Review Ken Yakitori Bar Anzac - Auckland Central

Ken Yakitori is my favourite restaurant in Auckland. I have been coming here for 20 years and it is always a great time. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is very cool and lively. They have a big selection of skewers and smaller dishes designed to be shared and also some larger dishes. Good selection of Japanese drinks too. Beer, whisky, sake etc…

We had read about this place before coming to Auckland for the World Cup and it did not disappoint. The portions are perfect and allow you to try multiple without getting full quickly. Definitely come here! Staff is all very friendly and attentive and made the experience pleasant along with the food. Worthy mentions: chicken with spring onion, okra wrapped with pork.

Great little Yakitori Bar. Couldn’t stop ordering! The beef tongue and chicken hearts and hearty miso soup my favourite!

An old favourite from even 15 years ago. Every time we come here we have a protein galore. Special mentions: beef tongue, pork belly, chicken mince.

Very good food although somewhat expensive. The yakitori combo is enjoyable in order to figure out what you like before ordering more. The small plates are good for sharing. I had the agedashi tofu on the side. It was very tasty as well with an excellent broth. Among the skewers, I really enjoyed the chicken meatballs, chicken thighs and chicken and cheese. As for drinks, the Oolong shochu was just okay. I wish they had the plum Zenkuro sake made on the South Island. As others have commented, the welcome you get is not as warm as it would be in Japan, especially from the owner. The staff are nice and prompt in service, which I appreciated. I also wish the chopsticks were real ones instead of disposable ones, to match the beautiful plates used.

All foods are perfect. The chicken skin is good, and i like unlimited cabbage. Sashimi is delicious but expensive. Highball is bland.Draft beer is fine. The food here is perfect. sometimes its added twice (Check the receipt carefully when paying)

This is the best yakitori place I've been to in Auckland. Ken is legit. The offering is real and reflective of a typical yakitori bar in Japan. The service could be better but I'll get over it. It's mainly if I compared it to Japan.. otherwise fine.

The best & authentic Yakitori joint I have ever been to in my life!!! Not only all the foods and drinks were great and authentic but also service provided was the one that made me really enjoy the whole experience while I was dining there. Its decors and atmosphere reminded me of good & traditional Yakitori venues in Japan as well. I found this place by accident. I went to a ramen joint nearby there and had a ramen and dumplings. I also wanted to have fried rice since I was super hungry without having lunch today. But that ramen joint don’t have it tonight (they had run out of it), so I checked if there was any other Japanese restaurant nearby. Ken Yakitori was just a minute away from there, so I went to check it out. They were full but there was a table open which was the smallest one they had. I took it since I was by myself and had no issue with it. Maybe after 30 minutes or so passed, 2 ladies at the counter left. Soon after that, 2 new customers arrived, so I thought they would give that space to these 2 new customers. To my big and pleasant surprise, one of the servers came up to me offering to move to that counter since it was more comfortable and I was at their venue before these new customers. He got me there! It was totally unexpected him to ask me if I wanted to move at all. What a caring person he was! I obviously declined since my table was too small for 2 people. 10 minutes or so passed and he came by asking me if I wanted to order more food or drink. Instead of ordering foods/drinks, I told him how much I appreciated his thoughtfulness and great hospitality. He then just said it was a natural thing for him to ask!!! What a great person he is and hospitality it was!!! With all that being said, I highly recommend this venue to everyone. I’ll definitely go back there next time when I’m in town without a doubt. FYI, all foods there were awesome but their Gyu tan (beef tongue) was my most favorite & AMAZING and the BEST I had ever had❤️❤️❤️

Really nice food, been here for couple times

Nice food for late night dinner, been here last decade. The ox tongue in the combo was always overcooked, otherwise everything was good. I noticed the hearty beef soup was more like a stew, it was tasty not too salty. Their chicken wings were one of favorite nicely grilled.

Best Yakitori Bar in Auckland. The food is always cooked to perfection - as in how much the food is cooked, the perfect flavouring of salt/sauce. Highly recommend the Beef Tongue and Pork Belly! Atmosphere is cozy, with high beat music going in time with the man behind the grill. It is mesmerising to watch his skills. Suitable touches of having bag hooks under the table is amazing. Staff are always friendly and attentative. Recommend booking in advance as it is always usually full!

