New South Wales · Sydney

Besuto and Bar Besuto

Omakase and private whisky bar

A dozen-seat omakase with a members' whisky bar underneath holding more than 800 Japanese bottles.

Bar Besuto's back bar: two lit steel shelves and a long counter lined with Japanese whisky bottles

Bar Besuto at night: a bartender in front of a lit glass cabinet of Japanese whisky, with a calligraphy banner on the wall

The Bar Besuto room: drinkers at a dark timber counter lined with bottles, and lit shelves of whisky behind

Besuto is an omakase counter near Circular Quay run by chef and owner Joel Best. The name is the Japanese word for best, and his surname. Around a dozen guests sit at the counter for a long run of courses, and the drinks list covers sake, umeshu and Japanese whisky by the glass or bottle.

In a basement down a discreet laneway is Bar Besuto, built to house Best's own collection of Japanese whisky. When it opened in 2023 it held about 150 bottles, a third of them single-cask releases. It has since become a private members' bar, and the bar says members have access to more than 800 bottles of exclusively Japanese whisky, along with rare tastings and private events in Australia and Japan.

If you want to drink from that collection, apply for membership. If you just want a taste, book the omakase, where the drinks list pours Japanese whisky by the glass.

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