Try here, if you are looking for an authentic Japanese food. Tons of Sushi places in Auckland CBD,…read morebut most of them are operated by Koreans or Chinese. Here the Sushi chef & the staff seem all Japanese, so it means they offer the REAL thing. Most of Sashimi are all fresh(of course it depends on the season tho). The atmosphere is more "Izakaya"(Pub/Tavern) rather than restaurant, so you can order bit by bit. Reasonable, casual, friendly, yet polite. Good Japanese place. 韓国系・中華系のSushi屋はたくさんありますが、こちらはちゃんとした(笑)日系居酒屋です。お刺身は新鮮だし、天ぷら・照り焼き・焼き鳥などのいわゆる現地受けするメニューも豊富。お寿司は巻物の巻きがやや甘く、ぼろぼろ解けてしまう点がマイナス点(NZと豪州はお米がどう炊いてもパサパサなので、致し方ないかな)。Queen's stからもほど近く、旅行者にも訪れやすいロケーションです。

Cozy spot. Love the sliding door. Service was quick. Food was very good. And the Staff was really…read morenice.

Ebisu is the Japanese god of fishermen and luck, and Auckland is one lucky city to have it's fresh…read morefish in town. The service is top notch and the flavor combinations are umami-tastic. From the sous-vide Abalone to a sashimi tasting with wasabi tartare, there wasn't one item on the menu that didn't make my tastebuds jump for joy. As if the friendly service and flavorful food wasn't enough, Ebisu is also a must try for any serious Sake lovers (and the Japanese whiskey menu is also a treat!)

The food itself was very tasty, I did not have much to comment about. It was a very pleasant…read moretasting experience and the price was really good, (110 NZD = $66 USD) for all that much food. Beef was tender and easy to chew, veggies were full of flavor. Fish was full of flavor and well textured. Definitely well balanced but I'd trim the cabbage salad to half as it was hard for me to finish, and maybe add a few more slices of salmon/tuna. Service was a bit slow considering the restaurant was not considerably busy, but all of my meals were served in a timely fashion. There was a party that got the same menu as me (shame on her for judging me eating alone but whatever), and the difference in time for us getting our foods wasn't too far apart. Ambiance - it is a very popular restaurant, has the stereotype of an up-scale buzzy restaurant. Definitely good for solo and accompanied dining :) I'd give this a 4 star rating. Food was great but the service could be better and more attentive.

Best experience here on our honeymoon visit to New Zealand!…read more The restaurant is trendy and romantic. Service was so friendly. We ordered the Tokyo platter which had so much variety!

Once again Yelp reviews failed us. We were looking forward to this restaurant by Nic Watt, but the…read moreexperience left us underwhelmed. Restaurant itself is very prettily decorated. Lively ambience. Our waitress was "nice", but nothing beyond the bare minimum. Food was just ok. The crab hotpot was more like a porridge. Drinks were watered down.

I've been to Kyoto a few times now and have always been pretty impressed with the service. I've…read moreonly ever gone during dinner time and its' never too busy. They have ample seating for diners so they can accommodate a lot of people and groups would enjoy the spacious layout here. Its located right next to the Amersham Way entrance to Westfield Manukau so there's tonnes of free parking if you're stopping by for a meal before a spot of shopping- nice and convenient! Their miso soup is delicious. I've become accustomed to miso over the past couple of years and Kyoto does one of my favourites. I've tried their katsu and it tastes great; its perfect for someone like me who's not quite ready to go all the way with ramen or anything too out of my element. They also have a good range of entrees, and I'm a little obsessed with their snow peas. Prices at Kyoto are pretty reasonable and you can get a dinner for two with drinks for about $50-$60.

Hmmm. Soft shell crab - burnt & not the freshest…read more Dumplings - delicious. Endame - hot & salty just like they should be. Prawn shumai - unexpectedly fried, but tasty. Sashimi - never arrived so can't comment. Service - friendly but oh so slow and in a restaurant that was far from full. Overall very disappointing and not crying out for a repeat visit but as always I'll give it at least one more try just to be sure.

Came here for our last meal in Auckland before heading back to the US. We were fortunate to be…read morestaying in the Rendezvous Hotel, so our commute to the restaurant was delightful! Here's the breakdown: Food: So, so, so GOOD! We ordered: Bento Box with scotch beef, salmon avocado roll, edamame, and kingfish sashimi, miso soup, and rice- Everything in the box was great, except the scotch beef. It was slimy and smothered in sauce. We couldn't eat it. The sashimi and roll were absolutely incredible. By far the best and freshest fish I have ever had in my life. I will be dreaming abut this fish for the rest of my life. 5 course chef's tasting menu: Tuna, kingfish, and salmon sashimi- again, all phenomenal Jumbo prawn tempura- So juicy and delicious! Chef tasting sampler- I cannot recall everything that was included in the sampler, but I remember it all tasting wonderful. Salmon- Fresh and delicious. Trio of desserts- meh. The sake creme brûlée was pretty good, but the others were not very good at all. Seaweed salad- YUM! Really, really delicious and fresh! Service: We had the best servers. The ladies who assisted us were just so kind, sweet, and attentive. They made the evening lovely. Atmosphere: Cool and sleek. Prices: A little pricey, but considering it is located within a hotel and the food was as good as it was we were good with the overall cost of the meal. So why not a 5 start rating?? Well, I will tell you. As I mentioned above, the scotch beef in the bento box was inedible. We asked the server if it would be possible to order something else in substitute for the beef. The server went and spoke with the chef and came back to inform us that the chef said we could have something else, but would have to pay for it. Now, in all of my past experiences if I have ever had to send something back to the kitchen it was always taken off the bill and I was urged to order something else that would also be free of charge. I do not believe I should be charged for something I do not eat because it tastes awful and I do not believe I should be charged to order something else. Alas, we did not end up ordering a substitute for the beef and were very disappointed to see the beef on our bill. Overall, the fish is fresh and the service is lovely. I would recommend this place; however, be careful because if you don't like what you're eating- too bad, so sad for you and your wallet.

