Saturday lunch has officially been upgraded. Cho Cho San, the Potts Point favourite that’s been doing modern Japanese with a side of cool factor for years, has just launched Cho Bottomless, and it’s the new headline act in your weekend.
Following the runaway success of Buns & Bubbles, the team has reinvented its iconic Saturday session with a fresh menu, a refreshed drinks list, and DJs spinning all afternoon. The result is less leisurely-lunch, more day-party-with-better-food. It’s a whole vibe – it’s a lot of energy, great food, great wine, and the best of vibes. And here’s the kicker: this isn’t one of those bottomless deals where the food is an afterthought to keep you upright between drinks, Cho has gone the other way entirely, the food is the main event of the show and a true reflection of why Cho Cho San has best of reputations on the food scene.
Here’s how it works: every Saturday from 12pm to 3pm, $99 per person gets you a banquet menu and one hour and 45 minutes of free-flowing sparkling, house wine and/or beer. If you’re feeling a bigger vibe, $120pp gets you the cocktail upgrade with unique to Cho Cho San designed beverages to shake the week away.
Let’s talk about the food.
It starts with edamame, warm and glossy, generously showered in togarashi that delivers a slow citrus-chilli heat. Alongside, a plate of seasonal pickles doing exactly what pickles should: sharp, crunchy, properly fermented, cutting through everything else – a proper Japanese course, delicately preparing you for what’s next.
Then the sushi and sashimi platter arrives, and the table goes quiet for a beat. Thick, glossy slices of kingfish with that signature buttery texture. The wagyu nigiri is the sleeper hit, a torched, marbled little parcel that practically dissolves on contact, the rice still warm, every grain separating under the tongue showcasing the expertise of the kitchen.
From there, the hot plates start landing, and this is where the kitchen really flexes. The eggplant miso sticks are dangerously good. Soft, almost custardy flesh under a glaze that’s been caramelised to the edge of catching, sweet-savoury and deeply umami, the kind of dish that makes eggplant sceptics rethink their ridiculous position! More, more more was what we were yelling after both savouring and inhaling these. The pork gyoza arrive with golden, lacy crisp bottoms and pillowy soft tops, the filling juicy and well-seasoned, served with a vinegar-soy.
The wagyu kushiyaki skewers, charred over fierce heat, the fat rendered down into the meat, finished with a glaze that lacquers each piece into something genuinely special. The chicken kaarage is crispy, and the chicken is dense and juicy and the serving is substantial.
The drinks are filled before being half-empty sparkling, crisp fiano, easy-drinking red and cold beer all moving with proper momentum, all from South Australia.
If you upgrade to cocktails expect the best from Cho Cho San
The Mango Wasabi (vodka, mango, wasabi, egg white) is the kind of sweet-with-a-kick drink built for “just one more” — silky from the egg white, tropical from the mango, with a sneaky wasabi heat that creeps up on the back palate. The Sudachi Chilli pairs tequila with sudachi and lion head chilli for something punchy, citrusy and faintly smoky, the kind of cocktail that wakes the table up around the second round. And the Kalamansi Matcha layers gin with kalamansi, matcha and tororo for something herbaceous, bright and a little earthy.
The bottom line of the food at the bottomless – you leave full, which is unusual. So be prepared!
Pair the drinks and the food, with Cho’s signature high-energy room and a DJ keeping the afternoon humming, and your Saturday plans are sorted for the foreseeable future. Serious food, serious pours, serious attention to detail, dressed up in the kind of party energy that makes 3pm feel like 3am, in the best way possible.
WHAT WE’RE ADDICTED TO:
The volume of high quality, excellent Japanese cuisine that Cho Cho San is known for.
WHAT WE’RE LESS ADDICTED TO:
The signage for the bathrooms. The Hen or the Cockerel for the men and the butterfly for the women. What the? After few wines it was impossible to know. I picked Hen/Cockerel – big mistake.
Cho Cho San, Potts Point
Every Saturday, 12pm – 3pm
$99pp standard | $120pp with cocktail upgrade
