There’s a buzz about Suminato in Sandy Bay. The Japanese restaurant opened 10 months ago in the former Witchery site on King Street and brings its own contemporary twist to a burgeoning Japanese restaurant scene in Hobart.

It joins irresistibly funky Bar Wa Izakaya on Elizabeth Street, cosy Rin in Harrington Street and well-loved Komatsu on Davey Street.

Suminato has a sleek dark interior brightened by light timber features and the familiar Japanese artwork The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai along its charcoal walls. Two private function rooms are nestled on one side of the restaurant for private dining and five cosy booth tables line the other.

We visited on a Wednesday at 2pm with an enthusiastic sushi-loving nine year-old in tow to find the restaurant was still bustling with a late lunchtime crowd. We were seated in a Tassie oak booth and given a set lunch menu by friendly and attentive staff, keen to answer all our questions.

The set lunch menu accompanies the restaurant’s larger a la carte menu enabling diners to enjoy either a quick bite in their lunch hour (which includes a take-away option) or a longer, grazing experience. We decide on the Sushi and Sashimi Set each – the chef’s choice of assorted sushi, sashimi, tempura, tsukemono and miso soup ($24) from the set lunch menu. Generous, fresh and bursting with colour, it’s clear the chefs at Suminato love what they do and presentation is paramount. The Suminato roll is a scrumptious combination of salmon, tuna, avocado, tobiko, mayo, chilli sauce and spring onion. Suminato signature dinner dishes include beef tataki, oysters done six ways and the kushiyaki combo.

Or, if you’d like to leave your decisions in the chef’s hands, banquets are priced from $58 each (a minimum of two people) with 10 dishes upwards, including the chef’s choice of dessert. It’s hard to go by the black sesame panna cotta pudding, green tea powder and seasonal fruits or Japanese-style ‘snow’ ice cream.

Suminato serves premium Japanese sake, umeshu and whisky, alongside a range of wine and beers. Online, the restaurant enjoys raves including “absolute gem” and “hidden treasure”. The Suminato buzz is well deserved – certainly our nine year-old is keen to return.

Suminato, Shop 2B, 48 King St, Sandy Bay

Open noon to 3pm and 5pm to 9.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday, and until 10pm Friday to Saturday.

Licensed and BYO

You can find Suminato on Instagram @suminatotas