Toru

Amazing coffee. Excellent service and the food is consistently good. Love their salted caramel pancakes. If you’re feeling a bit brave and adventurous and want to try brunch with a fancy twist I would recommend Toru :)

My partner and I managed to catch up for lunch one sunny weekday. We walked around and looked at all the places to eat when luckily we stumbled upon Toru.
Wow, superb service and stunning food to match. Loved the creative style of the meals and everything was fresh.

Great food but long wait. The short rib sandwich was flavorful and the kim chee side complimented the traditional sweet/​soy flavors. Not sure what the bun was made of but the bread was out of this world fresh.
Here is where it gets interesting… the crinkle cut fries were hands down the best chips I’ve ever tasted. A perfect outer crisp with a hearty texture being that the cuts are of a delightful thickness.
Would have been 5 stars but the service lag killed the good vibes.

Brad and the team here are always friendly, attentive and professional. Food is pretty good, try the scrambled eggs with that delicious horseradish side.
As for the coffee. Great aroma, distinct taste. Easy on the palette.
Why do you think I’m back?!

Toru never fails to impress.
It’s a common brunch spot for us but we’ve never tried the evening meals served Wednesday to Saturday nights.
Wandering Ponsonby on Valentine’s Day pre theatre we figured finding a place would be difficult.
Not so at Toru which had plenty of room as it’s not really know as an evening eating spot.
Happy to report the food quality is as imaginative and delicious as the morning fare.
The Short Rib with Eggplant tasting plate was sensational. Not a big serve but perfect with some shared sides of Potato Croquettes and Crinkle Cut Chips and it left room for dessert.
Ryan had the special Flat Iron Steak with Salsa Verde and was well impressed. I tried it and agreed. Tender and delicious.
The dessert was Smashed Meringue with Summer Berries and Pistachio. Quite delicious but unexpectedly bound together by whipped cream which f*cked my diet!
Good wine list. I had a very pleasant Prosecco.

Visited ponsonby central with some friends and we couldn’t decide where to eat, checked out the Toru menu and we were sold! No regrets! Food did take a while but it was so so delicious, worth the wait.

Very nice for brunch a fresh bottle of sauvageon blanc. International food but the menu is slightly limited. So if you go 2 – 3 times, you will have a limited choice. Hence the 3 stars. Otherwise good quality and nice place to go

Great café at the front of Ponsonby Central. This place has been pretty consistent since it opened and offers a large selection of modern NZ breakfasts and lunchtime meals. The pancakes with salted caramel butter are simple and pleasing. The pork belly benedict is textured and satisfying. The beetroot cured smoked salmon salad is interesting and refreshing. The coffee and service are great as well. A nice spot to start or break the day and destined to be one of the long term staples of Ponsonby Road.

This was brunch choice for the week, great restaurant located at the front of that foodie gem, Ponsonby Central. I couldn’t go past the ricotta pancakes with whipped salted caramel butter and vanilla sugar. We also ordered the colcannon, corned beef and poached eggs combo. Although pleased with both dishes, mine didn’t have any accompaniments so looked a bit bare (my only complaint). Fruit on the side, edible flower, drizzle of syrup? Just felt it was missing a little something… I probably just eat out too much!

I am a fan of Toru! But, today I must say — part of our order was forgotten! I love Toru’s crinkle cut fries so I ordered a side order of them, and they never came (wah!). The coffee isn’t at the standard I’m used to but, luckily this was made up for by their yummy soft shell crab sandwich. I loved it! I would come back, but Toru is no longer at the top of my ‘epic brunch spots’ list! Sorry!

Great initial experience; seated quickly, water to the table, menus given. All good so far. My first experience in Toru was amazing! Food was amazing and it had always made me want to come back. Times are definitely changing though. The prices are sky high for what you get. Don’t get me wrong; I thought the soft shell crab sandwich was incredible but, would you really pay $ 16 for a sandwich? Coffee was ok. I’m not a coffee expert but my partner is and she wasn’t too impressed. Also, I think the waiters should use notepads when taking orders because we were missing a side that we had ordered. (Memory was obviously not as good as they had thought.) Good thing we were full by the end of the sandwiches we had. Thanks for the memories, Toru!

The best breakfast I have ever had. Seriously! Perfection. Whoever is inventing these savory concoctions is a genius (And this from a guy is very difficult to please and hardly ever writes a review. Especially when the usual breakfast can be so mundane. And in NZ where the food can be downright blah)
I ordered the colcannon, corned beef, sauerkraut, crème fraîche, poached eggs breakfast.
The poached eggs were done to perfection and the colcannon flavor was enhanced by the crème fraîche and sauerkraut. The watercress garnish was just the right amount of taste bud accentuation, almost priming the sensory lobes of my brain for the bites to come. Everything was piping hot delivered obviously within seconds of coming off the grill. It made me want to be a foodie.
If everything in New Zealand tasted this good I might stay as an USA expat. But, only Toru has gotten it right. As Kiwis say, good one on ya Toru.
And yes, I will be back for dinner! I can’t wait. And whatever you are paying your master chef is not enough.

I had a casual work lunch at Toru for 6, we were seated quickly and had drinks delivered fast. We ordered food from the lunch menu and it was delivered in a fair time.
I ordered the crispy skin snapper and it was flavored ok but the snapper skin wasn’t crispy as advertised. Overall the food was enjoyed by the table, but not outstanding.
Prices are fair for the type of food as the menu includes many premium ingredients and cuts, and there is a good selection of drinks with smoothies etc.

