First Look: Sachi Is a Former Kisume Sushi Chef’s Take on a Casual Seafood Restaurant

Ever since he started Sachi as a pop-up in 2024, chef Reki Reinantha has wanted it to feel like the sushi counters and izakayas he loved in Tokyo: high-end in execution, but casual and approachable in spirit. “We wanted somewhere that felt like Japan, where you can enjoy great seafood without it being an expensive omakase,” Reinantha, who formerly worked as a sushi chef at Kisume, tells Broadsheet. “The idea has always been about accessibility, without losing precision.”

After a string of pop-ups at Leonie Upstairs and the former Shizuku Ramen space in Hawthorn, Reinantha has finally opened a permanent restaurant on Queen Street in the CBD.

At lunch, there’ll be a casual sushi counter where you can walk in for 10 or 15 pieces of nigiri, served one by one in quick succession, and teishoku sets built around the signature chirashi. Evenings are more refined, with a five-course set menu that shifts with the seasons, and sometimes more frequently, depending on what’s arriving fresh. “We want to be dynamic and adapt to what’s looking its best,” says Reinantha.

The drinks list is equally considered. Saké supplier Heigo has helped curate a selection of bottles, and manager Kaiya Yamaguchi has built a short cocktail list to match the food. Shinwoo Hong, Sachi’s head chef, rounds out the team alongside Reinantha, all of whom have been with the project since its early days.

Most of the seafood is sourced from Australian supplier Oceania, with specialty products flown in from Japan, then dry-aged in-house for between three and seven days to concentrate flavour. “Premium sashimi has to be dry-aged to get the moisture right,” says Reinantha. “It’s something we’ve been developing since we started.”

That technique comes through most clearly in the chirashi don, the anchor of the menu from Sachi’s early pop-up days, served with a variety of aged seafood over red vinegar rice.

There’s a 60-seat room with clean lines, low lighting and a dry-aging cabinet of fish on full display as you walk in. The long, narrow room is anchored by a gleaming silver sushi counter, lit from beneath with red neon. Opposite, chrome and leather chairs sit on a speckled red recycled-plastic floor, a look Reinantha describes as “Tokyo at sunset”, reminiscent of Japanese city pop album covers.

Lunch currently runs daily and dinner five nights a week for now, with plans to expand once the team gets into its new rhythm. “Consistency first,” says Reinantha. “Once we’re rock solid, then we can think about what’s next.”

Sachi
179 Queen Street, Melbourne
0450688830

Hours:
Sun & Mon 11.30am–2.30pm
Tue to Sat 11.30am–2.30pm; 5.30pm–9.30pm

sachidon.com