Restaurant review: Inka a magical journey from Japan to Peru

But in these COVID-affected times, a long lunch might mean getting an extra load of washing on once you've scoffed down some toast and taught the kids long division. Or, if you're in the office, and everyone is talking about tightening the financial belt, the last thing you want to suggest is loosening it at the dining table.

We're at Inka today. I haven't booked a table. We're heading there at lunchtime on a Thursday, surely we'll just be able to get a seat on spec.

It brings me great joy, when we arrive, to learn that might be a problem. The place is pumping, a few large tables full of people in suits, tables of two where room has been made for laptops and notebooks, people deep in conversation.

They only have seats at the bar adjacent to the kitchen station and we snap them up. That's where we would have chosen to sit if we had booked anyway, so it's a win. It's fabulous to watch the chefs slice up whole kingfish and salmon, expertly prepare sashimi, or carve wafer-thin strips of wagyu, and then miraculously it's placed in front of you.

There is a $40pp express lunch menu. Maybe some conscientious workers had that today but I dare suggest many people are here for the long haul. We go with the $80pp tasting menu, nine plates from nibbles through to dessert. You can also order a la carte.

The first plates delivered are a bowl of edamame and some plantain chips with guacamole. You can choose between yuzu salt or chilli and garlic with the edamame. We choose the chilli and garlic and the bean pods are coated in a delicious sauce. Which is all well and good until you have to pod them to get at the crunchy little beans inside. I like edamame but I don't like having to pod them at the table. These are tasty and the sauce is great but we end up with it all over our fingers.

The plantain chips are quite the revelation. Something I make a note of to try at home. Sweet, but savoury at the same time, they're a perfect accompaniment to this fine example of guacamole, ripe avocado pimped with a little chilli and lime.

Next are the raw fish plates. A platter of assorted nigiri featuring tuna, kingfish and salmon, two pieces of each, atop well-cooked rice. Flavours are simple and the fish is the star. It's fresh and light and perfectly proportioned.

The kingfish ceviche is a standout dish of the day. There's a kick of lime and coriander, little cubes of flesh just touched by the acidic juices, garnished with some strips of crisp sweet potato. Texture comes from kernels of corn which have been charred on the wood-fired grill. It's not easy, at first, to discern what they are, nutty and a little caramelly. We ask the waiter what they are, thinking they were nuts of some kind. It's "cancha" on the menu, which translates as corn nuts, a snack food in Peru.

Which is a good segue into Inka's philosophy. Nikkei cuisine weaves the culinary history of Peruvian and Japanese cuisines into modern plates. The Japanese first migrated to Peru in the late 19th century and noticed the Peruvians also loved their fresh fish. It was a match made in flavour meets technique heaven. Some of the world's top restaurants - think Nobu and El Bulli - turn to nikkei for their menus.

The last dish in this section is hokkaido scallops. A plate of four firm, yet tender, scallops bathing in a spicy little sauce made of pisco brandy and aji panca which is a red chilli pepper commonly grown in Peru. There's a bit of substance to the sauce but it doesn't drown the scallops. Another dish full of flavour.

The next three dishes come out at once. The main plate is a spatchock done on the chargrill, served alongside Brussels sprouts and some potato wedges. But it's no ordinary bird and two veg. The spatchock is tender and meaty, caramelly and sticky with a yakitori glaze, a housemade salsa verde on the top to freshen things up.

The Brussels sprouts too are sticky and caramelly, sweetened by a honey and yuzu glaze and charred til they're crispy.

The potato wedges are served with a hancaina sauce, which is a traditional Peruvian sauce made of cheese and chilli peppers. The original recipe is traditionally thickened with saltine crackers, but I'm unsure if that's how they do it here. Whichever, it's delicious.

There's one little plate of dessert, a chocolate fondant, which oozes perfectly when we cut it open. It's served with a rich caramel miso sauce and a quenelle of dulce ice cream. Almost a perfect dessert.

We've been taken on such a journey during this service. From Japan to Peru, back again, the fondant a cosy reminder of home.

The interiors of Inka are impressive. A dramatic cloth art installation - a quipu, which is an ancient Andean recording device where milestones are marked on strips of rope or material with knots - hangs in the entry. On one large wall unglazed terracotta cuchimilco figurines stare out at diners. Cuchimilco were thought to have acted as guardians to tombs, or companions in the afterlife, warding off evil. Here at Inka it just looks like they're joining in the fun.

Address: Shop B11A, 148 Bunda St, Canberra

Phone: 5115 0777

Website: inka.com.au

Hours: Monday, from 5.30-10pm; Tuesday to Thursday, noon-2.30[m, 5.30-10pm. Friday-Saturday, noon til 2.30pm; 5.30-10.30pm; Sunday 12pm til 10.30pm. Sunday, noon til 2.30pm, 5.30-10pm.

Owners: Alia Nahas, Kiehyon Yoo and Adam Elchakak

Chef: Executive chef Vit Srichaiket, head chef Leonard Villanaueva

Dietary: Lots of good options

Noise: Not a problem