Sokyo

Sokyo is a modern Japanese restaurant located within The Star Sydney, on of the most iconic Japanese "fine dining" restaurant in Sydney with a spectacular beverage list hence the 3-glass. With that level of prestige, it comes with a quite hefty price tag.

I came here on NYE dinner booking at 9:30, its a minimum $200 per head for the event, it is quite a steal compare to most restaurant that has a little bit of view to the firework. As I enter, the restaurant is indeed packed, like almost every night, to show how high in demand Sokyo is even within all of The Star's food and beverage venues. The first bad impression was already at the door when I walked in, 2 people were at the front desk, literally 1 head turn away from seeing us, but they were BOTH busy looking at their screen rather than scope around to see if anyone was at the door, after 5 minutes, they finally recognised my presence and took me to my table. This has come to my attention, this is the 2nd time this has happened to me as well when my table was not properly prepared before they sat me in the chair, still food crumbs on table, mise en place not properly set, our candle light was not lit however there was an empty table just next to us with everything all set up correctly so I have no idea what is the issue. Despite that situation bring some bad taste in my mouth, the food never fails to impress me. Sashimi platter and oysters: Great selection of sashimi from salmon, trout, kingfish, tuna, scallops and an extra order of the oysters (must add), comes with a show of smoking liquid nitrogen, highly recommend this course however the price can be quite steep at $85 for the platter and $7 each for oysters. Bay bug tempura: The most disappointing dish of the whole night, lightly battered bay bug tempura with spicy mayo sauce, hardly taste the bug, the batter took up all the flavour, the only thing nice about this dish is the spicy mayo, and I dont usually pay $31 for only the sauce being good. Wollemi Duck Breast: This dish is magnificent, the juiciest and most tender duck breast with a slightly crunchy skin, combine with foie gras, the richest and most flavourful dish has been created. Ranger’s Valley Scotch Fillet: Decent MBS of 5+, what makes this plate worth $120 is the cooking style. The steak is bincho-grilled, a Japanese cooking style involves grilling the meat on skewers and over oak-based coal, give the steak a nice charred on the outside and a perfect juicy medium rare in the middle Spicy Nabe Seafood Hotpot: Nothing too special, a great addition to a rich meal, the broth is incredibly rich and flavourful, consists of barramundi, salmon, mussels, clams, enoki mushrooms, tofu and cabbage. Last but not least, the drinks. I went for a cocktail, which is one of the most advertised on their social media, Ocean's 15, the drinks has the taste, nothing too mind blowing, however, with the audacity to charge $25-30 per cocktail which is about $10 higher than any restaurant within the area and also the CBD, a little bit of presentation would not be too much to ask. Overall, in my opinion Sokyo has fell off a bit, as a restaurateur, I completely understand the situation of every business going in and out of Covid, no matter how large the operation. Food are always to die for, however service standard and employee's knowledge and professionalism needs a bit of a twist. Would always recommend Sokyo and will definitely come back for and hope for a better experience.