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.

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.

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.

Excellent japanese food at reasonable prices. The lunch menu offers a variety of meals with rice…read more And the dinner menu offers an extensive range of japanese dishes such as sukiyaki. There is no need for reservations.

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!

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!

Ordered via Uber Eats. Food was tasty & fresh. Portion size was appropriate. Would definitely…read moreorder again. Only comment is they did Not include Utensils.

I recently visited the Tanpopo branch in Howick for the first time. It's been a while since I'd…read morevisited the one in town, but I feel like the two branches, menu aside, couldn't be anymore different. Tanpopo Howick seats quite a few more people and has more of a Saturday hangout feel as opposed to a family restaurant. There are bar seats aswell if you're just there for drinks or would prefer to have your meal there. Our table for two was massive, and suitably so because it ended up being covered in food. The tables and ottomans are very close together and its s tight squeeze to get in and out of your seat. I didn't find this to be a huge problem, but this really depends on personal preference. The service here was awesome. We were greeted immediately by one staff member and they were great throughout the night. Our food came out quickly and it took us a while to get through it all. Their miso soup is just delicious and for $3 you get a massive bowl- it will certainly make you realise that you're being ripped off everywhere else. This is also the best miso I've had in recent times and one is enough to share between two people. We also ended up grabbing a loyalty card to get a few dollars off on our next visit. We even got a couple of extra stamps on ours because it was our first visit! Excellent and consistent service and food, I would highly recommend Tanpopo for a great meal.

Low key homey restaurant hidden in the Remuera Village with surprising good food!…read more The place- typical Japanese decor. quite dim atmosphere. 2-4 seaters and a few bar stools. Well maintained. Clean. Some street parkings limited to 30 min during the day. The food- menu is smaller than many other westernized Japanese restaurants but they do bring out good daily specials. Amazing quality seafood. If you are lucky, you may get the highest quality part of tuna (otoro) the menu. Has a rich creamy taste to it. Also recommend the tuna wings. Lightly flavored, juicy and tender. Of course the lunch box options are of good quality and value. The service- as expected from a Japanese restaurant. Helpful and knowledgable. Will definitely visit this place again. Look forward to trying out their next special.

I love to support local businesses, especially when you can have decent chats with the owner. It…read moremakes it feel so much friendlier and that there's a connection there. We've come here heaps of times for lunch and dinner and have always been impressed. The meals are not just your usual Japanese - its fancier! Everything is presented so carefully and beautifully. Check the board for the specials - it will be totally worth trying. And the fresh grated wasabi is really quite something else!

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!!