Izy.aki is a Japanese style restaurant serving up kappo style yakiniku omakase. While the name conjures up images of an informal izakaya, Izyaki serves up refined, clever food in a 20 seater restaurant with a 6 or 10 course menu. Come along as we try all 10 courses!
Izy.aki is located in Oxford Street in Paddington and opened 7 months ago. Prior to that, they were in the Rocks in a heritage listed building but were forced to move due to renovations. There are three people behind the long counter at Izyaki: Chef Darren Templeman who was formerly at Atelier, OBar and Botswana Butchery, Head Chef Daseul (Bonnie) Yu and bartender and mixologist Aurelien Jeffredo.
Darren handles the first half dozen or so courses while Bonnie handles the grill. Aurelien seats guests and introduces them to the menu and makes and serves the drinks. The trio have been working together for a few years and work seamlessly together. While the restaurant can accommodate walk-ins, bookings are highly recommended. Walk-ins only really work for parties of 2 or 4 if nobody has dietaries as they run it as sustainably as possible so they just buy what they need. 6 courses is $125 and 10 courses is $210 per person. Saturdays are the busiest night with lots of anniversaries, birthdays and celebrations and can book up weeks ahead, even during winter.
Darren explains, "I thought that there was a space in the market for something of a Japanese nature, which has no menu, only uses fresh seasonal produce, which is not too serious and every one can enjoy. Very similar to venues in Osaka where you rock up, sit down and the chef feeds you! Bonnie and I travelled around Japan just over two years ago, when I decided that I was going to open IZY.AKI. From the posh diners of Tokyo, to the relaxed but still upmarket buzzy places of Osaka and the down right outrageous food in Niigata the food/drink/hospitality was exceptional, but Osaka caught my imagination the most, this is what I wanted to capture and bring back to Sydney."
We start with drinks - Mr NQN has a Wasave with Olmeca Altos Plata, fresh wasabi, agave nectar and pressed lime while I have a Shiroi Hana with Haku vodka, elderflower liqueur, vanilla, pressed lime and aqua faba. Izy.aki also have their own gin using native botanicals that they use in cocktails. There's also a range of sakes and a range of Japanese sake glasses in lunar new year animals so you can sip from a monkey or snake cup depending on your lunar birth year.
The potato and octopus beignet has a crispy outer and a roesti-like interior with freshly grated Manjimup truffle on top secured to the plate with a dab of spicy mayo. This is pure umami and I could happily have a dozen of these.
The hen's egg is an exercise in creamy perfection. The white onion puree, foie gras and smoked eel blends perfectly and it is topped with trout roe and dried kombu on top. I get so excited that I accidentally break the shell in my fervour to extract every last bit out of it.
The next course is a sashimi one using sliced Abrolhos scallop topped with pickled kim chi cauliflower, white soy and Jeju island mandarin vinegar topped with Avruga caviar and creamy cauliflower at the base. I really enjoy the textural contrast of the luscious scallops and the slightly crunchy cauliflower.
Our next course is the South Australian bluefin tuna. Darren explains that now that we're in winter, the tuna is starting to fatten up. They use two cuts of tuna in this dish: slender strips of akami (the lean dark red portion closer to the bone) and the pale toro or belly. The tuna is dressed with sesame and smoked soy with persimmon, watermelon radish salad and bottarga. Persimmon is a perfect match for raw tuna in its texture with a mild sweetness while the watermelon radish gives a surprise mild crunch. Everything is well seasoned here and the bottarga gives this a perfect richness.
I'm not usually a steamed egg gal because I grew up on steamed egg that was overcooked but this chawanmushi is so gently steamed that it is jellied and wobbly with fine strands of crab meat with hand picked king crab, pomelo salad, ginger dashi and Aquatir caviar served at room temperature. Darren explains that when he worked with Chef Narisawa at Atelier and would make this and serve it straight from the steamer that you would lose the flavour and nuance of the dashi so he prefers to serve this at room temperature so that you can enjoy the dashi flavour.
What we loved about this meal is that every course was unexpected and this morel dish is one of my favourites. It's French morels stuffed with prawn mousse, braised salsify, ikura, caviar and a butter sauce made from the reduction of the morel juices. Holy heavens, I can still taste every exquisite bite even as I write this. The only quibble? I need bread to soak up every drop of that sauce.
Just when you think the next course can't get any better then comes another divine course and by this stage we're convinced that this is one of the best meals we've had in a long time. The Murray cod fillet is dry aged for 5 days and grilled. Atop are Misty Valley mushrooms from Sydney's shire with a buttery sauce of kimchi juices. This is exquisite and I use the spoon to scoop up every last drop.
The hits just keep coming and the next course is a soup course with Burrawong duck noodle soup with a torched shiitake and duck thigh sausage with enoki and ramen in a rich broth made from the carcass and garnished with duck fat. Not a drop goes back across the counter.
Our last savoury course is the full blood wagyu sirloin steak MB9+ 100% grass fed from Queensland's western plains. The sauces on the side are umeboshi (salty sour), yuzukosho wasabi (citrusy spicy sweet), fresh Tasmanian wasabi (sweet and herbaceous), quince ssamjang (roasted quinces with fermented soybean paste), stem of silverbeet pickled with soy and sesame and fermented white kimchi. The accompaniments are perfect for a luscious beef like wagyu as the lighten up the rich meat perfectly - it's a clever take on steak and sauce. Each sauce has a different flavour profile so it’s a real choose your own adventure. I am partial to the umeboshi sauce and the quince ssamjang with the beef.
Our last course is the Hokkaido matcha cheesecake souffle with caramelised yuzu at the bottom and coconut ice cream. It's the perfect, light dessert for the end of a spectacular 10 courses.
So tell me Dear Reader, which destination in the world had an impact on you? And which course sounded best to you?
Izy.aki
362 Oxford St, Paddington NSW 2021
Phone: 0421 645 307
Open Tuesday to Saturday 5pm-10pm
Closed Sunday and Monday
Reader Comments
Loading comments...Add Comment