Banzai

Ummm, I honestly feel like I’ve missed something here.
This place is on the Metro Top Cheaps Eats 2015, and has rather glowing reviews on here as well. Going by all of this, we were quite excited to try it out.
I’m a huge fan of Sashimi, and the BF is a Karegee Chicken nut, both dishes had special mentions so expectations were high.
Oh dear, Auckland. Either we hit a bad night, or this place is actually terrible and no one is admitting it. I feel it’s the latter.
My Salt & Pepper Squid was neither salty nor peppery. Instead it was covered in a heavy batter and deep fried to death. The Karegee Chicken was no better, and some pieces weren’t even chicken, just dry lumps of batter!
The mixed Sashimi plate was ok, once you got past the presetation. I did enjoy the salmon, very fresh. The tuna (?) was a bit too fishy tasting for my liking.
The wait staff are friendly and hospitable, and the service was ok. I did have to wait quite a while for my Sashimi plate.
Sad to say we won’t be returning here. I’d rather pay a bit more if it means better quality food.

Our new local Japanese, and it’s amazing not just for its food. A simple little place, with an easy to read and understand menu. The customer service was second to none — efficient and kind; I felt liked I was truly valued for eating there. And once you’ve paid up, everyone (kitchen staff included) thank you and say goodbye. I’ll definitely come back just for that. Lovely food, lovely people. A perfect place for a meal. I would book in advance though!

I’ve been to Banzai many times now and they rarely disappoint! The service is on point and the food is awesome. The fish and seafood is extremely fresh and delicious. I have not had a bad dish. Often we go before the movies across the road and share dishes between friends such as the octopus balls and sushi and sashimi among other things. They are always great with giving an appreciative farewell. Keep up the good work!

The sushi here is so beautifully presented and melts in your mouth. The food is your standard Japanese fare but tastes great and is a very reasonable price

Sorry, but if this is amongst AKL’s finest sushi, the state of this city’s sushi options is bleak.
The presentation was quite good, and the seaweed salad was decent, but that’s about it. I ordered a fairly wide variety of items, from salad to edamame to agedashi tofu to sushi. The quality of the food itself left a lot to be desired.
Maybe I am spoiled being from Hawaii and knowing also what Japan sushi is like, but man this surely pales in comparison.
Could it be my taste buds differ from the normal Kiwi’s???
I doubt it!!! If they ever experienced real quality sushi, they would be forever ruined.
I really wanted to enjoy it more.

Banzai stands out like a beacon of Japanese elegance amidst the chaos that is Asian eateries on Dominion Road. Instead of rough linoleum & tacky plastic interiors, think stylish bamboo & wood tones. Instead of surly waitstaff doing their best to avoid your eyes, insert happy, friendly, helpful staff. But don’t take away the flavour, taste or cheap prices. And hold the BYO status. The best of both worlds.
I’ve visited Banzai on several occasions & have always been impressed. Although the space is small, they make good use of the space & service is always attentive. The seafood is fresh & the presentation of their food is where this place sings — I’ve seen sushi stacked up on it’s end and a towering stack of salad spiked with crispy noodles.
My favourite dish would have to be their Mixed Tataki — the freshest, slightly seared salmon & tuna served with a delicious Japanese dressing.
This place has to be one of my Top 3 cheap & cheerful Japanese eateries.

This place has become our regular. The staff are so friendly and accommodating, and the food is consistently excellent. We always order a series of small dishes, rather than mains. Highly recommended is the takoyaki, the ‘green green’ sushi and the salmon tataki.
It’s worth ringing ahead to book just in case, as they can be totally full on weekdays as well as weekends, but we’ve dropped by many a time without a booking and they do their best to squeeze you in.

I’d only had takaways from here but tonight I dined in. There were no tables left inside the restaurant when we turned up around 7:30, but we were happy to sit outside. The waitress asked us if we would like to move inside if a table became available which I thought was very good service.
We shared some starters of fried squid and takoyaki and these were delivered to our table quickly. All of our mains were so beautifully presented, they almost looked too good to eat!
We were all impressed with our choises; I really enjoyed mine (I branched out and didn’t get udon) as it had a lot of vegetables, great tasting beef and cashews!
I saw another table order some amazing looking sushi so I’ve decided I will have to come back and try that sometime.
Banzai specialises in high quality Japanese food, while remaining reasonable (it is also a BYO).
This was the first time my mother had tried Japanese food and she thought it was wonderful — when she told the staff this they all bowed!

Nestled in a small cul de sac in Balmoral (Mt Eden), this hidden gem has authentic Japanese cuisine at very reasonable prices. The food is great. The staff are very friendly, enthusiastic and quick to serve their customers. When we dined in, our orders were taken and the food was on our table in about ten minutes. Love that!
I used to frequent this restaurant when I lived in the area and never had an unpleasant experience. One time we went in about five minutes before closing and they were still happy for us to dine in, and we didn’t feel rushed at all to finish our meals. In saying that the opening hours are rather short which is a shame. The restaurant itself is very small and it can get quite warm in there with the kitchen being so close, but there are a few tables outside. Perhaps this place is best suited for a take-​away option though.

Banzai has been one of our family favourites ever since it opened quite a few years ago. Small but perfectly formed, it’s best to book as it gets busy, although every time we’ve turned up they’ve managed to shift things around to give us a table. They go out of their way to make kids welcome and will supply books. pens, paper and often lollypops — they even ask the parents first if the lollypops are ok.
The drinks list is basic but the few wines are well chosen and affordably priced, as is the incredible food. They do the usual Japanese favourites but I would recommend going for the Yakisoba or my favourite, especially in Winter, the Soup Noodles. The Lemon Chilli is the best and comes with your choice of Udon or Soba noodles. I get my Vegetarian version without the tempura batter and easy on the tofu.
Indeed I am a person who struggles to order off the menu (I want it my way y’know?) and Banzai is another of my favourite establishments that has no problem with this. The salads are also delicious, particularly the not-​very-​Japanese-​sounding Feta and Sundried Tomato. New visitors should definitely try the Korokke (potato cakes with sweet dipping sauce) and the creamy Potato Salad.
The staff are absolutely lovely and never complain about us customising our dishes in a myriad of ways. You can phone ahead for takeaways or ask for a doggy bag if you over-​order and they even have a small library of truly classy coffee table books to read while you wait for your takeaway.
We always leave to a chorus of «thank you very much» from the entire staff. Me and mine have a lot of love for Banzai, so much so, we have even learned to copy the correct cultural protocol when paying at the end of the evening. Banzai makes me very ureshii.