Industry Zen

Entertaining, lively, and great value meals. The type of restaurant you’d walk straight past if you didn’t know it was here, because the façade really is nondescript and doesn’t scream out ‘here we are’. But once you walk inside, you don’t really want to leave — the atmosphere of Industry Zen is spectacular.
My girlfriend and I visited here in 2015 during ‘Restaurant Month’. We were initially drawn here by what we thought was their great deal of the month, but then thought we’d prefer to select our own dishes. And my goodness, what wonderful food — even the seasonal vegetables on the hot plate were delicious, and it’s such a simple dish. I recommend that you try the YumYum prawns, which comes with teriyaki poached egg.
As you can see from the photos, the servings are generous, so we left feeling absolutely buggered — we were actually going to order more, so we were really glad that we didn’t. My partner has returned since, of which I very jealously missed out on.

A good restaurant for larger groups. Reservations needed as this place gets booked quickly for dinners. Food is above average. Their food presentations are probably the highlight. Go for the sets for better value. Price is mid to high for the quality and portions. Staff were friendly but could be overwhelmed during peak hours.

So so disappointed! I used to live in auckland, so have been here many times a few years ago and was excited to bring my boyfriend along to experience it.
We both got the zen set menu, a bottle of wine, and some sake.
The service was very average, the wine was warm and when i asked for an ice bucket, she splashed at least a glass on the floor when moving the wine (ice bucket was sideways) and didnt apologise or anything.
The food was terrible… not just average but really prettty bad! Super small portion sizes, I was extra hungry afterwards (I’m sure i used to be super fill after going here). The boyfriend even wanted a cheese burger he was so hungry!
To top it all off I’m sure the salmon sashimi was off (tasted that way anyway).
For 2 people and $ 260 ill never be back :-(

Wow… absolutely amazing! The food taste and are presented in a unique Japanese fashion. Must have been my best meal in NZ

Japanese restaurants that offer both raw food and hot food are rarely good at both.
This is definitely the case at Industry Zen. I loved the Robata, but I really did not like their Sushi.
The Robata was perfectly cooked and very tasty.
The Sushi side of the house had such over the top elaborate presentation that it became clear this was to distract you from the fact the sushi portions were tiny and not otherwise remarkable.
The menu arrangement was annoying. The sushi items were arranged in packages. They don’t let you order what you want al carte. The Sushi Nigiri is chef’s choice only. The Tuna Lovers package had dramatic presentation, but was otherwise really disappointing.
The service was ok and the ambiance and décor quite good.

Good venue for a large group, we were a table of 15 for a Xmas work lunch, easy to organize with pre-​ordered set meals that they delayed so we could swap presents.
Wide range of dishes but the veggie tempura that was assumed to be vegetation but was served with chicken sushi and as a side dish. Every meal was beautifully presented, almost like theater with the meal onstage.

Here for dinner on a Tuesday night. And it’s packed!
7 of us, order a $ 79 zen set, and many other dish to share. To be honest from other Japanese dinning experiences I didn’t expect the portion to be that generous, esp with the set… dishes keep coming .and we literally can’t eat any more. Food presentation is definitely a wow factor… I couldn’t take photo of all dish… There are too many and it’s too dark… taste wise I will rate it 4…
Great service and seating… and they also have a drum section to announce special occasion for all tables. something different to birthday songs?
And for what this place offer. it’s quite reasonable priced. We paid $ 340 for 7 people…
I will definitely be back.

I’d recommend this place wholy on food presentation alone, which has a total WOW factor .
The décor has a lot a authentic Japanese items with beautifully drawn Samurai pictures and wood paneling .
There is a lunchtime special that is really reasonably priced and you can choose from sushi and tempura, sushi and sashimi also menchi and tempura and others from about $ 21 – 23 .
Extensive drinks list and Asahi on tap .
I went for the menchi and tempura, menchi is like a beef patty, but a whole lot nicer .
It came out on a large bento box set with its own mini teppan yaki grill, cool !
Luckily the tables are big and you can fit a lot on .
Service is speedy and to finish they give you this salted chocolate profiterole. Which is a nice touch .
If your looking a cool Japanese place then this is it.

