Kuon Omakase spawns another high-end restaurant, Irori Kuon

With Sydney experiencing an unexpected splurge in high-end post-lockdown dining, restaurateur Kenny Lee has decided to double down on the luxury end of the market. He's set to open an 18-seat restaurant, Irori Kuon, where the food menu will hit $200 to $250 a head.

"We had planned to do this, but the plan was three years from now," Lee says. "The success of the other restaurants has brought it forward."

The other restaurants are his luxury 10-seater Kuon Omakase and Tempura Kuon, with both restaurants fully booked until 2022. They mirror anecdotal feedback that, while many mid-market restaurants and cafes in the Sydney CBD are struggling given the slow return of office workers, the high-end is bristling with destination diners and senior management, who are already back at their desks.

Lee jumped on an empty space in Darling Square. When Irori Kuon opens next April, its 10-seat VIP room will be bigger than the regular eight-seat counter dining room. It will join a posse of pint-sized high-end Japanese restaurants.

Bay Nine Omakase will open in November at Campbell's Stores in The Rocks, joined by Besuto, a 12-seat omakase backed by chefs Joel Best and Tomi Bjorck, sliding into Loftus Lane at Circular Quay. Another entrant, Haco, is already operating with 12 seats at the southern end of the city.

Operators maintain the tiny-but-mighty business model suits the times. Household saving is up, and with international travel having been off the cards for the past 18 months, Sydneysiders are looking for new experiences. Post-lockdown, people are ready to indulge.