Must try prawn with pork! Amazing! Beef croquets. Yes tiny portions, yes you wait. But the ambience and (seriously delicious) Japanese beer will make it up for it. You won't fill up they way you do on a burger but I think Japanese food can teach you that there is a magic in small bites (and if not, then go for a ramen and fill up elsewhere). I think this place has a character and it is interesting to try something different

Small restaurant with delicious yakitori skewers. Prawn wrapped with porks skewers and scallops skewers are highly recommended. Small mixed sashimi dish is nice and fresh. Mio sparkling sake tastes great as well😋 Overall, it's a bit pricy but the food is delicious and the service is good. Have to book a table before coming as it seems quite popular.

It would give a feeling that you are at some local yakitori place in Japan. Visited twice a week. The foods were so delicious and the service was good (especially, thanks to Myu). The tables are very small though. My favorites were ramen, yakitori (chicken thighs with spring onion, and beef sirloin), and Orion beer.

Some of the best food I've had in years! Great service, delicious yakitori that look simple but are steeped in skill and craftsmanship! A real Food experience and one we will remember for a long time! Well... We're back again. Still fantastic! Food and atmosphere are so good!

Amazing food, great atmosphere and wonderful staff! Like being in Japan but without the flight. We've been coming here for many years and it's consistently excellent!

I love this place, they make hands down the best miso soup in AKL, the food is great, the atmosphere is really authentic, the staff is awesome and they have good sake too! I have been there a million times and keep going back

Top quality Yakitori in a cosy classic bar. Be adventurous and try their chicken skin and organ skewers. Everything is done with precision and you can tell they know their stuff. My only complaint is.. What was I supposed to do with the cabbage hahahaha. They give you free cabbage but I need instructions please haha.

Food is really nice but bit expensive. Some of staff are really kind but some is not

Overrated and overpriced.<br/><br/>Came here for a few times, nothing special, food was average. The only reason why I came here is there are not many yakitori places in AKL and they are the one open till late.<br/><br/>Averagely spent $80+/person, which is quite experience I think, compared to the quality. But that's the thing of NZ, Japanese food is always overpriced, don't even know why. Finger crossed this strange phenomenon will change one day 🤞<br/><br/>Ps. They serve free cabbage.<br/>Order a Japanese mayonnaise, roll the cabbage leaf and dip it in, try and you will open the door of a new world🤣👍(I never have the cabbage before, till my friend taught me about this last time, and I couldn't stop myself eating it!

The food is always very good. But the seating is uncomfortable as it is bench seating and always seems to be full of people. I guess that comes from the popularity of the place though and am willing to revisit!

Yummy but overpriced. Won’t return unless they make their prices more reasonable.

Oh my gowd, this is very good and decent Yakitori bar, I jst wish they are open one in Melbourne , Australia. We used to live in Auckland 8 years ago and we went visiting Auckland again. Definitely one of Auckland’s institution, their food is stil have the same quality and they are surely still very good Yakitori. We always go and eat in Ken Yakitori whenever we are in Auckland

Best karage chicken in Auckland (possibly even in Nz?!) always a special treat coming here. Very popular so book in advance for more than two people. Extremely delicious food and good drinks selection!

I always order their special combination skewers, which comes with a variety of popular skewers. I love their prawn wrapped in pork belly and beef tongue skewers. Goes well with sake. I've tried their iced sake and the alcohol actually goes straight to your head.<br/>I enjoy their half mayo half miso dips to go with the complementary cabbage.<br/>All their food is decent! The hearty miso soup is a very cheap but surprising dish, agedashi tofu is a nice light dish. They also have great chefs specials and fresh fish, and sometimes provide everyone a round of complementary tasting of new dishes.<br/>Service is friendly and efficient.<br/>Be prepared to come out smelling like yakitori, and it gets warm inside!

If you have anything going on at Vector Arena thats a great place to start your evening with beer on tab and good japanese food. The beer brand and some of the food is different as in Ken‘s at K’Road so its worth to try both places.

We loved our dinner here. Nothing new or special just good yakitori and beer in a cute little yakitori bar. The staff were friendly and they had actual negi, so I was over the moon. Would reco. Mend and return myself too

My favourite Ken Yakitori branch. My girlfriend and I got beef tataki, a 5 piece mixed skewer and japanese curry. The beef tataki was so so good! I 100% recommend getting that to anyone. For 2 people the food we got was perfect to fill us up and was also at a very reasonable price. The service was warm and friendly and overall was a very enjoyable dining experience.

