Honto

Lobster katsu sandwiches, raw slices of kingfish topped with burnt strawberries and a mandarin sauce and kokuto ice cream sandos with citrus gel and shiitake mushrooms — they're just some of the inventive dishes on the menu at Fortitude Valley's Japanese restaurant, Hôntô.

While Brisbane boasts plenty of Japanese eateries, this addition to Alden Street adds a unique twist to the country's culinary staples, as the above highlights demonstrate. Daily white fish ceviche with avocado, yuzu and rice crackers, wagyu tartare, karaage chicken burger or smoky tamari glazed beef short ribs? They're all part of head chef Nathan Lastevec's creative lineup.

Hôntô comes from a team known for trying something different, with the venue a sister site to Same Same, Bianca and Agnes. Basically, where Same Same gives classic Thai cuisine a twist, Hôntô does the same with an exclusively Japanese focus — and with a range of rare Japanese whiskeys and sake to wash it all down with.

Indeed, in addition to the main dining room and raw dining bar, the restaurant features its own bar, ÔÔ. Like the rest of the place — which is accessed through a black door next to the loading dock for Matt Blatt Furniture — it's dark and moody, though it has quite the boozy range.

As well as the types of tipples you'd expect to find in a particularly well-stocked Tokyo izakaya, there are more than 100 wines, plus cocktails, other spirits, liqueurs and craft beers.

And, food-wise, if you're keen to settle in for the long haul in Hôntô's backstreet surroundings, you can also opt the banquet: a ten-dish feast for $84 per person. Banquet dining is also a requirement for groups of seven people or more.

Images: Natalie Hoo and Sam Thies.