Are you kidding me? This place was awesome. Food was great. Atmosphere off the scale. Want Japanese food and a Japanese experience, this is it. This coming from someone who lived in Japan for 18 years.

Great food with incredible presentation! Each item was served in its own unique dish and hot dishes came with their own built-​in burner. Overall good food quality and service. Highly recommended.

The world according to Unilocal:
1 STAR=Eek! Methinks not.
2 STAR=Meh. I’ve experienced better.
I’m being generous when I award this business 2 stars!!! My personal rating would be 1 star… I will not return.
The waitstaff here has zero concept of customer satisfaction or accommodation, or how to promote a positive experience for their diners. The chef prepares a reasonably good quality assortment of food, which garners a food rating of 3 (4 stars tops) stars. Thus, the complete dining experience, which someone seeks when they dine, is relegated the below average of 2 stars (and as I said… I’m being generous).
Another couple walked in ahead of us by 10 seconds at 5:35pm. The two couples were waiting to be attended to by the waitstaff member, who was busy making telephone calls to confirm upcoming reservations, and couldn’t have the decency to welcome waiting guests. After completing a few more calls, about 5 minutes, he then turned to first address the guests. Not a welcoming intro.
Though the restaurant was deserted at opening, we were seated next to the bar, where the barman was busy grinding ice. This barstaff activity persisted for 10 minutes. Normally this sort of prep work is done in advance of opening, so as not to disturb diners. We remarked to the «host/​waiter» who greeted and seated us, and he replied «it’ll only be another 4, 5 or 6 minutes… thanks for your understanding». We could have walked out with that attitude and what we encountered previously.
A long wait before anyone came to our table to take any orders. Finally I got up and went to the barman who had brought beers out to some patio diners and asked him to take our orders. We ordered drinks and our food, and he promptly went back to his bar station and kept grinding more ice. I then got up again and asked him for our drinks. He stopped grinding the ice and only then prepared our beer and wine.
The host/​waiter brought our food and served up the three sauces into a tray for our table. He squirted a fair amount of the mayonnaise sauce onto the floor. Did he ever clean it up??? NO!!! I had to remark to him about it some 20 minutes later, and he then remedied his own mess.
But enough about the lack of service and the inattentiveness to customers. The food… It was good, but not anything special, or what one wouldn’t expect from any decent Japanese restaurant.

Following previous reviews that said this is a must-​visit place I have to concur. The secluded seating was great and romantic. The service very quick. Everything we ordered came out at the same time and tasted amazing.
The only problem we had was trying to decide what to get and the descriptions on the menu don’t really do the food justice. Definitely coming back next time I’m in Auckland!

Industry Zen is Japanese with a difference. With most Japanese restaurants in Auckland, they all bring similar menus, with a range from sashimi, tapas and bento meals etc. Alike is Industry Zen, but they present their food in such innovative ways.
From what we received looks pretty standard but as we were dining, we think the lunch combos we saw, are served in replicas of the traditional Japanese huts, or with Japanese bridges. Japanese is one of the best cuisines to share with others. I almost always order soft shell crab, whether it is its own dish or comes in the form of sushi, its just that something else you don’t get from other cuisine’s. This one really stacks up, whilst being served on mustard sauce — sounds weird but it really works and just enhanced the flavours of the dish.
Takoyaki was hot and fresh, but there was less octopus than I would have liked. These yum yum prawns really were yum yum — sorry thats cheesy. But delivered on this hot sizzling plate and probably not the most healthiest dish with all the sauce it was coated it, but omg, good.
The service is efficient and friendly but the atmosphere was a let down. Although its well themed inside, there was an annoying loud noise from the air conditioning unit on the roof I think and the inside is a bit dated. Its a shame because the food is almost top notch! Just a few hiccups but overall a decent meal.
Rating
Food: 8.5÷10
Service: ⁸⁄₁₀
Value for Money: Good
104D Customs Street W, Auckland Central
Opening Hours: Mon-​Sun 12pm-​3pm, 530pm-​11pm

