Melbourne CBD has no shortage of lunch choices. But when you’re eating out several times during the working week, sometimes what matters most is fairly simple: something freshly prepared, plenty of variety, good ingredients and a price that makes sense for an everyday lunch.
That’s the thinking behind the Japanese lunch menu at Tomo’s Little Collins.
Our lunch menu includes two everyday favourites — the Chicken Karaage Bowl and vegetarian Pumpkin Spinach Bowl, each $18 — together with a rotating Chef’s Selection from Monday to Thursday, also $18.
Monday might mean grilled Tasmanian salmon with teriyaki glaze. Tuesday brings roast chicken with house-made ponzu. Wednesday is crispy Northern Territory barramundi with house-made yuzu tartare, before Chicken Yakitori finishes the weekday rotation on Thursday.
Different dishes, different flavours, but the same idea behind them: a freshly prepared lunch that you’ll be happy to come back for tomorrow.
Where the Japanese Side of Tomo’s Really Comes Through
Mornings at Tomo’s are very much grounded in Melbourne café culture.
Coffee, Eggs Benedict, our Pantry Breakfast and Signature French Toast all have their place on the menu.
Come lunchtime, though, our Japanese influence becomes much more obvious.
Koshihikari rice, miso corn, sautéed sesame spinach, edamame, Japanese pickles and nori form the foundation of many of our lunch bowls, paired with dishes ranging from freshly prepared Chicken Karaage to grilled salmon, ponzu chicken, crispy barramundi and Chicken Yakitori.
It’s one of the things we like about Tomo’s.
The morning might begin with coffee, eggs and French Toast. By midday, Japanese-style rice bowls are coming out of the kitchen.
We like having both.
Meet the Chef Behind Our Japanese Lunches
Our Japanese lunch menu was developed by Head Chef Yuko Nakanishi.
Yuko created the dishes, flavour combinations and weekday rotation, together with the house-made sauces that accompany them.
Rather than simply changing the protein on top of the same bowl every day, each Chef’s Selection has its own character.
Monday’s salmon is paired with teriyaki glaze. Tuesday’s roast chicken comes with house-made ponzu and daikon radish. Wednesday’s crispy barramundi is served with house-made yuzu tartare, while Thursday’s grilled chicken is finished with our own yakitori sauce.
And perhaps the secret is in the sauce.
We don’t rely on pre-packed sauces for these dishes. They’re prepared in our kitchen, from the ponzu and yuzu tartare to our yakitori sauce.
The yakitori sauce is particularly time-consuming to prepare. Chicken bones form part of the base, helping us build the flavour from scratch rather than relying on a ready-made sauce.
We won’t give away Yuko’s recipe, of course. Some things are better kept in the kitchen.
But it’s one of those details you might never know when you pick up an $18 lunch bowl — and exactly the kind of preparation that matters to us.
What’s for Lunch This Week?
The Chef’s Selection changes from Monday to Thursday, giving our regulars something different to look forward to through the working week.
Monday — Grilled Teriyaki Salmon Bowl | $18
Grilled Tasmanian salmon with teriyaki glaze, served with miso corn, sautéed sesame spinach, edamame, Japanese pickle, Koshihikari rice and nori.
Tuesday — Ponzu Chicken Bowl | $18
Roast chicken with house-made ponzu and daikon radish, accompanied by miso corn, sautéed sesame spinach, edamame, Japanese pickle, Koshihikari steamed rice and nori.
Wednesday — Crispy Barramundi Bowl | $18
Crispy Northern Territory barramundi with our house-made yuzu tartare, miso corn, sautéed sesame spinach, edamame, Japanese pickles, Koshihikari rice and nori.
Thursday — Chicken Yakitori Bowl | $18
Grilled chicken with our house-made yakitori sauce, served with miso corn, sautéed sesame spinach, edamame, Japanese pickle, Koshihikari rice and nori.
Four days, four different mains — while keeping lunch familiar, straightforward and reasonably priced.
The One That Doesn’t Rotate: Our Chicken Karaage
Some favourites are better kept on the menu every day.
Our Chicken Karaage Bowl starts with chicken freshly prepared in our kitchen using our own recipe from Japan.
We don’t use frozen, pre-fried karaage. The chicken is prepared fresh and fried fresh for service.
