nishiki 錦

cult classic and family favourite! i just love this place and come back time and time again! friendly staff, amazing authentic food and a great price! byo as well which is great. lots of parking as well

i've been here countless times, and the food is quite nice. sometimes if there are a lot of people their food quality is not as good, but generally this place is really quite delicious. their portion sizes vary every time which is quite weird, for example i once had an ebi avocado salad and the first i had it the portion was medium sized, second time it was tiny as, and third time it was very big. there's nothing too special about this place, but i would recommend it because it does have good food.

we made a booking but were 10 minutes late. not a big deal. but when we arrived, we were told we only had 1 hour 20 minutes to eat and leave as another booking was coming. it was a bit rushed but not too bad except it took about 20 minutes just to order food which some of it didn't come for over an hour. we were told we couldn't order any more and we left starving. food was good but a bit pricey for what it was but service was an absolute shocker. would never go back again as they were way understaffed and we even had to go up and order our own drinks. wouldn't go again. 1/5 is generous for what it was.

the male manager or owner who is situated in front of the counter was not pleasant at all, everybody knows weekends are hectic but you do not have to show it on your face. food was average, chicken karage was fat and oily. no meat at all. more like a fast food restaurant than a japanese restaurant as you need to be constantly conscious on how much time is left. upon paying, there wasn't even a word of thank you as his face was so sour. there is other better japanese places to dine in, so please scratch this restaurant off your list. not a good experience at all.

this is our fave japanese place in auckland to visit, food is always great and service is usually pretty good! love that it’s a byo, but be aware that due to this it is a loud environment and often makes dinner conversations difficult

the food was fine. it was the service i had an issue with. we were aggressively asked to pay and leave without a 15min warning (which is given in all establishments before closing time) that they were closing, not giving us time to finish our food and drinks. we were a small table of 4 and there were still 2 other large tables to pay of over 8 people. i was overcharged for a corkage we did not have and when asked for my money to be refounded the staff and "manager" laughed and spoke between themselves not in english, now magically not understanding what i am saying when there was no issue all night. i have worked in hospitality for 6 years and have never felt so dissatisfied or angered by my service and treatment at an establishment. i was simply asking for my money back, which i never received.  to make matters worse, later that week a group of my friends went back there and had an issue with their chicken smelling and tasting like fish. when asked for a new meal they laughed and pretended like they couldn't understand what was being asked, just like they did with me, when this isn't the case. 
you better hope nothing goes wrong with your meal because you will get the worst customer service i have ever experienced.

nishiki is a great japanese restaurant for groups or dates! it's got a great range of sharing dishes both hot and cold!
there's exotic dishes like takowasabi (raw octopus pieces with a wasabi sauce) or the classic teriyaki chicken.

i definitely recommend their fresh salmon rolls!! it's a dish i have to order each visit!

always make sure you book because waiting in the car park is not fun.

nishiki is an extremely popular and busy freeman's bay japanese restaurant. be sure to book as the byo crowd in particular are known to book big tables here in the evenings, so save yourself the hassle and secure yourself a spot early.

the menu is rather extensive but complete with images, which i personally really like. this is not the kind of place to come to and order teriyaki chicken, nishki offer so many interesting and unique dishes, i highly recommend going with the weirdest and most wonderful thing you come across. some personal favourites are the beinasu miso - eggplant in miso sauce, topped with cheese, the okonomiyaki - seafood pancake, and the yaki soba noodles.

nishiki dishes aren't large, but it's great to get several and share amoungst your party. the staff are lovely and while it won't win awards for fast or efficient service, if you're not in a hurry and can tolerate a busy restaurant, than nishiki is a great option.

overpriced and horrible quality of food, a good example of a ponsonby based restaurant where lost people just cum to who knows what they are up to

hands down one of the best simple quick casual dining out places in auckland has been constant for years and i find myself going there often for regular treats. so delicious and friendly warm staff.

📍nishiki, auckland

@nishiki_freemansbay_nz: the japanese restaurant of my dreams. when i first visited, this restaurant tucked away in freemans bay was already popular, but over the years its popularity has only increased. now there is a set amount of time for eating, as well as electronic menus which we can order from at each table. definitely book if you are going to visit!

🦪 as usual, we ordered the oyster mayo ($12) which was amazing as always. the creamy mayo enhanced the taste of the creamy oyster and was a joyful experience for my palate.

🥩 the beef carpaccio ($14) was wonderfully fresh, and the sirloin tasted wonderful with the vinegar soy sauce. the meat was so tender and thinly sliced it practically melted in my mouth.

🍖 the gyu tataki ($10.40) was lightly grilled to perfection, incorporating the best of both worlds: the wild char taste and the fragrant taste of the raw beef sashimi. this dish was paired with garlic soy sauce, which was a lovely choice as usual.

🍗 the chicken karaage ($12) was fried to perfection. although this is usually a popular dish, i have to say it faded into the background a little, compared to the other fresher more unique dishes we ordered. i still enjoyed it though.

🍠 and my absolute favourite: kumara chips ($7). this dish is thinly chopped kumara chips with sweet soy sauce and butter. the faint sweetness and crispy goodness of the kumara works so well with the sweet soy sauce, while the butter brings a rich, moist fatness. positive words to describe these kumara chips are failing me but trust me, this dish will not fail you.

we definitely ordered more than these items but unfortunately i did not take any photos as i was too busy eating. so it is up to you to go there and try for yourself!

overall, i would rate:
🦪 the oyster mayo - 9/10
🥩 the beef carpaccio - 11/10
🍖 the gyu tataki - 11/10
🍗 the chicken karaage - 7/10
🍠 kumara chips - 15/10

i enjoyed every single bite of this meal. @nishiki_freemansbay_nz just never disappoints! cannot wait to visit again 💌

great food overall, but $10 for half an eggplant was steep. was very very yum but based on the photo on the menu i was expecting either a bowl full of eggplant or a whole one! was also extremely loud with people literally screaming and no comment from staff

everything was delicious. if you crave yakitori, this place will not disappoint. especially with ample parking nearby, and convenient location.
it's too hard to describe every dish because i ordered about 16 of them, but you won't go wrong with pretty much anything here.

went for a byo last night and the food was really good. happy to see a good vegetarian/vegan selection for friends too.

the food does take time to come out and just comes out as individual dishes rather than aiming to serve together - so definitely would recommend sharing rather than getting your own food.

i tried the chilli chicken and the salmon avocado sushi. both were delicious and would really recommend the dishes. i also tried the vegetarian yakisoba which was good. would definitely recommend coming here.

corkage is decently expensive at $7 a bottle so many cheaper places to go, but the food is good and the atmosphere is great too. good job on the staff dealing with all of the loud diners.

nishiki is extremely popular, with many customers crowded inside and a lovely slightly noisy atmosphere. it's clearly a favourite for locals and had the plus of allowing byo.

while the ordering off of ipads was novel and reminiscent of japanese sushi trains, the food itself wasn't great. perhaps because it was so busy, it took over half of the allowed time slot (which counts down on the ipad) for the first dishes to arrive. the sashimi was fine, but not so amazingly fresh or well presented as to justify the price for a plate. the fried chicken was crispy but not memorable - others have better seasoned or more interesting variations. the hotpot and claypot rice were sadly again small portions for the price. nm

none of the dishes were particularly good or value for the portion. we ended up spending $40pp but were not full at the end. it was a little disappointing as i really wanted to like nishiki but there are better options available centrally. i would only go if craving japanese in that area.