Tonka

Can’t believe it has taken me this long to get to Tonka! I’ve been dying to try it since it opened it’s doors and Saturday night was finally my night.
Down a stereotypical Melbourne laneway you’ll find a mysterious door that leads to one of the most stunning restaurant fit-​outs I have seen in some time. Despite the fact that we arrogantly arrived at 8pm on a Saturday without a booking, they managed to find us a spot at the bar that also gave us a great view into the kitchen (which is my favourite. I love watching them work their magic.)
We started with a cocktail as I had heard they were all glorious however, to be honest, I was a little disappointed. I chose the Piña Kerala Julep, which sounded like a fun take on the Mai Thai — however I really didn’t love it. It arrived frozen (which I get was part of it’s schtick) but I had to wait five minutes for it to melt to drink it. I was thirsty, damn it! Next time I will be choosing something different.
Thankfully they made up for it in wines. The wine selection at Tonka is extraordinary and they have a sommelier on site to help you with your decisions. It’s also a lot of fun watching him at work.
Now to the food, we went for:
+ Fremantle octopus, rasam, vermicelli upma, pickled papaya
+ Crispy Western Plains pork belly, sorrel, pickled kohlrabi
+ Avani’s lamb curry with roasted coconut, black cardamom and white poppy seeds
+ Fried cauliflower, garam masala salt, fenugreek and yoghurt dressing
+ Pappadums with kacumber
Our favourite dishes were easily the Fremantle Octopus and the fried cauliflower. Both had SO much flavour and were an absolute delight. We were a tad disappointed with the lamb curry as while it was delicious, it was nothing outstanding.
Also, important to note that you can order half-​serves of any of the larger dishes — I recommend you do this! We ordered a half-​serve of the lamb curry and still couldn’t finish it!
All in all Tonka is a pretty standout venue. The service is incredible and the venue itself is stunning. Check it out.

Brilliant…
The venue itself is beautiful. The laneway entrance giving no hint to the clean, contemporary feel inside. The smell of spices will hit you immediately. From that movement you’re expecting some strong flavors.
Thankfully the food doesn’t disappoint. The cauliflower and tandoor trout were standouts for me, but everything was excellent.
The service is good too. Staff are very helpful and always willing to help with the menu and offer suggestion.
Best Indian in Melbourne!

Absolutely loved this place! Down a dark alleyway and into a dimly lit entrance we entered. But when guided to our table, the back of Tonka opens up to a brightly lit space which is comfortable and inviting.
The food is creative and delicious. The service is attentive without being obvious. Highly recommend the pani puri, Kerala beef carpaccio, chargrilled land cutlets and the kale pakoras. Another must is the daahl.
Try the cocktails too– delicious!
Definitely a place to visit when you are in Melbourne.

2^nd time here and I still recommend it. Have a special occasion etc? Tonka is the place.
The food is great, great portions and are meant for sharing. The atmosphere is great and the staff helpful as ever.
I recommend to try the parcels with aromatic sauce as an entrée as well as the scallops and the duck :)
Amazing

Very enjoyable dinner at Tonka. All of the staff were very professional, even gracious. Although most of the diners were in business attire (on a Thursday night) and we were in jeans and casual attire, we never felt we were treated any differently.
The mains (short ribs vindaloo and the curried barramundi) were very good. Not really Indian– call it Indian inspired, given the relatively muted spiciness. The entrees were less successful (scallops seemed neither warm not chilled (but very nicely spiced) and grilled prawns were tasty but a bit overcooked).
The room is magical, both the design as well as the spectacular view.
Only restaurant in our ten days where a tip was solicited. A bit jarring at end of such a nice experience.

Met a work friend at Tonka for lunch on Saturday. Ordered a couple of cocktails and flicked through the menu. Everything looked good so we just told our friendly waiter to choose fir us and keep the dishes coming until we told him to stop, or exploded whichever came first.
We started with a couple of pieces of pani puri; little potato crisp-​like packages filled with spicy mashed potato and mung beans drizzled with tamarind sauce. Lovely.
This was followed by soft shell crab pakora — four pieces in a light, soft batter each served on a puddle of lemon and chilli Mayo and pickled cucumber. My friend wasn’t a big fan, but I really loved these and polished off three by myself.
I’d noticed a plate of sausages, lettuce leaves and condiments delivered to the next table and experienced an overwhelming surge of food envy. «What are they eating?» I asked. The waiter advised that these were Kakori kebabs, cooked in the tandoor and served with mint sauce. Love a sausage so had to have these of course. Really tasty. You wrap the meat in a lettuce leave and drizzle the sauce in top.
Another tandoori morsel was next — quail served with red grapes and shredded daikon. Mine was a tad undercooked, but delicious nevertheless. By this stage we’d moved from cocktails to red, specifically a lovely soft Italian varietal which seemed to go well with everything.
Our last course was whole grilled flounder with a side of cauliflower, garam masala, fenugreek and yoghurt. To finish we shared a piece of Toggenburger cheese washed down with a great sweet wine, the name of which I can’t remember unfortunately otherwise I’d buy a crate of it.
Great lunch followed by a couple of top-​shelf shots from the little bar near the entrance. Definitely three hours well spent

