Inspired by the stylish and upscale Ginza district in Tokyo, Ginza North Point offers a high-end Japanese dining experience that is modern yet authentic. The restaurant is located on a unique triangle-shaped mezzanine within the prestigious Northpoint Tower in North Sydney, offering an elegant dining space featuring traditional Japanese-imported BBQs, furnishings and other design elements. A plating station and cocktail bar take centre stage, while avocado-green booths sit alongside floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the tree-lined street below. Wind chime-style light fittings, lanterns and bamboo plants are reminiscent of a Japanese Zen garden, while the private tatami dining room sits at the pointy front enclosed in glass with a traditional sunken dining table.
Literally translating to “thinly sliced”, Usuzukuri is a special type of sashimi preparation, which sees fresh, raw fish cut paper-thin. Plating is of the utmost importance and Ginza does it beautifully, arranging the delicate white kingfish flesh into a circular, floral pattern, like petals of a chrysanthemum, their texture and translucence gleaming against the matte black plate underneath. It’s a light and delicate dish, both in appearance and taste with the freshness of the fish coming through. Carefully placed bright orange roe pearls and green chives enhance the beauty of the dish and pleasantly pop in the mouth, adding an extra burst of flavour, while a gentle dip into the ponzu sauce gives the mild fish a lift. If you’re really serious about your sashimi, you can’t miss the Deluxe Sashimi. Visually exquisite, it features precisely cut pieces of fresh kingfish, salmon, tuna, snapper, hoki, cuttlefish, scallop and scampi, all arranged on a round dish with four succulent oysters in the middle and beautifully decorated with garnishes of fresh flowers, cucumber, seaweed and finely grated radish. This dish is all about the premium quality of the fresh seafood, which shines through both on the plate and in the mouth, and is ideally shared between three and four people. The seafood is undoubtedly exceptional, but the Wagyu is in a league of its own (this is a Yakiniku joint after all). The Kagoshima Wagyu Platter is the king of the menu, featuring your choice of five different cuts of wagyu with an assortment of vegetables for barbecuing. It is served with four different condiments; salt to bring out the natural flavour of the beef, lemon to cut through and balance the oiliness, a traditional yakiniku sauce, and freshly grated wasabi. The best way to experience the wagyu yakiniku is to work your way around the platter, from the least fattiest to the most fattiest cuts, gradually building up the intensity on your palette. The meat is expertly cut and prepared, its exceptional quality shining through in deep reds and pinks with a high level of marbling, resulting in tender, soft and juicy beef that is full of flavour and effortlessly melts in the mouth. It only needs a couple of minutes searing on each side and its ready to eat, so be careful not to overdo it. If you have room for dessert, the Spring Garden is a light, delicate and refreshing note to end on. Quenelles of white chocolate cream and dollops of sansho meringue are dotted on the plate alongside zesty yuzu curd and berries, making this a well balanced, palette cleansing dessert.