Tera Bar

A refined dual-concept venue has landed in Surry Hills, with Tera Bar and Teramoto bringing together sake, seasonal dining and an intimate hidden chef’s table under one roof. Led by owner-chef Taka Teramoto and his wife Wanaka, the venue is uniting Japanese flavours, Australian produce and French technique.

At street level, Tera Bar operates as a neighbourhood-style sake and wine bar—but tucked behind the main space sits Teramoto, an intimate chef’s table omakase experience opening later this year, hidden almost entirely from view when guests first walk through the door. Design-wise, natural textures, warm neutral tones and subtle Japanese influence shape the room—but this isn't minimalism-for-minimalism’s-sake.

“We wanted to create a space that feels personal, relaxed, genuine and welcoming—somewhere people can drop in just for a drink and some snacks but also have a full meal,” Taka tells Urban List.

"People seem to be gravitating towards venues that feel more genuine and experience driven, than overly conceptual.

The duality between the two spaces is an intentional choice. Tera Bar is communal and approachable, while Teramoto offers a more intimate, front-row experience centred around the open kitchen and watching the chefs at work.

Despite their differences, both are grounded in the same philosophy: harmonising Japanese flavours with Australian local produce and French culinary techniques, all driven by seasonality.

Expect dishes like fried mackerel, wagyu tartare, spatchcock and aged duck alongside a serious focus on dry-ageing, with the team ageing wagyu and duck anywhere from two weeks to eight months in-house. Plans are already in motion to expand into house-made cured meats down the line.

Chef Taka’s background spans Michelin-starred Restaurant Pages in Paris and Florilège in Tokyo before relocating to Sydney, where he opened Kuro Bar and Dining in 2019 and earned his first chef’s hat in 2022. The kitchen is backed by a deliberately small team, including longtime collaborator David Song, who started as a commis chef at Kuro before working his way up to sous chef—and occasionally behind the cocktail bar too.

Tera Bar is open now in Surry Hills, with Teramoto Chef’s Table set to launch in July. 

Image credit: Yusuke Oba | Supplied