Tokyo Club is an izakaya dining bar in the laneway at Ponsonby Central, on Ponsonby Road. It is modelled on the Yokocho alleys of Tokyo, where food stalls and small bars crowd the lanes, so the room feels like a home-cooked night out rather than a formal dinner. The menu is built for sharing: grazing snacks, grilled skewers and teppan dishes, and sashimi and sushi made with fresh local fish.
Dishes named on the website include gyoza, takoyaki, seared beef tataki, chicken karaage, grilled teriyaki chicken and Scotch beef on the teppan. Fish on the menu includes yellow fin tuna, Akaroa salmon, local snapper and kingfish, with Japanese scallops and prawns. For vegetarians there are grilled mushrooms, vegetable gyoza, lotus root chips and salads of pickled vegetables. The drinks list has three Japanese beers on tap, sake, and a short list of wines by the glass.
Bookings are taken between 4.30pm and 6pm only, so later arrivals walk in. Dinner runs from 4.30pm until late. Dine-in is the main way to eat here, and the site also offers pick-up from noon to 7pm once an order is confirmed. Prices on the website include GST.