Katsura was one of my favourite Japanese places in Auckland growing up. They were infamous for…read moretheir decadent Friday buffets, and all-round great service and authentic cuisine. Recently, it appears like the restaurant has undergone new management. Lined with new decoration and completely new faces, the charm that's brought us here previously is now gone. We came for a set lunch on a weekday, and it remains well-patronized but quiet. As a rundown of our experience: Our host tried to upsell us to a premium green tea when we requested tea. She made no effort to explain what or why, but it came at a cost of $5 per person. Usually their complimentary green tea is great, and was what we wanted; and it came at a bit of a "haggle". After our sushi and salad appetizer, immediately came our mains - a shrunken portion of what used to be a generous portion of beef or chicken. We were told that our rice and miso soup were right on its way: this came 20 minutes after. By then, most of us had either finished our mains, or had waited patiently until they were cold. The wait staff made no attempt to see that our table was cluttered and stacked with plates and did not clear them as they came by countless times! Lastly, our tempura dishes came about a 15 minute wait after we had finished our mains. Don't these usually come before the main dish? Our sauce was served together with our sushi and sat at our table the entire time. It came cold, the batter was not drained, and definitely not the standard it once was. Katsura, being an above-average and luxurious restaurant, was loved by our family for years because of its impeccable hospitality and food. It appears as if that charm is gone. How unfortunate!

I have picked up sushi here while walking past on a number of occassions. They have it right on…read morethe street so it's super convenient and the staff are always on hand to relieve your bank account swiftly so you can get on with getting a good fill. I can recommend the chicken Katsu California Rolls and the Teriyaki Beef rolls. The only downside is that I am not keen on the way they do their Soy Sauce in foil packets, I found them difficult to open. I haven't eaten in the restaurant so cannot really comment on that side of the business, but it looks pretty dark back there.

Tomo Restaurant and Yakitori Bar is certainly not the best sushi and yakitori in the city. I went…read morewith some friends to use a group buying voucher for unlimited sushi and a hot main course each. The sushi was very heavy on rice and light on everything else - I guess when you're offer all-you-can-eat you want to make it as cheap and unappealing as possible. Worse, the ingredients were dry and had almost certainly been sitting around in the fridge for too long. In fact, many of them were not every very presentable, smooshed by previous diners or careless staff. Also, be careful if they run this deal again - you need to eat all the sushi you take or you'll be charged $1 per wasted piece. I think this is fair enough to avoid wastage, but it's worth keeping in mind. The service was attentive, but not particularly friendly. The main courses were better, but nothing amazing. I'd try other yakitori offerings before returning to Tomo.

I love the food, the food are just so amazing and so delicious. The service was amazing. The…read moreworkers would play fun games with us with the food while it is cooking by the worker. So fun and so cool. They would make funny jokes. The ambiance was so cozy. It was very cool.

Daikoku is a great place to take a group out for birthdays, dinners, any excuse really, and is much…read moremore than just a meal, it's an absolutel experience. Teppanyaki dining hasn't had much exposure in Auckland apart from this place and the other franchises opened later, but I'm definitely glad they did. Not only do you get delicious food, but it's prepared in the most entertaining way, with you all sitting around the outside of a central hot plate, with your own chef cooking your food to order, flipping his utensils around, flinging salt and pepper shakers into his hat, and sending bits of fried egg flying across the table into your mouth, accurately! The highlight for me is always the prawns in Yum-Yum sauce. It's almost certainly not the most healthy thing for you, and all in all the meals aren't cheap for dinner, bu the experience more than makes up for it, and man is it delicious!

The ambiance is fun, feels like Japan and I appreciate the all Japanese staff, but best to stick to…read morecooked food here. As a former sushi chef apprentice I was frankly offended by the sushi and sashimi. We ordered a 6 piece hamachi sashimi and it came with 5 decent pieces, but the 6th was a pile of chopped "lesser quality" fish. We also ordered two rolls, a spider and a rainbow. The centers were sparse at best and there was SO much rice around the roll it was like kindergarten sushi. The fish on the outside of the rainbow roll was weak in multiple ways. Our salmon misodare and chicken karage bowls were a bit better. If you want good sushi, look elsewhere, sorry.

Wouldn't have found this one without Yelp. It is a small little restaurant in the CBD with…read moreauthentic Japanese food. Service was excellent, friendly and fast. This could have been right in Tokyo as everything was perfect. Thanks.