When Beirut-raised nurse Ibby Moubadder came to Australia in 2007, her plan was to become a doctor. This week, the now-restaurateur and budding bar czar is adding glamorous rooftop bar Joji to his rapidly expanding ESCA hospitality lineup.

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

ESCA’s seven venues today include hatted restaurants Aalia in Martin Place and Nour in Surry Hills, as well as Ito, an Italian-inspired Japanese restaurant that received a “wow-worthy” 15/20 review in April.

ESCA is, if not Sydney’s fastest-growing hospitality group, a definite rival to Moubadder as one of the city’s most ambitious restaurateurs. Over the next six months, Henrietta will add Bondi and Parramatta branches to its chicken restaurant, and a swanky new restaurant and bar will open at the Oxford & Foley development in Darlinghurst late next year.

If Sydney is a little late to the roof craze, it’s not for lack of trying. The Joji (Japanese for George) deal has been three years in the making, as plans were made to add a cap to the fifth-floor rooftop space above the Cartier flagship store on George Street.

“When I first walked in here I knew it had to be a bar: music playing, smoke coming from the robata grill… with the energy of Sydney,” he says.

Moubadder wants to bring a culinary skill set to the independent bar genre. “We are a food-focused group, I believe if we do it right Joji will be the best pub food in Sydney.”

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

Moubadder has snagged Kerry Burgess, former managing director of award-winning London bar Happiness Forgets, to head ESCA’s drinks programme. “There is a lot of technicality in drinks,” Moubadder explains. Joji’s “bamboo cocktail” contains notes of tequila, tomato and apricot.

“We are excited to step into a new space and finally open our first bar,” says Moubadder. “We put our heart and soul into this venue, so I can’t wait for Sydney to experience what we’ve created.”

Open Wednesday-Friday from noon to 2:00; Saturday-Tuesday 16:00-02:00

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