Review Nihonshu Shochu & Sake Bar - Melbourne

Had an brilliant time here. An intimate little izakaya with a chilled out vibe, relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff. If you want a night out away from douchey crowds and noise, this is the place to come. The sake/shochu selection is potent and will guarantee to have you on the floor after the 3rd bottle while the food more than exceeds the expectations. A must visit if you're a fan of anything Japanese.

Great atmosphere and selection of sake. Top it off with some good food to pair with and you've got yourself a great time

This Japanese restaurant has been around for 30 years, food is always good with a large selection from sushi, yakitori, noodles, deep fried and sushi set. Love their vibe, does feel like I am in japan! I am their customer for over 15 years!

This place has really chill vibes; it's small, cosy and has some nice hip hop beats playing. Perfect for a date or catch up with mates after work. The bartenders are really polite. There is an extensive list of sake, shochu, umeshu and beer. The food is fantastic. I always find myself snacking on the edamame, takoyaki and skewer platters in between drinks. There is Orion beer on tap which is quite refreshing. Shoutouts to Masa - you are a champion.

The food is good. The athmosphere is very welcoming. Service is just fine. Sake is amazing.

We LOVE this place, it's our secret little date-night spot. If it's just the two of you, sit in the bar rather than the restaurant - it's got so much character! Same guy serves us every time we are there, super friendly and relaxed dude who always puts on some cool underground Japanese tunes. Definitely recommend!

Very nice Japanese style bar. They have Orion on tap and there are a lot of options if you are into sake. The food here is also excellent. To top it off, the staff are very friendly and courteous.

I love this place. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable when it comes to their whiskeys and sake. Their selection is nothing but impressive. They have a lot of rare and hard to find Japanese whiskeys, in a cosy atmosphere. Great place to spend an evening out!

Went here on Friday night and hour before last order. Quite busy. The place is small, however the atmosphere is not bad nice for hang out and chill.<br/>They have lots of drink options, and price pretty reasonable :)

Firstly, very excited they served geoduck as part of their specials. This place is good for chilling out and is very reminiscent of Japan. The sashimi was fresh, and it was a generous serving. Good size drinks list as well spanning beers, whiskeys and sake.

One of my favorite spot for after work drinks! <br/>Ambience : 5/5. That cosy and warm feeling the moment you walk into this place. Subtle music at the background compliments the simple yet stylish decor. <br/>Food : 5/5. Delicious, reasonably priced and palatable Japanese food. Edamame and takoyaki are my favorite bar snacks. Generously portioned. They have great variety of Japanese sake, whisky and beer which is great too. My favorite is the Nigori sake. <br/>Service : 5/5. Awesome service. The bartenders and waitresses were very courteous and friendly. Will definitely be back as usual... on Fridays.

Great ambience and service! The staff are friendly and they provide excellent service at all times! Love the sake and the selections ! Overall great gem in the city that you should stop by when in Melb 👍🏻👍🏻 This is one of our favorite after work hang out spot 🍶🍶

3.5 out of 5. The ambience is so nice. It’s a really unique experience. They will ask you to choose the glass you like to drink your sake. The sake tastes nice as well. We tried 3 sake today. The daiginjo type is the best one for me.

I’ve been this place twice. Enjoy the vibe for a drink after a long day. Many different kind of japanese local drinks. It’s a Very cool environment. We had some snack food there before. They are all very delicious. Can’t wait to try their dinner menu next time !

Not sure how to rate this place, but I did return. Not sure if I will go back - story time!<br/><br/>First visit we ordered the pan fried pork gyozas, tuna sashimi, gyu stamina and rice. It was all really delicious.<br/><br/>So of course we returned, again ordering gyozas, but opted for different mains - a kimchi don and a gyu don. The meat stank and tasted just as bad. It was so bad that we felt that we had to say something. Usually I will just pay, leave and never return. But our previous experience had set our expectations, and thus our disappointment was magnified.<br/><br/>The waitress was very apologetic, especially after I asked her to smell it. I asked if the beef had been microwaved (ever microwaved your own beef stir fry? Zap it real good then give the beef a smell and taste it. It was similar but worse. Plus observe what happens to the veggies, which have been soaking in sauce). She said she'd ask the kitchen and then ran off before i could stop her - i mean, what do you expect them to say? So of course she came back and denied it had been microwaved.<br/><br/>Whatever had been done to the gyu and kimchi don, they should never have served it, let alone charged money for it. She comped both items.<br/><br/>Returned again, as they have 6 gyozas for 4.50 and drink specials on Monday. Their house sake is quite nice and you can get 280ml for $6. However, upon inspecting the drinks menu i noticed the house sake was described as being junmai, or pure rice wine (no distilled alcohol added). But this did not match the taste, so I asked to see the house sake bottle.<br/><br/>Nowhere on the bottle is the kanji for junmai mentioned. I pointed this out to the bartender, who then very carefully the label. She then laughed and confirmed its not junmai, to which i replied, then why is it listed as such on the menu? She said sorry and giggled again.<br/><br/>Overall, mixed on the food. Service is quick and friendly. And false advertising isn't that funny imo.

