First Service: At Joji, It’s Panoramic City Views and Wagyu Sloppy Joes From Aalia’s Paul Farag

“With a name like Joji, I felt compelled to produce a ‘sloppy Joji’. Essentially, it’s a Wagyu patty topped with a Wagyu mince sauce, American cheese and pickles … think flavours of tonkatsu.” Exec chef Paul Farag – of Esca, the group behind fine Middle Eastern restaurant Aalia and Crown Street’s Nour – is describing the house burger at the flashy new rooftop bar sitting on top of Cartier in the city.

At first glance, photos of Joji look like renders. A polished, red-washed dining room, a DJ booth tucked to one side, glowy top-down city views from every window. It’s all but guaranteed to be a hit with the city crowd – in no small part thanks to that “super indulgent” burg and a bar manager straight from London’s Happiness Forgets, a drinking den that’s had the nod from World’s 50 Best.

The rooftop bar-slash-restaurant is Japanese, with Farag’s creativity giving it its own persona – in similar fashion to Ito, Esca’s Crown Street izakaya that takes an Italian swerve. Joji’s three-part menu covers raw, not raw and robata, with the two-metre grill taking top spot in the open kitchen. “The cooking of the tsukune skewer is simply over the coals, letting it drip out its fat and get all smoky,” Farag tells Broadsheet. “It’s then brushed with a shiitake and lentil koji.”

The small-batch koji’s direct from Cura Seasonings, a fermentery in Stanmore; and the star skewer – a quail and pork jowl combo – is an evolution of one first seen in Aalia. It’s joined by miso tofu with cherry tomatoes, charred leeks and a bug sando (the perfect drinking food). We’re tipping the saucy curry bread to be on every table.

On the raw list, there’s everything from nashi pear and tartare riding a round of potato hash to a zingy umeboshi kingfish number. Want to dress your dish up? Add uni or caviar.

Fuelling the “Is it a bar or a restaurant?” debate, Joji speaks to the growing trend of Sydney bars moving away from menus pushing only crisps and olives. For Esca, that doesn’t detract any focus from the drinks list.

Kerry Burgess (ex-Happiness Forgets) oversees the group’s booze, which for Joji means the same funky play on Japanese flavours. The Bamboo brings a mix of tequila, tomato and apricot, while there’s a no-frills highball for lovers of the classic.

“Simply drinking round after round is not how people go about having fun anymore,” Farag says. “[People want] the full experience without the fussy restaurant tag.”

Joji
Level 5, 388 George Street, Sydney
(02) 8353 9788

Hours:
Mon & Tue 4pm–2am
Wed to Fri midday–2am
Sat & Sun 4pm–2am

joji.com
@jojisydney