Esca Group’s new Nikkei restaurant will open on Oxford Street this Thursday, led by Executive Chef Erik Ortolani.
The new restaurant, Amé, celebrates Peruvian and Japanese culture, with Nikkei tracing back to 1899, when Japanese migrants settled in Peru and began adapting their cooking to local ingredients.
Ibby Moubadder, co-founder and creative director of Esca Group, says Amé is the group’s most ambitious project yet, and one that’s been five years in the making.
“Nikkei is still incredibly underrepresented in Australia, and we’re excited to interpret it through a Sydney lens on one of Oxford Street’s most renowned corners,” says Moubadder. “Amé is a venue and an experience that we hope will contribute to the next chapter of a street that has played such an important part of Sydney’s story.”
Eric Ortolani
Ortolani, who leads the kitchens at Esca’s Japanese-Italian restaurant Itō and Japanese rooftop bar Jōji, has designed the menu for Amé.
The chef spent time in Peru where he experienced Nikkei cuisine at its origins, working his way through markets, cevicherías, tabernas, and leading restaurants to explore the breadth of the cuisine.
The menu is built on bold Peruvian flavours, elevated by Japanese technique, and celebrates Australian seafood and produce.
Highlights on the opening menu include: tuna nigiri acevichado (a Peruvian-inspired nigiri); spanner crab causa croquette (a Japanese korokke blended with a Peruvian causa); arroz con pato, Peru’s traditional duck rice prepared as an okoge, and served in a cast iron pan with ginger dashi and aji ponzu; and Murray cod with inaka miso and spring peas. Desserts include a dark chocolate and lucuma mousse, and a citrus financier with yuzu curd and passionfruit granita.
Ortolani says his training has shaped everything he has done at Itō and Jōji to date, and it is the foundation he has brought to Amé.
“What interests me about Nikkei is the way these two distinct cuisines come together, and the balance between the precision of Japanese food and the boldness of Peruvian cooking,” he says. “At Amé, I’ve taken that foundation and worked with the exceptional seafood and produce we have here in Australia to create something that feels true to both influences.”
The beverage program, led by Jerom Morris (ex-Los Angeles’ Gwen by Curtis Stone, and Accomplice Bar), is built around staple ingredients from Japan and Peru.
Cocktails include: Spice Crown, a curried pineapple daiquiri; Aji Canopy, capsicum-infused Beefeater with gentian, Cocchi Americano and elderflower; and The Pink Rabbit, a strawberry milk punch with gin and Chartreuse, finished with freshly charged shishito.
The venue is located on the ground floor of 90 Oxford St, a heritage-listed site. The 115-seat space has been designed by architect Matt Darwon, a longtime collaborator of the group. Subtle nods to ESCA’s portfolio appear throughout the space, including timber tables with chrome accents and kimono-inspired uniforms.
Amé forms part of Darlinghurst’s Oxford & Foley precinct, which is also home to the recently opened Mecca Coffee and Aenza, with Soho House set to open next door in 2028. The restaurant will open for dinner on Mondays and Tuesdays from 5.30pm to 9pm, and lunch and dinner Wednesday to Sunday from 12pm to 2.30pm, and 5.30pm to 9pm.
Photography by Ethan Smart.
Dining and Cooking