Eccentric but awesome dining evening!!…read more We booked the day before, online over Facebook, explaining that one of our diners was soy intolerant (but still loved Japanese food.) The owner was cool about it and we organised to be there at 6pm. We arrived at the venu, just a doorway with an unassuming sign between two shops. This instantly reminded me of some of the places we ate when we were in Japan in 09. Walking upstairs it opens up to a two table dining room with a small kitchen at one end. The decor is quirky, with Japanese memorabilia adorning the walls and mismatched Japanese cutlery on the table. There is a Japanese cooking gameshow on the TV in the corner. The elderly Japanese cook greets you from behind the kitchen and motions for you to sit. Since we are the only table to book, Ochiai San is all the staff tonight. There is no menu. We sat down and ordered some Asahi super dry and prepared ourselves. Degustation/ omakase style, heaps of small plates with delicious Japanese food start appearing. The chef was quiet at first, busy behind the grilles, but warmed up with jokes and banter as the night went on. Food was fresh and delicious, made from whatever could be sourced locally and turned into savory creations. 12 different "dishes" served over about 10 plates ranging from Japanese pickles to brothy soups to dumplings to wagyu beef to choco-nanas. All very tasty. I don't normally like degustation style dining but I was happily full at the end of it all. After dinner Ochiai San came and chatted with us about all sorts of stuff, Japanese dining etiquette, what we liked about the meal, took goofy photos with us with some pre prepared photo frames, he really does feel like he runs the place because he genuinely loves cooking. Really great experience, looking forward to going back there again.

We had been planning to visit Sakura Kitchen for ages. We stumbled upon it years ago when going to…read morethe adjacent supermarket and called in to ask about a booking. However, from memory they were booked up weeks in advance at the time so we put it on the back burner. Since then we've heard so many good reports that we made a date to go with some old mates. The unassuming entrance to this restaurant is sandwiched between a pizza shop and a butchery and is actually easy to miss if you are focussed on the pizza or the meat shopping. There is no menu. The Japanese owner cooks for you, seemingly whatever takes his fancy on the day. It's a small and intimate setting and you can chat to the chef from your table while he cooks. There were only three people working there: the chef, and two others who helped prep in the kitchen and wait on the table. We were a group of 12 and we were the only customers, all seated at one table which filled the whole restaurant. The chef will also open the restaurant and cook for just one couple, as he did for some friends' anniversary recently. I don't think the waiting staff were there so he just served them himself. If you are a fussy or picky eater, don't bother going to Sakura because you won't enjoy or appreciate the effort that goes into the food. If you must go, please be well-mannered and don't pout or turn up your nose at things you don't recognise. It's really immature and insulting to the chef. And don't announce to your fellow diners why you don't want to eat it - they don't want to know! But really... just don't go. We had about 10 courses I think. Each course comes on small serving plates, like a Japanese degustation without the wine to match. There's everything from vegetable to meat (Wagu), chicken and seafoods. It's all very good. Not being Japanese and not having a menu to refer to I don't know what the dishes were called but everything was delicious and presented beautifully with accompanying dipping sauces and condiments. There was so much food that we were all struggling at the end, but had room for the unusual green tea ice cream at the end. They are fully licensed but the selection is very small. I was offered a red or a white wine! They also do sake which some of our party imbibed a little too freely.. A trip to the bathroom is amusing, there is a heated Japanese toilet seat which does other things, (see photo). Our bill came to approximately $70 per head but would be less without alcohol. It was a great experience, unique and special and we'll be going back again.

The sushi at Fresh Sushi is indeed fresh, but also a fusion of local foods and produce. Pukekohe…read morebeing a veritable bread basket for Auckland City. The thing I love about this eatery is that the food is honestly good, tasty and priced very competitively. I would certainly pay more to eat this sushi and would pay less for other sushi around town, as other do not compare for taste, value for money or portion sizes. Fresh Sushi do not scrimp on salmon, chicken or avocado and the rice content in each of their sushi rolls is far less than inferior sushi sellers. The row in the salmon sushi is fresh and pleasantly pops when eaten. This is great for me as I go to the gym and prefer lean protein and salads over carbs!! The fusion element of what would be traditional sushi is that the chicken and beef is fried as in Katsu. The fat content is obviously higher, but eaten in the appropriate portions and in combination with an exercise plan, is not a bother. The only problem I have is that my will power just melts away and I usually end up buying two packs of 8 pieces. So much for willpower. Also available on the menu are Katsu meals. Teriyaki meals, Donburi, Tempura and Nigiri. I might try those one day. But for now I'm happy to feed my sushi addiction here...for me, no other sushi joint gives me the feeling of culinary indulgence as Fresh Sushi in Pukekohe.

The sushi was amazing we ordered the crispy chicken sushi and it tasted nice service was awesome…read morewill recommend and come again the rice came out beautifully as well as the chicken.

Very good Authentic Japanese Food. Food was great…read morePrices reasonable Service was great Family run restaurant. We enjoyed our dinner here very much Thank You Arigato

Good food. Looks like a mom and pop owned business. Chef worked hard to cook as well as prepare…read moresushi and sashimi. All of the food was decent and tasty. The only issue was service. Expect food to be served over a longer period of time since wait help was limited. But we all know the difficulty of labor shortages so just be patient with this homely restaurant.

