at Ronin Omakase

What to Expect at Your First Omakase in Melbourne: Etiquette, Timing and Price

The Short Answer for First Timers

At your first omakase at Rōnin Ōmakase you sit at a ten seat counter, order nothing, and eat about ten courses chosen by the chef over roughly two hours. The price is A$195 per guest (no prepayment required) at the soft launch price, paid at the end of the meal.

Rōnin is at 445 Little Collins St in the Melbourne CBD and seats guests Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm. The cooking is Korean in direction, built on fermentation, jang and charcoal with Australian seasonal produce. If the word itself is new to you, what omakase means takes a few minutes to read and makes the rest of this page easier.

Before You Book, Read Two Lines

Rōnin runs on a single chef, and the FAQ is plain about what follows from that: dietary alterations cannot be accommodated. If anyone in your party has an allergy or a strict diet, settle that question before you pay, not once you are seated.

Seats for each month are released on the 20th of the month before at 8pm, and bookings are online only. Card details hold the seat and nothing is charged until the end of the meal; cancellations more than 72 hours ahead are free, as the FAQ page sets out. The monthly calendar is explained step by step in our guide to booking a seat.

Arriving at 445 Little Collins St

Aim to arrive a few minutes before your booking time, which is what the FAQ recommends. Service begins on schedule for the whole counter out of respect for every guest, and the exact rule for late arrivals is written on the FAQ rather than decided on the night.

No menu is waiting at your seat and there is nothing to choose. All ten seats face the chef, so the cooking that most restaurants keep behind a kitchen door happens an arm’s length away. With ten guests a night, every seat has the same view of each course being finished.

How the Courses Arrive

About ten courses come out one at a time. Each is finished at the counter, with charcoal doing much of the work, and handed straight across to you instead of being carried out from a back kitchen. The chef sets the pace, and a full sitting takes about two hours, so leave room for that when you plan the evening.

The sequence is never published in advance because it follows the produce. Every banchan and every ferment you taste is made in house, and the photographs from past sittings give a fair idea of how the plates look when they reach you. The omakase page describes the format in full.

Chef Liam Lee trained at Gyungbokgung Hanjungsik in Seoul and has led Australian kitchens including Nomad, Firebird and Studio Amaro. Rōnin opened in 2023, and he has run the counter since the restaurant took its Korean direction in 2026. His background is on the chef page. When the month you want has been released, book your seat at the counter.

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]]> Korean Omakase vs Japanese Omakase in Melbourne: What Changes at the Counter https://roninomakase.com/korean-omakase-vs-japanese-omakase/ Mon, 21 Sep 2026 02:00:00 +0000 https://roninomakase.com/korean-omakase-vs-japanese-omakase/ Korean omakase keeps the ten seat counter and the chef's choice format, and changes the cooking to jang, ferments and charcoal with Australian produce in season. This is what that looks like at Rōnin Ōmakase.

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Home Korean Omakase vs Japanese Omakase in Melbourne: What Changes at the Counter
Chef grilling beef short rib over charcoal at Ronin Omakase

Korean Omakase vs Japanese Omakase in Melbourne: What Changes at the Counter

The Word Is Japanese, the Cooking Here Is Korean

A Korean omakase keeps the shape of the Japanese original and changes what comes out of the kitchen. At Rōnin Ōmakase that means Korean fermentation, jang and charcoal, plated with Australian seasonal produce, served at a ten seat counter at 445 Little Collins St in the Melbourne CBD. The word itself is Japanese, it means leaving the choice to the chef, and that is still exactly how the evening runs.

What does not change is the shape of the night. Ten guests face the chef, there is no printed menu and nothing to order, and about ten courses arrive over roughly two hours, each one finished in front of you and handed straight across. If the format is new to you, the plain explanation of omakase covers it in a few paragraphs.

Fermentation and Jang Do the Work Early

The Korean half of the meal starts long before you sit down. Jang, the family of soy and chilli pastes at the base of Korean cooking, takes time to build, and every ferment and every banchan served at Rōnin is made in house rather than bought in. That is the part of the kitchen a guest never sees and tastes in almost every course.

Charcoal carries the rest. Courses are finished over fire at the counter and passed across within a step or two of where they were cooked, so the cooking and the serving happen in the same small space. Australian produce in season decides what goes on the coals in any given week, which is also the reason there is nothing printed to read when you arrive.

None of this is announced in advance. Courses are not published before a sitting, so the closest thing to a preview is the gallery, where the counter and the plates are photographed as they come out.

