My husband and I lived in Japan for a couple years. When we travelled to NZ at the beginning of…read morethis year we stumbled upon Kazu when we were looking for a place to have dinner. This was the last leg of our trip and for the most part we had done things pretty well on the cheap. A visit to Kazu cost us three times as much as any other meal we'd had for the simple fact that everything was so good and we were on nostalgia overload. When we stepped into the izakaya, we were immediately greeted with the familiar "irrashaimase!" The decor was definitely authentic. Most of the restaurant was Western-style seating with tables and chairs, but there was a raised platform section covered in tatami where you remove your shoes to sit cross-legged on a zaisu (legless chair). The walls were decorated with Japanese calligraphy and ukiyo-e prints as well as some Japanese beer advertisements which are always a little hilarious. We were seated by a friendly young Japanese woman and given the menus. So many pictures of delicious foods! And the alcohol menu was one of the best parts: a double-sided A4 page full of Japanese beer (including Orion from Okinawa, which we've never seen in Melbourne), sake, shochu, umeshu, chuhai and red and white wine!!! There was even ramune for the non-drinkers! Our eyes popped out of our heads. I had a few chuhais and my husband loved the Orion. We ordered edamame, spicy soft shell crab, chicken kamameshi rice, a sushi roll, and a few other things. For dessert they had my number one favorite Japanese sweet of all times: taiyaki! I hadn't had a yummy fish-shaped pancake filled with red bean paste in far too long. After dinner we had a little chat to the owner in Japanese and told him how much we loved the meal. He was friendly and we loved the chat. This was, hands down, the best meal we had across 10 days on the North Island. The only sad part was leaving knowing that we wouldn't be back for a while. We didn't even mind that we spent around $150 between the two of us just pigging out and indulging on food we rarely get. It was a feast and I highly recommend this place to everyone.

Authentic Japanese cuisine cooked and served by Japanese staff with excellent service and food…read more Well impressed. These days wherever you go (except Japan) it's hard to find a Japanese that's authentic, they're usually fusions or with Chinese influence. Kazu's menu has a great selection of food and drinks, many types of soju to choose from as well as chu-hais etc. The decor was simple and cosy, they also had an elevated tatami seating area at the front of the restaurant where customers remove their shoes and sit crosslegged at a low table. The food was banging!! We were an interesting party of four with one pregnant and one gluten free and found the menu to be accommodating for all. The sashi platter was amazing, super fresh raw seafood. The dumplings three ways was also delicious. In fact, everything we ordered was delicious. Would definitely come back again.

Excellent ramen We ordered the Tan Tan ramen and it was…read morefantastic. The broth was rich and tasty and the noodles were perfectly cooked - firm and chewy!

Day 6 of our NZ trip. Craving little warmth due to periodically cool sprinkling rain. We stopped at…read morethis place. A girl with a weird eye makeup took our order. She was NOT pleasant at all. We might as well been better off using venting machine to order. She never made an eye contact with her mono tone voice and zero facial expression. Scary huh. Nonetheless ramen were decent. I would have given 5 stars for the taste of food alone but service makes a big portion on restaurant business in my humble opinion even though there is no tip system in NZ.

Food is authentic Japanese. Environment is great and service was amazing. The price is reasonable…read more Highly recommended.

Looks to be a chain of small Japanese food shops. They had a decent selection of pre-made sushi…read morethat looked pretty fresh, and an a la carte menu. My wife had the chicken udon bowl and I had the katsu don. Both were good. Reasonably priced.

Small, unassuming storefront and place. Exactly the type of hole-in-the-wall takeaway place my…read morehusband and I adore! This was the first place my brother took us to when we visited him in Wellington. I can immediately see why. Sushi Bi reminds me a bit of downtown Berkeley with its restaurants and cafes catered for students with student pricing. Sushi Bi is somewhat similar with its generous happy hour (after 4pm) prices: 1/2 off! Sushi is similar to typical Japanese sushi rolls in the United States with a New Zealand flair. Not the best sushi in Wellington, I'm sure, but for its price, it holds its own. All of the rolls generally priced at $2 are good and have more resemblance to its kin in the U.S. Tip: Make sure to queue before 4pm! Otherwise, you'll have to wait a bit.

Like others have mentioned, cheap takeaway sushi. More rice in your rolls than your nicer sushi…read morerestaurants, but it gets the job done for a sushi craving. Tasty too! $1 sushi deals and you pick your own rolls with tongs. Quick place to stop by for any meal, and it's open early if you want breakfast before a nice hike. :)

I found origimi through google reviews because I was craving some vegetarian friendly ramen. When…read morewe arrived it was me and my husband and one other couple, we were given water and menus. I ordered the Aubergine vegetarian ramen with green curry- the menu was a bit confusing so I double checked which was vegan or vegetarian. They also had what they call Dry Ramen which is seemed interesting to be but I wanted regular ramen. When my Dish arrived it was big! Had a half eggplant in the whole thing but it was delicious!! I really enjoyed the flavor, it was creamy, spicy, and warm! I just wished I had a microwave so I could warm up leftovers because I wasn't able to finish the whole meal. The staff were very kind and on our way out we decided to get one of their pastries- which was also delicious. They also had sushi which my husband got and enjoyed. I'd recommend this spot if you're vegetarian and in need of some ramen in addition to the Japanese pastries!!

