Tochi Deli Rises Again, With the Same Affordable Sushi Menu

For five years, Tochi Deli built a loyal following from an unlikely nook of Brunswick: a rundown food market on Sydney Road, where couple Shingo and Rena Tochimoto quietly turned out some of the north side’s most beloved Japanese food. Now they’ve moved to a new address in Coburg, across the mall from local institution Half Moon Cafe.

“We didn’t actually mind the quiet, almost deserted atmosphere of the market,” Shingo says. “In fact, we found it quite interesting – having an authentic Japanese sushi restaurant in a place like that felt a little unexpected.” But in the end, the site proved too big, and too cold during winter.

There are 17 seats and a purpose-built fit-out this time, but the concise, affordable menu has stuck around. Shingo, who worked at his grandfather’s sushi restaurant in Tokyo for more than a decade, is still keeping things simple and seasonal, with a menu built around nigiri, chirashi, donburi, onigiri and miso soup.

“Nothing has changed dramatically,” he says. “Over the past few years, we’ve refined what we believe is the best balance between flavour and minimising food waste, so now our focus is on maintaining that consistency.”

That consistency starts with the fish. The nigiri menu rotates depending on what’s available at the market, but a few signatures have become staples: blowtorched salmon, yuzu scallop, lightly cured alfonsino, oysters gently poached in sake, and various cuts of tuna, from lean akami through to fattier pieces. Most of the fish that appears as nigiri can also be ordered as sashimi. “Raw seafood is the main event at Tochi,” Shingo says.

Then there are the dons, simple rice bowls topped with warm dishes, which are fast becoming just as much of a draw. There’s a fried chicken number with shiso and grated daikon. Another is a vegetarian take on China’s zhajiangmian, built on shiitake mushrooms and with rice in place of the typical wheat noodles. The chicken nanban, from Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, pairs fried chicken with a sweet’n’sour glaze and tartare sauce. Agedashi tofu and teriyaki chicken round out the hot dishes.

The move happened quickly. About a month after finishing up in Brunswick, the pair found the Coburg shop on Facebook Marketplace and began demolishing the old fit-out and renovating the space themselves. Much of the new interior was built by hand: the register counter, sushi counter, shelving, textured walls, even the wavy partition between the kitchen and dining room. Old materials from Brunswick were unscrewed, sanded down and reused where possible.

“It took time,” says Shingo, “but having full control over the layout made the space far more functional than relying on a pre-existing fit-out.”

For customers, the biggest change is something simpler. “Comfort,” he says. “It’s cool in summer and warm in winter.”

Dinner service will roll out occasionally on weekends, while a liquor license and desserts are planned for later. The setting has changed, but the appeal hasn’t: meticulous Japanese food, made as approachable as possible.

Tochi Deli
4/12 Victoria Street, Coburg
No phone

Hours
Thu to Mon 11am–3pm

instagram.com/tochideli/