Ocha

Awesome food! My favourite all time place to dine out with friends, this place is such a hidden gem. Definitely will be back. Thank you for the awesome service and introducing us to the menu :)

Hard to fault the wonderful food but their BYO policy lacks bottle. Buried in the wine list preamble is ‘…bring your own wine, that is completely fine with us. We only charge you 7.5 per person to cover glassware, decanting etc.’
Ocha charges $ 7.50 PER PERSON regardless of how much wine you bring and drink. Imagine the very different services that might be received by diners at Table 1 and Table 2.
1. Table 1: three diners with ONE BYO bottle of wine. Three diners receive the following services: open bottle; pour 5 glasses of wine; wash 3 diner’s glasses. Ocha charges $ 22.50 for these services. The average charge per glass used $ 7.50.
2. Table 2: three diners who each bring a bottle of wine (one sparkling, one white and one red). Open 3 bottles; pour 15 glasses of wine; wash 9 glasses. Ocha charges $ 22.50 for these services. The average charge per glass used $ 2.50.
The second example represents THREE times more service (staff labour for opening wine, decanting, providing ice buckets, checking glasses and topping up, washing glasses) yet the SAME «service» charge applies.
What is sadder than this disingenuous charge for ‘service’ is that Ocha appears to be losing from its approach.
Assume a charge per bottle (say $ 10) applied. In the first example (Table 1) $ 10 would be applied with an average charge of $ 3.33 per glass. On Table 2 the total charge is $ 30 (3 bottles x $ 10) and the average charge per glass also $ 3.33.
As the more likely scenario is about a bottle per person Ocha is losing 83c per glass used (ie $ 3.33 less $ 2.50).
They also lose goodwill from the pissed off diners turning up with one bottle who instinctively feel the ‘service’ charge is unfair (it is: Table 1 currently pays $ 5 more than Table 2 per glass used).
At any wine bar or pub we expect the per unit charge (ie the cost per glass used) to remain about the same whether we consume 1 or 4 drinks. The BYO ‘service charge’ at Ocha is inversely related to service and therefore is not a service charge. So what is it (and is it ‘clear and obvious and prominent’)?

Hidden oriental gem in Hawthorn that I would confidently crown the best modern Japanese cuisine in Melbourne.
I rave on about this place to anybody who contests that Nobu is the shiz.
Every dish I’ve ever had oozes sophistication and elegance. The plating is delicate and reassures you that you’re getting what you pay for.
If you’re ever stuck for date night ideas, I encourage you to splurge a little on Ocha.
You’re significant other won’t be disappointed and maybe get them to try the «Gold Leaf» sake.
This isn’t a walk-​in venue, I usually book 3 months in advance if I want to secure a Saturday night.
They offer two seatings, 6:00pm — 8:15pm and 8:30pm — til close.
I prefer the later of the two so you’re not rushed.

Went here for a special dinner earlier this year, and thought it fantastic value for money. More expensive than normal Japanese, sure, but well worth it for a sometimes splurge.
We’re just getting into Japanese lately, and wow, what an introduction. Went one of their banquet options to really throw ourselves in there, and there were just so many delicious dishes, too many to go through. Let’s just say that we can credit Ocha for single-​handedly making sashimi fans out of us — never had it anywhere close to as good as this (but as I say, we’re just getting into it).
Minor quibble: Didn’t like how the banquet was itemised on the bill. Might be a common practice, or maybe some people like seeing the breakdown to know what to pick next time, but would have been happy not to have seen it. (I’m just annoyed at how expensive the duck was, perhaps, considering we’re not duck fans.)
Unless we stumble upon a new title winner of best Japanese in the eastern ‘burbs (and I plan to try, purely for research purposes), we will definitely be back.

I love seafood. I love Japanese food. The fact that the latter contains much of the former means that finding a really good Japanese restaurant in any city I am visiting or live in is an absolute must.
Unfortunately, most of the properties in the CBD of Melbourne are either too touristy or too tiny to have hit my «sweet spot» for fantastic Japanese dining experiences (Nobu is way up there though, if you can get in!).
Last night I finally had the chance to try out Ocha, somewhere that was on the periphery of not only my radar, but, Melbourne. Yes, I’m a bit of a CBD snob, and I’m proud of it.
My wife and I had dinner reservations at 1800 with her boss and her partner at Ocha, and I was quite eager to try out their faire. We grabbed our passports, got our shots, and left 3000 for the wilds of Hawthorne East. Or is it East Hawthorne? No matter, it’s far away.
Those of you who have read my reviews before know that I try to capture the entire essence of the dining experience. It’s not just the food, but the service, the ambiance, the entire event from end to end. With that in mind, what are the highlights of Ocha?
Great menu, great selection of seafood, extremely reasonably priced Sake (I love Sake), lots of specials, and for those who like it, you can bring your own wine as well.
Our group shared the Ocha Antipasto which was a fantastic collection of tasty starters, from quail’s eggs to periwinkle to shitake mushrooms to more — everything was delicious. I think that the periwinkle and the eggs were a bit too far for some at the table, but I’ve got an open mind and found everything to be excellent.
Indeed, the entire meal was great. The staff swiftly switched out plates between courses, things arrived at a perfect interval, and I can’t fault presentation. The look, smell and taste was spot on with every course.
But.
Yes, you knew there had to be a but.
Ocha is one of those spots that has really tight restrictions for seatings. If you book at 1800, they want you out by 2015 at the latest. This, to me, really impacts a dinner with friends.
Initially the service was great, but, as we got closer to our deadline, it became impossible to catch the eye of the staff — and the restaurant is VERY small. They even approached our table three times to remind us of the deadline, and then brought back menus if we wanted any last minute selections. We did, but, tried as I might, finding someone to order from wasn’t happening.
I understand that popular spots need to flip covers this way, but, frankly, I’d pay a little bit extra to not have the bum’s rush at the end of their seating. Our group was having a great conversation, really enjoying the food, and I’m certain would have had more wine/​Sake and food, if only we were given a bit more time.
Will we go back? Maybe. It’s not the sort of spot you can just pop into, unless you want to sit at the (small) bar area (probably. I didn’t ask.) — and if you’re in for a quick in and out meal, it can work out great. But if you like to take it easy and really enjoy the experience, you may not find this ideal.
Food was great, facilities a bit on the small side (tables are VERY close together), service wasn’t quite what I was hoping for, but, as an overall meal, it was definitely delicious.