We took one look at the menu and knew this would be a perfect spot for a nice dinner in the city…read more Our high expectations were met! We started with an order of Takoyaki (always happy to see those rare octopus balls on a menu outside of Japan). They weren't as good as the ones in Japan but that's to be expected. But they were still very tasty. We also ordered the yellow noodles with beef and their version of fried chicken and rice. I oversimplified the menu. The names were all Japanese so it was hard to remember but basically look for the ingredients I mentioned. Plus they cook the food with egg and onions and their sauces so it all comes out incredibly delicious! I ended up mixing the rice with the noodle dish and that made an excellent combination. We wanted to find dessert somewhere else but the ones at the restaurant looked amazing! And the people around us ordered some and they seemed to enjoy them very much. Maybe next time for us!

This is the outlet on Manners st and they need to learn what manners is. A good meal bit very…read moredisappointing service Firstly the communication was bad as i tried to order as the person taking my order was Japanese. Now that is not uncommon and warranted as it's gives some authenticity to the restaurant but my drama was they had loud music on as well. So while i tried to order and ask questions i told the staff member that i couldn't hear her as the music was too loud so instead of turning it down she spoke louder. May i add i was the only customer in the place. Do i gave my order pointing at the menu items and sat down. My food arrived and the dish was the wrong one. No wonder as if i could hear her she obvious couldn't hear me and ignored me pointing out the dish in the menu. So while i ate she proceeded to spray and wipe down the counter and glass. I could smell the chemicals while i ate what was tasty food even though the wrong dish. After her wiping the counter down she got out a vacuum and started making more noise as i ate! No wonder i was alone at dinner time in this establishment. I had sake and shouted out to her and the cooks cheers in Japanese to show some respect for their culture and nothing was said in reply. No one asked how my food was or if i needed anything. Crazy! I didn't get one smile welcoming me to this place , she was stone cold as though i just asked her out on a date. I didn't finish eating and left my bottle of sake behind letting them know i wanted to speak to the owner or manager and was told he was not around. So i told them the issues they had and that it was the managers fault for not training them properly not theirs but i hoped they would take heed and show some empathy for their wage payer being the customer. I did get a sorry from one of the three staff who realised that i had a legitimate arguement. Even thought the food was ok i can't see many people going back here after an experience like this. The food display case was a great idea as you will see the photo but you have to get the order right! Clean 8/10 Seating 35 Parking - none Service 2/10 Food 7/10 Prices 7/10

The food was really good I got there main dish and it was so good there service is good just not…read moreenough seating.

Really lacklustre food here. I feel like it's more like an OK Japanese bar that happens to serve…read morefood, as a side thing. If you want good Japanese food there are far superior options around town.

This place is pretty small, and can be a bit of a trick to find the first time you go. When you…read morefind the sign on Courtney head up the narrow stairs, and hope there's a table open. Every time I've been it's been pretty busy. If you don't mind sharing you can grab a spot at one of the bigger tables. The service has been good most of the time, though a bit spotty. We've sometime had to wait a while for an order to be taken, or to order more sake, and if the kitchen is busy food can be a little slow. But other nights food comes out wicked fast and they're really on top of things. Food wise the Yakitori is pretty great. You can order a combination plate or just pick a bunch of skewers to split with people. I definitely recommend the pork belly with spicy miso. The gyoza, both spicy and regular are great as well. What I wouldn't bother with here is the sushi, unless you want the rice for filler. The sushi tends to have too much rice that is under seasoned, and the fish just isn't quite there. The salmon sashimi is decent though. I will admit to being a bit of a sushi snob and find it hard to find really good sushi in Wellington as a whole, but aside from salmon, much of the fish served in sushi restaurants is hard to come by fresh daily in NZ and that's a really important factor in good sushi. Over all though the yakitori is good, sake plentiful, and the atmosphere pretty fun so I do recommend eating here. Just keep in mind you'll probably rack up a pretty hefty bill with all those skewers you're going to order and they don't like to split bills at all if they can help it. Have cash or awesome friends and you'll be good though.

Arashi was a nice surprise when it comes to authentic Japanese food in Wellington. I recommend the…read moresalmon nigiri. The salmon that we had seemed fresh and was buttery. I ordered the tempura set and was satisfied. The tempura wasn't cooked too oily and the rice portion was perfect. The salad and miso soup were also good. Shredded daikon and wasabi would have been a nice added touch but it was good for what it was. The tempura portion was also pretty generous. We ordered Otokayama sake also with our meal and to my surprise it came out hot. I prefer Otakayama sake chilled, so I was surprised when it was served hot to us. I wish they offered to enjoy it both ways. The service was at least good. Our waitress was helpful and friendly. The ambiance also felt like being in a traditional Japanese restaurant sans the bidets in the restroom, but all good :)

Good skewers. Nice veggie tempura. The ramen was good also but you probably normally wouldn't…read morenotice it on the menu because it is at the very bottom of the noodles section. Needs a better menu layout. Nice restaurant atmosphere. Good sake selection.

I was staying at the James Cook Hotel right above, and this place was a gem because it was open by…read more9am and it was just downstairs! While the food I would say is fairly average, I will say this place will satisfy enough of a craving when you're jet-lagged and starving really early in the day. I ordered $1 sushi and udon here. Their udon is ridiculously cheap and very filling as a nice hearty meal. The sushi was not bad either, but I don't believe I've seen this place do specials past 4pm like others do. Again great for convenience, but there is better food out there if you can stand a bit of a walk or waiting until proper meal hours.

I had a very tasty dish and found the staff friendly and polite and patient when I couldn't decide…read morewhat to eat. It a relaxing place to dine

Consistently good food. This place serves up a range of…read moreAsian fusion dishes. About 8 different dumpling options, 3 types of bao, lots of sharing options. The roti is amazing, the blue cheese dumplings Devine. Would come back for those 2 things!! Also good: satay, Vietnamese summer rolls (nice and fresh and crunchy), and also the chicken wings. All tasty. Good cocktails on offer too. Solid place. Would recommend