Hinata Premium Sushi and Sashimi

1-3 East Concourse
Beaumaris VIC 3193

I had been treated to a range of lovely eats for my birthday this year, and one of them is lunch at the homely Hinata Premium Sushi and Sashimi. This is the kind of place I wish I had in my neighbourhood; lowkey and simple, but with clear pride for everything that comes out of their kitchen. It is a great place for a quiet meal and lovely company, and I would recommend following it up with a furious session of mini golf to round out the afternoon.

Rating: 12.5/20 – simple and satisfying
Mini golf: i won, sort of.

We decided to go for the low-hanging fruit and get the Classic Sushi for Two ($65), which boasts a large platter of seafoody goodness, plus either miso soup or sake of your choice. For the price, this is an absolute steal. The sushi is fresh and made to order, and the miso soup robust and warming on a cold day.

And because it’s my birthday, I also wanted some Agedashi Tofu ($13.9). To my surprise, this is about as good of a rendition as I’ve had anywhere, the generous cubes of wobbly tofu encased in a light, crisp potato batter that slowly becomes addictively chewy as it soaks up the umami-laden dashi. Scrumptious.