Yamagen

Inside the QT at Surfers Paradise, down at street level off Staghorn Avenue, is an izakaya that takes its drinking as seriously as its cooking. The look is Tokyo-after-dark: glossy black enamel, low light, a moody polish that feels a long way from the beach a block over. What sets it apart is the whisky. The back bar holds one of the deepest Japanese whisky collections in the country, a long shelf of refined distillery bottlings kept alongside a careful sake list and a roster of cocktails. The food, run by executive chef Adam Lane, spans the izakaya range and then some: hand-rolled sushi and sashimi, share plates, kushiyaki skewers off the grill, and a nightly omakase for those who want the kitchen to decide. It is pitched as casual in spirit but exacting in execution, the sort of place that can carry a quick round of skewers and highballs or a longer, considered sit-down with equal ease. Recognition has followed, including a Wine Spectator award for the drinks program. For a coast better known for surf and sun, it is an unexpectedly polished and disciplined room, and a serious destination for anyone chasing Japanese whisky.