Mizuya

Bar Food Booze Eat & Drink Japanese

Jackie McMillan
July 28, 2010

Image: Good food and good fun have finally sprung up on George Street in the subterranean spaces formerly occupied by Bar Ace and Maloney’s. This is Australia’s largest izakaya (pretty much the Japanese equivalent of a gastro-pub) with 1200 square metres and a $3.5 million dollar refit!

Good food and good fun have finally sprung up on George Street in the subterranean spaces formerly occupied by Bar Ace and Maloney’s. This is Australia’s largest izakaya (pretty much the Japanese equivalent of a gastro-pub) with 1200 square metres and a $3.5 million dollar refit! Wander through 24 private dining rooms all with karaoke facilities past illuminated cherry trees, into a labyrinth of comfortable dining booths with touch-screen ordering. Browse 200 menu items (all thankfully with photos) – house specialities kushiyaki and kushiage (grilled/ crumbed skewers) are perfect if you have a microphone in your hand! Slurp a Pacific Oyster with Ponzu Mousse ($9.80/ 3) before trying the moist and flavourful Drunken Chicken ($8.80) cooked in sake sous vide at sixty degrees. Sample the ‘deadliest catch’ Grilled Alaskan King Crab Leg ($16.80) or a wide selection of sushi/sashimi before mains like tender Premium Wagyu Beef Fillet ($22.80); tasty Teppanyaki Chicken ($10.80) and a Seafood Hotpot ($33.80/large) that shows off spanner crab, pipis, salmon, fish balls, prawns and scallops with great clarity. Stylin’ young Asian clientele already look at home in the space; but my eyes were still full of wonder as I spooned up my Green Tea Shiratama ($4.50) sundae with red bean paste and glutinous rice balls.