Amé Darlinghurst brings Nikkei cuisine to Oxford Street
Nikkei restaurant Amé Darlinghurst brings Japanese and Peruvian cooking to the ground floor of the heritage listed Oxford Street building. This is the latest restaurant from ESCA Group, the team behind popular restaurants Nour, Itō and Jōji. Executive chef Erik Ortolani spent time in Peru working through markets, cevicherías and tabernas to build the menu, with Australian seafood and produce on the plate.
Nikkei is what happens when two food cultures live together long enough to become one, and Amé gives it a room worth sitting in. Sheer curtains in chilli red, orange, turquoise and mustard divide the 115 seat dining room into smaller spaces, with coloured light filtering through and banquette seating lit from below. The original pillars and heritage plasterwork stay put, so the building’s 1927 history is part of the experience. It is a calm, considered counterpoint to the bustle of Oxford Street, and the menu is built to share and move around the table.
Quick Bites
EAT: The arroz con pato, Peru’s traditional duck rice cooked as an okoge and served in a cast iron pan with ginger dashi and aji ponzu.
DRINK: The Pink Rabbit, a strawberry milk punch with gin and Chartreuse.
PLAY: Lunch runs Wednesday to Sunday, which makes it a good excuse to gather your friends.
VIBE CHECK: Vibrant, colourful, considered
