NOW EXPERIENCING:Tokyo Bird
Drinks Directory|Sydney – Inner City|After work drinks|Casual catch-up

Tokyo Bird

Friday: 4:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Shop 2, 226-228 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills, NSW, 201
Phone
(02) 8880 9971
Website
tokyobird.com.au
Instagram
@tokyobird_syd

Read time 3 Mins

Posted 13 Aug 2024

By
David Matthews

Tokyo Bird has been a popular Surry Hills venue for 10 years

Tokyo Bird leans on the pillars of a Japanese drinking den, offering snacks with an emphasis on yakitori skewers and an enviable collection of whisky and cocktails.

The entry to Tokyo Bird in Sydney's Surry Hills
Why you goTokyo Bird landed in a Surry Hills laneway at a time when the inner-city suburb was just cementing its reputation as one of the country’s coolest neighbourhoods. Our interest in Japan and its eating and drinking culture was also going from fleeting love affair to full-blown obsession. Some 10 years on and, as Surry Hills continues to grow and expand, Tokyo Bird is still soaring. More refined than the club-like Goros (which offers some of the suburb’s best karaoke) around the corner and not as upmarket as Izakaya Fujiyama up the road, Tokyo Bird occupies some kind of middle ground that maintains a focus on irreverent enjoyment, but steadies it up with a backbone of polished service, killer yakitori skewers, ultra-refreshing highballs and atmosphere for days. Can’t quite justify a flight to Japan to experience the thrill that is Tokyo’s famed beer halls or its equally appealing Yakitori Alley? Tokyo Bird, with a little of both, might just be the next best thing.
Why you stayYou’re one drink in, a Kobashi cocktail bringing scents of lychee, sencha green tea and rose to Haku vodka. To your right, a high table fills with local creatives who’ve just knocked off work early, adding buzz and anticipation to the room. To your left, a couple perches on cushions set against blonde-wood banquettes in the glow of Studio Ghibli’s Porco Rosso (pigs can fly) projected, plus-sized, on the wall. Your eyes stalk the stacked shelves of Japanese whisky on the back wall, your mind deciding whether to prop for the 18-year old Yamazaki single malt, or keep things on the straight and narrow with an ice-cold Orion fresh from the tap. As you contemplate, the food lands. A skewer of crisped chicken skin crackles to the bite, all fat and salt and crunch. The edamame soybeans pop with heat and spice. And the cured egg yolk hidden in the sweet, soy-based sauce with the tsukune – chicken minced and folded around sticks, then grilled – brings extra depth. Food? Drink? Fine times? Tokyo Bird hits on all fronts, and you haven’t even considered the highballs yet.
Sydney's Tokyo Bird is inspired by the drinking dens of Japan
Cocktails on the bar at Tokyo Bird
What drink to orderCocktails are good. Beers are, too. The sake selection is decent. And the whisky runs (deeply) from entry-level through to primo. But if you’re not starting with a highball you’re doing it wrong. Served in a tall mug, this is like a seltzer before seltzer was anywhere close to being a thing, and Tokyo Bird makes customising it simple. Step one: pick your fizz, from either ginger ale and lime, citrusy yuzu honey and soda, or (the classic) soda and lemon. Step two: pick your whisky – maybe a Suntory Toki, an easy-drinking Nikka, or a pure malt with some more spine. Step three: enjoy, and congratulate yourself on a job well done. But don’t skip the crafted highballs, either, which let loose just a little. There’s no better time or place to spike your Calpis (the lactic Japanese soda) with sake or top up your Japanese shochu spirit with fruit soda than right here, right now.
What to pair it withTokyo Bird plays the hits and plays them well, drawing on a tried-and-true roster of izakaya, aka drinking den, classics and executing them with a dose of flair and a fair whack of flavour. Think Japanese-style fried chicken plated classically with lemon and mayo, perfectly plump gyoza dumplings, and piles of shredded cabbage for balance. But it’s the things on sticks that rightly attract the most attention here, with all the best chicken bits (wings, thigh, hearts, skin, tenderloin) threaded onto skewers and caramelised just the right amount, and everything from scallops to pork belly to eggplant to quail eggs getting the same glorious treatment.
A selection of snacks at Tokyo Bird, including yakitori
Regular’s tipThe discreet alleyway entrance opens into the main bar, a long room with space for about 60, but up front you’ll find another hideaway. Nights see it open up for guests, but it’s also where Tokyo Bird has been known to host pop-ups in the warmer months, pairing Suntory Highballs with live DJs and otsumami, delicious fried snacks like umami noodles with ginger and lime.
Enjoying a night out at Tokyo Bird in Sydney
Make it fancyJapan has a proud whisky tradition and one glance at the selection behind the bar should tell you that Tokyo Bird takes its drinks seriously. Yes, there are the top-shelf aged drops to savour from well-known brands like Mars, Nikka and Suntory, but why not delve into the boutique makers and give the Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu Casa de Vinos a go? A small-batch single malt, it’s definitely one to sit on, savour and contemplate before stumping up the $112 for the nip.
Who to takeWith fashion houses, ad studios and tech start-ups all within striking distance, Tokyo Bird buzzes with post-work activity from some of the city’s more interesting and interested professionals who know they’re onto a good thing. Follow their lead and roll up with your office pals and try to nab one of the communal tables, or perch at the bar in twos or threes with mates, Japanophiles, a date or anyone who might want to go halves on yakitori with you – they come in twos after all.
image credits: George Hong; Clavell Lee
Authour image
David MatthewsDavid Matthews is a bar and restaurant critic who has written for Australia’s leading food publications, including Gourmet Traveller and Good Food.
Tags
Drinks DirectoryAfter work drinksGood for groupsA+ spirits listNon-alc OptionsDate nightBarSydney – Inner CityKiller cocktailsMeal and a bevVego Food OptionsSydneyCasual catch-up
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