Yakikami

A dark, low-lit grill house on Toorak Road that treats Japanese fire cooking as a craft worth specialising in. At its heart is a seventeen-seat yakitori counter where certified grillers work skewers over binchotan, a white charcoal that burns above a thousand degrees, cleanly and without odour, using all thirteen parts of the bird, from the familiar thigh and neck through to the heart, liver, oysters and tail. Little is wasted, and each cut is matched to the flame it suits. Beyond the counter, a Josper charcoal oven turns out premium Australian and Japanese wagyu, while a separate room runs a longer omakase built around those same coals. The general dining area keeps things more relaxed with a mix of classic and contemporary plates, sashimi among the highlights, backed by deep sake and wine lists. The mood is intimate and faintly romantic, polished and close, built for watching skilled hands at work rather than for a crowd. It counts among Melbourne's most decorated Japanese rooms, and the reason is consistency of purpose: charcoal, skewers, careful sourcing and a respect for the whole animal, delivered with the sort of quiet precision that rewards a seat at the counter over a booth in the back.