Tokonoma is Toko’s New City-side Hideaway

Articles Eat & Drink Editor's Picks Featured Sydney
27 January, 2015 8:50 am
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Are you ready for Edo? It will take you back to a time of shoguns, imperial rule, artistry and social culture. This is Tokyo, but not as you know it. Edo is the historic embodiment of everything representing this ancient city.

Whilst Tokonoma’s hipster big sister, Toko, continues to delight, the team have created a calmer more peaceful hideaway just a few geta sandal clip-clops away from Circular Quay. A collaboration between designers Matt Darwon and Toko founder Matt Yazbek bring life to a new subterranean venue. Oversized hand twisted ropes, polished concrete floors, soft woods, murals by Ando Hiroshige and a long sit-up bar creates an illuminated visual hallway of cuisine welcoming suits and skirts alike.

The kitchen is all about ‘shun’- food highlighting the season’s best produce. Follow finger-licking smoked lime salt edamame with the prettiest birds nest look-a-like steak tartare topped with an onsen quail egg. Feather light shavings of radish give textural contrast to house cured mackerel. Sushi winners include nigri layered with truffle, soy jelly foie gras topped with honey bug and a majestic spider crab maki. Smoky wonders from the robata grill include unctuous black cod with Saikyo miso but it’s the popcorn shrimp with a dipping sauce of shichimi mayonnaise which will have you duelling chopsticks for the last one.

With a dangerous range of sake on offer you may choose to swap your glass of Croser for a Kubota Manju from Niigata. Whilst the murals provide ‘One Hundred Famous Views of Edo’ you can be confident you have just tasted your way through the city in more ways than one.

Tokonoma
Basement Level, 44 Bridge Street, Sydney 2000
Lunch: Tuesday to Friday
Dinner: Tuesday to Saturday
www.tokonoma-sydney.com

About the author

Karen Lawson

Karen’s corporate job back in the UK had included entertaining clients in some of the best restaurants. This ultimately sparked a curiosity 'Just how do they do that?' (she confesses she was brought up on meat and vegetables, so this was all very exciting). Currently a Mr & Mrs Smith 'Tastemaker', she’s flashpacked around the world, learning about wine, experiencing different cultures and cuisines and had a two- year love affair with it all. Originally from England, she finally settled in Australia and continues to be besotted by food, wine and travel preferring to focus on the luxury end of town (thread count does matter).