The future is here and it’s on show in Richmond right now.

The arrival of izakaya Future Future late last year – now newly crowned with an upstairs bar and deck – is proof the future of hospitality shines bright.

Maybe it’s because of the sweet potato crisps and tea that land gratis soon after you’re seated. Maybe it’s the snack-heavy menu full of tasty hits, or the funky laneway fitout of exposed brick and cool nooks.

From the same finger-on-the-pulse team behind Collingwood wine bar Congress, Future Future is named after the feeling many travellers get when they visit Tokyo – a sense of having stepped into the future.

It’s a Tokyo-meets-Melbourne dining experience here, with chef Atsushi Kawakami (ex-Kappo and Izakaya Den) serving up donburi rice bowls and some meatier mains, but largely a fine array of smaller bites to order up and knock back with Japanese whisky and sake.

Gnarly-coated and juicy-fleshed fried karaage chicken is balanced with a yuzu kosho mayo, while the kingfish dish’s dainty slices are topped with pickled daikon and dressed in ponzu.

Winning on umami flavour rather than Insta-beauty is the fried eggplant. Its yielding tiles are cooked to creamy perfection, bathed in chilli oil and dashi and served with a side of furikake – surely God’s own seasoning.

Happiness is also the tempura prawn in a trashy white bun with a good squirt of zesty cocktail sauce, or the silken comfort of the pumpkin agedashi tofu with its crisp crust and sprinkling of parsnip chips.

But you’d be just as content teaming an on-tap Quealy friulano with a dinner plate-sized serve of matcha okonomiyaki stuffed with cabbage, onion and pops of rich provolone cheese, all smothered in Japanese barbecue sauce and Kewpie mayonnaise.

The future looks bright indeed.