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.
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. 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$165 to A$295. Rōnin is A$195, paid at booking, every night. 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. 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.
Common Questions
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.
Book a Seat
445 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Wed to Sat, 6pm to 11pm (dinner only)
0401 721 491 | info@roninomakase.com