The Booking Rules Are the Same Either Way

Cuisine aside, the practical questions are the ones every omakase guest asks. The omakase is A$195 per guest (no prepayment required) at the soft launch price, paid at the end of the meal, and the counter runs Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm to 11pm. Seats for each month open on the 20th of the month before at 8pm Melbourne time, and bookings are online only. A date that is not showing before that evening has not been released yet.

One line is worth reading before you commit. The counter runs on a single chef, so dietary alterations cannot be accommodated. Late arrivals, cancellations and group enquiries are answered on the FAQ, and the Korean omakase page gathers the format, the price and the address in one place.

Who Sets the Direction

Chef Liam Lee trained at Gyungbokgung Hanjungsik in Seoul and has spent more than ten years leading Australian kitchens, including Nomad, Firebird and Studio Amaro. Rōnin opened in 2023, and the Korean direction, with Chef Liam Lee at the counter, dates from 2026. Melbourne food press has written about the change, and those pieces are collected on the news page.

His background is set out on the chef page, and what a full sitting looks like is described on the omakase page. When the month you want is open, book a seat at the counter.

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]]> October at the Counter https://roninomakase.com/october-at-the-counter/ Mon, 14 Sep 2026 05:51:46 +0000 https://roninomakase.com/october-at-the-counter/ October seats at Rōnin Ōmakase open on 20 September at 8pm Melbourne time. What the release covers, what a sitting looks like and how to book.

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Chef torching sliced beef on a tray at Ronin Omakase

October at the Counter

Seats for October Open on 20 September

Seats for October at Rōnin Ōmakase open on Sunday 20 September at 8pm Melbourne time. The release covers every sitting through to 20 October, Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm, ten seats a night. If an October date is not showing before that evening, it has not been released yet rather than sold out.

Bookings are online only, and card details are what hold the seat. Friday and Saturday sittings are the first to go in each release, while Wednesday and Thursday hold their seats longer. The mechanics of the monthly calendar are set out in how booking works at Rōnin.

What an October Sitting Looks Like

The format does not change from month to month. You sit at a ten seat counter, there is no printed menu and nothing to order, and about ten courses arrive over roughly two hours, each finished in front of you and handed across by the chef.

The cooking is Korean in direction: fermentation, jang and charcoal, with Australian produce chosen by the season. Every banchan and every ferment is made in house. Chef Liam Lee trained at Gyungbokgung Hanjungsik in Seoul and has led Australian kitchens including Nomad, Firebird and Studio Amaro. He has run the counter since Rōnin took its Korean direction in 2026, three years after the restaurant opened in 2023.

October falls in Melbourne’s spring, and the produce on the counter follows the season. Courses are not published ahead of time, so the omakase page is the closest thing to a preview. Guests who sat at the counter in winter and return in October eat a different meal, which is the point of a counter with no fixed menu.

Price, Payment and Changes

The omakase is A$195 per guest (no prepayment required), a soft launch price, paid at the end of the meal, with a 10% weekend and 15% public holiday surcharge. The counter runs on a single chef, so dietary alterations cannot be accommodated. Please read that line before booking rather than after.

Plans do change. Cancellations made more than 72 hours before your reservation are free of charge, and groups of 4 or more need to cancel at least 7 days ahead. Cancellations or no-shows inside that window are charged in full to the card on file. Late arrivals are handled on the night in a set way; see the FAQ page for the exact wording of both policies.

Where to Find Us and How to Book

Rōnin Ōmakase is at 445 Little Collins St in the Melbourne CBD, open Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm to 11pm. Questions before booking can go to info@roninomakase.com or 0401 721 491. Large group bookings of up to 50 guests and private events are arranged by email.

When the release opens on 20 September, book your October seat here. The newsletter and our Instagram carry a reminder before each monthly release. For a longer look at the cooking itself, the Korean omakase in Melbourne page sets it out.

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]]> How to Book Rōnin Omakase in Melbourne: The Monthly Release on the 20th https://roninomakase.com/how-to-book-ronin-omakase/ Tue, 18 Aug 2026 02:00:00 +0000 https://roninomakase.com/how-reservations-work-ronin-omakase/ Seats for each month open on the 20th at 8pm. When to book for a Friday or Saturday, how payment works and what to do when the date you wanted has gone.

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Home How to Book Rōnin Omakase in Melbourne: The Monthly Release on the 20th
A clay pot course with tea service at Ronin Omakase

How to Book Omakase in Melbourne: Rōnin's Release Rule Explained

Ten Seats, Released Once a Month

The counter seats ten guests a night, Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm. Seats for each month open on the 20th of the month before, at 8pm Melbourne time. When the calendar for October opens, it happens on the evening of 20 September, and it covers every service through to the following 20th.

That single fact answers most booking questions we get. If a date you want is not showing, it usually has not been released yet rather than sold out.