Is it expensive for a regular dinner? Absolutely. Is it expensive for fine dining? Not really. I found myself saying to my partner the other day, ‘I can’t wait until our next excuse to go to Ocha’, and realised I needed to post a review.
The food is creative yet accessible, It’s always busy, but they maintain good service with knowledgeable and helpful staff that make you feel as though they’re not too busy to take the time to serve you. Although I’ve just been here once, every single dish we had [there were many] was outstanding, so I feel I can recommend with surety. Enjoy!

So on our second visit to Ocha we were definitely. To disappointed and found the service and quality of the food to be just as the first visit, excellent.
We start with the scallop hollandaise and this has got to be my fav dish. It literally melts in your mouth with the scallop being prepared to perfection. Had the dynamite roll which had a beautiful balance of flavor. The teppanyaki fillet was delicious and also melted in your mouth. We also had a prawn that was lightly coated with tempura batter and again, so tender it melted in your mouth.
All in all this is one of our favourite restaurants as we know we will alway have a delicious and positive dining experience.

So, Ocha isn’t my normal type of place. I’m more into your bar/​restaurant hybrid, where cocktails and food are equally weighted, and 30-​somethings rule the roost. Ocha is definitely not that place — it’s been my parents’ go-​to restaurant for the past 12 years, so it’s a bit of an older crowd. But after going with them last night I remembered why they love it; it’s that place where the food AND service are consistently excellent.
Wait staff are extremely efficient, perceptive, cheerful and obliging, super knowledgeable and helpful if you get stuck deciding how much food you want. It’s the kind of service that just appears and disappears as needed, without anyone realising how or when it happened.
Food…what can I say, these guys really do lovely Japanese fare. Although I am sick to death of every restaurant in Melbourne claiming that «all our dishes are designed to share», this is one place where sharing really is the best idea. The menu and servings are quite large, so we tried quite a few dishes and shared most.
WE MUNCHED ON: Sushi and Sashimi platter; Oysters with Japanese vegetable vinaigrette*; combination rolls*; potato flour-​dusted calamari; miso-​marinated cod*; Wagyu beef with bean shoots and cos lettuce; plum wine and sake jelly with vanilla bean ice-​cream; japanese ice-​cream sundae; lemon and sugar crêpe. We had a bottle of excellent wine (dad’s pick), a few separate glasses of wine, tea, mineral water and hot sake.
IT COST: about $ 90 a head.
Ocha is a bit out of the way for CBD fans, but it’s worth it to try a restaurant that is all about food and service, rather than pomp and hipster-​factor. Make a booking, jump on the 48 or 109 tram, and enjoy a restaurant that gets it right.
Say hi to my parents when you get there.
* These dishes were absolutely awesome. Wish I had two stomachs so I could have eaten them twice.

My fave dish of the day — The modestly named ‘Prawn dumpling’ is infact a golf ball of gorgeous, fresh, succulent prawn meat caked in a light cornflake type crumb and fried to perfection! Little sprinkling of green tea salt and we are in heaven… read more at my blog

For a long time it was hard to find exciting Japanese food in the Eastern Suburbs. I remember the first time I ever went to Ocha I had heard good things, but wasn’t expecting the innovative cuisine that followed.
Ocha boasts an enormous menu, and generally I have found that the smaller items are more impressive than the large.
Favourites include the gyoza ($ 13.50), the soft-​shelled crab roll ($ 16) — it is phenomenal, and I never go past the crab tempura with seaweed salt ($ 22 for an entre size, $ 33 for a main).
Ocha is the perfect destination to have some beautiful seafood so make sure that no matter what you order, at least one of the dishes is from the sea.
The wine menu is fine and the service is extremely efficient. The setting is simple and elegant and would be a great place to take someone you need to impress.
Book a table, don’t take the chance of rocking up, Ocha is already popular with the locals.