Japanese concept bar, Bosozoku.
Get in touch with your inner wild child at this Japanese concept bar, where every part of the experience is unapologetically on theme
BOSOZOKU: REVIEWED BY MEGAN MILLER
A JAPANESE bikie gang has hit the back streets of South Yarra. But don’t fret – it’s not the latest crime wave.
Bosozoku is Melbourne’s newest concept bar, named after the rebel Japanese gang. It’s dark, grungy and unapologetically on theme with motorcycle chandeliers, karaoke and Nintendo rooms, fire pits, Hitachi train seats and a dry-ice “onsen” (a spa using dry ice instead of water).
From the team behind St Kilda’s Lady Grange and The Bird Watching Society in Prahran, here the owners have brought together their collective love of Japanese culture but with cheeky homage to its outlaw underbelly.
To drink, savour a selection of Japanese beers, sakés and whiskeys or choose from a killer cocktail list led by a wasabi bloody mary or an espresso martini with vanilla bean saké.
Chef Tomoya Kawasaki (ex-yoku Ono Ramen and Wabi Sabi) is turning out colourful burgers with a Japanese twist, which can be ordered in a bento box with gyoza, fries or black rice instead of buns for gluten-dodgers.
The Road Rage is a beetroot bun loaded with thinly sliced wagyu marinated in teriyaki sauce, with basil mayo and salad. It’s hearty, but the bun could be fresher and the meat less mushy. The Teriyummy chicken burger on a charcoal bun is similarly lacking.
Better is the gyoza – bronze and plump as they should be – and the karaage chicken with its excellent crunch and juicy chook.
Kudos for originality at this ambitious 200-seater, but it’s a bit of a case of style over substance, especially given the fierce competition for burgers around Melbourne.
That said, however, in the true spirit of rebellion, dust off your leathers and rev your engines for a night on the wild side.
FROM TOP ‘Die By The Sword’
