Sake Restaurant Sydney

Situated in the Rocks is 'Sake', a contemporary Japanese restaurant with raving reviews. We came here on a busy Friday night, the interior is like the food it serves, a fusion of modern sophistication and traditional Japanese decor. The atmosphere is fun and buzzing, filled with groups of people looking for some good food and drinks after a week's work. The service was attentive, our glasses were never empty no matter how busy it got. So we got:

tonkatsu cups

4 pieces of panko-fried pork belly & spring-onion bites, served in lettuce cups with mustard miso & japanese barbeque sauce

sashimi tacos

tuna & salmon sashimi filled baby tacos with chilled tomato salsa matched with kozaemon junmai ‘sake shots’

wagyu new style

thin slices of wagyu beef lightly seared with hot oil & finished with ginger, chives & yuzu soy

buta no kakuni, onsen tamago 

12 hour braised pork belly, daikon radish, 64°c hens egg, truffle oil scallions

gindara saikyo-yaki

caramalised, miso marinated silver cod

miso-cream scallops

pan-seared scallops, baby corn, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms & yuzu miso cream

popcorn shrimp

prawn tempura pieces with creamy spicy sauce

scampi miso

whole scampi, daikon, spring onion & crustacean oil

                                                                                          

The tonkatsu cups came first, they looked so cute in their little lettuce cups and the colours were so appealing. The pork belly is fried and topped with the creamy miso and barbeque sauce, the freshness of the cabbage and lettuce really complimented the crunchiness of the pork. It was just a little bit dry for me though.

The sashimi tacos are somewhat of a signature dish here. You take a bite of the tacos and then drink the shot of sake before finishing the rest of the taco. The salmon and tuna sashimi were very fresh, the tomato salsa added that zesty touch that's needed for raw fish. The shot glasses are rimmed with salt to balance the sweetness of the fish and sake, a perfect example of what fushion cruisine should be like. Definitely a must try dish for sharing with friends. 

My favourite dish of the night would have to be the Wagyu new style. The layers of finely sliced beef is tender and sweet, it literally melts in your mouth. The sauce is perfectly balanced, zesty, salty and with a bit of heat from the ginger. It's one of those dishes that you can't stop after one bite, it was a real treat for me and my friends. We all agreed that it was definitely the star of the night.  

The braised pork belly was a bit of a let down I must say. The onsen egg was a nice touch but the fat on the pork wasn't too appealing. I was expecting the pork to be melt in your mouth kind of tender but it was still stiff and the whole dish lacked any distinct flavour. 

However the cod was really flavoursome, marinated in miso and caramalised. It's one of those dishes that really represent Japanese cuisine, simplicity at its best. Cod flesh is firm and sweet, the miso adds a new element of flavour and aroma to the fish. 

The seared scallops were again a bit of a let down. The yuzu miso sauce which was more mild than I had imagined and seemed kind of redundant as it didn't really compliment the scallops. The scallops themselves were seared perfectly though, caramalised and firm on the outside, soft, silky and still a bit raw on the inside.  

Our last main course was the popcorn shrimp. The prawns were fried tempura style and then covered with a creamy spicy sauce. The texture is great as you'd expect with any tempura, the crunchiness goes really well with the sauce which packed a bit of a punch. 

We also tried the Scampi miso soup as it was a bit different and boy did it taste yummy! The scampi added a whole new depth to the flavour of the soup and the aroma was incredible. The scampi itself was very succulent, the flesh had sucked up all the flavours of the soup and the crustacean oil. If you thought miso soup was boring then think again, this one will blow your mind. 

The drinks and desserts here are also worth mentioning, they have a very impressive drinks menu with very creative coctails which all had some element of fushion added to it. We tried 'Miss Wednesday' and 'Pink Blossom'. They also have a very wide range of sake and Japanese liquor for you to try. For dessert we got the Green tea kit kat with ice cream and cranberry( I think..)  jelly. The ice cream and jelly helps to cut down the green tea kit kat which I found to be a bit too sweet for my liking, a very nice end to the dining experience none the less.

So overall, 'Sake' was a real pleasureable treat, not a lot of places that claim to do fushion cuisine can actually nail it. I would definitely recommend the wagyu new style and the scampi miso soup. Go in a group so you can share several dishes as the portions are quite small. For people who enjoy Japanese food this would be the perfect place to go for your next outing.

'Sake' 

12 Argyle Street
The Rocks Sydney NSW 2000