For some diners, there is nothing finer than a tender, juicy, perfectly cooked steak.Savouring that melt-in-your-mouth moment at the yakitori counter at South Yarra Japanese eatery Yakikami is something else again.
Yakikami opened in 2022 on the Toorak Road strip with a swagger, with its signature premium wagyu beef, seafood, poultry and other fine dining choices, an incredibly diverse wine list and a warm, friendly atmosphere
Yakikami offers distinct dining areas: general dining, a bar lounge, the yakitori counter (with a tantalising view of the restaurant’s skilled chefs at work and the josper room, with a similar counter and dining tables arranged around the restaurant’s high-temperature, charcoal-fired josper oven.
The scene inside is set with soft lighting, light timber and wicker furnishings, dark walls and an upbeat jazz soundtrack – a warm and inviting atmosphere.
My companion and I dined on a selection of dishes, starting with a generous shared helping of grilled edamame pan-seared with herbs, garlic and butter. The beans were exquisitely tender and came with a hint of smoky barbecue.
We also shared vegetable tempura – hot and crispy nuggets of pumpkin, okra, shiitake and eggplant served with a slightly spicy dipping sauce.
I sampled the Tasmanian abalone – my first experience of the celebrated mollusc. Mine was incredibly delicate and tender, poached and served cold and sliced into four segments with a rich abalone liver sauce. It is part of an extensive and very tempting selection of seafood, sashimi and sushi dishes.
My shiitake skewer was fresh off the grill and served with a soy butter glaze that accentuated the mushrooms’ earthy flavour.
Given that wagyu is the headliner at Yakikami, we both opted for wagyu dishes for our main course.
My companion sampled the M9+ wagyu skewer – buttery smooth strips of succulence served only with pepper, salt and a tangy pickled wasabi. Sensational.
I shared with her what is undoubtedly the best steak we have ever had – a 200-gram medium-rare Omi Sirloin with the option of a mushroom veal jus, truffle sauce or soy butter as an accompaniment. We opted for the latter, and we were not disappointed.
To say that a steak knife was an exercise in overkill on the Omi Sirloin is an understatement. The menu literally promises a “melt-in-your-mouth” experience with this steak, and the kitchen team delivered in spades with every juicy, generously marbled bite.
The sirloin’s $180 price tag is somewhat daunting, but don’t fear: many of the other dining options are more affordable.
Dessert, while hardly necessary, was welcome. We opted for the luscious crème Macha and the dark Yakikami chocolate cake, which came with a chocolate soil and a surprisingly light mocha cream.
Yakikami offers diners a highly enjoyable blend of sophistication without a stuffy vibe, and a dining and drinks menu with options to cater for most budgets and to please most palates. If wagyu is your thing, you will struggle to find better than this.
Yakikami -150 Toorak Road, South Yarra. https://www.yakikami.com.au/
*Melbourning dined as guests of Yakikami