The food here was so fantastic - we went twice during our stay! I am an avid Japanese food lover…read moreand was extremely impressed with the food quality. The T-bar roll is a MUST. The shrimp is out of this world. Restaurants on the street are typically expensive because of the fabulous view. With Takara you get a fantastic and reasonably priced meal, while enjoying the beautiful ambiance of being near the water. Lovely staff paired with excellent food - a recipe for success.

Great sushi, but the service could use an upgrade. It was so slow. Too slow. Pretty good taste and…read morepresentation though. I would recommend to a friend.

Hole in the wall establishment run by what looks like a husband and wife. Comfortable seating for…read moremaybe 24-28. Takoyaki - it's good says dbp. - perfect (6) spheres Spicy ramen - Comes in hot no need for extra spice - deep smoky flavor - mash your own sesame seeds is a nice touch Tonkotsu shoyu ramen - plain flavor feels under developed - wifey says it's homey - kinda grows on you as you eat it Mukashi traditional soy ramen - best in show - clean Miso taste - added corn bc I love the crunch Tonkotsu paitan salt ramen -

Metro rated it as one of the best Ramen houses in Auckland or perhaps it's on the top 50 cheap…read moreeats. Regardless which one it sways towards, it does live up to its reputation. It's not brilliant because I guess you only get that in Japan I suppose but compared to Mentatz (on High Street) and Tanpopo (Anazc Ave) it's good. It's also famously nestled between a few well known Symonds St eateries namely Ginas which is a funny and loud Italian restaurant, a top end Japanese eatery which I can't remember the name of, a well known Sushi eatery and also a cheap and cheerful Thai dining house. So you assume that there's plenty of competition about! First time I rolled in I ordered a Giyoyaki Ramen (fish and pork broth and probably spelt wrong) and it was delicious. The broth is probably the most important part of Ramen and it was rich and creamy. Some may argue otherwise that it's each individual part that gives the rise to the whole Ramen. But I say broth. For me it was a little tad on the small side as I was super hungry but everything is fine, a little short on the extra condiments as I usually like a bit of bamboo shoots. Second time I went I had a spicy ramen. I had a good look at the menu and was pleasantly surprised to discover that you can make it large for an extra $1. So I went with that and it totally filled me up. Go get your Ramen Fix there!

Loved the spicy ramen and the Sushi options. The seaweed salad was great && the seared salmon…read morenigiri.

From the owner: Always provide Fresh and Healthy food. Traditional Japanese at reasonable price.read more

Gorgeous food. Love the fanfare during the cooking process. Ex-Daikoku chef who certainly knows his…read morestuff. Enjoy it every time. Give it try. It deserves a lot more recognition than it's getting. Even an 8 month old baby being fed at the table and loving It!

Try and make it for the 6pm special! Prices are way cheaper if you can get there in time. But even…read moreif you can't it's definitely still worth it! It's Teppanyaki so they cook the food right in front of you. I always think this is great as it's entertainment while you wait and because the food comes in instalments (probably not the right word but you get what I mean... they give it to you as each part is cooked). I always get the chicken special. You get Miso soup, a salad, rice, chicken and veges! And they are all superb. I think the thing that keeps me coming back for more is the delicious gingery Japanese sauce they give you! I could probably eat dirt if it was lathered in this stuff! YUM!

Very fresh seafood and excellent presentation. Very nice staff and free street parkingread more

Our experience was top notch from the welcome in the door to the service and the excellent food!…read moreThe menu satisfied both the vegetarians and the meat eaters in our group. Service was fast but not rushed. Tried to go back again but they were booked. Make reservations well in advance.

Can't go wrong coming here, except for getting a table if you haven't pre-booked. Make sure you do…read morebook , else you may never get a table or be " left out in the cold " for a while. This particular night we came we could not get a booking until at least an hour or so later, so we popped in when passing by to see if maybe they could maybe squeeze us in somehow. Luckily, yes, they could give us a table as long as we were finished in an hour. Thank you! We gratefully took it. The service is pretty quick here so did not have to wait long for the orders to be taken. I had the Pork Katsuni with rice ( it can be ordered without rice ) , and my other half had the Pork Miso Katsu. My order came out in the little pot still cooking above a flame and a timer placed next to it for 10 minutes. When it beeps at 10 minutes then it is fully cooked. Worth the ten minutes wait as is pretty good .. Of all the Pork Katsuni i've had this rates up amongst the best. Pork well cooked and all. So overall, service is great, food too, ambience very good, it's clean...and i really like how the split long tables into seperate seatings for 2, 4 or however many. And the price is as expected..not too bad. Well worthy of 5 stars!

Despite the lack of reviews - yes, yelpers, I'm talking to you;) - this place is gaining a quick…read morefollowing. Even on weeknights the place is packed (and they told us we would be fine on a Thurs evening with a large group, but not a seat left in the house as the night wore on). The food is tasty but expect small portions, so eat before hand, or after if need be! I even got to cook my own fish dish at the table with bunsen burner and timer. Tasted pretty good chef. Service was ok, but seemed a bit unsure of themselves at times, could have been new staff perhaps? Well worth trying out if you are in the area or a local. Hefty price tag but worth the occasional splurge. Enjoy!