First Look: Zenka, a Four-Seat Restaurant Hidden Inside 279, Has “True Japanese Comfort Food”

When Manami Okada relocated from Auckland to Melbourne in December 2023, she carried with her a poignant mission: to fulfill her late husband Yoshito Okada’s dream of opening a restaurant called Zenka that specialises in kamameshi, a rice dish cooked in a kama (iron pot).

“I knew I had to do it when a chef’s coat he had ordered with ‘Zenka’ and his name arrived a week after his passing,” Manami tells Broadsheet. “It felt like a sign of encouragement from him.”

By February, Chameshi Zenka found its place at the rear of cafe 279, a popular Japanese cafe run by Manami’s son Kantaro Okada (Chiaki, Hareruya Pantry, Leonie Upstairs).

On Friday and Saturday nights you’ll find Manami gracefully carrying out dual roles as chef and host, accommodating just four people per sitting. Service begins with warm hand towels and meticulously plated starters. Dishes like tempura shiitake, pickled daikon and small bowls of kombu set the stage for the main event: kamameshi, which Manami considers “true Japanese comfort food” and that she learnt to make from her mother back in Hokkaido, Japan.

Served in claypots for two, the steamed rice is smoky and adorned with seafood, vegetables and poultry sourced from the nearby Queen Victoria Market. Towards the end of the meal, diners are encouraged to turn their kamameshi into a DIY ochazuke (tea broth poured over a bowl of rice and toppings) by adding toppings, including pickles, spring onions, wasabi, shio kombu, and pouring over a dashi broth.

No stranger to the restaurant world, Manami and her late husband founded their first venue, Cafe Rikka, in Auckland in the ’90s. “There weren’t many Japanese restaurants in New Zealand,” she says. “We introduced many Kiwis to Japanese food for the first time.”

Her late husband managed the kitchen while Manami led the front of house, and soon they opened several more restaurants including Rikka Newmarket, Sake Bar Rikka, Don Don, Sushi Yah and Industry Zen.

Zenka – named for zen, meaning meditation, and “ka” for their daughter Hanna – embodies a family’s journey transformed into a truly special dining experience. “I’m excited for more people to try kamameshi for a relaxed evening in an intimate space, sharing food with loved ones,” says Manami.

Chameshi Zenka
279 Victoria Street, West Melbourne
No phone

Hours:
Fri & Sat dinner by booking only

@zenka.melbourne