Late Night Hot Spot: Wagaya, Sydney

Fancy a ‘karaage’ at midnight?

My hunt for Sydney’s late night dining spots continues with, surprise, surprise, Chinatown again! I remember back in the younger days, our choices for a midnight feed were few and far between. There have been numerous times between spoons of Chinese food that I silently wished for a 24 hour sushi bar or other Japanese fare and finally my prayers have been answered.

I realise that Wagaya has been blogged and reviewed ad nauseum so profound apologies for even muttering the word Wagaya again. But since my mission is to bring you the who’s who of midnight kitchen shenanigans, Wagaya must be included by all accounts. But in any case, look past the hype, the massive overexposure and the chipped crockery and see it for what it is – a pretty decent alternative to greasy Chinese, kebabs and fast food to satisfy your twilight hunger. Granted the food isn’t mind blowing but there is a certain novelty in eating Japanese or sushi past 10pm because admittedly, this is one cuisine not famed for late night dining in Sydney.

Plenty to pick from Wagaya’s massive menu

The great thing about Wagaya other than the touchscreen ordering is the massive menu that covers all the bases – mains, sushi, sashimi, deep fried foods, rice, salads and even noodle soups. And then there’s the equally large drinks menu (though most of it are alcoholic).

So there is no chance of you running out of dishes to try anytime soon making it an ideal venue for multiple visits between bouts of congee and other late night fodder. Big bonus because Japanese food doesn’t quite have the greasy seedy factor like the aforementioned so probably a better choice of cuisine to keep the booze down after a hard night. And quietly too because you and your group are left to your own devices (and the kick ass touchscreen) without much waitstaff intrusion.

Just don’t let the drunk friends near the touchscreen. Just because they struggled to walk over to the restaurant doesn’t mean they’ll have any trouble with inadvertently ordering extra dishes by a simple finger mash on the screen. You have been warned.

Keep the touchscreen away from drunken fingers!

Renkon Chips (lotus root) – absolutely moreish and a great starter

Salmon Sashimi

Sizzling plate of mushrooms and Wagyu beef (unfortunately tough and chewy)

Gyoza on a sizzling hotplate

Deep fried chicken karaage

Deep fried unagi (eel)

Wagaya

Level 1, 78-86 Harbour Street
Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney
(02) 9212 6068

Open 7 days 5pm – 1am (closes 2am on weekends).

Tagged as: Chinatown, Izakaya, Japanese, Late Night Dining, Sydney, Wagaya