Coffee, ramen, repeat: Inside Yuna’s flavour lab
What started as a specialty coffee spot has become a rotating experiment in ramen, matcha and ideas that refuse to sit still.
In Henley Beach, Yuna Restaurant has become one of those places people return to not because it’s changed, but because there’s always something new to try.
What began as a specialty coffee spot still holds true to its roots, with serious coffee at the core. But alongside its signature offering – including its own ramen – Yuna keeps things fresh through a rotating line-up of monthly special ramen and limited-run ideas, giving the space a sense of ongoing creativity without losing its identity.
That sense of movement is deliberate.
For director Mia Zhang and her brother Yusen, Yuna was never meant to be boxed into a single identity.
“Coffee has always been the foundation for us, but food is where we can express a different side of creativity,” she says. “We’ve always been passionate about Japanese comfort food, so expanding into ramen and more substantial dishes felt like a natural progression. It allows Yuna to become more of a full experience.”
One of the clearest signs of that experimentation is the monthly ramen series – limited bowls that appear, disappear and reappear in different forms.
“We treat it like a creative project each month, exploring different flavour profiles, ingredients and even visual presentation,” Mia says. “Some are more traditional, others more experimental.
“The response has been very strong. We have done the ramen night in the past and received a lot of feedback to redo it. But instead of doing it at night with the same menu, we wanted to try something in the daytime with different limited flavours.”
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It’s a small but telling shift: ramen now drops in the middle of the day, changing regularly enough that regulars don’t quite know what they’re walking into – in a good way. It’s part curiosity engine, part kitchen playground.
That same sense of play carries through into Yuna’s drinks program, where matcha has quietly become a signature.
“It actually started by accident,” Mia says. “Matcha was something we were already making at home, using the traditional hand-whisk method.
“We focused on sourcing good-quality matcha and keeping the preparation simple and authentic. From there, it naturally took off – people responded to the quality and the traditional way we prepared it, then building drinks around it that highlight different flavour layers.
“Innovation comes from constantly testing – pairing it with textures, coffee or desserts and refining until it feels balanced.”
What began as a simple, traditional approach has since snowballed into a full creative lane of its own. The now-viral matcha cloud and the mysteriously named “magic” drink both came out of that same process: try, test, adjust, repeat.
“It usually starts with an idea or flavour combination, then we test repeatedly. We pay a lot of attention to balance – sweetness, acidity, texture – and also how it presents visually. A drink has to taste good first, but it also needs to feel memorable.”
That focus on repetition and refinement isn’t limited to the “experimental” side of the menu. Even the everyday coffee program is treated with the same level of attention.
“A lot of it is consistency. We dial in coffee daily, adjust recipes, taste everything and make small changes constantly. It’s not one big thing but many small decisions that add up to the final product.”
The same thinking carries into Yuna’s seasonal menu.
“Seasonality is quite important, especially for specials,” Mia says. “It keeps the menu interesting and allows us to experiment. Core items stay because customers come back for them, while newer ideas rotate depending on if the teams want to contribute fun ideas and try new things.”
Even with strong Japanese influence running throughout, Mia is clear that Yuna isn’t trying to be a textbook version of anything.
“We respect the foundation of Japanese food, but we’re not trying to replicate it exactly,” she says. “It’s more about taking that base and adapting it to our style and local context. The balance comes from understanding both sides.”
That approach has helped Yuna carve out a space in Adelaide’s café culture where experience matters just as much as caffeine content.
“We’ve tried to introduce more variety and creativity in drinks, especially beyond standard coffee menus,” Mia says. “It’s about showing that a café can go further with flavour, presentation and technique. If that encourages more experimentation in the scene, that’s a positive thing.
“In many ways, we’ve also helped set that direction locally, particularly around specialty drinks and matcha.”
And customers are ready for it.
“People are more open to trying something different now,” Mia says. “They still value quality, but they’re also looking for something new – whether that’s a unique drink or a different type of experience.”
For now, growth isn’t about turning Yuna into something bigger and louder. It’s about tightening what’s already working, while still leaving room for surprise.
“We want to keep building on what we’ve started – more seasonal ideas, more collaborations, and continuing to refine both food and drinks. There’s still a lot of room to explore.”
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