First Look: The Waratah Team’s Late-Night Izakaya Blooms in a CBD Basement

This week we’re adding Sakura House to The Hot List, the definitive guide to Sydney’s most essential food and drink experiences.

Right now, it feels like everyone in Australia’s either going, has gone or will go to Japan. Maybe it’s the strong exchange rate, or cheap flights, or even a prolonged bout of post-pandemic travel. Either way, millions of Aussies have made their way to the land of the rising sun in the last few years.

Two of those tourists were Evan Stroeve and Cynthia Litster, the business partners behind Darlinghurst bar and diner The Waratah.

“We both were just obsessed,” says Litster.

And the pair were particularly seduced by the country’s hospitality culture.

“It can be very playful and quirky, but there’s still that level of precision that comes with world-class hospitality.” 

The idea of doing something seriously without taking yourself too seriously left its mark on the duo. They knew the follow-up to The Waratah had to be Japanese. And when they found the ideal basement space in the city – the kind of spot that begs you to sink Sapporos and gorge gyoza – they knew it had to be an izakaya. 

Like the pub, the izakaya is a genre encompassing a lot of different vibes. Broadly speaking, they’re somewhere you go to drink, and there’s a little bit of food too – usually food that makes you want to drink even more. 

“We’re focusing more on the beverage here,” Litster says. “That’s not to say the food isn’t fantastic, but we see the split being more like you’re coming here for the booze and the snacks are just really tasty.” 

In the Japanese-inspired-snacks department, it’s going to be hard to go wrong with head chef Nick Sherman. He spent five years at Cho Cho San – working his way up to head chef – and helped out on other drinking-food offerings at places like 40 Res, Ito and The White Horse.

“We’re really going for playful street-food-inspired snacks that we can change quite regularly,” Sherman says. His pick is the Wagyu sando, which joins all the usual suspects, like chicken karaage, katsu prawns and gyoza. 

Typically at izakaya in Japan – or even in Sydney, like at Nakano Darling – you have to order food in order to drink. That’s optional at Sakura House. And if you’re just there for the drinks, you’re in for a great time. 

In addition to an ample range of whiskies – around 40 Japanese bottles, with the requisite Scottish and Irish delegates – there’s a tidy line-up of sakés and liqueurs, including umeshu. If you enjoy a Minus 196 or two, you’ll be pleased to find four takes on the Lemon Sour, plus highballs aplenty. 

Stroeve and his Waratah crew are cocktail people, so mixed drinks are the rightful stars of the Sakura show. Classic cocktails will come with seasonal twists governed by small-batch Japanese producers – like an Amaretto Fizz with mango mochi cream. Signatures will take that a step further, focusing on rare Japanese spirits and esoteric, hard-to-source ingredients. 

It’s all set within a space designed by returning collaborators Farago-Han, which demands repeat exploration. You’ll need a few visits to figure out whether you prefer the booth section, the low-to-the-ground bar seating or the main space, where live music will play each night. And you’ll need more than a few visits to find your favourite details – from the tiny laptop drawers under the booths to the vintage artwork, knick-knacks and boro-style patchwork textiles lining the walls. 

In Japan, izakaya are synonymous with salarymen cutting loose and after-work drinks that don’t finish until the boss decides the night’s over. Sakura House will definitely capture the CBD’s knock-off crowd. But if you come here with colleagues, this is one after-work drinks you actually won’t want to leave. 

Sakura House
Basement, 82–88 Elizabeth Street, Sydney 

Hours:
Mon to Sat 5pm–2am 

sakurahousesydney.com
@sakurahousesydney

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