Iku’s curtained streetfront leads to a timberlined, binchotan-charcoal-powered dining room, where owner-chef Mitch Chesterton rolls out an adventurous omakase menu. A neon blue sign and heavy timber door mark the back entrance in grungy Justin Laneway, gateway to a moodily lit Japanese whisky bar.

Pull up a stool to sample from the gallery of Japanese whisky and sake, or better yet let the masters behind the bar mix something to taste. While the omakase is a weekly whim driven by produce, you can count on a bar menu anchored in yakitori – simply seasoned or sublimely saucy bits on sticks.

Traditional chicken – thigh, tenderloin, cartilage and wing – are given a grilling, but so is a selection of veg, pork belly-wrapped garlic and negi, beef tenderloin and scallops. Crunchy pork katsu meets the fluffiest white bread in Iku’s signature sando, entering addictive territory along with edamame dip and a steamy shiitake broth.

Locals know to book into Thursday’s menu development night for a bargain. The limited, discounted seating of 20 people is used to trial the forthcoming menu. 

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