Love this place! The staff are friendly and the food is incredible! Great pricing and large…read moreportions. The restaurant is clean and tidy as well :)

My first time at Tokyo even when I used in the apartments right next door for years. What an…read moreexperience and the food is second to none. I've never been a big fish person but the way the food was presented and the flavours were not what I was expecting. This is now one of my new favourite places. The decor really makes you feel as if you're in Tokyo! The staff are super attentive and always available which is great. If you've never been here this is a destination you HAVE to try. Will be coming back for sure!!

Wide range of Japanese food including traditional, fresh and clean with great service. This is the…read morekind of Japanese we were looking for and finally found. Highly recommend :)

Totoya is one of those Japanese restaurants that you go to and all the customers are Japanese - to…read moreme that is a good sign. I work nearby so I visit for lunch quite frequently and have always been happy with the quality of the food. The sashimi is delicious, if you like your fish raw! While the atmosphere isn't amazing by our kiwi standards, it's actually pretty authentic in terms of Japanese eateries. The friendly staff will give you a big welcome when you come in and serve hot tea to drink while you're deciding what to order and for your food to arrive. At $14-15 for a dish it's pretty good value. There is a lot of stuff on the menu that can be a bit difficult to know what it is so you might find yourself sticking to the well-known classics. That's what I do, but I'm sure the staff can help out with explanations if need be.

I have no words to say about this place during dinner…read more The lady just looked at me and ignore me for 30-40 mins and didn't sit us down or ask us to wait... She didn't even clear out the plates. One thing I'm disappointed about as I have heard good things about this place For now 1 star

Friends of ours recommended Narita as a restaurant worth trying. So my wife and I decided to enjoy…read morean evening out, and enjoy is the key word here. What a little gem, the staff members are all dressed up in traditional gear, and the general atmosphere is positive. With sake bottles used as decoration and dodgy old Japanese drifting videos playing in the background, it all adds to the experience. But it is the platters of food that will make this your regular hang out, good food and inexpensive to boot. Add a shot of sake or two, some Japanese beer and you've got a good night out. They hand out soya beans to nibble on, and the more you eat the better they get. Narita is a definite must do for all diners on the North Shore.

3.5 Stars. My family…read morelove this place and have been visiting regularly for years. Personally, I think it's just okay. Six of us went recently for dinner, ordering various things. The menu is quite large and varied so there is something for everyone. I ordered the vegetarian set meal which was actually really large with many dishes. The teriyaki tofu was close to perfect - probably the best I've had. The rest of the dishes were a little greasy though and I didn't feel very authentic. They have a fairly big selection of Japanese beers - including on tap which is nice, as well as other Japanese alcohol.

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!

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!

Great place for Japanese food. Very nice and cosy, love the cute little details. Everything was…read morewell thought out. Plus, I love that they are so kid-friendly. They gave my 3-year-old her own set of cute utensils and Hello Kitty plastic cup which she really loved. The food is really good and affordable. I always order tonkatsu from Japanese restaurants and this one did not fail to delivery the authentic taste and crunch you'd find in a really well done dish. My husband had the steak donburi while my mom had the salmon with avocado donburi, both excellent dishes. They have a menu of just $10 donburi, which is really money well spent. This place is worth revisiting when you're in Birkenhead.

Absolutely perfect experience! Everything that we ordered was timely, homemade, fresh and layers of…read moreasian flavours!!! Staff friendly and quick. You get a strong feel of the locals filling up the dining room for dinner.

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.

Another 5 star food experience. I have reviewed this…read morerestaurant before and has the same experience. This time we ate lunch during the relatively small lunch window 11.45 -2pm on Friday. We got there about 12.30. The place was relatively full. We sat outside and ordered from the lunch menu. For $16.90 we ordered chicken miso x 2. One had ramen style noodles as the side and other rice. Both come with a decent chicken portion, miso, 2 x sashimi, small side such as fried lotus and carrot/ pickle. All fantastic. We also got an order of the prawn twisters. Gosh they're good! Washed down with Japanese beer and NZ wine. Go to Mushashi New Lynn!

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!

One of the best japanese restaurants on the North Shore. Super welcoming staff & their green tea is…read morereally really yummy. The food always comes out super quickly and is always fresh and delicious. Try their other restaurant in Glenfield - it's just as good!!!

Always great food. Service isn't the best. Atmosphere is typical 1990s Japanese, but great foodread more

Quite surprised with the quality of food , although I'm not a fan with Japanese food opened by…read moreKorean( most of Japanese restaurants here in Browns bay seems operated by Korean) I'm not against that however would prefer the authentic way. Having said that two Japanese restaurants operated by Japanese also disappointed me one is just crossed road. I must say I'm impressed by this one. I ordered Yaruki bento out of my expectation! Fresh tasty I must come back again! Worth the money as well just 15.9 I think.