Great «piping hot buns». Pork belly buns were to die for. Worth going for them alone. Piping hot on gas not spice

This place is amazing, the best place I ate in Auckland, and probably the best sushi I’ve ever had. The plates are like nothing I’ve ever seen. I had the spicy tuna roll and the spider crab roll. They only give you three pieces of a roll, but then it’s topped with five pieces of slices tuna or in the case of the spider roll, a half of a tempura fried softshell crab. The rolls are around $ 9 each which I thought was a steal considering the quality and presentation, not to mention amidst the very expensive rest of the city. Some places charge $ 15 for a beer! Two rolls, a small barrel of Sapporo (which was awesome self serve at the table), and dessert was enough for me. I would warn against the yakitori (meat on a stick) variety plate. It comes over hot charcoal which is fun, but the meat it self is underwhelming. Playing with the hot coals outweighed the mediocre fare.
At some point in the night they played drums and the chefs all yelled thank you’s to everyone in the restaurant and then offered us bamboo sake. Possibly a gimmick, but delicious nonetheless. The waitstaff is great. They’re helpful, fast, and happy!
The décor is industrial warehouse meets classical Asian restaurant. Metal pipes, wooden tables, and Samurai armor. The bathrooms are an experience all their own. Beautiful, creepy, intriguing, weird. Worth a visit even if you don’t have to go! I left the bathroom thinking I had gone on a little adventure that took ages only to return to my table a few minutes later. Everyone else none the wiser.
Everyone that goes to Auckland must go here!

Omg. The plates they use to serve me my food are out of this world. The nigiri plate is the length of the table. Haha. The food does not disappoint. Every thing is as fresh as it can be. The only little fault was that the tuna in the sashimi platter isn’t as good as the more expensive toro cuts. But then again, you get what you pay for. :-)

Date night dinner here made a for a great night out. The food was served in a mini house with layers of yumminess. Awesome décor too, we loved it. Also, service was attentive and friendly. We paid a mini fortune but that was cos’ we were pigs! The only reason we have four stars, not five is because the food, although mostly great, also seemed a bit heavy on the fried side. Will be back!

Had the assorted nigiri selection for dinner last night. Taste and presentation were exquisite. I think the best sushi I’ve ever eaten, including in Japan.

Everywhere was packed on Saturday night but we were very lucky to reserve a bar seat at Industry Zen. The place is decorated with a lot of Japanese-​styled elements which was interesting to look at.
We started with Takoyaki (6) which was just your usual Takoyaki from anywhere else. Zen’s original Karage chicken (9) wasn’t cooked enough so we had to send it back. It came back in a great condition though — well cooked, perfectly displayed with supporting sides such as pumpkin, cucumber and a slice of mushroom. What a great value for money. California wraps (9) were just average, possibly because it was so much better last time I tried it here. Udon (13) was superb with its simpleness. This was accompanied by tempura seaweed, spring onion and Japanese chili powder. It was glad to see the standard of this udon hasn’t changed! Soup was hot and seasoned just right and the udon noodle had nice chewy bites.
The place was packed hence the wait, which wasn’t a nice thing when it is doing a tapas style. A dish came after a dish with a 20 minute intervals. Sadly we weren’t sure if we had dinner or not after the whole meal. However, all dishes were wonderfully presented with chef’s thought of designing each dish. Industry Zen could be a must place to go when you want to impress someone.

Industry Zen is a fabulous restaurant to go for Japanese. Located near the Viaduct in Auckland’s CBD (next to the Tepid Baths) it’s quite centrally placed. Not only is the food sensational here, the atmosphere is fantastic. The staff are all incredibly accommodating and truly make it a wonderful dining experience. What I love about Industry Zen is that they like to include and appreciate their customers. Every night around 8:30pm they show their appreciation to their customers, to those who have come to dine for a special occasion (birthday, moving overseas etc), and to the chefs who prepare the beautifully presented meals, by getting the restaurants attention through banging a drum.
The entire experience is enjoyable, the food is very reasonably priced and you’re guaranteed to have a meal worth remembering.