Melbourne-based hospitality group Lucas Restaurants will open a new Japanese-inspired venue this September – and it’s nabbed a former Yardbird chef to head up the kitchen.
Tombo Den restaurant and sake bar is currently in the works on Chapel Street, and is located right next door to sibling restaurant Hawker Hall.
The venue is promising to “reinterpret the brutalist energy of urban Tokyo”, and focus on Japanese street food, offering a dining experience akin to what Founder Chris Lucas enjoyed back in the ’90s – think a late-night izakaya vibe, premium seafood, and proteins cooked over charcoal.
Chef Dan Chan is heading up the kitchen and joins Lucas Restaurants after time at Michelin-starred Hong Kong restaurant Yardbird as well as Supernormal and Supernormal Canteen in Melbourne.
The culinary talent is taking a multifaceted approach when it comes to designing the menu, developing dishes that draw equal inspiration from Japan and Australia.
“We wanted a menu that speaks equally to Windsor’s electric street culture and that vast inspiration of Tokyo street food,” says Chan.
“I’m also excited to be incorporating lots of cooking over coals, something I learnt under so many great Japanese chefs in Hong Kong.”
An oak sushi counter will be the centre of the space, with Kisume chefs Toaki Kyo and Carlos Lopez crafting nigiri, handrolls, and other seafood-centric dishes depending on what’s available from the market that day.
The space is also home to a number of upstairs private dining rooms where guests can enjoy karaoke as well as bespoke cocktail experiences.
Master Sommelier Yuki Hirose (Society) is focusing on sake when it comes to the beverage offering as well as wines and cocktails.
“It’s been a really exciting project creating the full beverage program for Tombo Den; even more so given the restaurant’s Japanese influence. Being able to tap into my passion for sake is an added bonus,” says Hirose, wh recently returned from a sake-sourcing trip to Japan.
Tombo Den is slated to make its debut in early September and will open for lunch Wednesday to Sunday and for dinner Tuesday to Sunday.
It joins Lucas Restaurants’ growing portfolio which includes Society, Chin Chin Melbourne and Sydney, Kisume, Grill Americano, Baby, Yakimono.
The group also recently announced Carlotta in Canberra as well as two new restaurants at 435 Bourke Street.
Bookings open 19 August.
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