Sydney’s suave harbourside spot Rekodo is a modern take on a Japanese institution: the jazz kissaten. Beloved by audiophiles and jazz connoisseurs across Japan, kissaten are cafes and bars dedicated to the enjoyment of vinyl. Playing on this history, Rekodo experiments with Japanese-inspired dishes, all soundtracked via a topnotch sound system. And on Wednesday May 1, the bar is welcoming the team from Tokyo Confidential, which is whirling into town from Minato City, Tokyo, for a one-night-only, loud and rowdy party.

Tokyo Confidential was co-founded by Holly Graham – a drinks writer who's currently ranked ninth on the Bar World 100 – and her husband, Tom Egerton, a champion for sustainability in the bar world who, as bar manager, was a seminal player in the success of Sydney’s Eau de Vie. Egerton will be travelling to Sydney with venue manager Sho Nomura for the event.

“Sho and I will be bringing our drinks, our energy and our playlist with us, as well as a few of our toys,” Egerton tells Broadsheet. “Sho is a trained professional dancer as well – we will hopefully get him to show off some of his moves after a few drinks.”

We think you might like Access. For $12 a month, join our membership program to stay in the know.

SIGN UP

Those moves will be fuelled by four signature cocktails coming Down Under: the Glass Slipper (a mix of white rum, yuzushu, pandan and melon); Tea Sea (a grappa-laced gin concoction with green tea and smoked salt); the sweet and umami Tokyo Banana Colada, inspired by the “ubiquitous snack found in Japanese train stations”; and the Cheung Fun Old Fashioned, rich with peanut and soy caramel.

Rekodo head chef Michael Dabbs will bring bold flavours to complement the drinks – think yellowfin tuna and jalapeno nori tacos, and tempura zucchini flowers with sweet and sour dashi. As always, vinyl will be spinning.

And before they head back to Confidential, Sho and Egerton will be drinking around Sydney. “It’s the first time Sho has been back to Sydney since he’s been legally of age to drink, so I’m keen to show him some of the classic spots – The Baxter Inn, Ramblin’ Rascal and Maybe Sammy. Plus there are some new venues I haven’t seen yet, like Vermuteria in Kings Cross.”

The Tokyo Confidential Rekodo Takeover kicks off at 6pm on Wednesday May 1.