K-E-N, Ken, Ken, KEN!!! Never disappointed by this place. Absolute number 1 go to for a cheeky little date. This place vibes, vibes, vibes. Have been going here for years since I was a teen and it remains top spot for me.

A nice place to have some drink and good food with friends and ur love one. I really like the interior of the restaurant. The moment when I step insides, I feel like I'm really in a restaurant bar in Japan. The ambience, the atmosphere, the cuisine, everything is just amazing. Cheese curry rice is a must try there. Grab up & give this place a go guys :)

Good place for drinking and snacking! I don't advise on a full meal here because those skewers stack up to $$$.<br/>But love how the chef grills the skewers in front of you. They have a combo for 5 skewers (chicken mince balls, beef tongue, prawn and pork, chicken thighs and beef sirloin) if you don't know what to get 😋<br/>We ended the night with their ice cream and banana fritters below 🍌 Could have laid off that chocolate sauce but 👌

Ken Yakitori Bar is a perfect place to chill with friends on a lovely night. Sake is the a perfect match with Yakitori. We ordered Beef tataki, fried chicken and Yakitori don. All very delicious, especially the fried chicken, crispy outside but very tender and juicy inside. Love the ambience here and the staff are very friendly and polite:)

Drinking Hole With Good Food & Relaxed Ambiance <br/>THE FOODOLOGIST RATING:-<br/><br/> FOOD:-4.5/5 (Well Cooked , Japanese BBQ , Meats Cooked With BBQ Smoky Goodness)<br/><br/>SERVICE:-4.5/5 (Casual , Fast, Efficient, )<br/><br/>AMBIANCE:- 4/5 (Good Ambiance , Lively,Vivid)<br/><br/>CLEANLINESS:-5/5 ( Good Hygiene Standard, Clean )<br/><br/>VALUE FOR MONEY :- 4.5/5 (Portion Size Small ,)<br/><br/>FOOD POCKET DAMAGE:-**/*****(Cost For 2 $60)<br/><br/>THE FOODOLOGIST REVIEW:-<br/><br/>Came here with my partner and a couple of a friends just to enjoy the end of the working week . And the place did not disappoint . A novice at  Japanese BBQ I left it in my partners hand to order for us . After the whole group of us ordered our favorites the drinks and the sake was served . They gave complimentary cabbage with a mixtures of i think a miso based paste and kwepie mayonnaise  which i was skeptical about but when I tasted it i just could not stop having it . We started with the karange chicken one of our friends ordered sticky potato fritter and the other the Takowasa ( Grilled Octopus)<br/>  We shared and all had a bit of each the karange chicken was well coated and delicious yet moist , the grilled octopus was to my liking not to rubber like which is often the case . From The yakitori i think we being such a big group ordered most of it leaving the sweetcorn and mushrooms , but for us my partner ordered  prawn wrapped pork which was good pork belly with onion  the squid , scallops and prawns , got to say everything tasted good and fresh expect the scallop which was bit rubber in texture to be fair it was not scallop season so there must have been frozen . All the food did not disappoint . The waitress was attentive and even though they were busy they food was not delayed . Will definitely go back there

I was here with friends which is 7 of us, 3 of them were there first and 4 of us came later.<br/><br/>The girl who look like a manager, was telling us that the room which can be occupied more than 10 people, but kept saying its reservation seat so we cant seat there, and need to sat at the table which can he occupied only 4, at the corner. It was at 12 am, and they closed 1 am. Eventually, which the people who was reserved had not came although we were stayed until they closed.<br/><br/>The point here is, that, she was asking us to seat at the table of 4 people at the corner, and when the waiter and herself pass by, we had to stand up and sit down several times, and she was rudely gave as sign that we should leave. Reason being no reason.<br/><br/>I had lived in Japan for several years, and I never had this kind of services before, this is absolutely really really incorporate services to received.<br/><br/>I really shame of her service since I had really good impression of Japanese restaurant.<br/><br/>I scared to be back here to get this service which u need to look their mood and their condition to be treated.<br/><br/>Just our 7 of us opinion.<br/>Be prepare to enjoy yourselves there.

