Hongkongers’ voracious appetite for Japanese fare is well known, with hundreds of eateries in the city jostling to satisfy diners’ palates – and keep them coming back for more. Standing out from the crowd can be a challenge with such stiff competition, but Ozakaya aims to do just that with an izakaya concept that straddles the line between casual and fine dining.

Ozakaya ticks all the boxes for a Japanese restaurant of note: fresh ingredients flown in straight from Japan, a 12-seat counter where you can watch the chefs do their thing, and sake by the bottle or carafe as well as sake-based cocktails. But the dual feathers in its cap are the focus on Kansai cuisine from Osaka, and a refreshingly experimental approach.

We took a seat at the counter and went for the 10-course Ozakaya tasting menu (HK$980), which offers a comprehensive sampling of à la carte dishes. Sushi, sashimi and tempura feature on the menu, of course, but with a twist: for instance, salmon sushi was blowtorched for a nice char and topped with a dollop of caviar. From our vantage point, we were able to observe the chefs carefully assembling our sushi and sashimi platter … before promptly devouring it as soon as it was served.

Inside chef Barry Quek’s vision for Michelin-starred Whey in Hong Kong

The starters were particular stand-outs: the smoked botan ebi with Hokkaido scallop mousse arrived with a touch of drama, revealed amid wisps of smoke upon lifting the lid. The smoky flavour contrasted well with the sweetness of the seafood. The uni toast with truffle paste, meanwhile, was a great interplay of taste and texture with the crisp, sticky bread topped with smooth uni for a moreish bite indeed. The Australian Wagyu was buttery and melt-in-your-mouth. We washed it all down with a tart and refreshing Yukaya (HK$138), a sake-based cocktail with yuzu.