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We’d been checking the TSUJIRI Instagram on and off for months, the way you keep peeking at a shop with the paper still up in the windows. The old Swanston Street store had quietly disappeared a while back, and for anyone in Melbourne who orders matcha the way other people order a flat white, that left a real gap. So when the reopening date finally landed, we cleared a gap in the school holidays and went straight there.
TSUJIRI has reopened, but not where you’d expect if you’re going off the old address. The new store is inside Melbourne Central, right near the Mecca on the ground floor, not out on the street. If you’ve seen a location floating around social media that doesn’t match this, go with what’s on the Melbourne Central store page — shopping centre tenancies move around, and a few of the addresses being shared this week are already out of date.
A Brand With More History Than the Queue Suggests
TSUJIRI isn’t a trend that showed up last year. The brand was founded in Uji, Kyoto, in 1860, and it’s still sourcing its matcha from that same growing region, which is generally regarded as the birthplace of Japanese green tea cultivation. SBS Food has covered the Melbourne branch’s approach to quality tea in the past, and it’s worth a read if you’re curious about why matcha pricing varies so wildly between cafes — the short version is that the good stuff is hand-graded, and it shows in the cup.
The original Melbourne store on Swanston Street ran for the best part of a decade before it closed. The Melbourne Central store is being treated as a proper relaunch rather than a quiet reshuffle, with a new fit-out, a bigger seating area, and a longer menu than the old shop ever had room for.
What It’s Like Inside
The colour palette is exactly what you’d hope for: warm timber, soft matcha green, low lighting that makes the desserts look better than photos usually manage on their own. There’s more seating than the old store had, which matters if you’re going with kids and don’t want to be standing around holding gelato while you wait for a table.
The menu leans heavily into parfaits, soft serve, and float-style drinks, alongside a pastry case with things like matcha cakes, warabimochi and yuzu-based desserts. We ordered a matcha parfait, a hojicha float and a yuzu tart, and the parfait was the standout — properly bitter matcha ice cream layered with jelly and red bean rather than the overly sweet version some places serve up. The warabimochi wasn’t in the case on our visit, which the staff put down to it selling out fast on opening weekend, so if that’s what you’re after, it’s worth calling ahead or checking their Instagram before you make the trip in.
One thing worth knowing before you order: if you’re buying more than one of the same dessert, check your receipt before you leave the counter. We ordered two tarts, one yuzu and one matcha, and were handed two of the same flavour by mistake. It was sorted out quickly once we showed the receipt, but with a new team still finding their feet, it’s a good habit to get into with any order that has more than one item in it.
Opening Hours and Launch Offers
TSUJIRI Melbourne Central is open seven days:
- Monday to Thursday and Sunday: 10am–10pm
- Friday and Saturday: 10am–11pm
For the grand opening weekend (21–23 August 2026), Melbourne Central’s offer page confirms the following: buy any drink and get a free matcha gelato or matcha soft serve, spend $30 and get a free TSUJIRI tote bag (limited to 30 a day), or spend $50 and get a free tumbler (limited to 20 a day), while stocks last. If you’re going purely for the freebies, get there earlier in the day rather than after school pick-up — the daily limits go quickly.
Worth the Detour on a Melbourne School Holiday Day Out
Melbourne Central sits right on top of Melbourne Central station, which makes this an easy add-on if you’re already in the city for the day. It pairs well with a wander through the shopping centre’s other food options, or you can build a whole city day around it — we’ve written up a few other CBD spots worth knowing about, including our Oden Melbourne review if you want something warm before dessert, and our notes on Sugar Trend Dessert Chatswood if matcha desserts are becoming a bit of a theme for your family, because apparently they are for a lot of us right now.
If you’re mapping this into the Victorian school holidays dates for 2026, a Melbourne Central afternoon like this is an easy one to slot in without much planning — it’s indoors, it’s close to the train, and there’s enough on the menu that even the kids who claim they “don’t like green tea” usually end up finishing their soft serve before you do.
TSUJIRI Melbourne Central Melbourne Central, corner of La Trobe and Swanston Streets, Melbourne VIC 3000 Open daily, see hours above
Trading hours and launch offer details current as of August 2026 — always worth double-checking opening hours around public holidays.
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