Harajuku Gyoza Beer Stadium

Overview

UPDATE: February 28, 2019 — On Tuesday, March 5 — also known to some as Shrove Tuesday — Darling Harbour's Harajuku Gyoza will bring back its super fluffy soufflé pancakes. The five-centimetres-high Japanese meringue pancakes — which originated at Cafe Gram in Tokyo — will come in stacks of two ($16) and will be served three ways: with matcha ice cream and azuki beans, cream cheese and brown sugar pearls, or with caramelised vanilla bean custard (inspired by crème brûlée). They'll be available from 5–9pm on the Tuesday and from 11am–3pm on Saturdays and Sundays thereafter.

Since arriving in Potts Point in 2013, Harajuku Gyoza has always kept things simple: gyoza and beer. Now, the Japanese eatery has opened a new 'beer stadium' — that is, eatery and craft brewery — in Darling Harbour.

As the name suggests, it's a behemoth. The harbourside spot features 'stadium'-style stepped seating as well as booths, a mezzanine level and outdoor spots. Expect a Harajuku aesthetic with lots of the brand's signature red. It'll be the second 'stadium' in Australia — one opened on the Gold Coast in mid-2017.

Beer is the feature here. On walking in, you'll notice four massive beer tanks behind the bar. Each 1200-litre vessel holds one of six Japanese drops brewed on-site under the watchful eye of Yoyogi, a Japanese brewery that's been operating in Australia in 2015 and in Kyoto, Japan, for over a century. Joining them at the taps will be another six brews, bringing the total available at any one time to 12.

Meanwhile, the menu will be the selfsame one that's been attracting ravenous hordes to Potts Point. Among the dishes are nine types of gyoza, fried chicken, chicken ramen and salmon sashimi poke. The venue's signature desserts feature, too, including its raindrop cake and salted caramel and Nutella gyoza.

The Beer Stadium will join a raft of other small breweries nearby, including the neighbouring All Hands Brewing and James Squire brewhouse at the Overseas Passenger Terminal.