ROKA Charlotte Street

ROKA opened on Charlotte Street in 2004 and remains the flagship of the group's contemporary robatayaki cooking. The robata grill sits at the centre of the room, with fish, meat and vegetables prepared in full view at the surrounding counter, and the glass frontage folds open in warm weather so the dining room spills onto the pavement. The interior reads as a modern izakaya: timber, low light and a long communal table that suits a group taking over one corner of the restaurant.

The reason to look here for an event is downstairs. The Shochu Lounge is a subterranean cocktail bar built around shochu, the Japanese spirit, with a year-round cherry-blossom canopy spreading across the ceiling and a carved timber bar lined with signature ice. It works for a seated dinner, a standing reception, or exclusive hire outside service hours, and the venue runs resident DJ sets in the lounge on Friday and Saturday evenings, so a music-led private event sits naturally within the space rather than imposed on it.

The pairing is the appeal for an intimate DJ event: a robata kitchen feeding the room above, and a self-contained basement bar below that already expects late-night music and a crowd on its feet.