It’s served with miso corn, sautéed sesame spinach, edamame, Japanese pickle, an onsen egg, Koshihikari rice and nori, with your choice of classic mayo, spicy mayo or yuzu mayo.
And the entire bowl is gluten-free, including the mayo.
It’s a fairly simple distinction, but one that matters to us. If karaage is going to be one of our everyday lunch dishes, we’d rather prepare it properly than take a shortcut with a frozen product.
And There’s a Vegetarian Choice Too
Our Pumpkin Spinach Bowl offers something quite different.
Charred pumpkin, baby spinach, tofu, mini tomatoes, feta, quinoa, onion and protein crunch are finished with a balsamic Dijon vinaigrette.
It’s vegetarian as served, with the option to add three pieces of Chicken Karaage or smoked Norwegian salmon.
And in a way, it reflects something else about Tomo’s: not everything needs a Japanese twist simply because we’re a Japanese-inspired café.
Sometimes a good lunch is enough.
Made for the People We See Every Week
There’s another reason our lunch menu works this way.
Being in the heart of Melbourne CBD, many of the people we serve at lunchtime work nearby. For them, lunch isn’t necessarily a special occasion. It’s an everyday decision — and some of our regulars come back several times in the same week.
That has shaped the way we think about lunch at Tomo’s.
We wanted to offer something that could genuinely work as an everyday lunch — freshly prepared, made with good ingredients, enough variety throughout the week and reasonably priced.
That’s why Yuko’s Chef’s Selection changes from Monday to Thursday.
It’s also why we keep our lunch bowls at $18 each.
We could make preparation easier by using frozen karaage or ready-made sauces. Instead, our karaage is prepared fresh, our sauces are made in the kitchen and our weekday specials use ingredients such as Tasmanian salmon and Northern Territory barramundi.
We don’t need to call those ingredients "premium."
We’d rather you taste the difference.
A Different Lunch Tomorrow
Perhaps the nicest thing about a rotating lunch menu is that today’s favourite doesn’t have to be tomorrow’s.
You might come in for Grilled Teriyaki Salmon on Monday and return for Crispy Barramundi on Wednesday. Or perhaps you’re perfectly happy sticking with the Chicken Karaage Bowl every time.
Either works for us.
Because ultimately, our lunch menu wasn’t designed only for someone visiting Tomo’s once.
We want to make the kind of lunch you’ll be happy to come back for tomorrow.
You’ll find Tomo’s Little Collins at 382 Little Collins Street, Melbourne CBD, close to McKillop Street.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much are the lunch bowls at Tomo’s Little Collins?
Our Chicken Karaage and Pumpkin Spinach Bowls are $18 each, and our rotating Monday–Thursday Chef’s Selection is also $18 per bowl.
Does the Japanese lunch menu change every day?
Our Chicken Karaage and Pumpkin Spinach Bowls are everyday favourites. From Monday to Thursday, we also offer a different Chef’s Selection each day, giving our regulars more variety through the working week.
Who created Tomo’s Japanese lunch menu?
Our Japanese lunch menu was developed by Head Chef Yuko Nakanishi, including the dishes, flavour combinations, weekday rotation and house-made sauces.
Is the Chicken Karaage Bowl gluten-free?
Yes. The entire Chicken Karaage Bowl is gluten-free, including the mayo. Our karaage is freshly prepared in our kitchen using our own recipe from Japan rather than frozen, pre-fried chicken.
Are the sauces made in-house?
Yes. The sauces accompanying our weekday Chef’s Selection are prepared in our kitchen rather than using pre-packed sauces. This includes our ponzu, yuzu tartare and yakitori sauce.
Is there a vegetarian lunch option?
Yes. Our Pumpkin Spinach Bowl is vegetarian, with charred pumpkin, baby spinach, tofu, mini tomatoes, feta, quinoa, onion, protein crunch and balsamic Dijon vinaigrette.
Where is Tomo’s Little Collins?
We’re at 382 Little Collins Street in Melbourne CBD, close to McKillop Street and within easy walking distance of many offices and businesses around the Little Collins and Collins Street precinct.
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Tomo's Little Collins
Tomo's Little Collins is an independent Melbourne CBD café serving modern Australian breakfast and brunch favourites with Japanese influence, alongside specialty coffee and matcha. Named after the Japanese word tomo, meaning friend, we're all about good food, friendly service and creating a place where people can enjoy time together.