Tokyo Bird — Restaurant in Sydney

As soon as we entered, Tokyo Bird was buzzing with diners and drinkers and it was clear that both types of guests were enjoying whatever they came for. My group of friends and I were there to indulge in the whiskeys that were impressively displayed and were warmly greeted and accommodated to. There was a coolness about the place; dimly but aptly lit, smooth old-school Hip Hop, Neo soul and R&B quietly accompanying the conversations in the room. The staff were smartly dressed (some like you would expect of mid-20th century upscale bars). It was relaxed, which is what we had hoped.

Browsing through the menu, it was hard to decide on what to try. There were some exotic cocktails combining some interesting ingredients, a menu of Japanese single malt whiskeys and some blended whiskeys. I decided, with the help of one of the bartenders who was patient with a very infrequent whiskey drinker, on the Blended Whiskey tasting: 4 x 15ml Japanese whiskeys. It was served with a summary sheet that detailed the percentage, history and origin of each. Each one was different, but enjoyable in their own ways. My friends loved their unique, aesthetically presented and delicious cocktails.

Staff kept checking-in, serving much needed water, and attending to whatever we needed. They answered every question patiently and genuinely. What was even more impressive and appreciated, was the knowledge about Japanese whiskey and the commitment to share this. Yoshi provided an educational and sensory experience. Nothing was a dumb question, and it actually made me want to learn more about whiskey, as it is something that I just drink at times, with little knowledge or appreciation for how it is made.

Tokyo Bird is an exceptional choice for both experienced and inexperienced whiskey drinkers. If you want a selection of Japanese whiskeys, attentive staff and their commitment to give you a personal and informative experience, this place is a must. We will be returning...

Raw chicken, 2. meant to be grilled but felt like it was deep fried skewers, 3. close to room temperature food. Service was prompt, cocktails are good value for money. 3 stars because of the cocktail and vibe. Minus 2 stars because the chicken wings were served darkened (over grilled) on the outside and raw inside.

It is not easy to find a good restaurant and it is even more difficult to manage a restaurant. Note that Tokyo Bird has all the potential to be great. Providing this feedback not meaning to criticize but hoping they can improve and be great again.

It is very rare nowadays for one to encounter raw chicken in a restaurant. Especially when they already cut opened the wings for grilling. All they have to do is to grill it slowly to make the skin crispy and the meat are done. However, they managed to burnt the outside and stay raw inside, meaning that its totally rushed and the seasoning was overly salty.

The deep fried cauliflower used to be good. Now it is soggy inside out, likely only water boiled (or even just microwaved) the cauliflower and , whew, threw it into deep fried. All the moist released from the wet cauliflower makes everything soggy.

It used to be at least 2 chef grilling in the kitchen you can observed from the outside. I only saw 1 chef with 1 stick of chicken wings grilling on the stove. (It was a weekday and full house, hard to understand how they are only grilling such a small amount of food.) Hope they are not just reheating the prepped food but 90% of the food i received that night was closed to room...

To summarise average food, good drinks, however purely due to the service I experienced I will not be returning. Our booking was made by my partner as a surprise for my friends and I hence was not aware of the 90-minute booking time. We were not advised of this upon being seated and only found out when we were looking to order another round of drinks and food at what we now know was 20 minutes to go. When trying to do so we were advised that due to the time restraints we would not be able to place an order for food however could order drinks. This is when the manager came and stood right next to our waitress and hawked over her without saying a word. Our waitress ordered our drinks on the tablet and walked away however quickly came back to advise us that her manager would not allow us to place another round of drinks to which I asked for the bill (no hate to the waitress at all, lovely girl). And then if it wasn’t already bad enough, after being given our bill, multiple times we tried to make eye contact and gesture for a member of staff to take payment which were ignored. I then walked up to try pay at the counter was not acknowledged by the manager as she continued to speak to others in line, so I sat back down, this was quickly followed by the eftpos machine pretty much being tossed on our table by the manager without saying a word and walked away. It's Surry Hills and with their price point there’s plenty of other venues that are of better standard, so we promptly took our business to...