Mudo Dining & Bar, a sophisticated new spot at the South Yarra end of Chapel Street, is taking a quieter approach to Korean food than the late-night soju and barbeque joints Melburnians are now familiar with. Here, the Korean influence isn’t loud or literal, but layered through seasoning, technique and fire.
Sitting somewhere between a restaurant and a bar, Mudo is designed for both full dinners and more casual drop-ins. That balance reflects co-owner Whale Kim’s background in front-of-house roles, where atmosphere and approachability are as important as the food. At its core is a woodfire grill that’s used across the entire menu, from quick snacks through to larger, slower-cooked dishes, bringing a consistent thread of smoke, char and depth.
For Kim, whose front-of-house experience spans venues including Ichi Ni Nana, Katori and Kisume, the idea was to move beyond traditional Korean barbeque and into something more fluid. “We wanted to create something Melbourne didn’t already have,” he says, pointing to the intersection of Korean flavours and contemporary woodfired cooking culture as the starting point.
The kitchen is led by head chef and co-owner Happy Cho, whose background includes Mr Miyagi, Nobu and the three-Michelin-starred Benu in San Francisco. With foundations in Japanese cuisine and experience across French and Spanish kitchens, Cho is now exploring his own heritage through a refined modern-Australian lens. “Each of these experiences gave Cho a different perspective,” Kim says. “Mudo is really where all of those ideas meet – combining technique, creativity and cultural identity into something that feels personal, but also relevant to Melbourne.”
That means, rather than centring on recognisable Korean formats like barbeque or bibimbap, the menu reworks familiar ingredients through Korean techniques such as fermentation, pickling and the use of jang – the fermented sauces that form the backbone of Korean cuisine.
The Wagyu tartare is paired with nashi pear and whipped tahini, while gnocchi is coated in gochujang butter with curry leaf and sesame. On the woodfired side, Wagyu flap is served with eggplant, nori oil and kale, while the fish of the day comes with a doenjang beurre blanc and pickled zucchini – a subtle shift that adds depth without overpowering the star ingredient. Even smaller plates follow the same logic: Pacific oysters arrive with kimchi granita and nashi pear mignonette, and a galbi beef rib sando folds the Korean-style galbi marinade into something more recognisably Melbourne, riffing on the classic steak sanga.
The drinks list follows a similar thread: a concise selection of wine, whisky, beer and Korean liquor, and a cocktail menu that leans into Korean ingredients – particularly soju, which appears across a number of signatures, from citrus-led highballs like the Yuza Mule (citrus soju, grapefruit, Yuza whisky and ginger beer) to richer, spirit-forward mixes like the Idol (dark rum, pineapple, hazelnut and vermouth) and the Char & Citrus (Jack Daniels, smoked soju, Talisker 10-year-old single malt and Yuza).
Taken from Korea’s genre-crossing “reality-variety” TV show Infinite Challenge (Muhan Dojeon in Korean, often shortened to “Mudo”), the venue’s name also reflects Kim’s flexible approach, which might not fit neatly into existing categories but is grounded in intention.
In a dining climate where rising costs have pushed many venues towards safer, more predictable formats, Mudo leans in the opposite direction. It’s a restaurant built on restraint, where Korean flavours don’t dominate the plate, but quietly shape it.
Mudo Dining & Bar
133 Commercial Road, South Yarra
(03) 9689 7969
Hours:
Tue to Thu 5pm–late
Fri to Sun 11.30am–2.30pm, 5pm–late
mudodining.com
@mudodiningbar
Dining and Cooking