First look: Moonlight Hibachi & Wine Bar in Byron Bay

The team behind Byron Bay's modern Asian restaurant Light Years really know their market. Their newest venture, an intimate hibachi grill and wine bar opening today on Bay Lane, pairs foraged and locally sourced produce with a selection of biodynamic wines picked at the peak of their lunar cycle.

The holistic (and often organic) method of winemaking dates back to the 1920s, when Austrian philosopher Rudolph Steiner advocated using the six phases of the moon to guide the pruning and bottling of wine.

"Working hand in hand with the lunar cycle is better for the product of crops and provides a far better tasting bottle of wine," explains Kim Stephen, who co-owns the new venue with managing director James Sutherland and executive chef Robbie Oijvall.

Stephen says the unique wine list is just one way Moonlight fulfils Byron's "growing demand for more diverse and mature dining offerings".

Moonlight steps away from the bright, open floor plans and robust, sharing menus of Light Years venues in Byron, Burleigh, Noosa and Newcastle. Instead, the interiors are moody, monochromatic and intimate, with Melbourne-based design studio Weekdays drawing inspiration from Japanese dining and architecture.

The menu, too, is pared back. Oijval collaborated with head chef Vaughn Williams to create a concentrated, three-part menu with a Japanese influence.

There is a raw bar featuring oysters dressed with yuzu and tosazu (a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce and sweet cooking rice wine)($6); watermelon sashimi with yuzu-infused olive oil, shiso and sesame ($14) and spicy tuna with pickled cucumber, gochujang mayo and finger lime ($24).

Pork katsu 'sangas' ($12), furikake fries ($10) and prawn katsu ($16) make an appearance on the snacks portion of the menu.

But at the heart of it all is the hibachi, a traditional method of cooking over burning charcoal dating back to 794 AD.

Stephen says the hibachi allows Williams to showcase the quality of Northern Rivers produce "without relying on parlour tricks to disguise the flavour".

But not all is as it seems. Oijval and Williams reinterpret classic dishes in modern, and often unexpected, ways. MS 4+ wagyu comes seared with umami butter and Japanese mustard ($42), while pork belly is served with nori and apple tare ($16).

"We want to fuse this traditional cooking method with modern and unique flavour combinations to excite our modern taste buds," Oijval says.

The experimental spirit extends to bartender Jason Lindsay's (Vue de Monde, Lilly Blacks) cocktail list, which combines foraged ingredients such as paperbark and passionfruit leaves with homemade sodas to create a series of inventive highballs.

Open Wed-Sun 4pm-late. Bay Lane, Byron Bay; moonlightbar.com.au