Sokyo

Having done lunch/​dinner here, time to hit them for breakfast. Walked in with no reservation one early weekend and were seated promptly with 1 hour allocated to us. Service was attentive, efficient as with other times. Should have snapped their latest breakfast a la carte
Recommend: seasonal white fish with chawanmushi, seafood bowl, spicy salmon udon.

Get the tuna. Aged tuna on crispy rice and tuna roll. It melts in your mouth. I don’t even like tuna but I loved these.
When I left Sokyo all I could wonder was if they do take out so I could do drive bys of tuna. I hope they don’t because I’d like to keep my figure as it is.
The chicken on the skewer was also really tender, moist and delicious. I’m a sauce gal but I appreciated the minimal flavoring sauce wise, it was a nice balance and very complimentary.
Warning! — 2% charge for credit cards when paying the bull. It autocorrected bill to bull because it knows thats bullshit.
Don’t bother with the asparagus tempura it’s nothing special, not worth the cost. I didn’t think anything except the tuna and chicken was worth going back for.
The green tea cake was cute, it seemed a little bit too happy for us to dive into it (you’ll see). My company wasn’t keen on this one but I liked the flavor of the green tea without the adornments to sully the flavor.
Final note: When I have a wedding the aged tuna roll is the only thing that will be served. No water, I want everyone’s glasses filled with these rolls.

I am giving this place five stars for hygiene & food safety. The Food Authority of NSW awarded them 5 out of 5, on 24/​11/​2014 as part of their scores on doors scheme. (Full list available on the City of Sydney website.)

One of my favourite places for Japanese food — premium quality food, good service, and great ambience. It is on the more expensive side of things but nonetheless it’s absolutely delicious. The sashimi platter is still the best, without fail, served with theatrics plus extremely fresh cuts of sashimi. I’m seriously keen to try out their breakfast.

Great food. Great ambience. The food is amazing but the portions are small so you will need lots of it, which is not necessarily a bad thing as you can taste many of their delicious dishes… it will cost you through…

This is o-​fish-​ally my favorite restaurant in Australia!
My absolute MUST HAVE dishes when I go:
Kingfish Miso Ceviche — i love the little green jalapenos in this dish because it gives it a little spice and the crispy potatoes give it a little crunch.
Usuzukuri — beautiful presentation. Everything in this dish just goes really well together.
Hokkaido Scallop Yuzu — the presentation for this dish is so pretty. The yuzu gives it a light citrousy taste which makes it refreshing.
Snapper Tempura — the tempura batter wasn’t to thick and it gives it a nice crispy texture
Wagyu Ribeye — get this only when you’re with a party of 4 or more because its a huge portion.
Dengakuman — caramelized miso cod, japanese salsa, cucumber salad
Tai Ceviche — it’s a sushi taco! cuttlefish, shio konbu, lime salsa wrapped by a crispy nori.
Toro — it’s $ 16 per piece but soooo worth it!
If you don’t have reservations you can always dine at the lounge/​bar area. However, the service in the dining room area is definitely way better than in the lounge area.

My favorite Japanese restaurant in all of sydney! So classy and posh. The rope walls give you that fresh from the fancy sea feel. The music is upbeat. It’s a great atmosphere before a night out. You can’t go wrong with any item on the menu. The tempura calamari is delicately crisp with the best sauce. The crispy rice tuna is a winner for everyone I know who has tried it! Lobster sashimi shined because of its side of fat. Thee best part that gave flavor to every bite. Pungent and creamy, quite the delicacy in my book! The steak is served with the fun onion shavings is it? They wiggle and move like it’s alive. Everyone absolutely raved about the Mochi sorbet. Thin and gummy Mochi folded over a small filling of fruit sorbet. Everyone fought for the last bit. Top quality seafood.

My first time dinning at Sokyu and were well looked after by Jack — the Maitre D. We asked if we could order the «Omakasa Sushi» but was informed that there is a waiting list till end of February.
Jack suggested that we try the signature dishes and we went with that. The Ocean Cod and the Toro were a «stand out’ and food served were not only ‘refine’ but the presentation were great.
To end the evening, we were served a ‘mixture’ of 4 desserts — a Dessert plate. One of the Best desserts, wished I did not have to share.
Other than the nice long sushi bar, I think the decoration, seats and table could be ‘better’; as I said to Jack, the ‘men’s room of the Hotel looked like had a much ‘better effort’ in terms of décor than this restaurant.

This is really 3.5 star but I am rounding up. The service was very average for a restaurant in this price range. The sushi is good but not remarkable. The wait staff did not know much about their own menus.
The décor is beautiful. The ambiance is nice, if a little loud. It is not easy having a conversation sitting across the oversized tables.
Overall I was a little disappointed.

