Honto

4 Reviews on “Honto”

• ChrisEats

  Honto by the owners of Longtime has been open for a few days. We rocked up without booking on Saturday evening around seven. There is an awesome cocktail bar room while you wait for a table. Friendly front of house had us seated well within an hour. I think our timing was fortunate though as the place was bustling and got even busier later into the evening.The interior design of Honto is comfortable and stylish. The whole fitout is dark with charred wood, black paint, dim ambient lighting and black tiles. The cocktail area and main dining room both have dramatic light fittings. It just feels cool. The cocktail area and is so dark you can barely read the menu! Great choice of Japanese whiskey and wines – but if you need to wait for a while for a table grab a cocktail, fairly extensive menu of Japanese inspired cocktails (subtle not garish) and classics.Our group of four ordered a chef chooses special so we could sample as much of the menu as possible. They are still ironing out some logistics of service but everyone was friendly and prompt. Great wine recommendation from our waiter.First courses were Sashimi. Pretty dishes with delicious fresh salmon, kingfish, scallop, prawn, and tuna. Served with house made wasabi and house made soy sauce. Great flavours, pretty fish. Beef tartare on fried lotus root to close. Delicious!Next dish was a highlight for us, fish tartare in a sweet mini cone with avocado. Awesome! Lobster katsu sandwhich with dill slaw was also light and great.A prawn donut served like a bagel was rich in flavour and decadent. The serving size was spot on and made it a fun and delicious hit.The heavier mains were twice cooked brussell sprouts, pork belly with citrus chilli jam (?) and fried squire fish with pickles and a mild chilli sauce. Everything was great, serving size good for four. We had a side of eggplant with white miso and sesame which was also delicious, beautiful texture.There was additional pork dumplings and chicken karage – probably too much food for us in total but solid all round. A light refreshing dessert to finish. Our group had a great time, the food was terrific for us, and the service was top notch. I hope the standard stays high – this restaurant makes an awesome addition to the Valley. Perfect for a date or with good company.

  November 19, 2020, 6:57 am

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• Cino's Mum

  4.5Theres Japanese, and then theres Honto. Slick yet inviting, it delivers in both style & substance. This sibling to our beloved Longtime resides down a nasty back alley, behind a plain doorway which (after a few bends) opens up to an opulent black interior accented with chandeliers, moody candlelight & bustling open kitchens. Drama totally befitting our special occasion dinner. Like Longtime, bookings are taken up to 6.30pm, then its walk-ins only. Bravely eschewing the popular banquets, we were expertly guided through the dishes on offer & how much to order. Cocktail & sake recommendations were also confidently on point. Cant praise our welcoming, profeshe server enough. Bites section contained the on-trend, Insta-popular prawn donuts & lobster katsu Id already set my heart on. Bigs selection delivered hearty helpings of pork belly & wagyu beef. Good as these dishes (& others) were, surprisingly they werent the main event IMHO. The raw plates entirely stole the show & were transcendent (even rating a sublime from the usually uninpressed nephew). We chose the aburi scallops & tuna ceviche but OMG the yellowtail dish elevated everything & kept us on a high. So glad our server insisted we have it. Wed forego everything else for more of these. Clearly nothing but the freshest produce, married with the best possible accompaniments.Recommend the whole experience that is Honto. Always high risk choosing a fav sibling, but for reasons I cant quite rationalise, Longtime still remains my preferred spirit animal. Maybe just adopt me into this golden family lineage though pleeease!

  March 7, 2019, 11:27 am

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• Abhi Raviraj

  Had the banquet – every plate was delicious, the flavours interesting and more-ish. The restaurant has a dark, modern feel that’s gorgeous. Service was friendly and helpful. Definitely coming back!

  February 16, 2019, 4:57 pm

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• Filipe Santos

  Found out this hidden gem by chance while browsing restaurants and decided to pay it a visit.Arriving on a Thursday night I find the restaurant fully seated and a wait of about an hour for a table for 2.I’m quickly seated at the bar which is separated from the restaurant.Checking their drink menu I must say I had never seen so many options of Japanese alcohol and even though I’m an avid customer of Japanese restaurants and bars I hadn’t heard about at least half of the drinks available.After about an hour I was seated in front of the sashimi bar where I was entertained watching the chefs preparing the entrees.After pondering for a while although they did not have many vegan options available on the menu the waiter informed me that they could make some dishes that weren’t on the menu if I wished so.From the dishes I tried I couldn’t find anything to fault at it and must say I find myself oftenly craving for their twice cooked Brussels sprouts.

  January 4, 2019, 9:49 am

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