Tamura Sho-Ten
A sprawling izakaya spread across a heritage bluestone building on Smith Street, this is the bigger, louder follow-up from the husband-and-wife team behind a much-loved little Fitzroy sake bar nearby. The space is worked over two levels: downstairs, a fifty-seat Japanese-style bar with a handful of counter perches and a pub-ish hum; upstairs, a dining room and lounge scattered with vintage chairs around an original fireplace, seating a hundred or so. The mood is Japanese subculture rather than ceremony, with jazz on some Sundays, the odd ramen-slurping challenge, and a room built for groups to settle in and lose an evening. The food is izakaya in the truest sense, small plates meant for the middle of the table: gyoza and edamame to start, then more particular things like una kyu, cool batons of eel and cucumber, or gyusuji nikomi, beef tendon stewed soft and savoury. Drinks are the other half of the argument. There is sake, umeshu and shochu, a little wine, but the real energy is at the cocktail end, with highballs poured with intent and originals such as one built on Japanese whisky, almond, citrus and orange bitters. It is a place to graze slowly and drink well.