Yugen Tea House in South Yarra brewing bigger night-time venue to open early next year

Yugen, the tea bar that opened in South Yarra's Capitol Grand building in November, is just the first taste of a larger Japanese-centric venue of the same name that's set to open a level below by March 2022.

Good Food can reveal that Yugen Restaurant will be steered by chef Alex Yu, an alumnus of Chase Kojima's Sydney restaurant Sokyo, in partnership with executive chef Stephen Nairn. Nairn also oversees Capitol Grand venue Omnia.

Yu and Nairn will deliver omakase dining, serious sushi and charcoal-grilled bites late into the night in an underground space, with eight-metre ceilings, accessed via the tea bar.

Nairn says the restaurant will be "inspired by tradition, but not bound by it", with Japan and China major touchstones.

At the 40-seat bar, tea sommelier Thibaut Chuzeville (ex Vue de Monde and Fat Duck) pours 40 specialty teas from countries as diverse as Malawi, Georgia and India, as well as heavyweight producers China and Japan.

The name Yugen refers to a core principle of Japanese aesthetics, which Chuzeville describes as "a profound and mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe. It's something that you cannot see but you feel".

His team brews green, white, oolong and even aged tea in Chinese gaiwan vessels, served with tasting notes and offered as 45-minute tasting flights. It's a serious step up for tea drinkers in Melbourne, where the same level of care is usually reserved for coffee.

A retail area featuring teacups and pots by Victorian ceramicists such as Minhi Park, along with handmade copper tea strainers from Kyoto, offer inspiration for Christmas shoppers.

The room, in greys, blacks and white, is defined by grey stone structures with sharp angles, an architectural nod to the mountainous regions where tea is grown.

Afternoon tea service began last week, with Sichuan cucumber sandwiches and sweets from pastry chef John Demetrios arranged on tiered stands.

Demetrios also crafts pretty, domed cakes, a luxe vanilla slice-inspired tart and cakes infused with tea. These can be matched with a pot of tea, or boxed up and taken away.

Nairn says he and Demetrios visited several high tea venues around Melbourne for research, but are showcasing Asian flavours such as kalamansi and makrut lime in French-style patisserie.

Evening dessert degustations with tea cocktails will begin in the new year.

Open Wed-Sun noon-5pm

Capitol Grand, 605 Chapel Street, South Yarra, 03 8080 8080, yugenteabar.com.au