Named after a character from Akira, a cult classic Japanese anime film from the '80s, you can probably guess that Takashi Bar offers all manner of Japanese food and drink. It also specialises in a rather specific offering: Highballs.
For the uninitiated, a Highball is a drink that is traditionally made by mixing whisky, scotch or bourbon with a mixer like soda or ginger ale and pouring it over ice into a tall glass. At Takashi, the Highballs come in both traditional and modern forms. Start with the House Highball of Toki whisky and soda before moving on to a Roku gin and Fever-Tree tonic version that has a hint of green tea and cherry blossoms. And because nothing goes better with Japanese alcohol than Japanese snacks, Takashi is also serving up nibbles such as karaage, vegetable tempura and fries - all served with old faithful Kewpie mayo.
Highballs are so popular in Japan that Japanese whisky brand Suntory Toki developed its own Toki Highball Machines which guarantee perfect highballs straight from the tap every time. Unless you happen to have one of those lying around, we recommend heading up the skinny laneway and asking the barkeep at Takashi to prepare one for you.
Other residents of Russell Place include Gin Palace and Bar Ampere, so while you're at Takashi, you may as well turn your visit into a single-street bar crawl.
After more killer cocktails? Check out our guide to the 50 best bars in Melbourne right now.
