This is definitely a premium sushi experience similar to places that you can find in Japan. While it's not cheap, the quality of the sushi and taste of all of the dishes make it worthwhile. The omakase sushi pieces were excellent and details out exactly where the fish came from. One thing that can be a bit of overwhelming: I think they are a bit overstaffed on the service side. From what I can see, it was one person attending to just two tables - made the entire space feel somewhat cramped and intimidating (water cup was always topped up whenever you take two sips). I think they can dial this back a bit and still have a fantastic customer experience. read more

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From the moment you enter, the atmosphere sings Zen perfection .... fresh ingredients, attention to detail, simplistic presentation, carefully considered preparations and plenty of add ons. Don't enter looking for an "economical" experience, prepare yourself to be carried away to a gastronomical wonderland and artistic food presentation. read more

Minamishima a Japanese omakase restaurant owned by Chef Koichi Minamishima. He has a 25 years experience on his belt than finally opening his own restaurant in 2014 in the city he called home for 15 years. His goal is to fill each customer with joy thrugh the art of sushi. Minamishima pride them self in using the best raw ingredients available and some imported from Japan. I was hoping for sea urchin or pufferfish but turns out that night they don't have any of them in stocks. The service was polite, calm just like in Japan. Chef Minamishima showcases the best of Australia as well as some of Tokyo's Tsukiji Market, Hokkaido and Aichi (Chef Minamishima homet town) produces to create inherent characteristics of the key ingredient shine. Overall, it was a great night and one of the best omakase in Melbourne but in my opinion omakase experience in Japan is still the best. read more

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This is one of the top sushi restaurants I have been for omakase and it's totally worth the price for the 13 courses we had. It was so good we even ordered a few more items. We started with a cooked foods and moved to raw foods and then back to heavier cooked foods. The stone clam from New Zealand really stood out because we have never tasted it before and it was roasted to give it a sweet, nutty flavor. It was well balanced with a lightly sweet sauce. The wagyu beef with truffle was a nice surprise and if they have it in season, get it. From the raw side, I really enjoyed the flounder fin. It had a nice grilled flavor and I ordered this twice because it is that good. Flounder fin has a delicate flavor and a little oily so it just slips on the tongue like toro. Yeah... Toro was good too and served at the right temperature where the fat just glistens. We also had uni from Tasmania and it has a lighter color and flavor compared to California, but very good. Other mentions are the roasted walnut dessert and the whiskey ice-cream. They were both very delicious and well balanced. The sommelier is excellent and he's right on with his sake tasting. I would suggest getting that with your dinner. Let's get down to business. For 13 courses in the dining room expect to pay about $200 per person and you may not select from the dishes but if you have dietary restrictions they will have alternatives. After dinner you may order your favorite items as a la carte. If you sit at the bar everything is a la carte so mix and match as you wish! You will need reservations for both the sushi bar and the dining room. read more

Yum, great service and atmosphere. A omakase that was full of fresh flavours, a cozy private dining room, with staff that knows their menu, sake and cooking techniques, what more could you ask for? There really is nothing I can fault at Minamishima - the food is fresh, well paced and delicious. The sake flight shows off all types of sake. The service is attentive, friendly and respectful. I'd love to come here again! read more

This is not an easy place to find, as you walked in, you get greeted by very polite wait staff. We were ushered to our seats at the sushi bar. Watching the sushi chefs do what they do best was entertaining. The sushi was delicious, tasted so fresh and clean. The rice on the sushi was delicious. I could go on eating these forever. It doesn't feel like a lot of food, but I was full. This isn't a place that you could frequent all the time with $150 per person, but definitely worth every cent. read more

Minamishima - The best kind of sushi - Japanese Near Me - Richmond, VIC

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This place has incredible omakase. The atmosphere of the restaurant is formal and inviting with warm lighting strewn throughout. The chefs display great skill and make no mistakes while crafting each piece of sushi and sashimi. The sake pairings were tasty, but I didn't drink much as I was too distracted by the food. Everything was executed very beautifully with precise attention to detail and incredible skill which created visually appealing servings. The service was friendly and very professional! I only visited once when I lived in Melbourne, but when I visit Victoria again, I will definitely return here! read more

Good quality food experience. Not enough to fill my tummy though but I enjoyed wide variety of Sushi and different other authentic Japanese dishes served by Chinese n Koreans. Overall good experience but for me once is enough... read more

If you are looking for high quality sushi made with precision in a very subtle atmosphere then this is your place. Upon entering, I felt like I was stepping into a hotel as the entrance is misleading for a restaurant. Staff greet and seat you immediately, as a booking is most definitely required. Plan ahead to get a seat at this larger-than-expected restaurant but quite exclusive in bookings. There are three main chefs working the sushi counter, preparing the evening's line up along with many staff throughout, very attentive to your needs. I was unsure how many nigiri bites were coming our way as one is presented at a time. We ended up with around 12 courses of sushi alone, not counting the starter sashimi bite and the last two courses of soup followed by dessert. We were extremely full and satisfied. There were so many unique types of seafood local to the region. It was quite exciting to try some you don't find everywhere. Only come here if you truly appreciate high end sushi in a well executed establishment. This place delivers only the best. read more

