Totoya Japanese Restaurant

We were off to another birthday party, and another Japanese in Neutral Bay in 2 weeks.

Food

This is the favourite haunt of a few in the party, so we let them do the ordering. We started off with some skewers (yakimono) since we've been smelling them from the kitchen.

• chicken skewers with chilli roe - the chicken was a bit bland but the chilli roe was interesting, salty and hot, I think it's more a novelty than a culinary breakthrough
• pork skewers - well done, with a subtle sauce and the fat still on the meat, adding flavour
• chicken and shallots skewers - again bland chicken, a little tough too, the sauce a bit too strong and overpowering.

Our other entrees were:

• beef tatarki - beautiful slices of meat marinated in a fresh citrus sauce, but it was covered in shallots and onions, not a good date dish ;p
• deep fried oyster - I still don't see the appeal of frying oysters when you should have then au naturel! The batter was a bit thick and the sauce a bit too strong, masking the natural flavour of the oysters
• soft shell crab - which were meant to be the highlight on the menu, was good, but the size of it is quite small, meaning you are eating more batter than crab. This was done better at Kansai.
• agedashi tofu - again, the batter a bit thick and the tofu was very firm, but the sauce, laden with bonito flakes, was quite good.

By that time we were quite full, and our mains hadn't arrived yet! Never fear, when they did, they looked and smelled so good we found room for some more:

• grilled eel on rice - one of my all time favourite dishes. Soft pieces of eel laid on top of a bed of rice, all coated in a divine sauce. I just can't figure out why there are a bucketload of shallots and wasabi! in the bowl. It was certainly entertaining watching people accidentally swallowing chunks of wasabi...
• gyoza - pleasant enough with a good filling, the skin was ok but not the best
• sushi and sashimi boat ($25) - presented beautifully but arriving last meant that we were struggling to finish it. The sashimi slices were thick, fatty and fresh. The nigiri were good, with a perfect slice of fish on top of some ok rice. The maki and rolls were ok, but a bit tasteless, and the rice a bit hard. There were also pieces of eggs presented, which were sweet..

We washed all that down with some green tea, which was the proper stuff and tasted great.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

Totoya is situated inside a shopping centre, so it's a bit hard to find. The decor is somewhat dated and very simple, Our tables were loosely banged together. There's a fish tank with some pretty tropical fish in the entrance, other than that, nothing special.

You don't come here for the decor though, as the restaurant bean filling up. Mainly families, some celebrating Chinese New Year. It's not somewhere to go if you want an intimate dinner for two, but for simple, honest food, it seems quite popular.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The service was...ok. They were a bit slow removing our dishes and clearing the table. We had to ask them to refill the teapot. But it's a cheap kind of place, so we didn't expect too much. According to the regulars though, they often get orders wrong so we actually kept tabs on what we ordered.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

$30.20 per person for our feast. We were all full by the end of it. There are so many Jap restaurants at Neutral Bay you know you won't get rip offed, and these prices are certainly fair. It's just that you can eat better and for cheaper at Kansai.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 10.5

Info

The Grove, Shop 13
166-174 Military Road
Neutral Bay
NSW 2089
Phone (02) 9908 7045