Have always wanted to have coffee at Toru and every time I have attempted in the past, they were just closing or finished for the day — very short opening hours (for Ponsonby Central) in my opinion!
So jumped at the chance the other day, mid-​morning. The place was half-​full with creatives and individuals talking intensely or reading the Herald newspaper.
I wasn’t sure whether to sit down first or if I needed to order and pay. The wait staff appeared busy and preoccupied. I just ordered a toasted brioche and triple shot.
After sitting and reading my Twitter feeds, my coffee or brioche had still not arrived after 10 – 15 minutes? So rather miffed about the service here.
All the magazines on offer were dated which I thought was unfortunate for the location. A few tweaks I think.
Nonetheless, the ‘three beans’ coffee was fab and the brioche: delicious.

I love Ponsonby Central and this is the complex where Toru is located in. Ponsonby Central has so many different varieties of food and will definitely be a place where I go back to try out other food.
Anyway, this review is about Toru. We sat down at their backend seating area and were served by one of their Waiter. When we sat down, we ordered our coffees and a few minutes later, we also ordered our sandwiches with crinkle chips.
Both the food and the coffee took awhile before they arrived at our table, I was so hungry I almost lost my patience over waiting! The food finally arrived but the coffee was no where to be seen… We followed it up and the waiter apologised furiously and discounted our bills with the coffees. Needless to say we accepted their apologies and were grateful of the customer service. A tick from us on that note.
The sandwiches were pretty interesting. What a combo with soft shell crab sandwich and beetroot dressing! Amazing taste and texture. The crinkle chips that were served with it was mouthwatering and unlike any chips that are usually served with meals at café. The last time I had mouth watering chips was a Vegas!
My partner had a slow pork home made pie. Yup, it was so yummy too!
Defintely on the to go place for brunches now!

I’ve been to this café for a while so it was very sad to see that the standard has fallen down. I ordered Pork belly sandwich with crinkle chips ($ 16.50) as it was my favourite. However it was disappointing to eat — buns were dry and chips were like a solid rock. They must have been sitting somewhere for a while. What a shame as I used to love these crinkle chips. I tried other sandwiches here too as I enjoyed the Pork belly one so much. The fish finger was just okay but the Beef rib w Kimchi (pictured above) was a bit bizarre with too much ginger taste. My companion seemed to enjoy his salt & pepper tiger prawns salad ($ 22.50) though. I didn’t try it this time but I know that it was full of flavour from the last time I tried. I should’ve got the salad…

This is one of those spots where you see about 10 people you know over the course of brunch — which, depending on whether you like to read your Weekend Herald in peace or how many after-​work drinks you’ve the night before, is not necessarily a bad thing.
The menu at Toru is really varied — with some interesting options for brunch. e.g. colcannon, corned beef, sauerkraut, crème fraîche and poached eggs or french toast with pineapple curd, lime and coconut. I would say the prices are a tad bit on the expensive side with most dishes for brunch being around $ 18 (although, they do use high quality ingredients)
When we went it was just after Midday and I ended up ordering off the lunch menu — Lamb loin with chimichurri, wild rice and beetroot ($ 22.50). The food took a good 50mins to come out but was delicious when it did. My lamb dish wasn’t huge, which suited me just fine but boys with big appetites should take note. They also were v. slow with the drinks — we ordered beers when our mains came out but we didn’t get them until we finished!
Maybe it was just an off day in terms of service. Regardless, I would definitely go back!
p.s I have heard their smoothies are off the chain

Hey Ponsonby Central, I really like what you’ve done with the place, and Toru is definitely one of the best feathers in your cap.
Breakfast at Toru has become a bit of an institution already, and I’ve really gone at the menu trying lots of different things. Often when I head to cafes I stick to the regulars, but Toru seems like a good place to get adventurous, and I’m glad I’ve done it. Ricotta pancakes with salted caramel butter — holy crap… amazing! Waikanae crab omelette with spring onion and kecap manis — ridiculously awesome! And expensive! But hey, you get what you pay for. I’ve only rocked up for the lunch menu once so far, but I grabbed the salt and pepper prawns with vietnamese salad. Once again, to die for.
Toru — fa out. This place is awesome.

Five facts about Toru:
1. The menu is good. It has pies and jaffles which are those toasted sandwiches that are sealed all around the sides. It also has a softshell crab sandwich/​burger thing which is pretty mean.
2. The menu is good but the prices are kind of high. Similar to most Ponsonby establishments — not really any higher, but you know, just letting you know.
3. They do crinkle cut hot chips which I can’t find anywhere else except at Molten Wine Bar in Mt Eden. These are good, get them.
4. Service is good and fast.
5. Coffee is also good and fast. My dad got a little sweet tart thing one time and he said he liked it and he hardly ever likes any place I take him so that counts for something.

I have tried coffee from all the places in Ponsonby Central and Toru and Foxtrot Parlour are my favourites. Toru use Three Beans coffee, I love this local blend (not sure whether I had raging rhino or gangster rabbit but both are good). Plus you have to give credit where credit is due and the guy who was on the coffee machine each time I have come here made a great short black. The juices are really yum too.
On a nice day you can sit outside which is a bit quieter than indoors plus you can people watch. Toru has an excellent kitchen menu as well as cabinet food and the service is fantastic. The space is cool, big and airy, just a cool vibe really. Later I discovered that Toru is the sister establishment of one of my favourites Teed Street Larder in Newmarket, It is no wonder Toru is so good.