An Applecross sushi talent, after dabbling in grilled chicken, makes a return to the fish tank

Act fast to book one of the six counter seats. Your reward will be some of the city’s most polished nigiri and temaki sushi.

October 31, 2026

14.5/20

Hisui

Japanese$$

Is it too soon to talk about AC/DC?

Don’t panic. I’m not going to write about the footy or Hells Bells, but Canning Highway: the muse behind the band’s breakout international hit, “Highway to Hell”.

When the song came out in 1979, Canning Highway’s infernal stretch of bitumen was the downhill run between the Preston Point Road turn-off and the Leopold Hotel.

Had Acca Dacca recorded their anthem in 2026, they might have found inspiration in other hellish corners of the highway. The Mitchell Freeway on-ramp during weekday mornings, say. Or the late afternoon parking lot that starts forming near the Raffles as drivers battle peak hour traffic.

The chaos of the above mercifully evaporates once safely inside Hisui: a 14-seat bivouac that opened on Canning Highway in August. You’ll find this Japanese dining room two doors down from Clancy’s Fish Pub in a squeezy space that once housed tempura specialist, Dining Akashi.

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What has changed, though, is who’s cooking dinner. Previously, it was Makoto Mitani behind the counter putting finishing touches on tempura and other dishes prepared in the kitchen behind him.

The person holding court nowadays is Naoyuki Suzuki: a Chiba-born chef that you might remember from Yakitori Washokudo and, before that, Northbridge’s fancy sushi-centric izakaya, James Parker. As the chef, owner and face of Hisui, Suzuki has a space that combines the intimacy of the former with the latter’s intense seafood focus. It’s a win for everyone.

Before we talk sushi, we need to talk about sushi rice or, as it’s known in Japan, shari. A Sanskrit term for the bones of Buddha, shari also references the Shinto belief that each grain of rice houses seven gods. On our more material plane, sushi rice also contains vinegars, sugars, salt and kombu. When done well, it has an airy, fluffy quality and grains that stick rather than clump together. Much like the (very good) shari that Suzuki makes.

Softly formed into Duplo-sized rectangles, this gently seasoned shari is a fine wingman for Suzuki’s seafood toppings. It helps emphasise the savour of local bigeye tuna while simultaneously highlighting the luxuriousness of raw paradise prawns dabbed with a speck of minced WA yuzu.

While sushi is often described as “raw fish on rice”, most of the toppings in Suzuki’s repertoire have undergone a minor procedure or two. Northwest red emperor is lightly “cured” kombujime-style between sheets of seaweed.

Briefly ageing that bigeye unlocks its maritime deliciousness trapped deep within. Lightly scoring fatty Japanese kingfish belly reveals the fish’s latent oiliness.

Wasabi, while served with sashimi, is conspicuously absent at sushi-time. Suzuki has already seasoned his nigiri, temaki hand rolls and slender cigars of hosomaki how he likes them.

Diners that manage to book one of the six counter seats get their sushi handed directly to them by Suzuki and can quiz him about what they’re about to eat.

Sushi aside, good eating exists across the menu. Thick slices of Freo occy patiently simmered in dashi might feature among that day’s sashimi offering. Frilly slices of medium-rare wagyu chuck flap make nice with a glossy purée of buttery potatoes and sweet leeks.

Custards are uniformly excellent. Bowls of savoury chawanmushi conceal itsy-bitsy prawns and soy beans. A bittersweet syrup made from Okinawan black sugar turns eggy purin into a crème caramel-style pleasure.

While lunch is about rice sets for one (juicy karaage! Succulent stir-fried wagyu!) dinner guests can order à la carte or splurge for the $118 seven-course omakase menu.

Hisui might be just two months old, yet it’s come out of the box fully formed.

Factor in its (relatively) approachable omakase pricing and is it any wonder that bookings are in such demand? I reckon this Suzuki is going to leave a real mark on his bit of the highway.

The low-down

Atmosphere: An intimate 14-seat suburban restaurant has entered the best-sushi-in-Perth chat.

Go-to dishes: Daily white fish nigiri ($8), omakase ($116).

Drinks: A small selection of Japanese soft drinks. Unlicensed but BYO available ($5 per person).

Cost: About $236 for two people, excluding drinks.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

Max Veenhuyzen is a journalist and photographer who has been writing about food, drink and travel for national and international publications for more than 20 years. He reviews restaurants for the Good Food Guide.

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