Tempura Hajime operated from a nondescript entrance beneath an office building at 60 Park Street, South Melbourne, from 2009 until its permanent closure. The 12-seat restaurant was built around a semi-hexagonal counter, with diners seated in a circle around an open kitchen where chef Shigeo, who brought more than 20 years of Japanese culinary experience, prepared each course individually. Rather than an a la carte menu, the restaurant served a set degustation priced between roughly $75 and $92 per person, beginning with appetisers and a sashimi selection of ocean trout, kingfish, tuna, gurnard and wagyu beef, before moving through a sequence of tempura courses. Typical tempura included asparagus, sweet potato, corn, john dory, eel, sea urchin, scallop and nori, finishing with a yoghurt panna cotta. Reviewers described the dining room as stark and bright by design, intended to keep attention on the chef's technique, and likened the atmosphere to a small Tokyo izakaya despite the deep-fried format. Sake, plum wine, Japanese beer and a broader wine list were available to accompany the meal. As of this listing, Tempura Hajime's official website is inactive and multiple restaurant directories list the business as permanently closed, so visitors should not expect to find it operating at the Park Street address.