A modern Indian restaurant located in Melbourne's Duckboard Place, known for its vibrant flavors and award-winning wine list. It is also associated with Coda Melbourne.
Adam D'Sylva is a highly acclaimed Australian chef, celebrated for his innovative approach to modern Asian and Indian cuisine, often infused with his Indian-Italian heritage. He is the co-owner and head chef of...
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Last updated: 7/15/2026, 4:17:43 AM
Key Information
Tonka is a modern Indian restaurant located down Duckboard Place, one of Melbourne's iconic laneways, just off Flinders Lane. It celebrates the vibrancy of Indian flavors by reimagining authentic Indian techniques with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and creative flair. The restaurant is known for its artful surrounds and is part of the same group as Coda Melbourne.
Customers consistently praise Tonka for its delicious and creative Indian-inspired dishes, often highlighting the unique flavor profiles and high-quality ingredients. Service is frequently described as attentive and excellent, contributing to a perfect date night ambiance. While many appreciate the non-traditional approach, some note it's a Western fusion rather than authentic Indian. Specific dishes like the betel leaf prawn, tandoor trout, black garlic naan, and carrot halwa receive high acclaim. Some reviews mention that individual starters can be pricey, and there were occasional comments about service lapses (e.g., forgotten orders) or unexpected charges like cakeage.
Additional Details
Tonka is situated in a vibrant laneway setting, characteristic of Melbourne's dining scene. It is associated with the acclaimed Coda Melbourne, indicating a shared culinary philosophy and high standards.
A Date Night Done Perfectly Right
Tonka is one of those rare restaurants that reminds you why you fell in love with dining out. We visited last night and left genuinely moved — not just by the food, but by the standard of care woven through every detail of this place.
The betel leaf prawn was punchy and flavoursome with exactly the right texture. The lassi was refreshingly restrained in sweetness, finished with a coconut and curry leaf garnish, served in a beautiful copper goblet — unique and delicious.
The tandoor trout was a masterclass in technique: soft at the centre, not a trace of dryness. The black garlic naan was umami-rich and pillowy, and the calamari was fresh, crunchy, and cleverly elevated with an Indian-inspired flavour profile.
What truly set the evening apart was the service.
Our waitress was attentive without hovering — replacing my dropped face towel before I’d even noticed, quietly topping up water throughout. I also couldn’t help noticing the bartender holding each wine glass to the light before pouring to check if it is squeaky clean . These are the standards that separate good restaurants from truly great ones.
The ambiance — lighting, music, energy — was perfectly calibrated for a date night.
At just $170 for two people , Tonka over-delivers in every sense. Five stars, without hesitation. We’ll be back.
Beautiful restaurant in the heart of Melbourne CBD serving modern Indian cuisine.
Atmosphere and service was great.
We really enjoyed the ghee confit mushrooms with stracciatella and goat salli botti.
The goat was super tender with crispy potatoes on top and a good amount of heat. Ideally both served with naan which I loved here because it was fresh, warm, soft and a little on the chewy side.
Lovely little date spot.
Loved the pani puri; it was a highlight for sure. It was weird but great experience to try the blue cheese naan and garlic naan. Both are so delicious! I didn’t expect to enjoy them so much and was happily surprised. The carrot halva with mascarpone was homely yet fancy; a great treat for a cold winter night. The malai kofta and ghee confit mushrooms were lovely too.
One of those Indian places we really wanted to try as it was non traditional modern cuisine. Service provided was amazing, staff were very informative and knew the menu well. I would recommend you skip the starters that are priced individually especially if you are in a large group. We did the tuna tartare which was marinated really well although wish they had provided some form of crisp to go with it even though they charge for papadums separately. We had all the tandoor dishes which was really good and well marinated except for the paneer which was dry. Again we ordered all the mains on the menu, good sharing size except for the market fish which was a thin fillet of barramundi. They all tasted individually different with various spices and we enjoyed all of it. We were celebrating a birthday and was shocked to find out they charge $10 per person cakeage no mention of this anywhere on their website. But they allowed us to blow out the candles and cutting of cake.
Delicious meal with creative Indian inspired flavours, friendly service and lovely ambience. We started off with some mocktails and paneer tikka which served with a nice pineapple relish, then we moved onto eggplant malabar curry with tempura enoki mushrooms, chargrilled asparagus, goat cheese tyrokafteri, nori podi, Salt and vinegar triple cooked potatoes, tamarind raita, shezwan crisp with a side of Black garlic naan and lemon rice. Finished off with the lovely Chocolate parfait, Bournvita crunch, caramelised tahini, milk sorbet and oat milk masala chai.
