chaco ramen

one of the best ramen places in sydney. their traditional ramen aregreatbut also their yuzu ramen is quite a treat!

cosy authentic japanese restaurant, i’ve tried a few of their ramen and bone marrow curry. i didn’t particularly enjoy the scallop yuzu ramen, flavour was particularly weak and sourness wasn’t balanced. the bone marrow curry was anything out of the ordinary either. however their fish salt and fat soy ramen aregreatand got strong flavours. 50/50 for me.

a dimly lit little japanese chuan chuan 🍡 bbq place. very low-key exterior, it was hard to find on first visit. i and xihuahua 🐶 went there for our sweet semi-anniversary. tables are tiny and the place was later ham packed with eaters. bad luck if you are claustrophobic.

tuna belly is a bit of a novel dish being basically pigs ear salad. i liked it.

gyoza is fantastic and tbh the best i have had in sydney. quite $$$ as well. no sure what filling it had. comes with a nice dipping sauce.

chuan chuan fell below my expectations overall for the price. chicken thigh and heart was ok. ox tongue was very chewy and probably overcooked. pork with enoki wasgreatbut i did not like the dry outside and overly sweet marinate. whole wing was surprisingly not on a stick and too salty but it was tender though. miso eggplant was nice coming in 4 cubes on a stick! they serve the initial 2 skewers on a small bed of cabbage which i loved but later skewers were delivered individually to the bed of diminishing cabbage.

ume wine was super gooooooood! loved it! i think perhaps it is best to have wine and gyoza here, they do go while together! an old chinese sayings goes like “🥟饺子就酒，越喝越有。🥃” perhaps we will go back for ramen one day too!

will be back for:
+ egg custard
+ chef’s 6 skewers

this is an intimate little bar that will not be out of place in yakitori lane in tokyo. yakitori’s were well grilled, and hadgreatcharcoal flavours. i particularly liked the chicken wing, lamb shoulder and chicken crackling. the egg custard was smooth, the fish perfectly moist, and had agreattruffle essence through the dish - delicious. a hot green tea in this case, rounded off the meal well on a cold winters night. service wasgreatand polite but a little slow on a packed night - understandable in this case. will be back to try the ramens!

highly recommend! everything here is great. fresh sashimi withgreatplum wine tasted fantastic. make sure you book a table before you go, as it is so popular and worth trying.

we originally wanted to visit this place for their ramen, however only arriving to find out that ramen was only on monday's! however... we were not disappointed. we ordered majority of dishes off their specials menu which usually changes every week or so.

we ordered the:
bone marrow, scallop and kimchi rice 🍚 what a delicious combination. the well balanced flavours

"happy hens" healthy organic yolk, tas truffle reggiano and house made bonito soy.

john dory - tiger prawn dumplings

the atmosphere was low lit and intimate.greatfor a cosy dinner amongst a few, however they have a larger dining table at the front of the restaurant for bigger groups. the restaurant has a small space and you can hear the kitchen from anywhere you sit, giving it agreatatmosphere

really enjoyed my dinner here tonight. the dishes ranged from amazing to good. absolutely loved the eggplant foie gras, so soft, rich, cut through with a little citrus and sweetness. it is pricey for the size at $17 but i enjoyed it and it was unique so didn't mind in the end. prawn mayo was also delicious. sweet but not too sweet. just yummy. taro chips were really nice. not exactly what i expected. had typical sliced crunchy pieces but then these soft round white balls of taro that were very enjoyable. gyozas were yum, especially with the sauce that came with it. the two skewers we ordered were nice, up to standard but nothing atypical. thought i would like the bone marrow kimchi rice dish more but i think there wasn't enough marrow for the amount of rice and felt a little like just eating plain rice. prawn slider was also a bit of a nothing dish. atmosphere was good. service was quick. dishes were on small side for price but i had such agreatexperience that it felt worth it. we spent $100 for food all up for 2 people.

chaco bar is an ambient, modern yakitori-ya in a quieter part of darlinghurst that also specialises in ramen for lunch.

ramen: their ramen is nothing short of amazing, and always the one i recommend when asked about good ramen in sydney. the selection is limited, which, if you know your ramen, is a sign of authenticity. all the choices are quite unique and clearly handcrafted, down to their toppings including the delicious john dory wonton. their menu changes always improves on previous iterations subtly. their latest yuzu scallop has become a personal favourite, with agreatbalance of buttery richness and zestiness of yuzu in the broth. abit heavier than the famous afuri yuzu ramen in japan, but very similar. i also always go around opening time and have never had to wait for a seat.

