yuzu

the bestjapanesefood i've had in auckland. we went with a group of 6 of us and though it was very busy they kindly squeezed us in, no problem. fresh, delicious and no-fuss food! it's also byo, so grab a bottle of wine at glengarry's next door beforehand.

yuzu is a trusty dinner location for qualityjapaneseat a reasonable price. some of my favourite dishes are the beef sizzling plate, the karaage chicken and the sushi. always fresh and great service too, it's super homely feeling but still very tidy. def recommended:)

we ordered the duet bridge which is a platter of assorted sashimi/sushi roll/nigiri/kaarage/tempura. i was blown away by the presentation. and it tastes as good as it looks. the salmon sashimi simply melted in my mouth like butter. everything in the platter is just top notch and i think it is really value for money.

we ordered another aburi salmon roll after we finished the bridge. no photos of that because the moment we saw it, we couldn’t resist. the slightly charred taste coupled with the freshness of the salmon and the mayo sent me straight to heaven.

service is also perfect. we had so much laughs with the lady server!

this might be the bestjapanesefood i’ve had to-date in auckland. it’s on par with other topjapaneserestaurants. i think i have just found my new favourite place in my neighbourhood.

traditionaljapaneserestaurant on ponsonby road.

good for a quick and causal feed.

the suzuyaki pot was decently portioned and had good quality beef. the broth was a bit too salty.

food: 7/10
food presentation: 7/10
service: 9/10
location: 8/10
ambience: 7/10
price $30 per person

stopped here for a quick lunch. pretty average in terms of food quality. sushi and sashmi have been clearly refrigerated and the rice was hard and fish is rubbery. also there was bok choy and diced sweet pepper in my udon - not very authenticjapanesecuisine. got the impression that the ingredients used weren’t too fresh.

overall, not value for money, i’d suggest giving this place a miss and checking out the otherjapaneseplaces in ponsonby.

reasonably pricedjapanesefood in ponsonby with all the standard menu items you'd expect to see at ajapaneserestaurant.

i ordered the eggplant and avocado salad which was tasty at first but very rich and filling considering it was a small size. this dish was ok, i personally didn't like the combination of avocado and eggplant together as it was just too rich, the sauce was also overpowering and a bit too salty for me, i would have preferred less sauce.

i think they are a popular spot for byos, i would come again to try more on the menu!

a nice 'cheap eats' in the heart of ponsonby given the standard in this area.

japanese decor with good ambience. service is really friendly.

food wise, it was averagejapanesebut good for the price and area. if you are getting the karaage chicken donburi, i suggest to share it as it was a huge plate of chicken. and it wasn't the usual way of cooking as coated with cornflakes or something. not sure if i fancied that. prefer it the traditional way?

other than that, everything else wasn't bad. just nothing to get excited about.

just had dinner here with some friends, and yes, it's another overpricedjapaneserestaurant in ponsonby. but the food is actually really good! small and slender restaurant, with modest decor. the tables although cramped in to a small space, are quite big and you don't feel too close to anyone else.

the menu has all the usualjapanesedishes, with a lot more sizzling dish options than i've seen at other places. we ordered a tempura mixed platter, friends had the fried tofu and the wagu beef, while i ordered the sizzling fish with vegetables. my fish was to die for - tender fillets of fish cooked in a tasty in a soy/ginger marinade on top of a bed of vegetables. i would only say, the dishes were quite small for the price in comparison to otherjapaneserestaurants, prices range from about $20-$25 for a main. but the service was great and the food came out spectacularly fast!

overall, a really good, solidjapaneserestaurant. casual atmosphere with tasty food.

dinner was delicious! i decided to get something other than sushi (usually what i get atjapaneserestaurants) so i settled for the wafu beef. it was super yummy, good portion size and decently priced as well :) would recommend

one of my favouritejapanesesit-down restaurants in auckland and a great location for a feed before a night out on ponsonby road. also very reasonably priced!
the food is excellent and wait time is never very long. atmosphere is lovely, restaurant is always clean and staff are friendly and efficient. 

my favourite dish is definitely the sizzling yakiniku beef. 
highly recommend to others.

amazing how thejapanesetake simple foods and make them taste and look so delicate! the tataki here was absolutely amazing! and you can't go wrong with karrage chicken whenever you go out for japanese!

i think this is my favjapaneseplace in ponsonby! continuous good food. the restaurant is on the small side but is cosy and would still fit small groups. prices are reasonable and there is all the traditional dishes on the menu. service is always friendly and very good! karaage chicken and agedashi tofu are really good!

amazing place!  the bestjapanesefood i've ever had. friendly staff with excellent service! we had trio boat and chicken udon soup.  i will definitely go there again.

updated review: have been here at least five times now and every time i have been back the food and service have always been excellent. previous review: loved this place! amazingjapanesefood and excellent service. my friend and i both ordered the original bento box which has all my favorites in it. i asked if i could have all the sushi and sashimi to be salmon (as that’s my favorite) and the waitress was very obliging and said that wouldn’t be a problem at all. really fairly priced meals as well.
i would go back to yazu again, it’s a great spot for a quiet dinner amongst all the hustle and bustle of ponsonby.

menu mania asked me to write a review of a restuarant we did like as a comparative to the review we gave of asahi in whangarei. well if you you'd like to experience unpretentiousjapanesecafe style food of the best quality then you could do worse than start here. perhaps the the operators of asahi could come and see how it's done - they might learn something !