Sake Bar 601

It’s in a windswept and unlovely part of town, they can’t fit in many more than 20 diners at a time and the room is pretty spare. But Sake Bar 601 has a long list of repeat customers and there are two good reasons: chef Hiroshi Miyata’s creative fusion food and Gen Ogata’s calm charm out the front. Miyata turns snapper into carpaccio rather than sashimi and makes Agria chips super crisp and Japanese with tempura batter, while his tempura vegetables are lighter and tastier than you would have thought possible, and his nabe-yaki seafood hotpot and slow-cooked beef curry with organic udon noodles are simply exquisite versions of Japanese comfort food. And with his moffle dessert, he turns glutinous rice into a crisp waffle and enlivens it with red-bean paste (anko) and cream: simply delicious, and only $8. $$$

3 Spoons

A favourite dish: Tempura vegetables.

Fixed-price meal options / Free-range chicken and/or pork / Good for vegetarians