Excellent service and casual atmosphere. Friendly staff took my order quick with fast serving time. About 10-15 minute wait for food.<br/><br/>Had the Spicy Dumplings, Beef Tataki and Squid Sticks. All mixed with delicious seasame and soy sauces.<br/><br/>Squid was a great salty, chewy starter which led into the beautiful Tataki that was a spicy, cold mixture of lightly cooked middle and well done beef slices that worked well with refreshing salad with it. Dumplings were crunchy bottom and soft top which worked well with spicy pork filling and soy sauce. BBQ char top really brought a new flavour to the dumplings.<br/><br/>All together excellent service, cooks and a great casual atmosphere. Thouroughly enjoyed my chill time there. Sorry there were no photos... I ate everything too quick!

I ordered 6 skewers and had to wait 40 minutes .. the waitress said it was very busy but the restaurant was not full .. <br/>the people came in after us had their food came out at the same time as ours while we have waited a while for our food

Ken is a classic for a reason. I went to the original branch shortly after it first opened on K Rd, and he's replicated the same feeling on Anzac Ave.<br/><br/>Yakitori is not "refined dining" - it is Japanese BBQ, designed to be munched along with sake and beer. Sure, it's good for a date night, if it's a relaxed kind of date. Still better than Sizzlers.<br/><br/>The space is cramped, but the ambiance is excellent. Music is always a bit different - no "Japanese restaurant music" here.<br/><br/>It is not particularly vegetarian-friendly, unless you stick to salad and edamame. However, it's great even if you're not a complete carnivore. The pescatarians, chicken-eaters and carnivores will all be happy.<br/><br/>My recommendation is to mainly stick to the grilled offerings, yakitori don and so on. It is not a sushi place (although it is on the menu, probably because a lot of ignorant people will get upset if a "Japanese restaurant" doesn't have it), the curries were added more recently because they're popular with Japanese students, but they're prepared with ready-made sauce. Even the edamame is eh.<br/><br/>However, the main event is the grill, and everything from that is done perfectly, of course. Dishes arrive as they are ready. Get the miso dressing to go with the free cabbage - only a small amount flavours a big piece. Order more cabbage if you like - it's designed to help the digestion deal with all the protein. (In my poorer days, I used to fill up on the cabbage - it came in much bigger chunks then - and order just a couple of sets of skewers).<br/><br/>Some people complain the skewers are expensive for "tiny" servings. Actually, they're the standard size, and I think they're good value for good-quality, fresh, tasty food. You're supposed to get other things as well, like maybe gyoza, salad, grilled rice balls, etc. Dinner for two for less than $50 bucks at a mid-range kind of place is fine by me.

Celebrated my birthday with friends here and loved the food! We were sat in the private room and dined with chainsaws hanging above. Great variety of options to choose from, in particular my favourite was the sashimi platter and the pork belly skewer. Was not fond of the kingfish which was served cold. Overall would definitely recommend this place!

Yakitori was pretty good and kitchen menus were just okay. I kindly recommend to have many kinds of yakitoris as u want with your favorite drink , seems kitchen staffs doesnt really know how to serve foods in proper order so takes forever to have dishes from there and they also cook curry by instant solid curry from japanese supermarket which hard to blame. Dont forget this resto is yakitori bar not dumpling or curry store. I highly recommend this place since Its amazingly hard to find decent japanese resto in nz

Not my usual type of place but I was happy with the service and the food here. We sat at the bar which I’m not that keen on but to be fair there isn’t a lot of room in this place regardless of where you sit. I would go back again to try some of the food I didn’t eat this time around. Good cheap eats

Overrated.<br/><br/>Nothing else needs to be stated but overrated. <br/><br/>Ken Yakitori Bar has been listed as quite the spot for Aucklanders and some would say a premium date spot. <br/><br/>I’ll premise my review by saying that the food wasn’t bad, it was just fairly average and uninteresting. Our group came in on a Friday night and the place was absolutely packed, so we did end up having to wait a few minutes which was fine because we got to into the ‘VIP room’ where chainsaws were hanging off the ceiling and weird 70’American marketing posters. The room was one of those tatami rooms where you had to take your shoes off. The ambiance was actually fantastic and the room was peculiar enough that it was quite fun. <br/><br/>We ordered a variety of dishes including the famed skewers. It was disappointing that our dishes took quite a bit of time to come out and although the food looked absolutely ravaging the taste didn’t match up with some of our skewers arriving a cold. The beef tataki was probably the favorite and the chicken thigh with wasabi. <br/><br/>I guess my disappointment came from the fact that I had lofty expectations, the prices were a little steep considering the quality of the food. However, to Ken Yakitori Bar’s credit, it did have a fantastic ambiance and I would still recommend a great dinner spot.  <br/><br/>Showstopper: Beef Tataki and Chicken Thigh with Wasabi<br/><br/>Overall Grade: B

