• Gen Ogata, Sarasa Shimura and Marika Chinen.
  • Sarasa Shimura, Marika Chinen and Gen Ogata.

Tokyo Bay - Authentic Japanese cuisine

Tokyo Bay, brilliantly located opposite the beach on The Strand in Takapuna, has held the number one position on TripAdvisor for dining on the North Shore for the last couple of years. That’s no surprise to the many locals who regularly eat there: the food is always fresh and superbly cooked, with innovative taste touches that evoke eating in Tokyo itself.

Tokyo Bay opened in Takapuna in 2015 and has featured in Channel Magazine ever since. It’s been a key part of the evolving Takapuna dining scene, and has become firmly established as a key element in what’s great about eating out in Takapuna.

Director Sarasa Shimura says Tokyo Bay has also changed in that time. “We’re now a more refined restaurant. Many of the team have been with us for four years now, and have evolved into strongly trained team players with an emphasis on quality. Our regular clientele are amazing; we can't thank them enough for their support. And Tokyo Bay will keep moving in a positive direction, not with major changes, but by moving with the seasons and the best produce and people.”

Tokyo Bay has established a close relationship with its regulars. The dietary preferences of its regular patrons are well-known to the staff, many of whom, like Sarasa, are Japanese, and who listen to any requests and always endeavour to assist.

As co-director Mark Smith points out, the menu is large, with “more dishes than seats in the restaurant”. Despite the high culinary standards and extensive menu, Sarasa and Mark have kept this elegant yet approachable eatery affordable, even when the restaurant is full every night for six months of the year. While the menu uses costly ingredients (prime among them being the fresh-daily seafood), they and chef Chikara Sato work to ensure the prices are fair.

Tokyo Bay follows seasonal changes and sources regional produce to evolve its menu and daily specials. For winter, Chef Sato is making the most of Southern Blue Fin Tuna, the quality of plump winter seafood and oysters, and winter vegetables, and has created hearty dishes to warm you up on a cold winter’s night.

Over the next three years, Japan hosts three big events: the 2019 Rugby World Cup, 2020 Olympics and 2021 World Masters Games. As Sarasa says, New Zealanders are travelling to Japan in droves, and over the last year, customers have been coming into the restaurant asking, what should we do? Where should we go? What should we eat? Tokyo Bay and its staff, mostly Japanese, spent several weeks coming up with a list they’re calling "Sarasa's Top Travel Tips to Tokyo & Beyond". Dine at Tokyo Bay, or its Ponsonby sister Izakaya restaurant, Tokyo Club, and ask for the list. “We'll give you a copy,” she says. “It features over 100 restaurants, shopping areas, cafés, bars, attractions and places mainly in cities in and around Tokyo that we recommend. Many customers have already tried out the list. You just have to Google the attraction to make the most of your time in our country.”

Tokyo Bay’s commitment to Japan has also been evident it in its support for the Sunwolves in the Super Rugby competition. Over the last few years, if you’ve eaten at Tokyo Bay at lunchtime on Fridays, you’ll have seen the staff supporting their home team by wearing the Sunwolves’ Super Rugby jersey. “We've tried our hardest to support these guys,” says Mark, “but it looks like their future is all but over for internal reasons.”

It’s clear that Tokyo Bay has carved its own place in the Takapuna hospitality scene, and in the wider Auckland dining environment.

“Tokyo Bay has taken a different direction to many other Japanese operators,” says Sarasa. “We've gone from winning Cuisine Magazine’s Top Ethnic Restaurant in the country with a previous venture, Soto in Ponsonby, which was the country’s first fusion-based Japanese restaurant, to going back to the roots of Japanese cuisine. We are still a modern operation, with modern presentation, but the techniques, recipes and influences are authentic. We have matured past using techniques to impress the impressionable. We're now all about ingredient source and quality, produce handling and ethics. Simplicity and method rule our operation.”

https://www.tokyobay.co.nz/