Chooka’s — Restaurant in Melbourne

Chooka’s is quite literally a hole-in-the-wall café hidden away from the well-known bustle of Brunswick. It is very small in size, with only a few 1-2ppl tables inside and some outdoor seating too. Their menu is authentically Japanese, serving up Onigiri/Omusubi as their only savoury option, and Japanese desserts like warabi mochi, cheesecake and daifuku for the sweet tooth. For drinks you’ll find both Western and Japanese options on their menu.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Omusubi came out really warm, freshly made. I expected them to be pre-made and just taken out of a fridge. Bonus points for that! This particular Omusubi will set you back $7.5 and whilst it is decent in size, I felt like 1 was not enough for me and that 2 would be too much! The flavours itself were not notable. The miso and cream cheese blended together to the point where I couldn’t really pinpoint them. The salmon was cooked really well, very tender. The ratio of rice to salmon was decent - as expected with Omusubi, you’re going to get a lot more rice than filling. Overall I was happy with it, I just wish flavours were stronger. I’d be open to trying their other filling options.

Their matcha was good but not the best I’ve had. It was quite milky despite its bright, green colour. It had a good bitterness to it, not too overpowering. I’d reorder and maybe try it with some sweetener or change the milk type.

I’d definitely revisit to try more on their menu. It’s not the cheapest brekky meal for $14 but it’s the closest I’ll get to...

A few tips to note about eating here: many food options are dine in only, and some available on weekends only there is a 10% surcharge on weekends and 15% surcharge on public holidays the lunch menu is all meat - they used to have a vegetarian udon salad but they have discontinued that lunch menu is from 11am, but it’s advised to come a bit before then if you’d like to dine in, as even on a Sunday we arrived right at 11 and all seats were already taken and there were already three people lined up to eat in, which took a half an hour wait they run out of stock for certain popular dishes fairly quickly

Chooka’s has only been around for 6 months but it’s such a lovely spot and their food and drinks are fantastic. A little expensive, but we felt it was worth the experience, especially being local. We spent $90 between two people for three onigiri each ($7), a miso soup ($5.50), somen and pickles ($6), a drink each ($7) and dessert each, plus the weekend surcharge. The service is delightful and the staff very helpful. They’re very quick to serve and plate up. You have to get your own glass and water and you’re able to get any left overs to take away.

For vegan options I highly recommend the Nori Omusubi and Spicy Takana Omusubi (spicy mustard leaf), and for vegetarian the Kimuchi-Yaki-Omusubi (grilled cheese, edamame...

Found this place by recommendation on social media, it does have the qualities of being the perfect instagram experience as well as an actually enjoyable dining experience.

Arriving here at 12:30pm on Saturday for lunch there was a queue to get a table, very limited availability indoor and outdoor, after approx 20-30 minutes waiting we finally got a table. It seems easier to seat smaller groups with their square tables.

The iced matcha latte was great - decent matcha 💚 and my companion enjoyed her black sesame latte. For food we ordered the omusubi. I had the Sakura and mentai mayo - fillings were fresh and portion quite filling. Though I find the set B - small cup of somen noodles, sprinkling of pickles, and one egg, rather small portioned for a whole $8, but eggs are costing a lot these days.

The atmosphere is very typical of Brunswick cafes, not a great deal of comfort with the seating. Sitting outdoors is also quite risky depending on the weather, since there’s only the shade of trees to protect diners (and those waiting in queue) from the sun. Can’t imagine how it would be during winter in the wind.

Still, it was an interesting experience and I’ll definitely be back for more...