Sapporo (CLOSED)

North Sydney never looked so good for raw fish. Not only is their sushi and sashimi top notch, but they also broadcast live sumo wrestling in the restaurant, so it’s give and give. You can see bad boy Yokuzuna Asashoryu throw some shapes: according to the flyer, he “has triggered a media circus in Japan to rival that of any bald, panty-less, drunk-driving Hollywood celebrity”.

There are giant mugs of Asahi Super Dry Beer that come with a special loyalty card (the tenth beer is free) and there’s also a startling range of raw fish, not to mention the cavalcade of incredibly sweet and helpful wait-people. Edamame and mixed pickles are the perfect accompaniment to a big beer and though this isn’t the best showing of nasu dengaku (eggplant cooked down all squelchy topped with sweet miso), the sushi is excellent.

This is where top fish chef Greg Doyle (of Pier) comes to eat sushi on his day off, in fact. For a really good idea of what these guys can do, ask for omakase – this basically means that you’re putting your trust in the chef to create whatever he wants to make for you. In return, you might see raw scampi, lightly seared kingfish, raw squid scored and wrapped around seaweed and cucumber, slices of salmon plumped up with salmon roe and meaty pieces of bonito.

You might also like to try the chawanmushi – savoury custard with whole soybeans and shitake mushrooms which is slightly sweet yet salty and creamy at the same time. Japanese desserts with their grainy-yet-silky textures can be hard going but the green tea ice cream is worth a red hot go.