Tachiyugen: A One-Night-Only Standing Bar Takes Over Yugen Dining

Inspired by Japan’s tachinomi bars – the standing-room-only bar counters built for quick pours and bold bites – Tachiyugen flips the script on a traditional night out. On Thursday March  26, Yugen Dining transforms into a living, breathing bar crawl across multiple levels, with no reservations, no fixed seating and a constant pulse of music guiding the flow.

Izakaya-style food comes out fast and flavoursome. Expect oysters shucked to order with ponzu granita or yuzu kosho mignonette, toro and scallion handrolls, kingfish sashimi, snapper nanbanzuke, Wagyu tataki and grilled Hokkaido scallops. There’s also chicken karaage, the venue’s cult prawn toast, and a rotating line-up of robata skewers – chicken thigh and leek, pork belly with shiso, octopus with smoked soy and eggplant dengaku – rolling out all night.

Drinks keep pace, with curated saké tastings, crisp Japanese highballs, and ice-cold Sapporo on tap. DJs will soundtrack the evening, dialling up the energy as the night unfolds.

Tickets are all-inclusive, so you can graze and sip at your own rhythm. It’s not quite dinner, not quite a party – it’s a moving feast that’s all part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival 2026 program.

Secure your tickets today.