The Practical Version

Friday and Saturday seats go first. If a weekend sitting matters to you, book in the first week after the calendar opens. Wednesday and Thursday hold their seats longer and suit guests who decide closer to the day.

Later in the cycle the calendar naturally thins out. If the date you had in mind has gone, the next release is never more than a few weeks away, and the newsletter and our Instagram carry a reminder before each one.

Payment, Late Arrivals and Dietaries

Your seat is secured with card details, and nothing is charged until the end of the meal. The omakase is A$195 per guest (no prepayment required) at the soft launch price. The card is what keeps a ten seat room honest: no empty chairs from no-shows, and every course timed for the guests actually coming.

Payment & Cancellation Policy

Card details are required to secure your reservation. No charge is made at the time of booking, full payment is collected in-restaurant at the end of your dining experience.

Cancellations made more than 72 hours before your reservation are free of charge.

For groups of 4 or more, cancellations must be made at least 7 days prior to the reservation date to avoid a full charge.

Cancellations or no-shows within the above cancellation window will incur a full charge to the card on file. As an omakase experience, ingredients are procured fresh and to order based on confirmed guest numbers, late cancellations result in costs that cannot be recovered.

We appreciate your understanding and look forward to hosting you.

Surcharge applies to Weekend (10%) and Public Holiday (15%).

Late arrivals, dietary notes and private bookings are covered on the FAQ page. What happens at the counter itself is on the omakase page.

Book your table here once the window you want is open.

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]]> What Melbourne’s Food Press Says About Rōnin https://roninomakase.com/melbourne-food-press-on-ronin/ Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://roninomakase.com/melbourne-food-press-on-ronin/ Broadsheet, Melbourne Food and Wine, Concrete Playground and Sitchu have all written about the counter. The coverage, collected in one place.

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Home What Melbourne’s Food Press Says About Rōnin
A plated main course with sides at a place setting at Ronin Omakase

What Melbourne's Food Press Says About Rōnin

Four Write-ups, One Counter

Since Chef Liam Lee took over the counter, four of the city’s food publications have come through the door and written about it. The pieces are collected here in one place, each linked to our archive of the coverage.

What They Wrote

Broadsheet covered the change of guard under the headline “Former Nomad Chef Liam Lee Brings Korean Flair to Ronin Omakase”, tracing his path from Seoul’s kitchens through Nomad, Firebird and Studio Amaro.

Melbourne Food and Wine announced the new direction as “Korean omakase debuts at CBD tasting counter Rōnin”, the first of its kind in the city.

Concrete Playground placed Rōnin among Melbourne’s best omakase restaurants in its city guide.

Sitchu called the relaunch “Ronin Omakase Is Reborn With Korean Fire”.

Taste the Reason Yourself

The counter the press wrote about seats ten, Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm, at 445 Little Collins St in the CBD. The format they describe is explained on the omakase page, and seats can be booked here from the 20th of each month.

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]]> Why There Is No Printed Menu at Rōnin Omakase, Melbourne https://roninomakase.com/why-no-printed-menu-omakase/ Fri, 24 Jul 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://roninomakase.com/why-no-printed-menu-omakase/ About ten courses, no menu and nothing to order. How each sitting is built from the day's produce with Korean fermentation, jang and charcoal.

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Home Why There Is No Printed Menu at Rōnin Omakase, Melbourne
Grilling beef over charcoal at Ronin Omakase

Why There Is No Printed Menu at Rōnin Omakase, Melbourne

Omakase Means the Chef Decides

There is no menu to read at Rōnin and nothing to order. You take a seat, and about ten courses arrive one at a time over roughly two hours, each one finished at the counter and handed straight across. The word omakase means leaving the decision to the chef, and we take that literally.

The Produce Writes Each Sitting

What the chef sends depends on the day’s produce and the run of the seasons. A printed menu would be out of date by the time it came back from the printer, which is the honest reason there is not one. No two sittings are quite the same, and guests who return across seasons eat a genuinely different meal each time.

Korean Technique Underneath

The cooking is built on Korean fermentation, jang and charcoal, plated with Australian seasonal produce. Chef Liam Lee trained in Seoul’s traditional kitchens before leading Australian kitchens including Nomad, Firebird and Studio Amaro, and he makes all banchan and ferments in house. Rōnin opened in 2023 and has run this way, as Melbourne’s first Korean fusion omakase, since Chef Liam Lee took over in 2026.

Questions Before You Sit Down

The counter runs on a single chef, so dietary alterations cannot be accommodated; the practical details are on the FAQ page. The gallery shows the counter and the plates better than any description. The full picture of the format is on the omakase page, and seats open on the 20th of each month at 8pm.

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