azabu

wow, have been wanting to try the food here and we were not disappointed. ordered too much food and everything was amazing. favorites were lamb cutlets and dumplings .excellentservicewith scrumptious magaritas ...

azabu is such an amazing restaraunt. it is quite dark inside and lightly lit which isn't everyones thing but i really like it. theserviceis so lovely and the workers always help you out with ordering and tell you whats good. i've been here a couple times and leave so full and satisfied. the first time i came here for dinner with the fam & we got all the popular stuff like the rainbow roll which is super gram worthy, the volcano roll which is so cool because they blowtorch it in front of you. we also love the chicken karaage here. then we recently came here for lunch and weren't as impressed as we were the first time but we were still satisfied.  i got the rozu chan mocktail and i really liked it as it had lychee in it and tasted so refreshing. i also got the heirloom tomato tostada which is really fresh and  the avocado roll was nice and ripe. the only thing was we ordered chicken karaage which came out so much later than everything so we had to get it takeaway as we didn't want it anymore. definielty recommend if you are in ponsonby though :)

very busy fine dining japanese restaurant in ponsonby. staff are very friendly and welcoming.serviceis 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 this restaurant for a quiet dinner date as you will just find it a bit uncomfortable with noise & lots of people around :). will come back definitely

stopped by for a fairly late dinner and was able to get a table without booking. the place was still quite full but it wasn't very loud so having a conversation on the table was easy.

there was three of us so we ordered a few items from each section, 5 small plates, 3 larger plates and a side.

the tostada was really nice. really good flavour and there were so many textures in one bite. the other items we got were also quite nice like the mushroom special, prawn tempura and pork dumplings. of the mains the lamb chops were the best, tasty, juicy and delicious. the pork belly was a bit dry and lacking the layer of fat i enjoy with pork belly. the duck special would have been nice if the skin was crispy.

overall nice place for food.

theservicewas really good. they explained the specials and also told us they could add extra items with most dishes (with a minimum of 4) like the dumplings, lamb chops and tempura.

it was quite pricey, coming to almost $90 per person with the food (9 items) to share and a sparkling jelly sake each.

great customerserviceand amazing ambience. it was my first time trying azabu (ponsonby) during the holidays and the menu was only limited to the new year eve’s specials. regardless of the limited selection, everything was really delicious and i find the flavours very interesting. can’t wait to go back and try the selections from the normal menu!

had a superb meal. all the dishes were good, some better than others. standout dishes for me were: volacano roll - topped to the brim with flying fish roe which were toasted (with a blowtorch) at the table adding a smoky flavour and texture to the dish.
eggplant tempura - must try, tempura coating was fried to perfection. crunchy and not oily at all.
nikkei steak - tender and elevated to another level with the sesame soy dressing.
theserviceduring our meal was faultless.

amazing japanese fusion that never fails to please. from the subtle atmosphere to the award winning cocktails, this restaurant is doing everything right. theirserviceis 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.

rating 4.5 the food were really amazingly delicious. stopped by for lunch on the weekend. the place was pretty quiet was seated up the front which made it hard to getserviceas the waitress was juggling the tables at the back as well, she was also not the most helpful. anyway none of that matter when the food eventually arrived. the seared beef tostada was perfectly sauced, sesame sauce just gel everything together. the tempura eggplant taco was just as good. sweet sticky soy on the melt in your mouth eggplant tempura. so good.

this fusion japanese restaurant is 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.

the restaurant is 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.

theserviceis 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.

i went here tonight with some friends for dinner. we actually walked past it before we figured out where it was. when we walked in it's a really cute, inviting restaurant.

theservicewas pretty crappy, we had to flag someone down all the time even though they were standing in a group chatting amongst themselves.

food was brilliant, had an array of different things and everything was super tasty!

probably wouldn't go back as its definitely over priced for theservicerecieved.

a very interesting fusion of peruvian and japanese, and very well done. prompt and friendlyserviceas well as quick serving of the cold foods.

first up was the black tiger prawn dumplings - large pieces of sweet prawn wrapped within silky dumpling skin, tangy with the peruvian aji verde condiment which was strongly flavored with coriander (yum!), and topped with crunchy kumara crisps.

seared hokkaido scallop roll came with very fresh and succulent scallops layered on top of a sushi roll of fragrant rice, avocado, and crunchy asparagus. the creamy wasabi mayo topped it off, bringing together all the separate flavours of the roll.

my favourite was the spicy wagyu hangar beef skewers - smoky, a perfect medium rare to retain the tenderness, super juicy as you bite into it. the salsa brought a refreshing twist to the japanese style skewers, and the bed of creamy mash soaked up the chimichurri and adobo sauce, again molding all the flavours together beautifully.

really great experience here. staff were very friendly and food was delicious. food definitely on the pricier end so wouldn’t be a regular place to eat but food is definitely of high quality. thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered.servicewas a bit slow. had to wait a while before we were given a menu and water. but not to the point of worry!! highly recommend.

it was a great experience, great ambience with yummy food. every dish tasted really really nice, and staff were friendly. the only thing is that we spent 50min waiting for our main, we think the staff forgot to put order through or forgot to let the kitchen know we finished the entree... if not, theserviceis incredibly slow.... we ended up staying there for three and a half hours at azabu.

food 9/10service7/10 ambience 8/10

impressively delicious food. every single dish brought a different excitement to our palates, exciting ambience and theservicewas top notch.

i look forward to coming back 😍

came here hoping for the best after hearing good things. decor is not outstanding,servicea bit haphazard but lost disappointingly the food was below expectations - especially when walking away thinking was it worth $150 for two? nope. better options around, but maybe just not as in vogue.