Visited this place for lunch with a friend. First, if you are looking for traditional Indian food, this may not be the place for you. Its a somewhat of a fusion restaurant with somewhat of a limited menu if you are used to the traditional Indian menu with an exhaustive list of choices. No chicken curry or tikka masala on the menu here. It’s pricey — $$$ so just be aware.
Having said that, the food we had was good. For the price may not be the best. One single piece of pani puri is $ 4. So there you go. No samosa or other snacks on the menu. Service was good and polite and chicken biryani was not bad — but not the best I have had otherwise. Overall good. Ambience and place but no second visit on the cards for me.

After a friend spent about 30 minutes raving about Tonka I thought to myself that it’s definitely time to try it! Heard it gets really busy in the evenings so went there for the lunch sitting which was a fantastic way to experience this wonderful place. The entrance is from an alley off Flinders Lane and you wouldn’t think the view is great, but if you get a seat at the back of the restaurant you have a great view over the river towards the Botanical Gardens.
The food is nothing but excellently prepared and there are plenty of options on the menu. The tuna tartare provided a lot of flavors, the pomegranate in it made a sweet and interesting addition. The lamb was cooked to perfection, so soft it melted as soon it hit my tongue. And never have I seen rice so fluffy, almost like amlittle cloud. All in all I have no complaints so far about Tonka, the service and food was great!

My wife and I had dinner sitting at the bar as we didn’t make a reservation early enough. We were visiting from Houston and this was recommended by a colleague.
We had a wonderful meal. Highlights were the lamb curry and the cauliflower. Chicken biryani was also very, very good. Pistacio cake dessert was amazing.
Strongly recommend. Enjoy.

I have to say being Indian, having north and south Indian cooks in my family, and being from an area that has several Indian joints on every corner — I hold things to a high standard.
Tonka is a higher end experience to be sure. Things I loved: good wine selection and I could do half glasses to try various options. Their pakoras were really really good — not sure how they managed to get them so flaky and crispy inside! I also loved the fried cauliflower, though their wasn’t anything inventive about it. I liked the salad (if Bhel puri and Thai green papaya salad got together and had a baby) … Those favors were ment to be combined.
Mango lassi was a miss… guys somethings you can’t water down and lighten up without losing flavor. The curry we got was some kind of green brown thing that didn’t have looks or flavor going for it. Dal was average. Roti and rice tasted like they should. Finally dessert, we got pistachio cake and gulab jamun. Gulab Jamun was good but you can get that at any good Indian restaurant. The pistachio cake was dense and rather subtly flavored… No thanks!
Three stars for ambiance and service both of which were excellent. The food had some interesting twists but nothing that would bring me back.

Seeing all of the Unilocal check-​ins I bookmarked Tonka ready for the right occasion. Fortunately I didn’t have to wait too long!
The first thing that impressed me about Tonka was the space. Walking down one of Melbourne’s many back alleyways to find Tonka I was sure we must have got it wrong. ‘How could the awesome Tonka be down here?’ Walking into the building my level of impress rose simultaneously with the expanding restaurant space before me. The cosy front area of the restaurant opens up to an airy dining area with large windows perfectly framing the treetops.
The space and ambiance aside, the food was delicious. All of the items we ordered were filled with vibrant and exciting flavours and looked beautiful. We had the soft-​shell crab pakora (a must have), scallop special, daal, lamb curry and roti bread. Too full for desert we had coffee to finish. The service was impeccable with wait staff more than willing to explain menu items and offer recommendations.
Do yourself a favour and visit Tonka!

