Me and lovely wife to be. Arrived around 8pm last night it was quite busy for a Tuesday evening, Our first time here . Quickly given a table even though we hadn't booked. Great wine list and staff had good knowledge of food and wines, friendly and welcoming. Watched how much attention to detail and effort the chefs put into plating and cleaning down at end of service, shame not all restaurants in Melbourne maintain the same high standards of what these guys at Tonka do. Really enjoyed the food and atmosphere, best Naan in melbourne by far crispy, fluffy and buttery. The desserts where heavenly and bursting with flavour.. Great work guys, we will be back�
I have spent a week in Melbourne on a business trip, and I was looking for some of the top places to eat. This place came up and I have to say I was not disappointed, the service that was provided the food that they suggested, I rate highly, the whole experience. Be prepared to pay that little bit more but you get a lot more in taste. That to me is what dining out is all about.
Well its Indian cuisine but not Indian..
Its sort of Modern Indian Fusion.
You will have a nice experience if you don’t keep your thoughts on Indian cuisine.
Even the interior is warm and artistic.
We enjoyed our visit and will surely try again.
Tonka comes with a big reputation and it doesn't disappoint. Creative and very well executed fusion dishes with an Indian influence. The tandoori trout was incredible. A great food experience with excellent wait staff, that makes this restaurant a must go.
An incredible journey of different flavours over small but perfectly sized dishes. These dishes are small with exception of the mains, intentionally. Designed for sharing or to have several.
The service was second to none with attentive but not invasive wait staff. Recommendations were offered based on pallette and dietary requirements.
A wide variety of drinks including several non alcoholic ones or drinks that could be modified to noon alcoholic.
The venue itself is light, white and well insulated.
Overall a great experience and a true culinary journey of you're looking for fine food. 🍛🍷🍹😎
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🦀 Spanner Crab Betel Leaf
🐙 Deep Fried Baby Octopus
🍗 Mustard Chicken Tikka
🐟 Trout, Wombok Salad
🍤 Kerala Prawn Curry
🐑 Avani’s Lamb Curry
🫓 Naan
Tonka is a modern Indian restaurant located in one of Melbourne’s most iconic laneways, Duckboard Place. It is co-owned by chef Adam Dsylva, has been featured on Masterchef and since opening have received The Age Good Food Guide’s ‘Hat Award’ every year.
The ceiling installation ‘Drift’ by Melbourne artist Naomi Troski was designed to hit the brief “the magic of India” and is just simply stunning. The whole restaurant is the perfect balance between casual and formal. The service is faultless and the attention the detail was impressive. Constantly topping up our water, offering more drinks once we finished them and even clearing, cleaning and resetting the table with fresh plates and cutlery after every single dish.
Definitely start with a Cucumber Margarita, I could’ve ordered one after another it was so good. All of the entrees were delicious, the (spicy!!) Octopus is a must and although they are small, I recommend the Spanner Crab Betel Leaf, Chicken Tikka and the Trout as they were all bursting with flavour.
Although not mentioned on the menu, you can actually get half serves of selected curries. They were however, my least favourite dishes. The Lamb Curry lacked flavour and didn’t fall apart. The Prawn Curry personally wasn’t to my taste at all but my partner loved it! The naan was a good side.
I feel like I have had better much curries from my local Indian restaurants at a fraction of the cost. I would still come back and try a different main or just stick to the first half of the menu!
⭐️ 4/5 (Great)
Birthday dinner for my wife and our son. The lights were either broken, seriously dimmed or on power-saving mode, but a relatively minor issue. Service was fast, efficient, courteous and friendly - drinks and food. Prices aren't low, but the food is excellent, and the curry portion sizes are huge. We couldn't finish our lamb curry and butter chicken, though we did have lots of appetizers. Dishes aren't spicy at all, so if you like a hit of spiciness, ask for chillies on the side. Huge drinks selection as well, though only one international beer(?). Great ambience and food. Definitely go. Have photos, but they're useless in the poor light and with my phone.
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We've wanted to come here for a long time and finally the day arrived. We were a little early but pleasantly greeted and soon seated with menus and water after audio issues were resolved.
We made up our own feast from the large menu. Highlights included the:
1, Pani Puri - beautifully presented, crispy balls with potato, mung bean paste, chutney and an aromatic water we poured into the parcel. The spices gave this opener a little bite which served to wake up the taste buds.
2, Deep fried baby octopus on a bed of harissa - crispy with flavours bursting in the mouth and our favourite of the day.
3, Confit duck with lightly pickled purple cabbage and a chestnut puree that harmonised soothingly with the tender, slightly pink flesh.
We also had the Tandoori paneer, Kerala prawn curry and the Carrot halwa with cream cheese ice cream dessert. The paneer was delightful, the curry had too much bite for me and the dessert was intriguing.
Entry is from a dingy and dank alleyway but once inside the spacious interior looks comfortable and elegant. At the back are huge windows opening out to Flinders St, infusing the space with natural light. Service was friendly and on point throughout. A memorable experience to a memorable place.
Tonka served modern Indian cuisine in a contemporary, fine-dining style setting.
We ordered a few of their meals; Zucchini potato pakora, Chicken biryani with Sella rice, Pani puri crispy parcels filled with spiced potato, charred broccolini, and dessert Coque meringue Ispahan with rose cream lychee raspberry sorbet. All the dishes were full of flavours, delicious and presented well. The service was pretty good also. Overall, a great dining experience.
DIVINE!!!!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
First time visit for us and it didn't disappoint, the service is wonderful and the food is DELICIOUS!
My partner enjoyed his cucumber (with volcanic salt) martini ( he had 3!) and I with the mango lassi with white rum
For entree, we had the vindaloo steak tartare and Kabuli Chana in betel leaf with roasted pineapple
For mains, we opted for the half serve of the butter chicken and lamb curry- just as well because the serving was quite generous as well as the fried cauliflower
For dessert, I thoroughly enjoyed the guava and mango Bombe Alaska with caramelised quinoa
The restaurant is very trendy and decor is sublime. The staff and crew was very friendly
Would definitely come back next time we visit Melbourne
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