Sydney’s Japanese food game is strong, with the likes of Tets, Sake, Toko, Masuya… and the list goes on. So when I finally booked Sokyo, which my friend described as ‘seriously freakin amazeballs’ I had my doubts. It’s certainly not cheap! I almost called my mortgage broker when I saw the menu. But delicious and ‘amazeballs’ it certainly was.
There were 3 big eaters at dinner and we ordered heaps to share… for the purpose of this review I will mention the 3 standouts that blew my mind… short rib tataki, the caramelised miso cod and the ooma premium toro (warning, it is seriously premium, but also seriously delicious). Common theme with these 3 is the high fat content, instead of shying away from fat the chefs at sokyo embraces it and use it for its flavour. The tataki and the otoro were rich, tasty and melts in your mouth. The cod was so bloody good, our eyes rolled to the back of our head… it’s flakey, melty and bitey all at the same time, the salty miso is well balanced by the caramelised sugar. Wash it down with any of the long list of sakes and you have yourself an unforgettable meal.
As for the atmosphere, it’s modern, trendy and lively. The lighting is dim enough for a date, but it’s not exactly romantic due to the large groups and general buzz in the restaurant. Great for groups, friends or couples with ‘it’s complicated’ relationship statuses.

I have been here twice now and both times were fantastic.
In my most recent visit, I arrived without a booking at 8.30 and they were happy to seat me at the bar for 15mins while organising a table.
Their sashimi platter is fresh, well presented and comes with a variety of different sauces to try.
It is on the pricy side so be prepared to pay.
I’m looking forward to my next visit.

I came here to meet up with a friend for a drink and catch up on life. I can tell that the people that come here mean serious business, all dressed up and very fancy.
The cocktails here were made to order and very on point with what you expect. The service was very attentive, but not in the way that would ruin the mood or atmosphere.
I would like to come back and try the sushi, but unfortunately that will have to wait until I decide to make another trip out to Australia.

So I came back again for the seasonal truffle menu.
I don’t know if I’m being melodramatic by saying that the Toro Toro sushi is my favorite food, period. For $ 15 a sushi, I didn’t see myself having more than one — I ended up getting three. If money grew on trees, I know it wouldn’t have ended there.
The a la carte menu left as big an impression on me as the Omakase session I came for last month. Unexpectedly, I loved the uni sushi. Usually repulsed by the look and texture of sea urchin, this really changed my mind. It had an almost buttery and silky quality which literally melted in your mouth. We also ordered the snapper sushi, king mushrooms, and aged tuna (with crunchy rice bottom), and spanner crab sushi (the Queenslander). Everything was extraordinary.
Dessert comprised of tofu cheese cake and the classic mochi — I am still in awe of how amazing this mochi is.
And just when I thought Sokyo could not impress me any further.

This place was on my list so when my boss offered to take me out when my contract ended AKA they wouldn’t sponsor me and I think she felt bad… I had only a handful of suggestions and this was at the top.
Go here… the food is fricking amazing! I even got the hipster cocktail cause I was wondering what the hell quinoa vodka tasted like and why someone would make such a thing and well it was pink and delicious.
We started with kingfish and salmon sashimi. The kingfish was amazing. Then we had the cuttlefish tempura which had the most amazing dipping sauce. Next we shared two mains, the miso cod and the salmon. The fish just fell apart and melted in my mouth… it was unreal. For desert we had the pineapple mascarpone with ice cream which actually comes as 3 doughnuts with a sauce.
The server was very helpful and made recommendations when explaining the menu. We tried a few of these suggestions and they were probably some of the better things we ordered so go with what the server suggests.
We also had not 1 but 2 sommeliers come over and the 2^nd one, who actually made the wine list suggested an amazing wine that we loved.
All in all this is one of the best Japanese restaurants I have been to. The ambiance was great, the service was great and the food was amazing!

The food was stellar but the service was horrible.
I came here for my friends birthday and I had high standards (so many places and people have been calling this the best Japanese dining in Sydney). The standard was definitely met by a few dishes but with really sad flaws.
So starting with the positives. The Wagyu +7 Ribeye, Queensland Roll and DengakuMan (Miso Cod) were very appetizing. While the Cod at Nobu (NY) is a lot better and less salty it was a nice dish. I have no critiques for the Wagyu as it was memorable and very delicious and the Queensland roll was a pleasant surprise. Too often do I conclude in these kinds of restaurants that they are not inventive in their sushi/​sashimi selection (I hate ordering normal sushi or sashimi when I could just get it for a better quality and price at the sydney fish market). The Queensland roll was not typical at all and was definitely worth it.
The Negatives: The Service, The Service, The Service. I was constantly confused at what kind of service this restaurant was trying to maintain. At some points our server was downright clueless about dishes and forgot to place some of our orders. It was more confusing when some servers would still try and practice conventional means (serving women first and then men) but then don’t know how to pour water and lift dishes.
At the end of the day though I would still return to this restaurant.

