Izakaya Nakano — Restaurant in Sydney

It was very fortunate we happened to notice the signs to this ‘hidden’ Izakaya last year… and we haven’t stopped visiting it since!

Firstly, the team and the owner – are all lovely and work hard to ensure every visit is perfectly enjoyable. As an authentic Izakaya establishment, I love seeing the ever-changing special daily menu with delicious seasonal offerings.

Some of my personal favourites are: 🌟 Spinach salad with sesame dressing (胡麻和え) 🌟 Fatty tuna sashimi (本マグロ刺身) 🌟 Horse Mackerel sashimi (あじ刺身) 🌟 Grilled Blue Fin Tuna Collar (マグロのかまトロの焼き) 🌟 Squid and spicy cod roe (イカ明太) 🌟 Spicy fried chicken (スパイシーチキン唐揚げ) 🌟 Fried school prawns (小エビ唐揚げ) 🌟 Vegetable tempura (野菜天ぷら) 🌟 Salt-grilled ox tongue (塩焼き牛タン) We cannot help but order those every single time they are available. All dishes are priced very reasonably.

For drinks, the sake selection is very wide-ranging but I personally prefer Shuho Daiginjō (秀鳳大吟醸). The Nama Genshu (生原酒) is nice also. They are both very high quality so I haven’t had a hangover after drinking them!

Izakaya Nakano is located in a very cozy space so booking is essential if you want to experience authentic izakaya experience in Sydney with reasonable price tag. The only thing is I wish it opens on Sunday and Monday too since I’m off on those days and would love to celebrate with all my family and friends there more often. On many nights, we’ve seen a lot of Japanese patrons there so clearly, they also vouch for the quality of this izakaya.

We hope that you guys will be open for many, many more years into the future. Thank you so much for enriching our dining...

Such a pleasant surprise to find this hidden gem in Chatswood, which transported one from Australia to Japan. Excellent services, top quality food and beer, and the cosy izakaya ambience.

We tried From today's special Blue Fin Tuna Sashimi (mixed with Toro Sashimi); Grilled Salmon Belly; Pan Friend Beef Tongue - 5 * (will definitely order again); Grilled Sting Ray fin- another 5* dish for me(will definitely order again); Pickled Vegetables From the menu Egg omlette - 5 * (will definitely order again, flavourful with great texture); Mackerel Oshi Zushi - another 5 * dish (this is very impressive and surprisingly good considering I don't usually like mackerel. To me the combination of the sushi rice with the mackerel worked really well together to balance the saltiness of the mackerel, I love it a lot). Suntory Draft Beer - a must to order to pair with the food Umeshu soda - my friend loved this a lot :)

There are still so many food that we are yet to try, like their skewers, fried oysters and steamed clams for example. We will...

We dined here on a Tuesday evening. It was relatively busy for a weekday evening. The restaurant isn't very big, nice and cosy in over sense, or intimate in another way to put it. Each dish was small, and was kind of like Japanese Tapas. We tried quite a few items on their menu, then ordered some repeats. Pricing wasn't too bad, but it is a bar (there are 4 seats at the bar, the rest are normal tables). Since it is a bar, everyone needs to be over 18 - no issue for me, but some people want to complain about it regardless. I found this to be a good thing, as there were no little ones running around causing mayhem. I could sit there and appreciate the meal without distractions. Staff were friendly, service was good, we would go again. There was a sign on the Oscar Street entrance, but the restaurant is actually over near the Neridah Street side of...