Along a street saturated with Japanese eateries, Bird’s Nest Yakitori commands attention.

In the dark fug of the barbecue eatery, staff welcome in and attend to diners with alacrity, bringing tiny plates of skewers just like what you’d find in the streets of Osaka. The generous, well-priced menu is divided into favourites, premium, Japanese traditional and vegetable skewers, alongside deep-fried dishes, nibbles, salads and rice specialties.

For a true taste of the Asian nation, there are sticks threaded with the likes of gizzards, livers and sweet, fibrous, little chicken hearts, as well as plates of crunchy nankotsu – soft cartilage rolled in spices before being fried, ready to be dipped into one of three salts.

The less adventurous eater, will find tasty skewers of chicken thighs, pork belly and wagyu, as well as the house speciality, tare-yaki onigiri – a more-ish, saccharine sauce-lacquered rice cake. But it’s the zaru tofu served simply with salt, olive oil, soy and sliced spring onions that’s a must. To finish, choose the wobbly sesame panna cotta, delivering nutty, toasty notes through a toffee-like honey syrup.

A generous array of imported Japanese beers leads the drinks list, alongside local craft, sake and a succinct but smart wine offering. There’s also quality Japanese whisky, shochu, fruit and plum wines and Japanese-inspired cocktails.

This is a casual but intimate restaurant, great for date nights or fun with friends.

Exceptional dish (or dishes): Zaru tofu – served with olive oil, pink salt, soy and spring onions, it’s good enough to even turn haters of the soy product into advocates