Cynthia Litster and Evan Stroeve’s latest project, Sakura House, is officially up and running. The Sydney duo are known for their popular Darlinghurst bar The Waratah, which has garnered significant praise for its evolving Australian native-centric drinks program.
Japanese izakayas served as Litster and Stroeve’s inspiration for the joint, which will boast an ambitious Japanese cocktail program, live music, and a late night license.
“Sakura House is our take on the after-hours izakayas we love in Japan – bustling, warm, full of life, and made for people who still want to eat, drink and have a little boogie well past midnight,” says Litster.
“We hope it brings a bit of that late-night sparkle back into the CBD. Sydney’s been ready for a comeback after dark, and this is our little piece of it.”
The cocktail menu – described as “deliberately ambitious” – is anchored by a rotating selection of Japanese lemon sours.
At the top of Stroeve’s personal list is the Sakura Sour, a mix of Haku vodka lemon, yuzu from NSW and Vic growers, and bubbles, which he says is “the one drink I’d limit myself to for life, if given the choice”.
Also joining the opening lineup are signature cocktails, including:
- The Fizz, with Roku gin, mango, passionfruit, and koji
- The Martini, a twist on a dirty martini with Haku vodka, cherry blossom, purple shisho, pickled onion,
- and The Bamboo, with strawberry sake, sherry, red bean, and hojicha.
- The Takumi section (meaning “Artisan” in Japanese) takes the program one step further, a showcase of artisanship where two signature cocktails honours a single Japanese craftsperson. Stroeve says “The Takumi section exists to honour Japanese craftmanship: distillers, growers, brewers, knife makers, lacquerware artisans, papermakers, roasters, smiths and candle makers whose work reflects generations of refinement.” One of the opening features,
The ‘takumi’ or ‘artisan’ section exists “to honour Japanese craftmanship: distillers, growers, brewers, knife makers, lacquerware artisans, papermakers, roasters, smiths and candle makers whose work reflects generations of refinement,” according to Sgtroeve. The opening selection includes:
- The Satoru Segi, built on Yamatoumi gin, a gin found nowhere else in the country. It is paired with passionfruit marigold, mishima honey, lemon verbena, and apple rose. It’s a release so rare only 200 bottles are made at a time where every botanical is grown or sourced by hand, seeds are saved and replanted.
Alongside these are a list of whisky highballs, with a house version that took six months to create.
“The soda is engineered to echo the water profile that shaped the whisky in the first place. It’s a pairing of origin, the whisky and the water that created it,” says Stroeve.
“Most guests won’t think twice about the soda in a highball. That’s fine… the drink should feel effortless. I brought back multiple bottles of water from Japan, in shitty little 7/11 PET bottles in March… each from the springs that fuel Yamazaki, Hakushu & Chita. The soda is engineered to echo the water profile that shaped the whisky in the first place.”
Sake and a wide selection of shochu also join the list, alongside Japanese amari and liqueurs.
Ex-Cho Cho San Head Chef Nick Sherman will take the reins in the kitchen, which will focus on small plates in the spirit of izakaya dining. Dishes include calamari stuffed with Japanese rice, kombu, soy, salted nori with yuzu emulsion and charred lemon; fried ebi bao with Japanese aioli and tare; takoyaki skewers with schichimi and bonito; kingfish nori cigars; aburi tuna with yuzu ponzu and watermelon radish; and white chocolate matcha ice-cream wrapped in mochi.
Sakura House is open Monday to Saturday from 5pm to 2am, and is expecting its 4am license to be established in the coming weeks.
Photography by Yusuke Oba.
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