Dining by oneself always makes one a little maudlin don't you think? Certainly as I stared down the long bar at Nihonshu Shochu bar I felt a bit down. What better way to liven the spirits then than a few cups of Sake, and some excellent food from Chuji Izakaya next door.<br/><br/>The beef tataki was amazing, the spicy fried octopus was great and the miso tasted marvellous. The selection of skewers, three each of spicy pork, yakitori chicken and satayed beef were a little dry however, but the gohan was amazing. How you can make straight rice taste so good I don't know.<br/><br/>The sake was also excellent, both flasks heated to the perfect temperature and full bodied with a touch of acid on the finish.<br/><br/>Washed down with a glass of brown sugar choy, and my evening didn't look so bad after all.<br/><br/>Excellent drinks, great food for the main part and a friendly service and atmosphere that will guarantee I'll be back.<br/><br/>Arigato!

Intimate bar with an extensive drinks and food menu. Wine list is probably not amazing but the atmosphere is great and the food is very tasty. Between two we ordered the boiled octopus, the grilled beef, the tuna and salmon sashimi and the chicken karage. The octopus and the chicken were my favourites. <br/>

Great little hidden gem in the city. Quiet atmosphere is perfect for when you need a place to drink on a Friday night but don't want to yell at the person next to you. They serve a variety of sake and Japanese beer with a full menu. <br/><br/>Keep in mind they close their kitchen around 10.30pm but you can still have snacks like edamame for a slightly higher price.

Came here for a drink after dining at the attached restaurant Izakaya Chuji next door. Really enjoyed the sake selection, and the tall bar stools, i found it to be a very comfortable bar, relaxing and pretty casual. The man at the bar let us select our own sake cups, which I thought was really nice too.

Been here 4 times now on the bar side. Food is always fast and fresh and more importantly amazing! Staff are always lovely, quick and attentive, and sake plentiful and well priced! Will be back. Consider me a regular. And that's hard because I live in the south east sub's.

Great, tasty food to go with sake catch ups - fried tentacles and octopus balls are AMAZING. Bar was a little musty but food makes up for it

I think this sake bar is quite nice. Service is good. If you order sake, you got to choose your own cup -- so cool. Haha! Hot sake is the thing to go for when the weather is getting chilly.

Quite surprised at how rude the male Bar staff was to us last night.  The 3 of us sat on a 2 people seat as we were old to by the other staff member. About 30 minutes later, we were literally told off by the male staff member that we can't sit here. I tried to explain that we were told to sit here as there were no other available seats however, he cut me off and  I quote " YOU CAN'T SIT HERE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" He asked the other staff member whether this was true and confirmed that this was just an error by their staff member. He then quickly changed his attitude and asked as to move seats.  My point is that this is all he had to say as opposed talking to us in a aggressive manner and talk down to us. We certainly will not be going back there again.

Great sake bar. Went here with a friend looking to head to Japan for an adventure to learn all about sake. The host was from Hokkaido and knowledgeable on sake suggestions and very friendly. I stuck ty usual red wine and the merlot was very nice.huge selection of sake. My friend tried two and both were awesome. It wasn't raining but there was a bucket that collected dripping water that really added to the Melbourne atmosphere.

One of the best small bars in town. The food is fantastic, a huge selection and very, very tasty, as is the extensive sake list. The menu is also very helpful for those new to sake, as it categorises each item on dryness, sweetness etc.<br/><br/>The staff are also great and friendly, always make me feel welcome. Also very good at making cocktails. Not too pricey, great date spot!

Yeah, good.. Great drinks selection! Especially sake list! Staff are quiet but attentive. Lovely experience overall.

Simply great ! The best place in melbourne for sakè for sure ! Let's the guys drive you around the sake world and you'll be impressed! <br/>10/10

I see two seats inside at the high-seated bar and pull up to the substantial menu of sake and shochu.