Ebisu

When I’m in Auckland, at least one stop to Ebisu is a must. The interior alone is gorgeous and the service here is terrific. Sit back and enjoy a delicious cocktail — Ebisu do a number of great Japanese inspired drinks but the Miss Wednesday has become a favorite (lychee, rose and vanilla — yum!). For lunch, you can’t go past the bento box at a reasonable $ 25. The teriyaki tofu is the winner for me, but I’m a biased vegetarian. The vege sushi roll is also on point and all the food here is so beautifully presented. The menu is extensive and there’s something for everyone, especially for vegetarians looking for a fancy Japanese dining experience, you can’t look past Ebisu.

Where to start, we where a group of Six that all ordered the set menu with two of our group ordering the veg version.
At $ 75 I was expecting something a little bit different, but while tasty, the Teriyaki chicken and the Sashimi platter were very average. The Menu just seams like two mains have been served when one done well (and individually plated) would of made more sense. I would be hard pressed to choose a dish of the night.
Service: really rushed and annoying, waiters where mixed up with who at our table had the veg option and therefore it got really confusing with who should be eating what. The sharing plates where really rushed so instead of a steady pace all the course came almost at once.
On the plus side the drinks menu is amazing with a new variant of Plum Wine made with rum that I hadn’t tried before, but will be looking for in the future.
I might possibly be back, but will order off the menu in the future.

I am a longstanding fan of Ebisu and have gone there from time to time since it opened. Not so sure about going again after my visit Saturday night. The ambience is still great as is the service. But I was pretty disappointed at the miserly serving portions on this occasion. When you pay the prices you do at Ebisu, you do not expect miniature servings which is what we got. Very nice food, but not enough of it.

I had my birthday dinner with my girl friends. Food and service was perfect as we were here few times before. A little bit pricy but all good quality ingredients. My favorite dish is soft shell crab and the brûlée

This mostly focuses on the service aspects.
Came here for a customer dinner and there were about ten of us. We were first given menus, then later told that due to the size of our party, we would be having a set menu. I assumed that I would be picking a dish from each section of the set menu, but it turned out that everything on the menu was part of the set. With that confusion out of the way, we got our drinks order in. For some reason multiple orders of drinks showed up for some people and none for others. The waiter seemed to be frazzled but he was struggling and I’m not sure why as the restaurant was not full and there were plenty of other staff.
In what is presumably a higher end establishment, I found it strange that the servers would set glasses on the opposite site of the table to the recipient because it was difficult for them to reach. Simply setting the tray down nearby, delivering the glass on by one with a «pardon my reach» would have been a more professional experience. Similarly, asking a diner to pass a place seemed a little strange.
The highlight of the evening was when a colleague suddenly felt that the back of his shirt was wet. I checked and some soy sauce had found its way onto the back of his shirt. He mentioned it to our waiter who was clearing things up who immediately got defensive and loudly made it very clear that he had not spilled soy sauce on my colleague. No allegation had even been made but the waiter was immediately shifting the blame to someone else. I thought that this was extremely unprofessional behaviour especially since the waiter represents the entire establishment. To his credit, he brought over a bottle of soda water and wanted to try to clean the stain but my colleague politely declined.
The food itself was good. Nothing outstanding although I’m not sure what the bar is in Auckland for Japanese food.

The food was incredible and beautifully presented. I can’t stop thinking about the Seared Hokkaido Scallops. Delicious doesn’t even begin to cover it. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly. It’s quite expensive but worth it. I can’t wait to go back!

Tasty Japanese. Of there is something you fancy ask, there’s more available than on the menu. For ask our meal it was lovely, not amazing not great, bit very good. Pricey for what it was, cost days should be more of an indulgence than it is.

If you are a fan of Asian food — your cant miss this place! The duck rolls and wagyu dumplings are stand outs. Great atmosphere with good service. Currently my favourite Asian eatery

Walked in on a whim Saturday night and ended up enjoying some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. Only waited 20 mins for a table, and enjoyed a nice drink in the meantime. Plenty of cooked and raw options, lovely atmosphere, and decent service.

