The Mouth discovers Izy.Aki, the pop-up where not only the miso is unmissable

At chef Darren Templeman’s 20-odd seat Japanese-ish diner in The Rocks, The Mouth finds the party isn’t just in the mouth as diners are served up some of the best cooking in town.

Izy.Aki’s take on southern blue fin tuna, macadamia and soy milk, shellfish poached hispi, avruga and pea shoots. Photo: Instagram / Supplied

There are lots of reasons to eat out, but chief among them would have to be to eat things you simply cannot or would not make at home.

Here at Mouth House, for example, we never bother doing anything that involves tearing apart a crab. Bad small motor skills plus a tendency to frustration would have the place looking like a crime scene. Know thyself.

Likewise, spending two years fermenting miso is simply beyond the skill or olfactory tolerance of most of us mere mortal home cooks.

Which is why this column says, thank God for Darren Templeman, and his spectacular 20-odd seat Japanese-ish diner Izy. Aki under where the old Sailor’s Thai was in The Rocks.

A lifetime ago Templeman owned and ran Atelier, a gorgeous and criminally under-appreciated classical French restaurant out of an old heritage house on Glebe Point Road (that this building has been transformed into a medical centre sort of suggests everything that is wrong with our age).

Blue fin tuna, shellfish jelly, nashi pear and avruga. Picture: Instagram

Running big restaurants came later, as did a stint in Asia, and now the man is doing what he does best: Playing host to an intimate crowd, creating a bit of a party around some of the best cooking in town.

Remember that funky, aged, miso? That shows up underneath a poached yabby tail topped with a generous serve of Siberian caviar, giving a big punch of umami where it is needed most.

Darren Templeman, left, and the team at Izy.Aki. Picture: Supplied

This comes after a little amuse of “English crumpet” (a nod to chef’s UK background) topped with smoked eel and pickled watermelon radish and a flurry of shaved foie gras – a great way to kick off the meal.

Other highlights: Blue fin sashimi with macadamia and soy.

A classic chawanmushi loaded with king crab.

Our favourite course was perhaps a scallop served with another miso – this one made from Jerusalem artichokes – and topped with little fried sprout leaves. Perfection.

There was also a sort of Japanese-ish take on the pasta that ate Sydney, cacio e pepe, punched up with yuzu kosho spice (must get our hands on some of this).

You get the idea.

The fun of Izy. Aki is that it is mostly counter service, and Darren and his team (many of whom have worked with him for years) make the magic happen right in front of you. You may even wind up talking to your neighbours, which in a town where acknowledging one another putting out the bins is considered very poor form indeed, shows you what the place is capable of.

Allegedly Izy.Aki is a six month pop-up, but it could hang around longer. Don’t take the chance on missing it, though, is The Mouth’s advice.

Izy.Aki, 106 George St, The Rocks



— The Mouth is an anonymous critic and bon vivant who pays his own way around Sydney and beyond.