The original Mansae opened seven years ago near Melbourne Central on A’Beckett Street, where the Korean barbeque restaurant was celebrated for its banchan, premium Wagyu and brûléed ice-cream. But it was also known for long lines and waits for tables.

A second location, in Burwood, opened in 2023. And in autumn this year, owners Shelly Leonardy and Hando Mulyando relocated their A’Beckett Street restaurant to a new site in the Veriu Hotel opposite the Queen Victoria Market’s Dairy Hall.



Photography: Pablo Diaz

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“Our polished concrete palace was one of the initial venues that made A’Beckett dining famous,” Leonardy tells Broadsheet of the original location. “But the lines were getting too long, and we wanted to cut that down.” While there’s still often a line, it’s much shorter, as capacity has expanded from 90 to 150 seats.

“Our goal is always to have a fun ambience with an easygoing vibe,” Leonardy says. The new venue has plush leather booths, larger tables for groups and soft, warm lighting.

The K-BBQ joint only uses beef from Australian Wagyu cattle, from suppliers like Mayura in South Australia and Sher Wagyu in Victoria. But as well as interesting cuts – including beef belly, ox tongue and rib finger – there’s a strong small plate offering. Highlights include Korean corn cheese, fried chicken, yukhoe (raw beef seasoned with Korean nashi pear and mirin) and gimmari (a Korean street food staple of glass noodles, wrapped in seaweed and deep-fried).



Marshmallow ice-cream. Photography: Pablo Diaz

The dessert menu features the brûléed-to-order marshmallow ice-cream, where ice-cream in flavours including black sesame, matcha and chocolate is put on a stick, coated in marshmallow and torched by your server tableside.

Banchan (side dishes that are a staple in Korean dining) include plates like soy-braised tofu, sesame-seasoned kongnamul bean sprouts, raw garlic cloves and house-made kimchi – which the team goes through 30 kilograms of per day.



Banchan. Photography: Pablo Diaz

To drink there’s soju, beer on tap (including a rare sighting of Okinawa beer, Orion), and half-litre cans of Korean beer, Cass.

Mansae is a family affair, and many of Leonardy and Mulyando’s relatives play pivotal roles in the business across the front- and back-of-house. “It takes a village to open a restaurant,” Leonardy says. “We get a consensus check on everything that’s on the menu; the whole team plays a huge role in our food offering.”

Mansae is preparing to launch a lunch menu in the coming months, but they’re in no rush. “We’ve slowly built our offering over the last seven years; if we are going to do lunch we want to do it right.”

Mansae CBD
16 Dhanga Djeembana Walk, Melbourne
0451926890

Hours:
Sun to Thu 5pm–10pm
Fri & Sat 5pm–11pm

mansaekbbq.com.au
@mansaekbbq