Joji rooftop bar opens on Sydney’s George Street

When Beirut-raised nurse Ibby Mubadder arrived in Australia in 2007, he planned to become a doctor. This week, the current restaurateur and budding bar king is adding glamorous rooftop bar Joji to the rapidly expanding ESCA hospitality group.

“(Nursing and hospitality) is about taking care of people,” he says of the career change. In 2013, he opened Newtown cafe Cuckoo Callay as a side project on a whim and a prayer.

ESCA’s seven properties today include Aalia in Martin Place and Surry Hills’ Nour, as well as Ito, a Japanese restaurant with an Italian accent, which received a wow-worthy 15/20 rating in April.

If ESCA isn’t Sydney’s fastest-growing hospitality group, it’s certainly a contender, as Moubadder is one of the city’s most ambitious restaurant operators. He will be adding Bondi and Parramatta branches to his chicken joint Henrietta over the next six months, with a shiny new restaurant and bar opening at the Oxford & Foley complex in Darlinghurst late next year.

If he’s a little late to Sydney’s rooftop madness, it’s not for lack of trying. The Joji (Japanese for “George”) deal has been three years in the making, as plans were submitted to add a fifth-floor rooftop deck above the Cartier flagship store on George Street.

“The first time I stepped in here, I knew it must be a bar: the music playing, the smoke from the robata grill … with the energy of Sydney,” he says.

Moubadder wants to bring a set of culinary skills to the standalone bar genre. “We are a group that specializes in food and I believe if we get it right, Joji will be the best food in Sydney.”

The group’s executive chef Paul Farag worked on lollipop-shaped wagyu skewers, while another was filled with priest’s noses (the tail end of a chicken). Customers can snack on Joji Japanese curry bread or tsukune with quail and pork jowls.

Mubadder has tapped Kerry Burgess, former general manager of award-winning London bar Happiness Forgets, to lead ESCA’s beverage program. “There’s a lot of technicality in drinks,” Mubadder explains. Joji’s “Bamboo Cocktail” contains notes of tequila, tomato and apricot.

“We’re excited to move into the new space and finally open our first bar,” says Mubadder. “We’ve put our heart and soul into this place, so I can’t wait for Sydney to experience what we’ve created.”

Open Wed-Fri noon-2am; Sat-Tue 16:00-2:00

Level 5/388 George Street, Sydney, jojisydney.com