Taiko on Ponsonby Road is a Japanese restaurant built around shared plates. The menu is tapas-style, so small dishes come to the table to be passed round, and the kitchen runs sushi and sashimi alongside cooked dishes such as its Don sets, hot udon and katsu. Japanese beer, sake and wine go with the food. Diners who have come for years say the sashimi is very fresh and that the menu still holds some surprise specials. Reviewers also praise the sake recommendations and the owner's care with guests. The restaurant opened on Ponsonby Road in 2008, alongside a second branch in Kingsland, and the website says it was named in Metro Magazine's Top 50 Asian Restaurants that year. Its name for freshness rests on sourcing ingredients locally each day, which matters for sashimi, where the fish is the whole dish.
Lunch runs Tuesday to Sunday from 12:00 to 1:45 pm, and dinner from 5:30 to 8:45 pm. The restaurant takes reservations and sells gift vouchers, and it caters for group banquets as well as couples. Vegetarian options are on the menu, and the staff ask that you tell them about any food allergies or dietary needs before you order. Lunch drink specials are listed on the menu. It is a place for a long dinner with friends at the table, or a relaxed lunch with a few plates and a cold beer.