Sydney’s dining scene is getting a new taste of Peru this week, with Ibby Moubadder’s hospitality group ESCA opening Amé, an ambitious 115-seat Nikkei restaurant on Oxford Street in Darlinghurst. Opening Thursday, 22 October, the restaurant has been five years in the making and will be led by executive chef Erik Ortolani, whose work at Itō and Jōji has already helped shape ESCA’s approach to Japanese-inspired dining.
Nikkei cuisine has always been something of a rarity in Sydney. I remember when the team behind Tokyo Bird opened a restaurant simply called Nikkei on Commonwealth Street in Surry Hills back in 2019. It brought something genuinely exciting to the neighbourhood, introducing diners to a Japanese-Peruvian culinary tradition that was still largely unfamiliar here. Unfortunately, the restaurant eventually closed, and right now I think the only other Nikkei restaurant in Sydney is Callao in Barangaroo.
But where Callao is pitched at the fine-dining end of things, ESCA Group seems to be taking a more casual (and affordable) approach to the cuisine. Given how exceptional the group’s attempt at modern Spanish is (Bondi’s Beda), I’m expecting a lot from this project.
Sydney’s dining scene has become increasingly adventurous in recent years, with curious diners showing a greater appetite for cuisines that once struggled to find a foothold. Amé’s arrival feels particularly well timed, especially with Oxford Street itself undergoing a much-needed revival.
Nikkei cuisine traces its origins to 1899, when Japanese migrants began settling in Peru and adapting their cooking traditions to local ingredients. Over generations, those influences developed into a distinct cuisine that combines Japanese techniques with Peru’s liberal use of chilli and citrus.
Ortolani travelled to Peru while developing Amé’s menu, exploring local markets and cevicherías to better understand the cuisine. Back in Sydney, he’s using Australian produce to put his own interpretation on Nikkei classics.
Opening dishes include tuna nigiri acevichado and spanner crab causa croquettes, combining Japanese korokke with a traditional Peruvian potato preparation. There’s also arroz con pato, a Peruvian duck rice dish reworked as Japanese okoge and served in a cast-iron pan with ginger dashi and aji ponzu.
“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,” says Ortolani.
The drinks program comes from Jerom Morris, formerly of Los Angeles restaurant Gwen by Curtis Stone, with cocktails including a curried pineapple daiquiri and strawberry milk punch.
Amé occupies the ground floor of the heritage-listed building at 90 Oxford Street, dating back to 1927. Architect Matt Darwon has retained its original pillars and plasterwork, introducing colourful sheer curtains and intimate banquette seating throughout the 115-seat dining room.
The opening adds further momentum to the Oxford & Foley precinct, which has recently welcomed Mecca Coffee and Aenza, with Soho House expected next door in 2028.
Amé opens Thursday, 22 October 2026, at 90 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst. Dinner is available seven nights a week, with lunch served Wednesday to Sunday.
Photos supplied and credited to Ethan Smart.