I’m a back-​alley kinda guy.
That’s where I like to eat, drink and party, yo. So when it’s hella warm and you’re hella hungry and someone goes «Yo, wanna bang out a quick thali?» and then they tell you it’s at Tonka then yeah, I’m in.
It can be a wait to get seated in the main restaurant part on a busy workday, but here’s a pro tip coming atcha: sit in the front section or at the bar and order a meat or vegetable thali — a few minutes later a giant, gleaming silver tray will be ferried out to you groaning beneath a burden of butter chicken, salad spiked with chili and vinegar, incredible yellow dahl, pomegranate yoghurt, and some of the softest naan you ever tried, home gurl.
Pair that with a spiced mango lassi jacked full of crushed ice and you could be in the backstreets of Bombay via Melbourne.

The old-​school among us will remember the location as the former site of the (infamous?) Honkytonks nightclub.
Now it’s Tonka. Some may bemoan the loss of Honkytonks, but I think Tonka more than makes up for it.
Tonka sums up Melbourne city dining for me. File down an alleyway full of graffiti, dubious odours and discarded bottles. One of those alleyways that makes any visitors with you glance about nervously.
They’ll breathe easier when they see the neon sign at the end of the alley. «Tonka» flickering back and forth to «ok». Duck inside and you’ll find a modern, casual, bustling restaurant.
The food. Great. The panu puri, soft-​shell crab, kingfish tandoor and corn-​fed chicken have all been highlights. Maybe too good as I’ve found it hard to stray to other quite otherwise appealing items on the menu.
It’s fancy, but not over-​the-​top. They don’t go off on any weird fusion or experimental tangents. That said, this is «modern» Indian. They do push the execution and the food is all the better for it. No foams, but they’re happy to dress the food to the 9s.
My tip? If you’re going as a couple see if you can rope in a few more to make a group. I like so many things on the menu that I usually over-​order just to try as much as I can. I always want to try something new, but am so enamoured with my usual favourites. In a group you can go to town and try everything.
This is a good problem to have. Enjoy.

Yep, you should try the pani puri, the crab pakora, burrata with mint and flat bread (Indian meet Italian = genius), goat curry, items from the tandoor… you should even try the cocktails, they’re brilliant.
But more than anything you should delve deep in to the wine list and enjoy some interesting drops. Go for the «sommeliers choice» by the glass and if you’re lucky it may change multiple times throughout your visit. Or, if you’re lucky like I was, the somms choice will have run out and you will be asked if there’s something in particular on the list you’d like to try. For a wine lover who isn’t in the position to open a whole bottle, this is the best offer ever.

A good friend took us to this coveted spot on our first night in Melbourne and the experience was divine!
The atmosphere:
Loved the walk through the graffiti’d alley to find this oasis of chic. Plus it’s a fun place that’s good to go with friends. Service was excellent!
Food:
Deliciousness in bites, bowls, and plates. I don’t even know where to begin. We had and loved the:
–Pani puri, crispy parcel filled with spiced potato, mung beans, date and tamarind chutney with aromatic water
— Spinach pakora with saffron pachadi
–Soft-​shell crab pakora with pickled cucumber, lemon, chilli and mint
— Smoked trout betel leaf with coconut, chilli, pomelo and kaffir lime
–Spanner crab salad with puffed rice, green papaya, peanuts, coriander and green chilli
— Tuna tartare, rice pappadum, pomegranate, ginger and fresh wasabi
-‘Pindi Chana’ chickpea curry with bhature puri bread
–Thirlmere corn fed chicken from the tandoor
–Pappadums with a tomato, red onion and coriander salsa
–Heart of palm, cucumber, pickled ginger, mint
We also had an excellent pinot noir from one of the region’s wineries. We liked it so much we had two bottles.
Overall highly recommend but book a table because they are really popular.

Food? Delicious
Service? Probably the best we’ve ever had, prompt, informative & suggestive.
Will definitely return.

Tonka has a great atmosphere — the décor is fresh with great views.
We were seated in a corner table which was really comfortable and the noise level was just right so we could hear each other and not the tables around us.
One of the entrees we ordered was the pork belly which was really yummy, especially with the pork crackling.
A must have is the chicken from the tandoor which was very tasty. We also ordered the lamb curry which came with a yogurt and pomegranate dressing. The curry with the dressing was a great mix.
The staff were great and we didn’t feel rushed through dinner at all. The staff were very attentive and overall a great place to dine.

