Cocoro

Cocoro, contemporary Japanese cuisine in Ponsonby

Cocoro is a contemporary Japanese restaurant located in an old brick building just off Ponsonby Road, in Auckland. Its name means "heart and soul" in Japanese, and the establishment treats each visit as a unique culinary experience under the ichigo ichie concept. The kitchen is led by chef Makoto Tokuyama, who has designed an offering based on degustation menus and an à la carte menu.

Degustation menus

The main offering is three seasonal degustation menus, available only with a dinner reservation and designed to be shared by the whole table. The price is per person.

• Cocoro Degustation: seasonal menu recommended for a first visit. Includes a selection of seasonal snacks, Cocoro-style assorted sashimi, seafood chawanmushi, Chatham Islands crayfish gratin with parsnip and swede purée, Tora Bay black foot paua with tofu and sansho, A5 Kagoshima wagyu sukiyaki with Asian mushrooms (optional with supplement) and bluefin tuna torotaku roll with smoked pickled daikon (optional with supplement). Ends with kumara cheesecake and Yame matcha ice cream. Price: $195.
• Seafood Degustation: chef's selection of sashimi and nigiri with fresh market seafood. Includes assorted snacks, chawanmushi, shirako fry, scallop gratin, Cocoro Sashimi Platter with more than 15 seasonal varieties, charcoal-grilled red snapper with shio-koji and kinome miso, chef's selection of nigiri, crayfish miso soup and plum, shiso and berry granita with rhubarb. Price: $290.
• Signature Degustation: luxury experience with assorted snacks, Cocoro Sashimi Platter with more than 25 seasonal varieties, A5 Kagoshima wagyu steak, crayfish miso soup and Valrhona chocolate dessert with Nabeshima sake ganache. Price: $360.

All three menus offer the option of sake and wine pairing for an additional $150.

À la carte and prix fixe menu

The à la carte menu is available at both lunch and dinner and is designed to be shared. Highlights include sand octopus ceviche with Coromandel seaweed and myoga ginger, new style sashimi with truffle ponzu, traditional sashimi in five or eleven varieties, assorted nigiri in six, eight or fifteen pieces, chawanmushi with Tora Bay paua and Hokkaido scallop, agedashi tofu and eggplant, prawn filo tempura, half crayfish gratin with spicy miso, grilled white warehou with bamboo shoot and kinome miso, prawn, scallop, market fish and oyster gratin, lamb racks with balsamic miso, Asian cabbage and sansho pepper, and Inaniwa handmade udon with Cloudy Bay clams and shiitake mushrooms.

The prix fixe menu, available at lunch and dinner as part of the à la carte menu, includes a welcome box with snacks from the kitchen, a choice of entrée (daily special, selection of three market sashimi — or five with scampi for a supplement —, karaage fried chicken or seasonal salad with tempura vegetables and sesame miso dressing), a choice of main (daily special, chef's selection of six nigiri — or eight with scampi for a supplement —, grilled white warehou, NZ Wagyu beef eye fillet — or Kagoshima A5 Wagyu for a supplement — or charcoal finished tofu steak) and a choice of dessert (yuzu and miso crème brûlée with soy sauce ice cream and biscotti, plum, shiso and berry granita, or kumara cheesecake with Yame matcha ice cream). Price: $128, with the option of a four-glass wine and sake pairing for an additional $85.

For groups, there is a banquet-style lunch menu called Express Group Lunch, available only at lunchtime, which includes organic miso soup, edamame, lotus chips, Ora King salmon and avocado sushi roll, mixed green salad, three varieties of market fish, sashimi, shiki-tofu teriyaki, Paradise prawn coated with ebi-mayo, market fish tempura with wasabi emulsion and mini chicken teriyaki donburi with manuka honey. Price: $68 per person.

Sake and wine

The sake by the glass list includes references such as Nabeshima Champion (daiginjo), Nabeshima White (tokubetsu junmai), Nabeshima Red (junmai ginjo Omachi), Pure Black (junmai ginjo), Peaceful Kid (junmai ginjo), Black Mirror (junmai ginjo karakuchi), Water God (yamahai junmai ginjo), Devil Killer (junmai), 43 Partying Otters (sparkling) and Colorful Pigeon (kijoshu). The wine by the glass selection covers labels such as Andre Clouet V6 Blanc de Noirs Brut, Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc, Odyssey Reserve Iliad Chardonnay, Billaud-Simon Chablis, Neudorf Home Block Moutere Pinot Gris, Kusuda Riesling, Coumais Alcove Vouvray, Nautilus Estate Albarino, La Ferme de Sato Pinot Noir, Folium Reserve Pinot Noir, Gamay Domaine de Bel-Air Moulin-à-Vent 'Les Burdlines' and Te Mata Estate Awatea.

Omakase Sushi Shop

The restaurant has a takeaway sushi shop under the name Omakase Sushi Shop, with limited daily quantities and a minimum pre-order of 24 hours. Pickup is available Tuesday to Saturday from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. The offering includes Sushi Ori, a selection of freshly prepared nigiri presented in a gift box, with an option for one person (14 pieces, $165) or for two (double portion, $320). The pieces may include toro and akami southern bluefin tuna, Ora King salmon, Haku kingfish, Kagoshima A5 Wagyu beef tataki, Hokkaido scallop with Levin yuzu peel, New Zealand deep sea scampi, Paradise Prawn with prawn miso and powder, black foot paua with kimo sauce, Waikato eel with matcha sansho pepper and kinome leaf, sumi ika with Lot 8 olive oil, flaky salt and caviar, kina and ikura, barley straw-seared alfonsino with karashi mustard, and a market variety according to availability. Chirashi Sushi Ori ($85) is also offered, known as a "jewellery box" in Japan, with a selection of sashimi on a bed of sushi rice, usually including salmon, tuna, kingfish, snapper, prawn, squid, octopus, kina, wagyu, egg and ikura. The shop notes that these products contain fish, shellfish, egg, soy and wheat, and recommends confirming allergies before placing an order.

Awards

The restaurant has received three hats at the Cuisine Good Food Awards 2023 and is listed in The World's 50 Best Discovery.

Reservations and operations

The degustation menus are recommended, require a dinner reservation and are intended for the whole table. Limited reservations for the à la carte menu are also accepted. Lunch is exclusively à la carte. Diners can sit at individual tables or at a solid wood communal table. For groups of eight or more, the restaurant asks that you enquire by phone or email. The venue is available for events on Sundays and Mondays, with prior booking by email. Some reservations require a credit card hold: funds are verified but not charged at the time of booking, and cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice incur a fee according to the restaurant's policy. Gift vouchers for in-house dining are also offered from $204, sent by email within 24 hours.

Location and contact

Phone: 09 360 0927 · Email: bookmytable@cocoro.co.nz · Hours: Lunch: Friday and Saturday from 12:00 to 14:00. Dinner: Tuesday to Saturday from 5:30 pm until late.