Tokonoma

Toko’s sexier, lither young sibling has had no shortage of patronage since opening late 2009. Leather-lined banquettes and dulcet lounge tunes entice young imbibers into the Matt Darwon-designed space with an 11-metre sculpture by Reni Kung made of lentils, perspex, resin and metal objects. The bar team, led by Bentio Drovandi, will expertly carve you a sphere of ice for their shochu tonics – Japanese spirit infused with mandarins, purple lotus flower and Californian poppy or goji berries, barley and paw paw. Also worthy of a whirl is the Toko Negroni – a barrel-aged take on this classic concoction made with gin, Campari and Dubonnet – a quinine-infused wine – that’s rested in five-litre, re-shaved American oak barrels for several months before being served. The kitchen is shared with Toko, so it would also be remiss not to order some bar snacks. The kyabetsu no nori to butterfumi (grilled cabbage rolls with nori truffled butter) are an excellent tip o’ the hat to vegetarians, but the pirikara butabara (double-cooked pork belly with a spicy miso sauce) is good enough to convert them.