The best Japanese fusion I have ever had. The customer service is good but the food is even better.
The second time I went there I got to try a little more than expected… after the second time of having the wagyu beef dumplings — I’m going to have to rate them the best thing on the menu and go as far as to say the best dumplings you would find in Auckland… Biting into one of them is like a flavour explosion they are so well made, you can tell every dumpling is hand crafted to perfection with just enough flavouring… Soo good!
The duck spring rolls and pork belly lettuce cups were a real treat and I would highly recommend them to anyone going there for the first time …
The mains are good but the portions are abit small, it’s worth while getting more starters and one or 2 mains and mixing everything up abit … This place is great for sharing (please do not be selfish and not share your food with friends) you will be disappointed if you do not dig your chopstick in someone else’s food …

I didn’t have the best expectations of this place. mostly because I think 99% of Auckland’s Japanese dining options are rubbish and also because I’ve never been a fan of ‘fusion’ food as most of the time it tastes like the brainfart of a chef who couldn’t cook either cuisine properly. However my mum, my sister and I were after somewhere for dinner and we’d all heard mumblings that this place didn’t completely suck. As my mother is a native of the Land of the Rising Sun I was keen to be accompanied by someone whose standards for Japanese were as critically fussy as my own.
We were early for our reservation and were sat at the bar which gave us an opportunity to people/​meal watch. for the most part Ebisu’s vibe lacks pretentiousness which accommodates a wide spectrum of diners: on a Saturday night there was a mix of young families, clubbing preloaders and tourists. Deciding what to order was a real chore. whoever writes their menu is a freakin’ poet-​marketer hybrid and we ended up ordering around five plates. Each.
The standout for me was the karaage softshell crab. It might’ve looked like an ancient alien fossil but I took one bite and I got a mouthful of melting crab meat and a splash of seawater. SO GOOD. The various sushi rolls were pretty good. the scallop sushi rolls were topped with what my mother and I both identified as yakitori sauce. It actually tasted a little bit awesome.
For dessert I ordered the pineapple carpaccio with pink peppercorns which arrived with an edible sugared leaf-​skeleton looking like freakin art. As in I may have stared at it for several minutes before destroying its innocence with my spoon. Too bad Ebisu’s lighting is not the greatest for picture taking unless you want to be THAT person who turns their flash on. Service was fantastic. definitely one of the reliable eateries that isn’t a parasite on the Britomart location.

This is how you do Japanese food! Ebisu is a top place to eat at! I was nervous to try here as originally I thought it looked pretentious and suited a more corporate clientele. However a friend of mine and I came before a concert one evening. From the pics you can see we ordered a Mixed Tempura, Crab and Mango roll, the Wagyu Dumplings and the Sticky Pork Belly — which I’ve seamed to lost the pic of.
Everything was displayed beautifully and tasted as good as it looks. They don’t try to hard to be too modern or fusion. The food speaks for itself. The crab and mango roll was different. I tend to order menu items you don’t find elsewhere. Great place for sharing plates and all great value for your money.
The restaurant is modern and spacious and very inviting. Food and staff are efficient.
I definitely recommend this eatery! Nothing to fault!
Rating:
Food: ⁹⁄₁₀
Service: 7.5÷10
Value for money: Good
116 – 118 Quay Street, Britomart
Opening Hours:
Mon-​Fri 12pm-​Late
Sat-​Sun 5pm-​Late

Bento boxes are an ideal way to have a quick Japanese lunch and the boxes at Ebisu are consistently good. A bit of fusion with a sashimi salad, fried chicken (ok I am sure it has a Japanese name but it was fried chicken — just not the greasy KFC kind) with finely chopped cabbage and a delicious mayonnaise, rice and your choice of another protein. My prawns were ok but not outstanding, last time I had teriyaki chicken and I think that is better.
I wasn’t paying the bill so also can’t comment on value for money.

I have been wanting to try Ebisu for quite some time so was very excited for my first visit on Saturday evening.
I was immediately impressed by the awesome laid back vibe they have managed to create here. The restaurant is quite large but it has been well separated into small areas. The tone is very relaxed and gentle, I’m unsure if they intended for it be like this, or if the Saturday evening crowd was mellow. Either way it was very pleasant, and made for a very relaxed meal.
We shared a few small small plates and had drinks, the highlights for me were the prawn dumplings and the duck spring rolls. I felt each dish had something extra that made it unique and a little bit more special than the usual Japanese dish.
The waiters were really friendly and professional.
Will definitely be going back to Ebisu, can’t wait to try some of the other delights they offer.