This is going to seem petty but for a place that says it's vegetarian friendly, it's not. Most the dishes with out meat in them still have sauces made from chicken broth. So the options are basically cabbage and salad. You could get the BBQ vegetables but they're grilled at the same place as meat so potential contamination. <br/><br/>Zomato really need to rethink how they determine this classification cause this place really isn't.

Ken Yakitori is always a great place for diners, who want to experience a Japanese BBQ restaurant. I came here with my friends at 23.00 and the staff there were still very tentative.

Have been a regular at the Ken bar for many years and I never wrote any reviews before but their latest service was so appalling that made me come on here. I ordered chicken kaarage that night and it was very good until the end where the last piece was completely undercooked. I realised as soon as the last piece was in my mouth and let the waitress know. She went up to the manager and she came back saying “we will just re-cook that last single piece again”, when all I was after was the manager to come up and give a sincere apology for the uncooked chicken. I said “I wont need any more pieces thanks” to the waitress and went up to counter to pay my bill. The manager showed no signs of apology but instead gave me a sarcastic “discount?” making it sound like I was complaining as if I was after discounts. This infuriated me more and I just paid the full bill and walked out. Its a shame that my experience ended this way as I am a big fan of the food there and everyone else’s services were outstanding. I won’t be going back to ‘this branch’ now thanks to their manager.

Place is awesome! I went on Friday night, it's really crowded and people was keep coming until their closing. Chicken karaage was really great! Foods, atmosphere, service and staffs were literary perfect. Will go again soon.

came here on saturday night ...I used to pass everyday and looks so busy and was for a good reason. .food it's fresh and nice you can see chef cooking in front of you if u sitting in the bar, place is quite small but still good athmosphere I try a little of everything like KEN Special 5 Skewers Combo, was a good option for different flavours in one dish but doesn't filled you up... so I went for the Deep fried wrapped Camembert was yummy..I'm big fan of deep fried chicken so i tryed their japanese style chicken but i didn't like it ...it was different for me although was a big portion of it, also tryed the chicken udon noodles...was enough for share and have good flavour. For drink I tryed Ramune which is not alcoholic it has a similar sprites flavour...overal was a good experience well done ! :)

This place is awesome!! <br/>If you're in town and need a late feed, I recommend highly! The food is affordable, delicious and very well presented. I've been here a couple of times and will be going back regularly. There is complementary cabbage that is so crunchy and fresh, I had it with their mayo because yum! Out of the food I've tried my favourite is the sushi platter, it's around $30 and so delicious!!!! You have to wait a bit for it to be made but it's 200% worth it. <br/><br/>My boyfriend and I have also had the kaarage chicken, ramen, squid skewers, chicken with pork skewers, broccoli with mayo and sesame sauce, everything is so good!! (Specially that ramen mmm)

Caution for tiny space inside and quite a squeeze when sitting down, but once you get the food it's good food with good company! But just don't bring too much company as it is small inside to fit 4 people in but the food is too good to share with also, haven't felt conflicted in a while.<br/><br/>The chicken yakitori was delicious and their yakitori don is my recommendation from their menu, you get a good amount of rice and get to taste some yakitori chicken with it instead of ordering the yakitori itself :9 They range quite a big selection of meat from their yakitori section and my friends and I ordered the beef tongue as a dare but guess what? It turned out to be quite nice! unbelievable right? But it is my favourite now since that day whenever we go.~<br/><br/>It's a good place to eat after a day's work and going out with your friends since it is close to their university classes. Finding carpark has proved a challenge unless you are confident in parallel parking! But once you go through the door, it's like you are in Japan magically.<br/><br/>Almost a 3 star but the decoration was authentic looking and the seats I got one time was in front of the yakitori grill, the smoke cold be annoying at times but it was fun to watch the yakitori being grilled so that gave it an extra star, for the interior :D

If you are looking for a late late dinner . Thi is it. Very friendly staff. Great atmosphere, fried chicken to die for. And amazing spicy fried dumplings. Yum. Well see you again and again

I ve been going there for the last seven years and like it very much. If you like yakitori, small buzzy places and don't mind sometimes sharing your table - come and enjoy. I like that are open till very late and they ll take food order after 10pm. I like there combo or mix yakitori, broccoli and gyoza. Noodles r lovely according to my daughter. Quick service, friendly staff. Book before you come as its always busy and good luck finding car park.

