Ginza Kagari brings its celebrated tori paitan ramen to Russell Street in Melbourne, marking the brand's first Australian location
Ramen that gets compared to fine dining potage soup is now sitting on Russell Street in Melbourne.
Ginza Kagari, the Tokyo ramen institution recognised in the 2016 and 2017 Michelin Guide, has opened its first Australian outpost at 256 Russell Street in the CBD. The celebrated chain brings its signature tori paitan ramen to Melbourne, a creamy chicken broth that has drawn enormous queues across Japan since the brand launched in 2013.
Founded by chef Makoto Iwata in a tiny eight-seat counter tucked into a backstreet of Tokyo’s Ginza district, Ginza Kagari built its reputation on a style of ramen that looks and tastes nothing like your standard tonkotsu bowl. The tori paitan is a slow-simmered, milky-white chicken broth made from whole Japanese chicken, producing a rich, umami-heavy soup with a clean finish. Topped with chicken chashu and seasonal vegetables, the dish has been described by the restaurant as closer to a fine dining potage than a conventional bowl of noodles.
Ginza Kagari
- 256 Russell Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
- Now open
- Walk-ins only
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Iwata’s background spans Italian, French and Japanese cooking, and his approach to ramen draws on the traditions of ryokan hospitality and mizutaki, a refined chicken hotpot technique that demands patience and precision. That philosophy has guided the brand’s expansion from its original Ginza location to outlets in Roppongi, Kamakura, Ikebukuro, Otemachi, Sapporo, Osaka, Kobe, Narita International Airport and now overseas, with further locations in the Philippines and Taiwan also in the works.
The Melbourne venue marks a significant step in the brand’s global ambitions. The restaurant’s aesthetic follows the same understated Japanese design language as its Tokyo locations, prioritising craftsmanship and hospitality over flash. If you’ve been to the Ginza original, you’ll know what to expect: a focused menu, meticulous presentation and a bowl of ramen that takes itself seriously without making a fuss about it.
For a city already stacked with quality ramen options from Hakata Gensuke to Ippudo, Ginza Kagari’s arrival adds a distinctly different proposition. Where most of Melbourne’s ramen heavy hitters lean on pork-based tonkotsu broths, the tori paitan offers something lighter in colour but no less rich in depth, appealing to diners looking for something outside the usual playbook.
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