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Gee whiz, there’s a bit going on here. Prefecture 48 opened on Sussex Street in October and bills itself as “Australia’s first three-storey Japanese precinct”, and that’s probably true. Maybe Brisbane’s World Expo 88 had something comparable in size, where Queenslanders could learn about calligraphy and sushi mats, but a heritage-listed warehouse with four restaurants, a whisky bar and patisserie is a level of hinomaru flag-waving new to the CBD.

Japan has 47 prefectures (similar to our states) and a press release tells me the precinct aims to “capture the essence” of all of them. Lofty stuff. Azabu Group is the business in charge, and the family-owned company also runs high-end Chatswood hotpot-spot Hanasuki and serviceable European bistro Charlotte in McMahons Point. It’s taken me a while to visit because a) it’s good to give all new venues more time to settle in before reviewing, and b) I wasn’t sure which room to write about.

There’s an omakase counter, which starts at $270 a head; a kaiseki concept, where the experience costs $330 per guest, before drinks; something called Five, which “introduces a modern European cuisine guided by Japanese finesse” and charges $179 for four courses; and Ibushi, where you can sit at a handsome ironbark and blue-gum bar and watch chefs grill meat and fish over charcoal. Given that Ibushi is a la carte, and cost-of-living continues to be front of mind for many Sydneysiders, the street-level robatayaki seemed like the right place to start.

Not that Ibushi is another tick-a-box yakitori joint with $5 sticks. A main course of lamb will set you back $60, but what a beaut bit of sliced, tare sauce-enhanced short loin it is: cherry blossom-pink with sweet, juicy marbling. It’s teamed with smoked, blitzed eggplant and hidden beneath a canopy of sauteed, seaweed-green kale that looks every bit like Neptune’s merkin.

Wagyu chuck tail is the most expensive dish at $65, but it’s a deftly balanced wallop of pine mushroom sauce, kombu dashi and charred steak crust. But, at $44, the best value on chef Chris Kim’s menu is a dry-aged duck crown, brushed with corn syrup and fan-roasted for some of the crispest skin in town. It’s plated with a beetroot swish and wilted radicchio, but the real flavour comes from the rich meat and rendered fat finished on the grill.

You’ll be sitting at a stool, seat or bench in a dramatic, dark room, with a twisting, goldwire ceiling sculpture by Filipino-Belgian artist Racso Jugarap. Waitstaff are efficient and informed. When my dining mate asks if the $28 Cream Tea Punch cocktail can be served without kiwifruit foam due to an allergy, she’s told that it can “but the foam is a major component of the drink’s texture, so you should probably get something else”. Respect. If Ibushi was all show, staff might just take your order and money, and call it a day. Instead, it’s house martinis (gin, aged sake, shiitake-infused vermouth) all round, which are a bloody nice time with the snapper. Four kombu-cured slivers are served raw; four slices are licked by a blowtorch, and burnt citrus salt and bergamot oil are worthy companions.

Calamari is charred and tender with asparagus and grilled peas, and a dollop of tuna tartare comes on crispy-chewy sushi rice kicked up with fermented yuzu. In summary: I will return. Ibushi isn’t forging any brave new ground, but there are smarts and honed technique in the kitchen, and a give-a-damn attitude on the floor. Prefecture 48’s other dining rooms might be worth a punt, too.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine