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More than a decade since opening the first Chaco Bar, Keita Abe still maintains a reputation for offering some of Sydney’s best ramen and yakitori.

Darlinghurst and Bondi sites now focus on noodles, while this flashier Potts Point outpost, complete with open kitchen and a large communal table, sets the standard for things on sticks.

Here, the scent of fat dripping onto charcoal greets you, perhaps from skewers of crisp, sweet chicken “crackling” or Bangalow pork belly given yuzu kosho punch. King oyster mushroom, expertly grilled, tastes just as meaty, shaved comte bringing oomph.

But it’s not all about the yakitori: crumbed yellowtail, crisp outside, rare within, shows skill with the fryer, while the pig’s trotter, braised into submission and finished on the coals, is rightly a house favourite. Pure fire, with a fine list of sake and housemade liqueurs to bring it home.