A new omakase-style (chef’s choice) restaurant is set to open in The Rocks’ Campbell’s Stores waterfront dining precinct in November. Bay Nine Omakase will be headed up by young-gun chef Tomohiro Marshall Oguro (ex-Sushi-E), who will create a new menu every day for the diner’s 10-seat omakase counter. A set menu will be served to diners in a separate 30-seat area, with some dishes from the omakase alongside a handful of others.

As well as his experience in restaurant kitchens, Oguro has spent time at seafood wholesaler Cummins Seafood. He says the relationships he developed with fishermen and seafood suppliers will help inform his menus, and his time selling seafood to top restaurants has made him a dab hand at selecting the best catch of the day. Nigiri will form the centrepiece of his menu, and he says a few things will set Bay Nine apart from other omakase experiences in Sydney.

“I’ll also steam, grill or poach fish, depending on what technique brings out the best flavour profile, and not every omakase kitchen does that,” he tells Broadsheet. “Another point of difference may be the way we bleed our fish. It’s a method called ‘tsumoto-shiki’, which allows us to bring out the umami in the fish through ageing, without stripping out the moisture. We’re also in one of the most iconic waterfront spots in Sydney so from a destination perspective alone, it’s already a standout.”

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Expect dishes such as ankake chawan-mushi (savoury egg custard) with banana prawns, sake-steamed Murray cod and thinly sliced rare Wagyu, cooked sukiyaki-style (slowly cooked at the table) with onions, raw egg yolk and sea urchin.

Bay Nine Omakase is part of the Venues Collection, which also runs neighbouring venues Harbourfront Seafood Restaurant and Watersedge. The Campbell’s Stores precinct is set within heritage-listed mid-19th-century former warehouses on the Rocks side of Circular Quay.

Bay Nine Omakase is slated to open in mid-November at Bay 9, 7-27 Circular Quay W, The Rocks.

thevenuescollection.com.au