Tokyo Bird, Surry Hills

Tokyo Bird is a small laneway bar in Surry Hills, known for its extensive collection of whisky and its yakitori menu.  Not being a whisky enthusiast, I decided to settle for a cocktail instead.  One sip of my Matcha milk punch cocktail and I was in heaven. It was like drinking a delicious matcha latte with a hint of alcohol, and the matcha cookie on top made it all the more irresistible. 

Matcha Milk Punch: Ketel One vodka, green tea umeshu, crème de cacao, cream, matcha powder

The food menu is primarily bar snacks with a Japanese twist. The Lotus root chips were expertly fried. Thin and crispy, we gobbled them up in a flash with the chilli mayo.

Lotus root chips, chilli kewpie mayo $6

The Cold udon noodle is another simple yet very tasty dish, with a lovely creamy sesame dressing.

Cold udon noodles with creamy sesame, nori $9

The Katsu chicken nuggets were another deep fried highlight!

Katsu chicken nuggets tonkatsu + kewpie mayo $9

Onto the yakitori and we decided to try the Chicken tsukune which are essentially meatballs. The meat was moist and flavoursome, and I enjoyed dipping it into the sweet soy sauce mixed with the cured egg.

Tsukune – chicken meatballs with cured egg $11

The Nasu (eggplant) yakitori was a little small but it had great umami flavour and I loved the texture.

Nasu – eggplant + miso $7

Tokyo Bird is definitely a bar that puts as much effort into its food as the drinks. The food is kept simple but they definitely manage to make the ingredients shine.