COCORO RESTAURANT REVIEW 

3.5 STARS / 5   (BETWEEN GOOD AND EXCELLENT) 

VISITED SEPT. - OCT. 2025

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND 

 

Got a lot of cash but don't know how to spend it ? Don't worry, Cocoro in Ponsonby has you covered. Their Signature Menu is only $360 per person (wine + sake pairing : $150 so total $510, treat your deserving partner for a steal of $1020), Seafood degustation $ 290 per person, and Cocoro degustation $190. Being my usual thrifty self and the dratted economy having still not fully recovered, I opted for the Cocoro tasting menu, which incidentally has as or more attractive options than the rest. 

Cocoro, to its immense credit, has survived while so many of its big-name brethren have bitten the dust in the last twelve years. Simon Wright sold The French Cafe, Michael Meredith closed his eponymous fine-diner on Dominion Road, Ben Bayley left The Grove which eventually shuttered, the commodious aristocratic Barolo in The Langham disappeared ages ago, even Bracu in Bombay outside Auckland lost its excellent chefs Mikey Newlands and Logan Campbell. 

 

 

 

 

You will be surprised about the type and unexpected provenance of big-shots who will answer "Cocoro" when asked about their favourite restaurant in Auckland. This establishment in the upmarket central suburb of Ponsonby, with its sudden wide views of the Sky Tower (I'm talking about Ponsonby, not Cocoro) continues to hold modern court with refined Japanese cuisine in a fine-dining setting. 

What forms every gestalt and ethos of Cocoro, is elegance. The ambience has been subtly upgraded over the years. Tables, except for the large long communal one in the centre, now have white table-cloth - vanishingly rare in Auckland these days, as the trappings of nouvelle cuisine have been stripped to minimalism over the choice of the lush maximalism of the luxury of yore. Lines of blonde wood frame and section the carpeted, subtly lit space. Even the entry to and space inside the restroom has accents of decor. Space between tables could have been more, though. If you plan to have a romantic date here, the table next to you will get an intimate update about your love life. 

 

 

Service is good, especially when they appear table-side. But the top-tier vigilance which marks outstanding service nay sorcery of world-class teams, is not there here. There will be periods of waiting, for various things, more often than desirable, and that subtracts from the experience. 

On my first evening, I had the al la carte - and they praised the sequence of my selections at check-out. The second visit comprised the seven course degustation.

  'Kina' Sea Urchin & Salmon Caviar Gunkan Sushi : Memorable sea urchin (Uni) is rarely if ever served in NZ top-tier restaurants so I looked forward to this single offering priced at $20. Unfortunately they could not make the sea urchin shine through. The salmon caviar notes were evident - apart from that, it was a morsel of unfocused taste more often seen in 6 pieces for $10 sushi. 

 

 

O-toro fared better. This super fatty tuna was artistically presented on a catamaran-shaped plate for $19. It sported the quintessential taste of what I consider to be the "melon of the sea" - a mellow, fresh, gently umami-laden flavour associated more with land-based offerings. The fattiness was manifest in its lolling softness - a notable if unspectacular offering. 

 

 

Assorted Nigiri Sashimi  :

Upper row (L to R) : Tuna, Skull Island Prawn, Alfonsino

Lower row (L to R) :   Salmon, Kingfish, Blue Cod 

These six pieces are billed at $42. Is it worth it ? Considering the overall presentation, the focused flavour, and provided one person gets to enjoy all six pieces - Yes. And you're comfortably ensconced in one of Auckland's reputed restaurants in a sought-after suburb. Auckland, sadly, does not have top-tier omakase places but till those get here, we will have to make do with less accomplished versions. What struck me was how cohesive the flavour delivery and textural arrangement was. Subtle - yes, rapture - no, satisfaction - yes. Subtly vinegared rice was in close cahoots underneath the wrap-around fish. Alfonsino (red bream), rarely offered in New Zealand, was smoked, with wasabi pre-added - it set off an incendiary reaction at the top back of my palate. Blue cod had a perky chew. Hunk of Skull Island prawn was an outsize specimen with meaty heft, with just a touch of sweetness. I am one of those who will gladly accept the chef's pre-added accoutrements without adding any of my own, so the DIY condiments of ginger, wasabi and soy were actually a hindrance in my discernment of the nigiri's intrinsic taste.

 

 

Vegetable Tempura - creatively presented in a bamboo tray the likes of which are used for threshing grains in other Asian neck of the woods - distinguished itself as an excellent appetizer. It was a gentle tour of vegetables - which having been through the dells and hollows of a fryer - may have lost their healthful essence but not their delicious vitality. Unctuous root vegetable, lightly smoky aubergine, soft carrot, smooth mushroom were all lightly flecked with crisp tempura batter to offer soft-crunchy toothsome bites.

