STM’s restaurant review: Traditional Japanese barbecue in Northbridge will win hearts with high end waygu and fun atmosphere

You know you’re on to a good thing when the smoke and sizzle from a restaurant seeps out on to the street and hooks you so hard you want to cancel your dinner plans further up the road.

I stick my head in to Sumiya Gin to see if they’ve got space for us but, of course, they haven’t — not on the first occasion I try, nor the second. Eventually, I get smart and make a reservation.

This hole in the wall packs out not just because it’s tiny and wonderfully authentic, but because it boasts a rarity — Japanese barbecue.

Korean grills are on every other corner, but the Japanese interpretation is as rare in Perth as the high-end wagyu steak served at Sumiya Gin. The venue sources most of its top-quality meat from Australia, but the really special stuff is imported from Japan, where the level of marbling would make any charcoal beef lover weep.

You can break your wallet going for the best of the best, but we settle for a half serve of premium, raw wagyu rib and the same again of wagyu skirt (each $13.90 for five pieces). In Japanese barbecue land, saucing is kept to a minimum. There’s a choice of either “special salt and pepper seasoning”, or a soy marinade. We get one of each, plus a plate of raw pork belly ($9.90 for five pieces)and some raw vegetables ($6).

Waiting for the main event, we snack on edamame beans that could do with a salt sprinkle ($5), and slurp creamy, steaming-hotmiso soup that hits the spot ($3).

Soon, a round, bucket-sized grill filled with red-hot coals and topped with a mesh plate is brought to the table. The custom exhaust pipe above is switched to industrial-strength suction.

We think we know what we’re doing, but the meat is sliced thin and we inadvertently cremate some pork slices. A quick barbecue tutorial for novices wouldn’t go astray. We eventually determine what to lay on the cooler edges and what to leave in the centre.

Happily, the wagyu loves radiant heat and tastes heart-skippingly good. It’s clean, succulent and delicate, crisped on the outside yet tender in the centre. The marinaded take wins our hearts.

A cooling wakame seaweed salad dressed with soy ($3) is exactly what we need as the entire room gets its grill on. The temperature ups to Pat Cash sweatband territory, while conversation rises to John McEnroe volume. To the backdrop of Japanese beer posters and thick swipes of calligraphy, it’s as traditional as it is lively.

Between meaty mouthfuls we savour silky agedashi tofu, the wet bean curd wrapped in a gelatinous skin that’s elastic and slippery, laden with bonito shavings and a sauce so good I want to drink it ($9). Sweet pumpkin tempura ($6) turns out better than our veg.

I spot what look like scallops on our neighbour’s barbecue, but they tell me it’s intestine and share a sample. It’s like gently charred fat — soft, gooey and crunchy in one, and astonishingly tasty. Next, ox tongue is passed over, a lean, chewy, ho-hum experience.

Sumiya Gin is full of surprises, and if you can get in, you’ll love it.

SUMIYA GIN

Address: Shop 3, 447 William Street, Northbridge. 6114 7083

www. sumiya-gin.com.au

Open: Mon to Sat, 5.30pm-10pm (last orders 9pm)

Bookings: yes

Licenced: BYO corkage $3.50 per person

Fleur’s Verdict: 14/20