I have been here 4 times now– the last time we even took the kids. The food is absolutely fantastic. Favourites are:
New style sashimi, karagarge chicken and scallops. The service is consistently efficient. Location is good for celebrity spotting and tourist watching as they wander along the waterfront. By far the best place on auckland for a casual delicious meal in sophisticated surroundings…

I visited Ebisu on a Monday night in Britomart for a work dinner. They don’t take bookings so be prepared to go early or wait for a table on busy nights. Luckily when we visited it wasn’t too busy and we got a table for 6 immediately.
Service was great, and the wait staff could suggest drinks and food, and were accurate at the amount of dishes required to satisfy our hungers.
The food is presented nicely, flavored well, and enjoyable to eat and share.
Particularly recommend the beef tataki, and chicken karage.
Pricing per dish is at the high end, and the only thing making this rating a four.

Nearly missed the venue due to the small hidden entrance but glad we did see it.
We were lucky and got there before it got packed– which it did, as we continued our steady stream of dishes.
It is a lovely neat, clean space and we were lucky to get a couch and small table near the windows by the water.
Had a great waitress who helped us order, and kept drinks topped up consistently. Amazing service.
We shared the Edamame which was a great starter before the beautiful platter of New Style Mixed Sashimi came out. It was beautiful and tasted amazing.
The duck spring rolls went down great and the Crisp soft shell crab was very well done.
Had to get dessert after reading the exceptional menu and chose the Yuzu Brulee which went down easily and too quickly.
An amazing place– highly recommend!

I am quite a big fan of Ebisu — we’ve gone there a few times and it’s always been really lovely. I really like the vibe, the seating, and how generally alive it is. It always has lots of corporate suits in there (total pot/​kettle/​black — I know) because it’s good for both big groups and intimate dining sessions.
I was there on a business lunch, and the one thing I’ll say… It’s not exactly private when you’re trying to fly under the radar. But no big deal, we should’ve thought about that more. It’s not something you can complain about, but I’m just giving you a heads up.
Food wise, you have to be into sharing. I was there with someone who’s not super into sharing plates, so he didn’t have the best time. Again, not Ebisu’s problem, we’ll just know better for next time that he doesn’t like to share and take him somewhere else!
The actual food content? Beautiful. I have to say, the piece of black cod I had was mouth watering. Cooked beautifully, it had that amazing miso glaze and the Japanese eggplant was to die for. It tasted sweet and delicious. The aftertaste of the black cod was buttery, but not overwhelming. Very smooth. Loved it.
The crab sliders were tasty — simple, but hey, that’s what sliders are all about. The asparagus came out bright green and with this divine ginger sesame dressing. I couldn’t get enough of it.
We had a few other things from the menu like the seared beef roll and the beef tataki. Highly recommend both those dishes.
It’s a busy little place, and unfortunately they had misplaced my reservation. It was fine, as they managed to seat us in a booth. I got told that they wouldn’t normally seat four people at such a large table (should I feel honoured?) but we used all the space with our dishes anyway — I don’t think we could’ve had anything smaller!
I quite like their wine list as they have my fave bottle of Dog Point sauv — I like it because it doesn’t taste like a normal sauv, but my companions weren’t too keen on the list or the wines. I think it’s quite a respectable wine list, actually, so… forget what they said.
Great place. Go and have a wonderful time!

Ebisu is a modern take on a formal Japanese restaurant. I find this restaurant elegant with a romantic feel about it. This could purely be due to the dimly lit room with tea lit candles around the restaurant. It’s a lovely atmosphere.
We came here for a girls dinner a few months ago. I feel for the amount you are paying it would be nice if they had a bit more variety on the menu. I’m not a fussy eater when it comes to trying new exotic food’s, however some of the girls were put off as chicken sushi was not an option on their relatively small menu.
There is street parking but not too much and generally hard to find. I would recommend going to the parking building opposite Birtomart.
If you’re the adventurous type when it comes to trying new things, and have deep pockets, then I would recommend coming to Ebisu and trying the fancy dishes they have to offer.

I found Ebisu to be okay. I came here with a group of friends one time for dinner and to be honest I have had (and so had my friends) gotten better food and service from restaurants that are not as visually appealing from the outside as Ebisu is.
Inside Ebisu is nice. Dim lighting and comfortable surroundings, the option to be seated outside is also a plus but that beyond that I was not overly impressed. There were many staff members on that night and they all stood in a row and watched our table, took a long time to take our orders and the food took a while to come. Not everyone got their food at the same time either, there were 6 of us so that was another thing I didn’t like.
Food presentation was fairly good, but taste was not overly fantastic. Most of my friends including myself eat a lot of Japanese food and we all agreed we had eaten better elsewhere at smaller places without the bragging rights that Ebisu has.
In the end we all decided we would not go back. Maybe just for drinks, the bar area looked nice but food, considering the above, if someone else wanted to go, I would out of politeness, but not if it were my choice.