yakitori: selection of yakitori is limited but executed decently. they have agreatvariety of other izakaya style dishes, especially in their specials which usually feature some unique seafood. the specials can be hit or miss but some of the good ones have been very very good. decent variety in whiskey and japanese craft beer also.

tldr: amazing ramen, decent yakitori

the awesome thing is, you can order just one of each skewer and since there was only 2 of us dining, we got one of each skewer to share and got to try alot. it was all good. the gyozas were fat and juicy and hot and crispy. everything was fresh and authentic and flavoursome and exciting.
cocktails were also yummm. perfect date spot,greatfor small groups. i love this place so much i'm going to make it my 'i know a cool place' place.
you know when you and your friends don't know where to go so you all stand around and then 💡, 'ohhh i know a cool place' 😏. and you take them to this really cool cultured japanese hidden gem in downtown sydney? yehhhh those kind of places..

such good ramen and other options too. gyozas and edamame were awesome - tiny restautant butgreatfood and service. preferred fat pork as favourite flavour

dinner was going pretty well until i had asked for a small cake (literally the size of a cupcake) that i had brought for date's birthday. (i had given it to the staff at the beginning of the night and had told them it was her birthday). 

i had obviously assumed that if its someone's birthday you bring out the cake on a plate with a candle however when the waitress came out with the cake it was still in its box. thought this was strange. 

the manager saw me open the box and immediately stopped me and warned me that there was a cakeage fee which i was more than happy to pay - to which he acted surprised. with his hand open, he then proceeded to ask me for 6 dollars on the spot. considering i hadn't even paid the bill - this was strange and rude. wouldn't it have made more sense just to add it to the bill instead of causing a scene? 

i understand that cakeage fees exist so that the restaurant doesn't lose money on customers not buying their desserts and i was very much happy to pay it but the manner in which it was approached was pretty rude. 

otherwise food was alright - nothing amazingly special. interior design isgreatand makes you feel like you're in shinjuku! 

however due to the rude attitude about a bloody cupcake, i'm definitely not going back here!

great yakitori in sydney.greattasting skewers that were grilled perfectly. definitely some of the better yakitori that i've had in sydney.

we had mixed reactions to chaco bar, while we appreciated the ambience which resembled a cosy japanese izakaya and the food was enjoyable. we were very disappointed by the unfriendly welcome from the front of house!

unfortunately, i originally made a booking for 4 people but as the long weekend would have it, only my partner and i were available to attend. as any respectful patron would have it, i tried to inform chaco ahead of time - called the bar/restaurant with no answer or voicemail, then proceeded to contact them on facebook (where i received a response thanking me for letting them know). however, upon our arrival and informing the front of house that there were only 2 of us, she appeared disgruntled, dismissive and berates us for not letting them know. she unhappily told us that their facebook page was handled by "someone else" and more or less left us to our own devices. no mention of the specials, no warm greeting, ignored us for the remainder of the night! unfortunately, this sort of service naturally dampened our mood and enthusiasm. to add insult to injury, chaco wasn't even at full capacity for the entire duration of our meal.

probably worth visiting, but be aware of the attitude from the front of house, which is hardly inline with what one would typically expect from a japanese restaurant. she didn't even seem satisfied providing us with the bill - informing me it would take a while for her to calculate the bill, before deciding to take orders, move food from the pass, wander into the kitchen, while i stared into the abyss... when she finally decided to bring the portable terminal over with our total keyed in, a copy of the bill wasn't even proffered.

disappointing to say the least, but no doubt other diners will have an enjoyable evening if the front of house happens to be in an amenable mood and byo is a nice boon.

we wish chaco all the best and hope they treat future customers better. however, we won't be in a rush coming back given the number of other alternatives around - sakuratei (is a similar alternative, but more accessible) and there are many izakaya styled restaurants such as fujiyama (with theirgreatsake selection), toko/sake/sokyo (with their modern take) or the cheap alternatives near chinatown to name a few.

is this a yakitori bar in tokyo? nope. it's chaco bar  in downtown darlinghurst. you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. stools line the long communal table running down the middle of the room, hanging wooden boards list the menu in japanese, and through the kitchen window and you can spot the yakitori chef standing over a smoky charcoal grill. diners at the communal table perhaps thegreatpinch-yourself moment is when you realise you're standing on the former site of jazz city diner . the american-style booth seats have been ripped out, replaced with stools and tables illuminated by the flicker of tea light candles. the kitchen is now separated from the main dining room by a windowed wall. on the shelves are giant bottles of homemade liquers, quietly infusing with all kinds of fruit including custard apple and quince. when they're ready, they'll be incorporated into new menu desserts, head chef keita abe (ex-toko and mamasan) tells us. possibly the world's tiniest chairs the fo