Inari Japanese dining in Tiger Lane, Canberra

Named for the Japanese god of rice, and open for dinner only — seven nights, with locally sourced seafood at the centre of the menu.

Canberra Centre, 148 Bunda St, Canberra City

Book a Table See the menu

A long black platter of rolls under chilli threads, a wine glass and leather banquette behind.

Dinner only, seven nights

Service starts at 5pm. There is no lunch service on any day of the week.

Dinner

Mon–Thu: 5–9pm
Fri: 5–9.30pm
Sat: 5–9.30pm
Sun: 5–9pm

Lunch

Closed every day.

The one exception is a group of ten or more with a reservation made in advance. There are no walk-ins at lunch.

Where

Canberra Centre, 148 Bunda St
Ground level, between Bunda Street and Scotts Crossing
Canberra City ACT 2601

hello@inari.restaurant

Getting here, and why this site exists

Where the name stops being traditional

Inari is named for the Japanese god of rice, and the fox is the restaurant's own mark. That is roughly where the deference to tradition ends.

The seafood is sourced locally and the kitchen is not shy with it: Yarra Valley caviar over the oysters, a toothfish marinated three days in caramelised miso, plum sauce and chilli on the nigiri. Inari prints about 45 dishes across two pages — the menu here gives each photographed dish a page of its own instead.

Overhead on an olive-green ceramic plate: the miso-caramelised toothfish, charred at one edge, with a curved smear of miso jelly. — Patagonian Toothfish — read the page

Starred on Inari's own menu

Inari prints a small red star beside six dishes on its June 2026 menu. These are the three we hold a photograph of; each one opens the menu at its own page.

A wooden serving boat of assorted sashimi with a bamboo leaf, a sunflower, lemon and wasabi.

Inari Sashimi 18pcs Signature dish, starred on Inari's menu

Chef selection of fresh Tuna, Kingfish, Hokkaido Scallop, Salmon Roe and Salmon

$76.8 Dairy Free — Inari's dietary marker Gluten Free — Inari's dietary marker

Three nigiri on a dark board, each crowned with a nest of fine red chilli threads.

Salmon & Scallop Signature dish, starred on Inari's menu

Long strip salmon, Japanese Scallop with Plum sauce, Teriyaki sauce, Chives and Chilli hair

$21.8 Dairy Free — Inari's dietary marker Gluten Free — Inari's dietary marker

Chopsticks lifting one piece from a roll topped with tempura crisps, warm lights out of focus behind.

Naked Crispy Salmon Signature dish, starred on Inari's menu

Fresh Salmon, Avocado, Sesame sauce, Topped Japanese Krispies

$29.8 Dairy Free — Inari's dietary marker Gluten Free — Inari's dietary marker

GF, DF and V are Inari's own dietary markers, not allergen guarantees. Please advise your waiter of any dietary requirements or allergies you may have.

Before it reaches the plate

Most of Inari's photography is finished food. These four frames are not: hands, a steel bench, crushed ice, and a pass lit by one paper lantern. Two of them are the same small job — laying a single bamboo leaf across a tray — which is the part a dish photograph never shows.

A chef working alone at the pass under a paper lantern, plating on a white board.

A chef's hands finishing a bowl at a steel bench, prep bowls of cubed salmon and sauce beside a knife and board.

A chef leaning over a tray of oysters on ice, setting a bamboo leaf in place.

Hands laying a bamboo leaf across a tray of sashimi on crushed ice.

A tall glass of layered matcha cocktail dusted with cocoa, on a dark table beside chopsticks.