Restaurant review: Sho in Leigh St, Adelaide

A traditional Japanese grill in the city offers a front-row seat to a riveting solo performance.

Simon Wilkinson

@simon_food

3 min read

April 24, 2025 - 11:59AM

SA Weekend

Chicken stick at Sho Yakitori, part of Shobosho restaurant in Adelaide

Lifestyle

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For those drawn to the theatre of a busy kitchen, yakitori is the ultimate solo act – a searching test of stamina, organisation and long-honed skill.

At Sho, the restaurant-within-a-restaurant squeezed into the forecourt of Shobosho in Leigh St, all eight members of the audience have front-row seats to the performance. We are close enough to recoil from the heat of the hibachi grill when it is fired up. To watch the chef’s precision in turning each stick, basting the meat with a brush or dipping it into a ceramic cauldron of the black mother sauce known as tare. To notice little things like the way a thin skewer is inserted into the tsukune and then touched to his lips to check for temperature. To marvel at his concentration. To feel the underlying stress when there is a small service breakdown and orders aren’t being delivered.

Duck potstickers at Sho Yakitori, part of Shobosho restaurant in Adelaide

And then suddenly, unexpectedly, the drama turns to comedy. With a straight face, our man picks up a yellow rubber chicken and squeezes out a few “honks” to let staff upstairs know that he needs them. But this humorous prop isn’t quite as weirdly random as it sounds.

Traditional yakitori is all about celebrating the chook and the preparation of its different components. It has been the guiding philosophy since the idea for Sho was first put forward by former chef/co-owner Adam Liston a year or so after Shobosho opened.

A few isolated booths were torn out of an entry-level area just inside the front window and replaced by a pair of hibachi grills fronted by a narrow counter. Space is at a premium and, on our side of the pass, those sitting around the corners need to help a little with the safe delivery of drinks and accoutrement.

Beyond that, the minimalist surrounds of planked timber panelling bring some authentic izakaya (Japanese bar) feel, particularly when the lights are dimmed. A menu board of skewered goodies is dominated by chicken with everything from thigh and wing to tail and even ventricle. Diners can order their favoured sticks directly from the bloke holding the tongs, then ask for supplementary items from the full Shobosho selection (as well as drinks) from a band of passing waiters. Alternatively, there are two set omakase menus offered at $75 and $95.

Tsukine stick at Sho Yakitori, part of Shobosho restaurant in Adelaide

The more expensive line-up starts with a single Smoky Bay oyster whose natural brininess harmonises with a seasoned vinegar dressing that includes bonito (dried fish) dashi. A fried wonton skin moulded to create a replica of a hard taco shell is loaded with a mix of poached prawn meat and salmon roe bound in a light yuzu cream, topped with a band of dried nori. Part lobster roll, part taco, add it to the collection of Shobosho snacks that break the rules for all the right reasons. Duck meat fragrant with five-spice fills potsticker dumplings put together with delicate folds.

The sticks start to come from the grill at regular intervals. Chubby fingers of rice cake are crisped over the coals, then brushed with an iridescent Gochujang-based lacquer that adds a hint of sweetness and lingering chilli heat. The salmon is one of the few times the “melt in the mouth” cliche is justified, the belly fillet slivers having such a high fat ratio they seem to dissolve.

Interior shot at Sho Yakitori, part of Shobosho restaurant in Adelaide

Then it’s over to the chicken. A pair of wings are splayed out along twin skewers to give the maximum area of sizzled skin, as well as steaming meat on the bone. Cubes of thigh are interspersed with spring onion and finished with a plunge into the tare. Elongated chicken mince meatballs are manipulated carefully so they adhere to their bamboo stick for the tsukune. These too take a tare bath before returning to the grill until the colour of espresso coffee, before serving with a raw egg yolk.

For the final stick, slices of high-level wagyu striploin are accompanied by decent wasabi. As with everything else, the cooking is exemplary.

Sho isn’t showy. Unlike a session of teppanyaki, this traditional style of yakitori doesn’t rely on tricky tong twirls or airborne ingredients. There is no banter, barely any conversation. This is a craftsman at work and it is serious business. More Festival than Fringe and, for mine, deeply rewarding.