Forget train station sushi bars, Michelin-starred restaurants and 200-year-old ramen stalls – the izakaya is the beating heart of Japan’s famous food culture.

Sitting somewhere between a pub and a restaurant, the izakaya is a place to gather with friends after work to drink a few beers and eat plate after plate of delicious snacks. Tucked away on North Adelaide’s Melbourne St, Yakitori Takumi is as close to a genuine izakaya experience as you’re likely to get in Australia.

Chef Eddie Ye works the grill hard – sit at the bar and you’ll get a great view – and positively pumps out plate after steaming plate of delicious yakitori.

While the name yakitori literally translates to “grilled chicken”, there’s far more than foul on offer.

The meal starts with a bowl of edamame that, along with a couple of bottles of Kirin Ichiban, can be nibbled while perusing the menu with guidance from attentive and friendly wait staff.

Skewers come in plates of three, but they are happy to upsize them by one for a party of four to avoid arguments. Chicken, including heart and liver, crisp pork (perfectly salted), salmon, scallops and mushroom skewers are all delivered with a flourish and a traditional top-up of the beer glasses. The pork kushikatsu is a highlight.

Gyoza arrive fried golden brown with steaming insides, while the takoyaki – topped with fluttering flakes of dried bonito – is as good as you’ll eat on the streets of Osaka at 2am. Black sesame and macha ice creams top off the evening.

Throw in an excellent and extensive range of Japanese whiskey and sake and Yakitori Takumi will have you exclaiming kampai and oishi late into the night.

Exceptional dish: Pork kushikatsu – it’s a working man’s food, but like all simple dishes if you get it right it’s sublime.