Tochi Deli

Japanese$

Much progress has been made over recent years, but Melbourne still has a long way to go before it can call itself a great sushi city.

Our problem these days lies not with the high end nor the low end; both of those can be found easily, and our Japanese fine-dining scene continues to improve with each new opening – it feels like there’s a new omakase counter opening every month.

But truly exceptional sushi cities find much of their greatness in the middle ground: the casual lunch counters in the innards of Tokyo’s subway corridors; the plain-looking restaurants with little to no signage in the strip malls of Los Angeles.

Tochi Deli, which opened in Brunswick in 2021, has always been an exception. The lunch-only stall in a dilapidated marketplace from Shingo and Rena Tochimoto was known for its fresh fish and carefully cooked rice, so much so that the biggest problem for customers was that the couple regularly sold out well before closing time. The setting was a little odd, and cold during winter, but the product was outstanding.

Last year, with the marketplace earmarked for development, a hunt commenced for a new location. In March of this year, Tochi was reborn in Coburg, in a standalone shopfront on Victoria Street, just around the corner from the legendary falafel joint Half Moon Cafe and behind Coburg Market – a nice quirk of fate.

Tochi Deli exudes the kind of uncomplicated and affordable quality that Melbourne’s sushi scene so sorely lacks.

This is still an order-at-the-counter affair, and you can still grab rolls and onigiri to take away. But the vibe is much more that of a proper restaurant, albeit a tiny and simple one. It reminds me, in all the best ways, of the pared-back, perfect and unassuming spots that you find in Japan.

It makes sense – Shingo worked at his grandfather’s sushi restaurant in Tokyo for many years, and the heart and hard work that comes with a family business shines through here. The couple did the fitout themselves; the menu is handwritten.

There are comforting hot dishes, mostly in the form of stewy things over rice, but it’s the nigiri and chirashi bowls – the raw fish – that I can’t go past. Many times over the past few weeks I’ve found myself driving up Sydney Road, headed for the crammed car park in front of Tochi (the one across the street is far easier to navigate).

Lunch here is one of those rare things that feels like an absolutely indulgent treat while costing very little. Some days I’ll manage to spend over $60, when the omakase of the day (which includes 10 pieces of nigiri and usually costs around $40) is particularly enticing, and I decide to add an order of tiny, sweet and creamy sea urchin and a bowl of miso soup.

But other days, $25 gets me a bowl of beautifully vinegared, soft and pliant sushi rice, layered with kingfish, supple salmon and meaty raw tuna.

The tuna we’ve become used to outside of fancy restaurants tends to be dense and almost tasteless, or worse, tastes of the freezer it almost always comes from. At Tochi, the tuna tastes like deep water and blood and power.

There are daily fish specials that make up the chef’s omakase, but you can also order them individually, and this is another place that Tochi departs from the norm.

Trevally, its skin silver and glinting, slips over your tongue with the barest whisper of clean fattiness. Snapper pops with freshness, a sesame seed garnish lending a nutty edge. Medium-fatty tuna has the texture of soft velvet, tasting far more mellow than the meaty loin. Scallop is delivered in a generous pile, sweet and indulgent.

Tochi is still evolving – there’s talk of evening hours and of an eventual liquor licence. I’m especially excited for the latter, given that this sushi absolutely deserves to be paired with sake.

But even as it exists today, Tochi is kind of perfect – unassuming, friendly, simple and exuding the kind of uncomplicated and affordable quality that our scene so sorely lacks. It gets us one step closer to being a truly great sushi city.

The low-down

Atmosphere: Simple, busy 12-seat shopfront. Expect a line on weekends.

Go-to dishes: Chirashi don $25/$32; chef’s omakase, market price (about $40-45); miso soup $6.50

Drinks: Water and soft drinks; liquor licence in the works

Cost: Anywhere from $20-$50 per person

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

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