Chef's skill was a little lacklustre, not exaclty suited for the performance aspect of a tepanyakki…read morechef either... New restaurant, could use some improvement

Theoretically in my opinion I don't need to have to write a whole review about here....one word…read moresums it up...FANTASTIC!!! ( or any other similar large words of praise one can think of ) But I should mention a bit more about this Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant which has recently opened in the middle of the city. For a start the interior looks good and as one would expect of somewhere not long opened very clean. The service standard as I have found in most japanese restaurants is very good. With a smile and efficiently. As for the food ...it was delicious. We went at lunchtime and had the teppanyaki. The chef was very good at setting fire alight on the hot plate, so lots of photo opportunities there. I started with Japanese Garden Salad with the chefs salad dressing ...very nice. Of course there was miso soup. Prawns followed with yum yum sauce which was definitely yum yum. I know I may say it a lot.....but it was so delicious. Then beef with seasonal vegetables and rice. Oh, don't forget I washed it all down with an Asahi beer. Nice...Overall top marks and hope it stays that way.

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!

I had heard a lot about this restaurant before finally deciding to come here. Kabuki is inside the…read moreStamford Plaza Hotel. A small "communal" dining restaurant, as you share a large table with other dining parties that encompasses the cooking area. For those who have never been to a Teppanyaki Restaurant: the chef cooks the food in front of you and performs various hat-trips with his cooking utensils and condiments as well as making some food fly at you while you attempt to catch it straight into your mouth. Our chef that night was having an off-night as there were plenty of clumsy mistakes and re-attempts. The dishes were great, some weren't. The beef was a bit overcooked, and the fried rice underfried.

Went back and forth trying to decide if I should come here for quite a while. In the end, I was…read more disappointment with the experience. The place- in the ground level of Stamford Plaza Hotel. A very nice lobby. Came here on a Saturday, and there was a pianist playing there. The actual restaurant itself is small, with four iron griddles and seating areas. Can host about 15 people per area but you seat very close to each other. The smoke does get to you during the meal as my glasses were covered with little oil droplets from the frying. The food- not the standard that I was expecting. My disclaimer is that I came for the lunch special. Maybe they do a better job for dinner. The chef was professional, but could add a little more flair. The meats were in general tough and difficult to digest. Very little aesthetic appeal in general with the appetizer and the main. I was also disappointed that the lunch special did not include fried rice. The service- give them a point for trying hard, but it would be nice if they didn't serve and clean over the top of my son. I have to give them a plus for giving me a whole plunger pot of tea.... don't see that very often, but was very convenient for me. I see others had good experience, maybe I am biased by the lunch special using a coupon. it was supposedly half price ($15/person). Not sure if I would pay full price for the food.

This place is really delicious. They have a lot of small plates which you can share with your table…read moreand lots of different things you can try and at this place really has a cool vibe.

They tell you that their portions are "sharing size" and theyre absolutely lying to you. Majority…read moreof the dishes are barely even enough for 1-2 people. Maybe im just used to my big fatso american portion sizes but I'd rather have enough food to fill me up and take home for the next day than be starved at a place where the food isnt even good Not only is every single damn dish spicy--which yeah, I like and can tolerate spice, and can enjoy it in certain situations, but every single dish you get being spicy is absurd and unejoyable, its not even the good type of spice, it just burns your throat--but the food was just plain bad too. I tried most of what came out and liked none of it. The only thing i could eat was the white rice which is pretty hard to fuck up. The food was so bad it made me throw up a bit mid eating and feel nauseous and have that about-to-puke feeling in my chest the rest of the time, which was worse than normal because there wasnt much that I ate in full and so its just pure stomach acid. The cocktails werent even good either, all the signatures were weird and the ones we got tasted bad. The servers were nice and thats about the only thing I liked about the restaurant. The place appearance wise was alright, but goddamn whoever designed the layout I guess decided to find a way to make noise echo as much as possible. I get it was busy at the time, but Ive been to busy places at peak hours that i didnt have to shout at just to get the other person to hear me. The entire floor layout was just weird in general and very crowded, not spaced out well at all. I wouldnt return to this place, mainly because theres nothing to eat for me, but I probably wouldnt recommend it either unless you like a shit ton of spice and weird meals & even weirder cocktails (What are in the photos is not all we ate, but i just took a photo of these to show how small the apparent "sharing sizes" are)

Stopped in for a late lunch at Heizo. It's a small old school mom and pop Japanese restaurant…read moreserving Tappanyaki and Tempura dishes. We had chicken thigh and prawn with yum yum sauce and chef split the dishes and served as a combo on two plates. Flavors, portion size, service and price were excellent. Topped off with a mountain of green tea ice cream! PS dinner menu much more expansive.

Fabulous food, a bit quick. Ambience very authentic and staff friendly and helpful. The prawns in…read moreyum yum sauce were so delicious!

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!

