Soto, Ponsonby

Herald rating: ****1/2

My dining partners for the evening, Base FM DJs Godzilla and Shagpile, reckoned they "discovered" Soto, which opened last December. Judging by the healthy number of patrons on a Thursday night, they're not the only lucky restaurant explorers to have stumbled across it.

We were in the old Ponsonby Fire Station, formerly French restaurant Plusone. The building's ivy and brick exterior hints at nothing of the transformation inside. The thoughtful interior is now all bamboo and light boxes; horizontal lines, rice paper effects and silver origami cranes — delicate Japanese design hovering inside a solid 1900 colonial shell.

The large menu's array of categories was slightly bewildering: sushi and sashimi, light servings, Japanese salads, soups, set meals and "more main-sized selections". What would add up to a full meal? To start, we ordered zensai — a tasting plate of "Japanese tapas" ($24) to share. The Edamame beans made a nice alternative to peanuts as a salty snack, after I learned to open the pod and eat only the slippery beans inside rather than chewing the fibrous husk.

The omelette was sweet, but it was the sashimi and its tangy marinade which prepared our taste buds for the good things to come. Godzilla then had crispy tempura ($11) as an entree while I had six grilled butterfly prawns ($16) served with a citrus jus, bright orange tobico (flying fish) caviar and a spicy mayo. Meanwhile, Shagpile was working his way through the vegetarian set menu ($35) including sushi, miso soup, bok choy, pickles and mushroom salad.

He appreciated the extra crunch of Soto's signature dish, tempura rolled in shredded filo, even though he reckoned "it's hard to make a song and dance about tempura".

Like the decor, the cuisine is recognisably Japanese but innovative and creative rather than bogged down in tradition. Executive chef Makoto Takuyama uses virtually no dairy products; instead, his all-important sauces are mostly based on lime reductions, making them fresh, light and flavoursome. The presentation — clean angles and ivy garnishes — was also universally appreciated at our table.

We stepped out into the tranquil high-walled rock garden at the back for a breather, before coming back to mains. Godzilla ordered teriyaki chicken but didn't feel the chef was excited by such a pedestrian dish and pronounced it only "acceptably good".

I did much better by sticking with seafood, savouring each and every mouthful of the seared tuna and red wine, sweet wasabi soy sauce. The flavours continued to develop even after each morsel had disappeared.

Shagpile also thoroughly enjoyed his teriakyi tofu and noodles, and washed it down with a tasty but disappointingly tepid "Seven Laughs" sake — a second choice as "Mountain Man" wasn't available. Eschewing the standard wine list, I sipped on a delicious sticky plum wine.

The portions are satisfying but not overstuffing, which meant room for the surprisingly fabulous dessert. For $12, you get "three tastes". Highly recommended are the smooth sesame seed creme brulee and the papaya pannacotta with marmalade-like lime-caramel sauce. Beats the old stalwarts of apple crumble and chocolate torte any day.

The only annoying quibble was with the lovely but vague waitresses. Co-ordinating two a la carte meals with a set meal of seven courses is perhaps difficult, but we were all kept waiting several minutes at different times as food arrived haphazardly. And we were charged for an extra main. Next time we go, we'll be checking the bill — but that'll be sooner rather than later.

Overall: Mouth-watering Japanese flavours presented with panache in beautiful, delicate surroundings.
Where: 13 St Mary's Bay Rd, Ponsonby.
(09) 360 0021
Our meal: $253 for three. Tasting platter, two entrees, one set menu, two mains, three desserts, one miso soup, two beers, one plum wine, one jug of sake.
Our wines: By the glass $7-$10. By the bottle $28-$63. Sake $15-$23 for 360mls.