Nothing to do with trucks, everything to do with Indian fusion…
pani puri, pakora, biryani, goan fish curry, gulab jamun… all sound familiar right? Ok maybe if you are Indian or like to dine in such restaurants…
Tonka is a great find, the darker shade cousin of Coda it also can be found close to Flinders Lane. I love the subtle entry from the chalk writing on the front door to the secluded alley it finds itself on. When you sit in the restaurant you feel like you were in a hidden underground part of Melbourne, I loved it and want to take more friends!
The food was definitely yum, but not amazing as of yet. I have faith in the place as it was packed but with a lot of business people. The service was excellent with wait staff being very attentive.
My highlights were the twist on the goan fish curry and the pakora. The pani puri for me was a bit dry and lacked the softness you may be use to in Bombay. Tonka is definitely worth a visit!

Been meaning to try this place out for a while and I finally got there last night.
I was pretty excited because i read somewhere it was a Indian/​Chinese fusion. And since i am an Indian/​Chinese fusion, I thought maybe I could find a dish with me on it! Didn’t happen…
It was relatively easy to find, just gotta keep walking down Duckboard Ally and it’s like just in a nook at the bottom. i loved the signage at the front door — just written in chalk — very raw, very cool.
The wait staff are really friendly and they even have a wine lady. She came over and introduced herself and said if we needed any help choosing wines to match our meals, she would help us! Sweet. They have multiple fridges for storing their wine, all at different temperatures — very serious.
We ordered entrees and some drinks to start off with. They have alcoholic lassi on their menu — never seen one of those or tried one of those. My husband ordered one and I tried a little, pretty alcoholic and very lactose-​y. Not really my cup of tea but apparently it was pretty good.
We ordered Pani Puri, Soft Shell Crab Pakora and Kakori Lamb Kebab.
The Pani Puri came with aromatic water which was VERY spicy. They come in little bite size pieces so it was one of those ‘chuck the whole thing in your mouth’ sorta dish. So I did. It was spicy, crunchy, yummy but cold. I thought the potato stuffing inside would be warm.
Soft Shell Pakora was yumm — tasty with the side mayo.
Lamb Kebab — This definitely had an asian kick to it as we wrapped the kebab in a lettuce cup and added the coriander/​chilli topping to the wrap.
Mains — Pindi Chana Chickpea Curry, Goan Fish Curry, Chicken Biriyani, Fried Cauliflower, Spiced Papadums and Roti.
Highlights were the prawns and fish in the goan fish curry and the chickpea curry.
Having a friend whose parents own an Indian Restaurant, I did find it odd to have to order papadums and yoghurt and those normally came complimentary.
The roti that we got was also a little different. It tasted kinda burnt and was a bit dry. I normally love roti, but did not enjoy this one.
The biggest highlight of my night was when the owner, Kate Bartholomew came over to our table. We had previously had a discussion about the type of flour used in roti bread and she came back when we were finished and thanked us for teaching her something that night. She was so humble and so passionate about the indian cuisine. She also went on to tell us about how the chef’s had been trying a different recipe for the roti for the past 3 days, when we gave some feedback about the roti, without us ven asking (and we weren’t expecting it) she took all the roti and 1 side off our bill. We insisted she didn’t have to but she politely said that she really wanted to.
We didn’t have room in our belly for dessert, so we all just had tea. But we left with a sweet taste in our mouth as the owner herself, walked us out of the restaurant.

Last night I went to Tonka, the sibling restaurant of much loved Coda. Recently opened it’s tucked away down a «hidden» laneway & yes, before you ask, I needed my iphone map app to find it & no, I never went to Honky Tonks because I’m just not cool enough! But find it I did & impressed I was (sorry, slipping into Yoda speak for some reason…).
I liked Tonka a lot. A long, cavernous space, the entrance serves as an overflow & bar area. Past the kitchen (open plan so perfect for some chef gazing) high tables are the ideal spot for diners, such as myself, who didn’t book.
Wha-​at? I hear you say. A new Melbourne restaurant that takes bookings? I know. Only I didn’t which is why we hadn’t booked. But that was fine because we were early & the high table overlooking the bar with Flinders Street views to our rear suited us just fine.
Further on is the main dining area which, as I did not have a booking, I did not check out BUT the wee glimpse I got led me to believe it was a gorgeous intimate space (date night anyone?).
The service was top notch. I could not pick fault. Staff were professional, friendly and informative throughout. They appeared to be enjoying what they were doing too which speaks volumes in my opinion.
The modern Indian inspired food was delicious. Some of the items were a little pricier than I might have liked to pay but the quality & portion size of the dish completely redeemed it. Standouts for me were the Lamb Curry, which literally melted in the mouth, and the Chicken Biryani (which made my eyes water & my nose run — charmed I’m sure).
Next time — & there will be a next time — I plan to book and dine in the intimate main dining area. Any takers?