Easily some of the best Japanese cuisine I have had! Each dish was presented beautifully and full of flavour. Great service and atmosphere. Will be back!

Best Japanese I’ve had in Sydney.
By a long shot.
Came here twice within a month, one for my fiancée’s birthday and again for friends visiting from overseas to do their omakase.
The first time we picked a la carte, and you know what the Beef Robata is pretty much heaven on a stick. We also got the Pork Belly Robata; don’t even think about getting that or any other Robata if the Beef Robata is available… unless you eat it second. Eating the Pork Belly Robata after eating the Beef Robata is like drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth. It’s just wrong.
The Green Bean Tempura and Sea Scallops… fantastic and packed with flavour. They were sold out of the Bluefin Toro for a la carte so we ordered Salmon Belly Aburi and Queensland Roll. The aburi was good, but the Queensland Roll was FIRE. If you come a la carte you must get this.
In regards to their omakase, you need to book it at least a week in advance and you must book via e-​mail. It’ll run around $ 125pp and you can’t call or make bookings online, so just call them and ask for the e-​mail to book the omakase because it is an AMAZING omakase that changes all the time.
I thought it would just be sushi but it is 10 courses from their meticulously designed and delicious Japanese/​Australian food, and the sushi comes at the end. I cannot praise this omakase anymore as it has the best sushi I’ve ever had. Chase Kojima (of Nobu fame) is a wizard.
Dishes include:
Kingfish miso ceviche
Tuna tataki
Black cod tempura
Green bean tempura
Tenderloin
Scallops
Roast Duck
8 pieces of different sushi, including Bluefin Toro (which you need to eat last)
When you get sushi here the wasabi is already wrapped in, so don’t be confused if you don’t see any offered.
Every dish was good, standouts were obviously the sushi, then the tenderloin, scallops, roast duck, and green bean tempura. Amazing omakase, you will leave happy… I still have dreams about that Bluefin Toro.

If you want top notch Japanese dining, this restaurant really sets the bar. Every time I’ve been here, it’s always delicious, classy and fresh. The service is bang on time, the staff don’t linger like they’re assessing your every bite but they’re easy to find when you want something.
The food is consistently sensational. You have choices of entrees, mains and desserts, however the best option is to carouse their sushi roll & nigiri, sashimi, tempura and robata selections. Choose at least one from each to get a whole range of the menu. If you’re going to try fresh sushi nigiri and sashimi done at their best, do it here.
This time we went with the kingfish miso ceviche for entrée, beef robata, queensland sushi roll, japanese bbq sushi roll for main, as well as additional spicy tuna crispy rice & kingfish furikake sushi nigiri. Also extra traditional style tuna, toro & alfonsino sushi nigiri. That’s alot trust me. Especially because the robata was fricken filling. Being November its the crayfish season for them, so they had more lobster related menu options, unfortunately would’ve loved to have got the whole lobster sashimi but it was sold out… by 7.45pm!
They serve the food in a timely fashion so you’re not sitting there hungrily waiting for the next delectable dish.
Interior wise its follows classy inspiration from the Star’s name, also this restaurant is embedded into The Darling hotel, so its all upscale from here. You don’t go here by mistake thinking it’ll be cheap chow because it isn’t and you need to make reservations in advance. Far in advance. If you’re lucky, request the more private and intimate downstairs sitting as the upper stair section gets quite noisy. But you’ll have a view of the kitchen so you can see what’s cooking.
I’ve never had a bad experience here, even on an anniversary they wrote ‘Happy Anniversary’ in icing on the dessert platter plate. I’d say if you had a bad moment here you were particularly unlucky, don’t like Japanese food or cheapsake and can’t recognise quality food when served to you.
I love this restaurant and will be returning again for sure.

Yeah, not digging this place. Overrated, overpriced, mediocre food, mediocre service. Not really sure what the hype with this place is.
Ordered corn-​fed chick robata which was some of the driest chicken I’ve had. Mizuya does this better and at a much more reasonable price. Kingfish miso ceviche and spicy sashimi salad were fine, but nothing to rave about.

I’ve wanted to visit Sokyo since the opening a couple of years ago, and finally went for a birthday dinner. I’m happy to report that it didn’t disappoint!
Food: the stand out was the beef tataki and kingfish carpaccio. From the desserts list, the soufflé was great — everything else looked beautiful but didn’t meet expectations.
The restaurant is noisy — so this may not be the right place if you want an intimate dining experience.