azabu

very busy fine dining japaneserestaurantin ponsonby. staff are very friendly and welcoming. service is really quick even at peak hours. food is just awesome. don't hesitate to try their raw fish menu as you will never regret it. drinks are also nice. only thing is i don't recommend thisrestaurantfor a quiet dinner date as you will just find it a bit uncomfortable with noise & lots of people around :). will come back definitely

more of a 4.5 for me given the reverence this place holds amongst the dining community.

beef tostada was excellent and i really liked our ceviche. karaage is a bit on the salty side but my dining partner and i love salt. the lamb main was a hard pass for me. not terrible by any means but i've definitely had better at cassia and the now-closed cubanrestaurantdown the road. best to try another main.

whenever i’ve been to a japanese-peruvianrestauranti’ve never left disappointed, and azabu is no exception. this fascinating fusion seems to offer such inventive and flavoursome dishes and i can’t get enough.

it’s not easy to find, but once you walk through the doors of azabu you can tell that it’s a dining experience unlike anything else in auckland.

on the menu at are a range of plates that are made to be shared, including dumplings, tostadas, salads, tempura and sushi, all inspired by japanese & peruvian ingredients and flavours. for vegetarians, the options aren't super extensive, but there are certainly enough to satisfy. the two stand out dishes were the heirloom tomato tostada, which was an explosion of lemon, mayo, jalapeño, mint, basil, almond & coriander in every bite, and the eggplant bao, which consisted of a soft, melt-in-the-mouth steamed bun complimenting the crispness of the eggplant filling. quinoa salad, artichoke dumplings and eggplant tempura are among the other notable vege options.

just be aware- portion sizes tend to be on the smaller size, so you will probably end up ordering (and consequently spending) more than you might anticipate. overall, i’d give it an 8/10- all the flavor combinations were amazing, but a few more vege options wouldn’t go amiss.

i have dined at azabu on multiple occasions and simply cannot fault their food or service. the maitre d is always lovely and welcoming and the wait staff are fantastic. the atmosphere is relaxed, though therestaurantdoes typically get very busy. i have managed to get through almost the entire menu but my favourite dishes are the octopus and volcano sushi. the food is high end and delicious although a little pricey given the serving size. this bothered me a little at first but having dined there a few times now and seeing how consistent they are, i think the price is justified. azabu is where i would take visitors / out-of-town friends to. they're in a great location and they always deliver on taste and service. one of my favourites in auckland

had lunch here for anniversary recently with baby

lovelyrestaurantand they did have a chair for bub though it could do with a wipe between uses
busy little spot for lunch. the staff were nice ,i feel could be little quicker on grabbing orders and we didn't get asked options for the sushi in the bento box we ordered
we got a grilled octopus small dish that was so good,highly recommend as its super tasty with some underlying heat . and we got bento boxes for ease with little one but they were just ok ,karage chicken was good but we didn't get sushi options asked as menu mentioned and having forgotten they were salmon and avocado,sadly i don't like salmon but hubby ate it . the beef and chicken options on the bento were well cooked ,chicken being the stand out.
overall nice lunch but fairly pricey and nothing i was raving about despite all the amazing reviews. i do feel maybe if we had ordered more small plates it would have been so would be keen to try those next time around

i've always heard good things about thisrestaurantbut has never been.
came here for a date and it was amazing. loved every dish we ordered. the lamb was the best i've had.
paired with the sake, it was just heavenly.

amazing japanese fusion that never fails to please. from the subtle atmosphere to the award winning cocktails, thisrestaurantis doing everything right. their service is also consistently top notch. an examplar for auckland’s dining scene. i’ve tried 90% of the menu and can safely say there won’t be anything you won’t like.

this fusion japaneserestaurantis situated on ponsonby road. one of my top 3 favorites for japanese.

the dim lighting and classy interior makes this a great place for intimate dinning. they offer a decent range of smaller sized plates, so you can try a bit of everything.

therestaurantis consistently busy so i recommend booking in advance if you don’t want to be seated at the bar.

the food is excellent. well combined japanese food with european techniques. we ordered the kingfish ceviche, beef tostada, seared scallop roll, tiger prawn dumplings and grilled octopus. everything was fresh, well flavored and cooked to the perfect condition.

the service is average, waiters can be a little slow and inattentive.

