Yakitori combo at the Tomo Japanese Restaurant. Photo / Richard Robinson
Where: 334 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby. Ph (09) 376 4757.
Our meal: $159 for four miso soups, a shared platter, tuna and salmon rolls, octopus and gyoza, two beers and a bottle of wine.
Wine list: Brief. Ditto the beer list.
Verdict: Disappointing. The food was overcooked and uninspired. Lessons could be learned from other comparable establishments.
Out of 10
Food: 4
Service: 6
Value: 6
Ambience: 5
I recently received a copy of New Zealand Acoustics, the magazine of the Acoustical Society. A less-than-riveting read for one not engaged in such practices, as you'd guess, but it did contain a list of ratings of cafes and restaurants in New Zealand, according to their acceptable noise levels.
Given the convention that five stars is excellent and one star is dismal, I would award Tomo in Ponsonby five big ones. It was silent. As the grave. At 7.30 on a Saturday evening, we were the only ones there, and even we were whispering.
From the outside, Tomo appeals, hence our visit. It has smart, dark red walls, hung with traditional Japanese prints of delicately portrayed people, palaces and houses.
We were shown to our table by a pleasant young woman, and drinks were ordered. Bill and Grant went for Yebisu beer, Sapporo Brewery's luxury label, and Isumi and I ordered a bottle of Stoneleigh sauvignon blanc from the miniscule wine list. The waitress returned apologetically with the bottle, saying it had only just been put in the fridge and wasn't cold, and would we like something else? Well, yes. Montana sauvignon it was, then.
Tomo is a yakitori restaurant, as well as offering other Japanese dishes, so it seemed churlish to order anything else. Yakitori is traditionally skewered chicken, although the food now served this way varies widely.
We began with miso soup ($2), which was very good. Our shared platter of Tomo special yakitori combo ($48) contained skewers of salmon, whole sardines, tuna, prawns and pork, as well as the obligatory chicken. It was well presented, but cold. The tuna was dry, the pork gristly. The dish was redeemed only by the complimentary hot sake.
Side dishes of salmon roll and tuna roll ($15 each) were fine, as were the gyoza (dumplings stuffed with cabbage and pork, $12). The fried octopus ($14), although hot, was tough. "I know a better place than this," whispered Isumi, who should know. "Let's go." We paid, crept out, and went to Ken Yakitori Bar in Anzac Ave.
Now, I know that comparisons are odious but this was much more like it. The place was full, noisy and happy. Chefs were expertly spinning skewers of meats on the charcoal grill along one side of the room, with punters watching hungrily. The miso soup was more delicately flavoured, and our dish of seaweed, grated daekon, tomatoes and prawns was outstanding.
Ten years of experience shows. Look and learn, Tomo.