 

 

When the grilled warehou as the main course was presented - two compact fillets at the centre, New Zealand and Japan side by side with the wide ocean of the plate expanse around them - I thought, dude where's the rest of the fish ?! But on tasting it, the punter in me who values qualitative pleasure over quantitative heft in fine-dining restaurants, leapt in pleasure (moreover I had multiple dishes in this sitting, so I wasn't exactly crying out for more in this dish). This is one in hundred fish - luxuriously smooth, arrestingly buttery, with a touch of sweetness accentuated by the sweet miso marination. I had mediocre warehou in the past but that was a dry, funky shadow of these royal fillets, their regal caliber evident in their dew-kissed satiny fibre (flakes, I should say, pristine fish flakes apart). There are only a few restaurants in Auckland which can plumb the depths to offer this level of empyrean fish - a marquee offering in Masu or Hilton's FISH when the tides are right. It also brought back memories of another commandingly unctuous preparation - Antarctic Toothfish - tasted in Cocoro and similarly presented, twelve years ago. 

 

 

 

Not all however may be as forgiving as me apropos the quantity. Cocoro is firmly aimed at the upper crust - not all in this bracket but particularly those who can drop in excess of $100 per person without expecting generous food quantity. The table of six next to me had other platters, mercifully, sitting on the table but when the warehou was announced and delivered to the table, I did not hear any oohs and aahs. I by myself gaped at the two modest fillets on my main course plate - imagine a family of six doing this ! I was reminded of a line in Alan Richman's Estella review - "A friend said the dish reminded her of Tiny Tim's Christmas dinner, one scraggly bird plucked off a rooftop with a net to feed a family of eight Cratchits". 

Cocoro has an excellent alcohol selection - with a variety of plum wines and Japanese whiskeys, leading to the luxury Sake selection, the 720 ml top-end versions ranging from $400 to $2,400. White and red wine selections are also good, with bottles starting from the $70 to $80 range, the ultimate splurge topping out with the Chateau Haut-Brion 1er Grand Cru Carbernet from Pessac-Leognan at $2999.

At the more modestly priced end, Tsuru Ume Yuzu Sake is a lovely drink - its luxe citrus edge could give several cocktails a run for their money. "Yebisu" beer also has resonant taste, with rich, fruity notes. 

 

***

  

Second visit : 

 

 

Two businessmen sat next to my table and ordered up a sequential feast with drinks. They might have spent close to $500, if not more. The space between tables is so close that I could hear all of their conversation about cabbages and kings, with relatives thrown into the middle. 

The restaurant kindly substituted the lamb main course on request, and offered duck as replacement (as I have abjured red meat). The seven course tasting menu is offered at $180 ($10 less for the red meat substitution). 

 

 

 

  The "Snacks" arrived in a snazzy multi-decker black box that opens up like a doll-house. Alas, it was just fluff - '"white fish" with some crisp vegetables was tasteless and a chunk of fried octopus in ginger-wasabi cream was so indistinct that it could have been any protein.

 

 

Sashimi :

6 o' cock onwards anti-clockwise. Scampi, John Dory, Snapper, Kingfish, Trevally, Salmon, Alfonsino. While I appreciated the trouble they took with providing separate accoutrements for each fish, I'm sorry to say none of the fish impressed me with their taste. 

 

 

Chawanmushi custard with scampi, paua, mussel, and scallop could make none of its seafood shine, the custard itself a lightly briny marine whisper that I might have enjoyed if I were down with the flu. Finally, course four provided indulgent relief - a generous chunk of crayfish that was luxuriously buttery and softly crisp, flavoured smartly with miso and given crunch by the gratin. 

 

 

 

It is surprising how many top Auckland restaurants are clueless about offering decent zero sugar drinks considering it is a health issue for an increasing number of clientele (the supermarkets in New Zealand caught up a long time ago with an impressive selection of zero sugar drinks). I asked Cocoro staff for a zero sugar non-alcoholic drink other than the done-to-death zero coke and it became apparent the request to this otherwise fine team was handled like a duck skipping on a hot frying pan. The server who had impressed me with her dish ingredient memory offered a fruit juice mixer as a low-sugar alternative, blithely unaware that fruit juice is high in sugar. Finally they brought me a kombucha-based drink - I despise the useless flavour of kombucha but by this point, I couldn't be bothered to ask for something else. 

 

 

Haku Kingfish wing was served lightly cooked and velvety, and another chunk sported a fried crisp exterior. Both had meaty smooth flesh kingfish is renowned for, but lacked depth of taste, not aided either by a middling "head and bone" dashi. Bigger disappointment lurked in the main course - abundant charcoal flavour smouldered through the charcoal grilled duck, but it was lamentably chewy - an unforgivable error for a main course in a $180 tasting menu.

 

 

 

In truly top restaurants, even if the food momentarily disappoints, consistently excellent service and hospitality provides some solace. While service continued to be fairly good on the second visit, the three staff on the floor were often hustling with just fifteen patrons in the restaurant and it became obvious they need at least one more server on the floor to give the kind of attention elite establishments proffer. 

Theatrics ensued as a richly patterned teapot poured water into a pebbled base the dry ice in which spouted smoke swirling out of the plate. Half a dozen accoutrements like strawberry mascarpone cream, mochi and sakura jelly were arranged around the main component of matcha ice cream that issued the dessert's predominant taste - which barely passed pleasant muster.

 

 

At the end I was glad I tried the a la carte first. If I'd had the seven course degustation first, I might not have returned. Cocoro is an elegant, expensive restaurant. It is mostly for those with heaps of discretionary spending. The kitchen and service staff work hard. But they do not rise to a consistent, world-class level. 

 

UPN

 

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