taste: 10/10

presentation: 9/10

service: 7/10

ambience: 9.5/10

value for money: 9/10

price $50 per person (excl alcohol)

visit my blog for my latest set menu dining experience at azabu.

finally got to go here recently after hearing very positive things about the place. it's a hidden little gem that you could very easily walk past, but definitely don't do that!

firstly the aesthetic of the place is very modern and more japanese inspired than peruvian. it's very dark inside but it creates a luxury atmosphere that definitely delivers a finer dining experience. therestaurantis layed out very nicely and the seating arrangements offer everything you need for various group sizes. overall it's a contemporary place with a touch of class.

the staff here were also brilliant and there are no faults in this department. we were served in good time and the food came out in good time also whilst being very professional.

the food here left me wanting a little. there were some dishes that were absolutely delicious, but others that didnt quite fulfill my excitement. for example the ceviche was good but definitely not the best, i personally wasn't the biggest fan of the smokiness, but that also comes down to personal preference. however, the dumplings were brilliant and if you do come here definently try them. the octopus was another dish that didnt meet my expectations, unfortunately some pieces were a little rubbery. however, the menu has heaps of options and there is definitely more i need to try next time as it all sounds so good!

overall this is an excellent place with little left wanting. unfortunately some of the dishes were underwhelming but it is still an excellent place and i would reccomend to anyone. definitely try this place as there aren't many peruvian places around i auckland.

if i had to only eat at onerestaurantfor the rest of my life, it would be here. they never fail to deliver on extraordinary food and service, we always give a good tip. am always a huge fan of the prawns dumpling and the beef short rib. wish i knew their recipe. i enjoyed it all but those were my favourites. for cocktails the san sora was my go too, such refreshing taste and was nice and light.

i used to love azabu，and always think azabu deserve 5star rating. we made a plan to have our valentines lunch here, been looking forward to it for a week. but huge disappointed！ first, moctail taste like the juice in cheap lychee can. it's alright,i love lychee, waiting for my meal coming. most dishes are fine, but azabu's food really shouldn't be the quality like that. sushi roll and fried chicken was so bland, not even reach the normal japanese izakaya quality. and the dessert ice cream already melt when serve, that's rediculous. floor not clean coz some staff dropped soy sauce when passed by us, and no one wipe until we leave. poor pest control, flies fly around the food, there were no window inrestaurantand door was closed too, how does so many flies inside. it affects my appetite and mode. the lady who served us was nice and enthusiasm. i don't normally give a bad review, but azabu definitely should improve their quality. i'd love to try again when quality gets better.

environment 2/5
food quality 3/5
food quantity 3/5
service 4/5
presentation 4/5

love the food here, everything is delicious. maybe i’m bias, as japanese is one of my favourite cuisines. but everything is so fresh and flavourful. you won’t go wrong here.
therestaurantis a little compact. i quite like sitting at the bar though, as you get to see the food prepared right in front of you and there’s a kind of theatrical element that goes along with that.
highly recommend, especially if you love japanese.

i have been thisrestaurantseveral times, i’d like to say this is my favorite sushirestaurantin auckland.
food is always fresh and delicious! stuff is friendly too.

what a great dining experience!  it pays to reserve a table here particularly for the busy friday and saturday nights.  japanese/peruvian...who would have thought!  but the nikkei cuisine that has been created by these two cultures will bring us back many times.  add to it excellent service; a greatrestaurantdesign with three different areas and a great drinks menu.  our waiter suggested a number of dishes and he wasn"t wrong.  we have to go back to try more...but it won't be super soon as the place isn't cheap so this won't be an every week place for us.  but it is certainly worth the price.  our food faves?  the big glory bay king salmon tiradito. what a flavoursome dish!  then there is a grilled octopus ...on potato mash. such comfort food!    and those lamb chuleta cutlets...i'm still dreaming about them.  these come as a dish of four and there were three of us so the ever helpful waiter suggested we might have six.  arestaurantwith flexible portions!  perfect.

we found nearby street parking but apparently they do have their own parking.  yay!

we arrived via the parking lot around the back which seemed to have plenty of space....restaurantwas buzzing, and i enjoyed the decor. food was amazing had some ceviches, which were small portions for the price, but the quality was superb! had a few buns, and finished off with the steak in chimichurri sauce!👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽 all in all a great night out with some damn good food! highly recommend!