This one-man-run sake bar and wine shop is odd in a wonderful and delicious way

Tenko is much like the modest bars you find all over Tokyo. The new addition to Brunswick East is owned and operated solely by wine and sake enthusiast Nicholas Oliveiro.

November 10, 2026

13.5/20Critics' Pick

Tenko Sake & Wine

Japanese$

The grand, ambitious, cashed-up restaurant can be a thing of great beauty, and we’ve had no lack of openings that fall into that category this year. But give me a small, quiet, by-the-bootstraps passion project and I’ll be just as excited, because while the bigger, brasher venues get most of the attention and accolades, it’s these modest, sometimes odd restaurants that give our neighbourhoods life and texture and personality.

Tenko, a sake and wine bar in Brunswick East, is just such a venture. Located in a small Lygon Street shopfront that was most recently a retail wine shop, Tenko is a one-man operation. Nicholas Oliveiro has channelled his love of wine and sake and his obsession with Japanese drinking houses into a surprisingly flexible and fun place to eat, drink, and – if time and interest allow – get a sake education.

Much like the modest bars you’ll find all over Tokyo, Tenko is as pared back as it comes: a makeshift kitchen behind a light wood and green-tiled bar with counter seating and clean, minimalist tables. A very eclectic, very personal collection of wines for retail purchase lines the shelves at the front of the room – this is not a “something for everyone” kind of establishment. (Though I found a bottle of mind-bending white from the Canary Islands on those shelves that I’ve been dreaming about ever since.) A soundtrack of ’80s and ’90s pop has everyone nodding along to Madonna and George Michael, including Oliveiro, who bops just a little as he works.

Oliveiro cooks, he pours sake, he gets involved if you want him to be involved. Having worked as a sommelier for years, and spent time in Toronto with a focus on sake, his knowledge is deep and dorky in the best possible way.

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The list, which is focused rather than encyclopaedic, is organised somewhat by genre (seasonal picks, oddities, rare gems), and then marked with a series of symbols that let you know how challenging a certain bottle might be, and also whether it was made by a female brewer.

Thematic flights change depending on Oliveiro’s mood – right now the flight focuses on those female brewers – but he’ll engineer a flight for you based on wherever your proclivities lie and where the conversation leads.

We asked to have a flight that traced the history of sake and got a fascinating, incredibly well-explained journey through ancient styles, developments from the 1990s, and ultra-modern finds, all with Oliveiro’s thorough and plain-English narration. I’m not sure I’ve learnt as much in one sitting about a single beverage before (and I’ve had the pleasure of sitting through a lot of booze tastings), or had as much fun doing it.

Oliveiro’s food menu is very brief, and presented written on a paper fan, with specials pasted to the wall behind the bar. If there’s a signature dish here, it’s the udon carbonara, a classic of itameshi, the tradition of combining Japanese and Italian food. I’ve had many versions of this dish that descend into glop, the thick noodles and thick sauce straining for balance, but Oliveiro’s version is creamy, the noodles sproingy, the slivers of crisp pork distinct and delicious.

Oliveiro is no purist, as evidenced by a Welsh rarebit on the menu, classic in every way apart from the yuzu kosho condiment served on the side, the light citrus spice of which is surprisingly good with the rich cheese and bread. There’s a burdock-root and carrot salad (kinpira gobo) that’s perfect to nibble while you drink your sake or wait for Oliveiro to tend to other tables – as I said, this is a one-man show, and the pace is relaxed above all else. In recent weeks, he’s been serving a kimchi omelette, which is notable only because the omelette is cooked to be so casually wonderful, almost (but not quite) runny on the inside, texturally glorious, wonky but perfect.

Oliveiro says that he expected the neighbourhood to want a wine bar, but that he’s selling a lot more sake than he thought, and he’s evolving in that direction as a result. That’s part of the beauty of this type of operation, one that arose without consultants or public relations or anything other than one dude’s passion and hard work. It can adjust and unfold in ways that feel natural and personal, becoming part of a neighbourhood while the neighbourhood is influenced in return. Places like Tenko are one of the great joys of living in a city big and diverse enough to support all kinds of wild, wonderful and delicious dreams.

The low-down

Atmosphere:  DIY clean simplicity.

Go-to dishes: Udon carbonara ($20); Welsh rarebit with yuzu kosho ($10); kimchi omelette ($12).

Drinks: Concise, considered, eclectic sake and wine list, with many off-list sakes available if you have a specific hankering.

Cost: About $70 for two, before 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.

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