West End Welcomes An Intimate 12-Seat Omakase Restaurant To Its Dining Scene

cut above the rest

By Victoria Lewis | 14th January 2026

If you – like (seemingly) the rest of Australia – have recently travelled to Japan and are craving a taste at home, there’s a new spot to get excited about.

West End is set to welcome the highly anticipated second chapter of Montague Road’s Aizome Bar, with the arrival of +81 Sushi Kappo – an intimate 12-seat omakase restaurant poised to redefine Japanese dining in Brisbane.

Officially opening on 5 February, Sushi Kappo occupies the second half of the +81 venue, joining the award-winning Aizome Bar as its refined sister venue. Helmed by Michelin star-trained chef Ikuo Kobayashi, the long-awaited opening marks a new benchmark for Japanese cuisine in West End, offering a deeply considered, chef-led dining experience where precision, seasonality, and storytelling take centre stage.

Michelin Star expertise

Led by Tokyo-trained head chef Ikuo Kobayashi, Sushi Kappo brings Michelin-level precision and artistry to the heart of Brisbane. With experience at Japan’s most revered sushi institutions – including the legendary Michelin-starred Kyubey – Chef Kobayashi went on to join the founding team of Sushi Kanesaka, before working alongside the masters behind Sushi Saito and Sushi Iwa. Each dish reflects an unwavering commitment to elegance, technique, and tradition.

Chef-Kobayashi

The menu

Kappo – meaning to cut and to cook – places the chef’s craft at the very centre of the dining experience. At Sushi Kappo, each course of the seafood-led omakase is prepared personally at the counter, with the finest local produce, specialty ingredients sourced from Japan, and culinary artistry unfolding in full view.

From $450 per guest, the experience is intimate and considered, blending regional techniques rooted in traditional Edomae foundations with a modern, understated elegance. Chef Kobayashi presents a progressive menu guided by intent, precision, and a genuine sense of connection between chef and guest.

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At the heart of the menu is Kobayashi’s signature sushi shari – served at only one other venue in the world, Rusutsu Resort in Hokkaido. Stripping sushi rice back to its purest form – minus the sugar, mirin, and salt – Chef Kobayashi creates two rare expressions: a charcoal shari and a striking blue shari, enriched with spirulina sourced exclusively from VAXA in Iceland.

Sushi Kappo is set to be an unforgettable, deeply personal experience elevated by the beauty and grace of Chef Kobayashi’s craft – a careful balance of culture, temperature, and purity of flavour.

Paired to perfection

The intimate dining experience is further elevated by a bespoke beverage program led by Head Sommelier Sean Lam. Three carefully curated, rotating pairing journeys are designed to harmonise seamlessly with the menu, featuring artisanal sake, premium and rare Japanese whisky, champagne, and a thoughtful selection of Australian and international wines.

Each pairing is crafted to mirror the Kappo menu with intention and balance, drawing from a 100-reference sake list sourced across Japan – from Hokkaido in the far north to Fukuoka in the south, and including sake’s historic heartland of Kansai (Kyoto and Kobe).

With no two visits ever the same, Lam’s guided pairing program invites discovery while gently demystifying sake for Brisbane diners, offering both depth for connoisseurs and approachability for the curious.

+81 Sushi Kappo

The space

Sleek, moody, and refined – the Sushi Kappo space will showcase Japanese modernism at its finest. Purposefully restrained, lose yourself in dark neutral palettes, soft textured metals, and gentle light, with the dining counter positioned as the room’s true centrepiece. The setting plays effortlessly with the intimate dining experience, highlighting Chef Kobayashi’s vision to create a human connection between chef and guest.

Following the omakase, guests can transition to the adjoining +81 Aziome Bar lounge – a quiet, dimly lit space poised for Japanese whisky, liqueurs, and reflection – completing the evening with an effortless sense of calm and connection.

+81 Sushi Kappo