Am I the only one that doesn't rave about this place? Yeah, it's entertaining having your food…read morecooked in front of you, Teppanyaki style. Yeah, it's something a bit different to your usual sit down and wait places and probably a great place to take a first date or for a special occasion but I just find that once you get past all that, it's just overpriced food and mediocre service. In fairness to them, the ingredients taste like they're of good quality and it is a fun environment but the staff hardly speak any English so come across as rather reticent and unforthcoming. I can think of plenty of other restaurants where the food is cheaper and better for a similar kind of thing. It's one of those places you go to for the entertainment value rather than for the food itself. Definitely a one-time thing for me.

It's always a fun night out at Fuji Teppanyaki. Definitely not the place to go if you want to have…read morea yarn with friends but it's ideal if you're out with a group of people you don't know very well because it takes away the 'I can't think of anything to say' awkwardness. When you walk into Fuji you take a seat around a hot plate and the hostess takes your order. You then watch your very own chef cook your food in front of you (with lashings of 'yum yum sauce'). It's really good fun, the chef throws egg at you to catch in your mouth, you have to catch a bowl of rice flying through the air and you get to practice your Japanese! But the only let down is the quality and quantity of the food. The beef is ok but the chicken isn't great. The prawns and salmon are nice but everything is so covered in 'yum yum sauce' it all kind of tastes the same. Last time I went I ended up feeling a little ripped off after paying around $30 for my meal and still feeling hungry afterwards. It seems like you get a lot for $30 when you read the menu but the portion sizes are very small. I would still recommend it for a fun night out though! But maybe have a snack before going.

My family loves Daikoku and we've been coming here for years. The Botany branch is much close to…read morehome which is instantly an advantage, and I love coming here for a nice dinner treat. Watching your food being cooked in front of you is a great novelty and I don't think I'd get sick of it. All of the teppan-yaki chefs I've encountered are always so well-mannered and, of course, very good at their jobs. The yum yum sauce with prawns at Daikoku are one of my many food-related weaknesses- there isn't a lot out there that tastes better than that combination! And my medium rare steak is always cooked perfectly- an advantage of watching some cook your meal for you. They've usually got some awesome specials on during their quieter days (Sunday through Thursday) that include you appetisers, rice, mains and dessert for about $35- a great price at any restaurant!

Despite coming here on the awkward premise of my friend trying to set me up with someone, this…read moreplace did not disappoint. I only found out when I met my friend there, but thankfully the food was so nice I could push away the awkwardness of having a row of guys in front of me almost immediately. The environment had a traditional feel to it, especially with the distinctly Japanese staff. Everyone was so well-mannered and friendly, so I've always meant to go back here, but haven't quite made it. Hopefully soon, so I can eradicate the awkward memories and be served new, adventurous ones tucking into an eel dish perhaps? Sounds like the bad memories may just swim away with that sucker.

Been going here for years now.. birthdays.. band hangs.. Christmas functions.. karaoke nights.. fun…read moreplace with great staff. Traditional Japanese welcome as you enter.. the best hot sake in town. Pricey.. BUT worth it!!

Sorry I don't mean to be mean. However, this Japanese place is not my favor…read more One thing you can tell whether a restaurant is good or not, is from the customers. You should see local people enjoying , and also with people from the origin country. For instance, a Chinese restaurant here should attract both Chinese people and kiwis. But in Nippon, I see most of the guests are kiwi, not from Japan, or even from Asian countries. So here comes the confusion. A Japanese restaurant should be decent, quiet in a certain way, clean, cozy. It should leave some privacy space with the customers, not that loud and full of quirky music that piled up your stomach. Maybe people find it funny to get a drum hit once coming a new customer, however, I don't quite fancy this idea. Then the menu is a bit confusing, seats a bit narrow, the grilled beef tongue is way too salty, Ginger slices of roasted pork is too thick for chewing, and the whole presentation is not Japan delicate. Of all the dishes we ordered, perhaps the roast vegetable is the best. In our mind, Tokyo Bay in Takapuna is really a good example of what a proper Japanese restaurant should be. Sorry Nippon, I just don't feel you are the right cake for me.

After a walk around the Ponsonby Market day , my friend and I were verging on the lighter end of…read morehangry ( hungry / angry probably due to the choice of places to eat ! Decisions , decisions !) anyway after a looksie at Ponsonby Central , sushi seemed like a good idea . With a miss 2 ¾ in tow, sushi was a good kid friendly option . Bento boxes started at $25 and seemed very substantial , I went for the beef teriyaki Katsu bowl and my friend the chicken karrage Katsu bowl . Both were alright portions and seasoned nicely , tho miss 2 ¾ was more down with the chicken karrage than her own sushi roll and ate most of mums fried chicken . Service was fast and friendly , but I've never really had bad service in a Japanese place and hope not to . And at $50 for two , lunch with beer and wine is a winner on the day for me , will probably be going back .

Finally found a real Japanese restaurant in Ponsonby. Awesome food and Service !…read more Friendly waiters and the Size of our plates worth the price of it.