The vinyl floor is gone. The sunny yellow bar tiling has been replaced with textured timber panelling, and the space (re-jigged by designers Studio -Gram) has been softened with carpet and Japanese noren curtains.
This isn’t Joybird 2.0. When Broadsheet walks into Shosho on opening night, the dimly-lit room is noticeably different to its predecessor; warmer and dare I say more mature, the new neighbourhood izakaya is less casual diner than sophisticated restaurant – and on first impressions a better fit for its Hyde Park setting.
“We know Shobosho serves food that people want to eat, and the environment is loud and izakaya-esque,” restaurateur Simon Kardachi told Broadsheet last month. “We want to take that to the suburbs with a little bit more decorum.”
But it’s not Shobosho 2.0 either. Loyal patrons of the Leigh Street restaurant will recognise chefs Adam Liston and Yumi Nagaya’s fingerprints on dishes such as tuna tataki with ponzu and wasabi (served at Shobosho with salmon), and udon noodles with blue swimmer crab and crab dashi butter, which guest stars occasionally on the Shobosho menu. But the focus here is firmly on tempura: crisp, lightly battered veggies and seafood, including green beans (or “poor man’s fish” as the menu calls it) with grated cured egg yolk, onion rings with caramelised French onion dip, and seafood seldom spotted on local menus, such as whole coral prawns, toothfish and scampi from West Australian supplier Fins Seafood.
Although Liston admits he had some hesitations in bringing tempura to a large-capacity suburban Adelaide restaurant. “Pre-Covid, I was going to Japan once or twice a year. I’ve been to some pretty high-end tempura places, and traditionally they’re only eight to 12 seats max,” he says. “Even though it seems like a simple concept, it’s quite difficult to get the elements right consistently. I tried to do a little bit of tempura stuff at Shobosho in the early days, but we stopped doing it because we didn’t have the setup … but here we’ve set the kitchen up to facilitate it better, with custom pots and jet woks.”
The former Joybird rotisserie has been repurposed for meats such as char siu pork, which is served with a potato and kimchi dauphinois. These subtle French elements pepper the menu: there’s a “miso bearnaise” and a shallot pancake enriched with creamy Laughing Cow cheese. Also on the menu: dumplings, wontons and a “kick-arse” cheeseburger with tea pickles, smoked tomato and tempura nori. But the star of it all might be the crab head filled with a flavourful, fiery mix of blue swimmer crab meat, tapioca and white pepper sauce, regally crowned with shavings of tempura batter.
As for the drinks, there’s a wine for every palate (and wallet) – from a smashable Delinquente house wine to a $299 bottle of Charles Heidsieck Brut Millésimé – alongside Japanese beer, sake and umeshu.
Shosho
1/164 King William Road, Hyde Park
Hours:
Wed & Thu 5pm– 12am
Fri to Sun 12pm–12am