Excellent choice for a quality Japanese dining experience. Great ambience and perfectly spacious to be intimate for a nice evening out. Try both the dining and sushi bar. Reservations mandatory well in advance. read more

Minamishima - Eating at the "best" sushi resto in Oz. Must say, the only thing better is the company. JB. - Japanese Near Me - Richmond, VIC

If you want some great award winning Japanese then this is the place to go. Best with only couples and sitting opposite the sushi chefs watching them prepare your plates. Larger groups are also catered for. The fish is amazing. My favorite is the scampi sashimi and if it's lobster season when booking, ask them to prepare you a lobster sashimi. Well worth the price paid. You must try the tuna toro which is just so melt in your mouth watering delicious. If you want wine the sommelier will always help you out. They have a fine selection and some bottles do not appear in the wine list. The sake is definitely worth trying and again leave this to the sommelier to choose and you will not be disappointed. Booking well ahead is advised, but worth the wait. read more

My wife and I are currently in Australia celebrating our Honeymoon. Our trip started with two weeks in Tokyo (our favorite place to visit), during which time we ate unforgettable omakase sushi meals at Sukiyabashi Jiro, Sushi Mizutani, Sushi Yoshitake, Sushi Tokami and Sushi Kanesaka. After leaving Tokyo, we have been traveling thoughout Australia. In Sydney, we had the pleasure of incredible meals at Sepia and Quay, among many other great restaurants, and while in Melbourne, we have had the pleasure of eating at Attica, Brae, Cutler and Co., and several other fantastic spots. Tonight was our last night in Melbourne, and it was also our first sushi meal since leaving Tokyo. We had reservations at the much-heralded Minamishima, which is supposed to be the best sushi restaurant in all of Australia, and which, two weeks ago, was just upgraded from two hats to three hats in the "Good Food Guide," which seems to be the Australian equivalent of the Michelin Guide. We booked two seats at the sushi counter well in advance, on the day that reservations became available, and had been looking forward to this meal with rapt anticipation ever since. When we arrived tonight, however, we found ourselves seated at the very far end of the sushi counter - in a veritable "No Man's Land," with only two sinks in front of us, needing binoculars to see any of the action going on down at the other end of the sushi bar, where the chefs were actually doing their work. Note that we were were seated there despite the fact that, when we arrived at 8:00pm, more than half of the sushi bar was empty, and despite the fact that several of the seats directly in front of the main chef ended up remaining unoccupied through until we left near the end of the night. I am going to gloss over the actual food experience here, because that is not what this review is about. In a few sentences, I will say that it was very good, despite my irritation at having booked a sushi counter seat only to find myself further from the sushi counter and the sushi chefs than many of the restaurant's non-sushi counter tables were. None of the pieces of standard Edomae sushi could compare to what you can find in Tokyo, or even in New York (where we are from), but many of the pieces that were Australian in provenance were very interesting and very good. The sake pairing was also very good, and included some very interesting, off-the-beaten path sakes. When the time came to pay the check, a gentlemen in a suit came over with our bill (I presume he was the manager), and I told him that, for future reference, when someone books seats at the sushi counter and the restaurant intend to put tshem down in the "No Man's Land" where we were seated at the end of the counter, the restaurant should let them know in advance where it plans to seat them, because if we had known that we would be seated where we ended up being seated, we would have cancelled our reservation and eaten somewhere else. We also told him that the experience that we had at the restaurant was very far from the experience that one expects when one books two seats at the sushi counter at what is supposedly a high-end sushi-ya. Instead of apologizing for the fact that we had a subpar experience at his restaurant, the manager, or whoever he was, became *INCREDIBLY* defensive and aggressive, telling us, among other things, that "The good seats at the sushi counter are only for regulars." I told him that that was fine, but that that fact should be communicated to non-regulars - like us, for example, who were coming from halfway around the world to celebrate our honeymoon at his restaurant - so that they could make an informed decision as to whether they wanted to pay over five hundred Australian dollars to be treated like second-class citizens, tucked away almost as if they were in a broom closet. I also noted that several of his beloved "regulars" had no-showed, leaving prime seats in front of the sushi chef empty for the entirety of the night while we froze to death from the draft through the front door over in our No Man's Land at the far end of the ridiculously long sushi counter. The manager - who I gather simply could not have been Japanese or had any previous experience in a Japanese restaurant, given his reaction to my constructive criticism, which would be unthinkable in any of the Japanese restaurants we have ever been to, where service and hospitality are treated with the utmost importance - then became even more defensive and even more rude and aggressive, hustling us out of the restaurant in an absolutely shameful, disrespectful and disgusting way that I have never experienced in all my years of fine dining all around the world. It was, frankly, shocking and appalling, and he should be ashamed of himself - someone like him has no business being within a thousand meters of what is supposed to be one of the best restaur read more

Oh My God! I was shocked (although I knew the cost, I really didn't know how much food you get.) with the staff explaining extra food even before they finish serving the entire course. Why? I took two of my friends and Thank God we don't drink, (drinks are extra $90 per head) and cost me $450 and went home hungry. I felt like a MacDonald. It was a winter night and the inside the restaurant was nice and warm and cosy. But being a Japanese, I know there are a lot more expensive restaurants in Japan but I also know there are plenty of a lot less expensive restaurants that serve quantity and quality. This restaurant was disappointing. read more