DENGON NET

次々と日本食レストランがオープンしているが、もう少し気軽にフラリと寄れて値段も手頃な店があると良いなと無い物ねだりの私がいる。そこで、見付けたのが今回紹介する居酒屋Bincho Boss。約3ヶ月前にオープンし、ファインダイニングのような雰囲気で、居酒屋メニューでありながらひと捻りある料理、しかもリーズナブルな価格と聞けば足を運ばないわけにはいかない。Executive chefの石塚さんとHead Chefの石田さんのお勧め料理をいただいた。

まずはお酒のお伴にFresh Tofu、Smoked Duck Breast、Turkey Skewersの3品。自家製のFresh Tofuは、大豆の味が濃く滑らかな舌触り。料亭のような上品な味わいに「居酒屋でこのクオリティーとは!?」としょっぱなから唸ってしまった。

Fresh Tofu $7

店名の由来になっている備長炭で、鴨を炙った Smoked Duck Breastは、コッテリとした八丁味噌のソースに時折辛子特有の刺激がたまらない。

Smoked Duck Breast $14

鶏団子ならぬ七面鳥団子のTurkey Skewersは、ふわふわの団子に甘辛い照り焼きソースが絡み、お酒だけでなくご飯にも合いそう。どの料理もどんなお酒とも相性が良さそうだ。ちなみに、この店には日本人バーテンダーがいて、カクテルが他店よりもリーズナブル。抹茶や柚を使ったカクテルもあるので、お試しを。

Turkey Skewers $14.5

お店いち押しのTurkey Hotpotは、鶏や昆布をベースにした出汁に七面鳥団子、季節の野菜や豆腐が入った鍋。出汁の旨味をたっぷり吸った団子は、Turkey Skewersとは違った趣。しょうがの香りがふんわりと広がるスープは、今までに出会ったことない複雑な味わいで、最後の一滴まで飲み干したいと思うほど。この品は味もさることながら、値段も魅力のひとつで、ひと鍋26ドル。2人分あるので1人13ドルとは…激安ぶりにビックリ。

Turkey Hotpot $26

デザートには、是非Espresso Cream Caramelを。プリン好きはもちろん、そうでない人にも声を大にしてお勧めしたい一品。栗の香りがふんわりと広がるソースと、スムーズな口当たりのプリンの組み合せに、誰もが笑顔になること間違いなし。

Espresso Cream Caramel $14

ランチタイムもオープンしているので、メニューを紹介しておこう。メインの和牛のほか、茶碗蒸しや煮物、サラダなどのおかず、優しい味わいで気持ちがほっこりする五目ご飯やみそ汁が付いたWagyu Gozenは、ちょっぴり豪華なランチにピッタリ。Gozen 4種のほかに、みそ汁とその日のおかずが付いたDonburiなどがあるので、お試しを。

Wagyu Gozen $28

個性的なレストランが軒を連ねるLittle Bourke St,にあり、居酒屋らしからぬおしゃれな雰囲気。懐に優しい価格設定なので、勤め人だけでなく学生さんも気軽に立ち寄れそう。ランチとディナーの間も飲み物とスナックが楽しめるようオープンしている便利なお店。ごちそうさまでした。

Good food, good atmosphere, good prices

While it’s great that new Japanese restaurants continue to appear around Melbourne, I do wish more were relaxed and approachable, and kept their prices a bit lower. Thankfully, one crossed my radar recently that ticked both those boxes – Bincho Boss. Opened around three months ago, it combines a fine dining atmosphere with a unique take on izakaya cuisine, and keeps things affordable, to boot. Of course, we had to go, and while there, we sampled a range of dishes recommended by Executive Chef Ishizuka-san and Head Chef Ishida-san.  

First we tried a trio of dishes designed to go well with drinks – the Fresh Tofu, Smoked Duck Breast, and Turkey Skewers. The house-made tofu was smooth and had a rich soy bean flavour, giving it the kind of quality you normally only find at a high-end restaurant in Japan. Next we ate the duck breast, grilled over the Bincho (high-grade Ubame oak) charcoal that gives the restaurant its name. The duck came with a rich, thick and spicy Hatcho miso sauce, and the little chilli hits you got from it were amazing. Finally, the turkey skewers consisted of light, fluffy turkey meatballs, covered with a sweet and sour teriyaki sauce. Perfect for enjoying with drinks or even rice. To be honest, each of these dishes would go well with just about any drink, and thanks to the reasonable prices of the cocktails, you can certainly indulge in a little experimentation. As you might expect with a Japanese bartender on staff, those cocktails almost all have Japanese elements, like matcha or yuzu, as well. 

The restaurant’s specialty – Turkey Hotpot – arrived at our table next, with turkey meatballs, seasonal vegetables and tofu all cooked together in a chicken- and kombu seaweed-based broth. Having absorbed all the soup’s flavours, the meatballs took on a very different character to those we enjoyed earlier, and that soup, with its wafting ginger aromas and stunning complexity, was so good we wanted to drink every last drop. The fact it’s only $26 is perhaps the truly shocking part, though. It’s big enough for two, and to get such a dish for only $13 a person…? That’s a bargain-and-a-half. 

Dessert-wise, we’d recommend the Espresso Crème Caramel we tried. If you’re a crème caramel lover, it’s an obvious choice, but it’s so good we’d urge even those who aren’t to give it a go. The sauce, with its faint chestnut aroma, combines with the crème caramel’s smoothness to form a dish anyone would like. 

Bincho Boss is open for lunch as well, so definitely pop along if you’re interested. The menu consists of four different set meals or ‘Gozen’, as well as three different donburi and a tempura udon option, with coffee and cheesecake available for dessert. The Wagyu Gozen, with its grilled beef, chawanmushi, seasoned rice, salad and other sides, is particularly luxurious for only $29. 

With its un-Izakaya-like, chic atmosphere, and wallet-friendly prices, Bincho Boss is bound to be popular, not just with city workers but also students. The fact it’s open between lunch and dinner, serving drinks and snacks, means it’s very convenient if you just want to drop by during the afternoon, too. Gochisousamadeshita. 

Bincho Boss
383-385 Little Bourke St, Melbourne
T: 03 9670 7945
Mon-Sat 11:30am–2:30pm, Mon–Wed 5:30–9:30pm, Thu-Sat 5:30–10pm
Drinks and nibbles in between
W: binchoboss.com.au