Tachinomi are everywhere in Japan. The standing bars, usually single-owner-operated, intimate but boisterous and hidden down clustered back alleys, are a famous part of Japanese drinking and eating culture. Here there is only one, Crows Nest Tachinomi YP.

The tiny trinket-clustered bar has two modes. Mode one is daytime, expect a single-dish menu featuring one of Sydney’s best tonkotsu ramens, and a quiet and contemplative atmosphere where guests are expected to wipe their own tables and return their plates. Mode two is post-sunset - ramen is off the menu and instead you'll get Japanese draft beer, shōchū, canned fish, $5 rice bowls and drinking games.

On a weekend night it’s more house party than the traditional chat-to-the-owner intimate standing bar experience. For the latter come on a weeknight and find the boundary between owner, bartender and customer completely blurred.