Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese dining experience where courses are curated, crafted and served over several hours. This 16 seat basement diner is designed to celebrate the Kaiseki tradition, but with a uniquely Australian take. The interior is bold, unusual, controversial, thought provoking yet in complete balance - just like Kaiseki.

The brief for the space was originally for a quite traditional Japanese dining experience both in interior design and from a Kaiseki dining tradition. Certain elements around the the flow of how the kitchen was required to function were worked through with Chef Ishizuka. However, our design process actually started without a site and we assisted in finding the right location, lease negotiations, base building negotiations for services and even with the body corporate that occupied the upper levels of the building in order to achieve the best outcome for the client.

Upon finding a site and after further discussions with the client about Melbourne and its food scene we advised that the interior needed to be unusual & contemporary to work with the Kaiseki dining experience within the Australian market. This drove an interior design response that would delight, be youthful yet formal and be a total dining experience and like Kaiseki, unusual and dynamic yet in complete balance. It was this tradition that drove every design decision.