This is a tiny cozy place with an authentic traditional Japanese Yakitori feeling into it.<br/>I usually take different combinations of skewers or some of the special dishes and everything tastes great.<br/>Kitchen is super fast, staff is friendly and polite.<br/>They are open until late.<br/><br/>The only reason why this is not a perfect score is because seating is not as comfortable as I would like it to be, other than that, I love this place.<br/> <br/>EDIT - downgraded from 4.5 to 3.5.<br/>REASON - they have recently implemented a "one bill per table" rule, which effectively means that if you go to Ken Yakitori to have dinner with a group of friends, you can't pay individually but whoever pays needs to do so for the entire table, which creates a small problem/disruption for you and your group. Because of this I won't be coming back here as often.

Great service, very friendly people, food came out really fast, great tasting food. <br/><br/>Favorite thing was the similar vibe it had to a Authentic Japanese Yakitori house.

came here specially to try the lotus root chippies and their BBQ skewas, i go past them every weekend and wanna eat there like ages ago and finally did and glad i did. The skewas i had was just snack like of the chook tigh wasabi and BBQ mushrooms. <br/>As for the lotus root chips i guess was pre made or out of packet, who knows, trade secrets of theirs, some of yous may know them as telephone dials, it is a large root dat grows in muddy water commonly used in stir frys and/or soups.<br/> <br/>Parking for this branch can be a task and did not realise there are 2 other branches.

This place never ever disappoints. Hubby and I have this tradition of coming here at least once a year to relive our dating days as this area was our stomping ground back in our uni days. The karaage chicken is the best we've had and their skewers are divine. Pair the food with Asahi beer or some sake and you're in for a treat.

I like this place. Japanese Sake-bar with Yakitori. Feeling like in Japan. <br/><br/>The chef does the BBQ in front of you, have a chat with him, feeling very relaxed.<br/><br/>Very good food, tasty and juicy meats.<br/><br/>Hope an air-con can be introduced, otherwise it is too hot inside the room.

cool place. went for the tuna sashimi on special, mixed skewer combo, broccoli and the miso & mayo dip for the cabbage. the tuna was delish and the cabbage was also very nice with the dip. the skewers were ok, not great.<br/>would I go back, ummm don't know. would I recommend to a friend, probably.

Really good friendly staff, greeted with a smile. I sat at the bar but was also given an option of a table. They specialize in grill Japanese food. ie, grilled chicken or beef skewer. They don't come cheap at 5-6 dollars for a small skewer but are well prepared by the owner who meticulously shuffle the grills to make sure they aren't over cooked. They also provide complimentary cabbage with miso paste dipping sauce. Taste perfecto. Although not the main specialization they also have the sushi and sashimi but just a heads up this place is mostly for grilled item rather than sushi itself.

Dinner night with three of my friends. The place was quite small, so we are placed near the bar. We ordered numerous ranges of barbecues and all of them tasted nice and to our taste. I was impressed by the raw beef, cos I never tried before. But it tasted soo good!<br/>Will come visit here again sometime. <br/>

Service and cabbage dip was good! But meal was extremely overpriced and dishes were so so small.Space was quiet small, the table was not on a horizontal line, uncomfortable sitting posture all the time.Won't come back.

Authentic! Authentic! And Authentic! <br/>If you have experienced eating Yakitori in Japan and miss those Yakitori nights, I'd recommend this bar highly

BBQ in front of me was so nice. All my clothes were full of smoked smell but the experience was great. Taste was good and service was also great. It is a good place to get together with small group of people.

Have been to Ken Yakitori many times over many years, and the food never disappoints. It's best to go with a large group of people and order heaps of different dishes and skewers to share. Their karaage chicken is a must try!!

I have only good things to say about Ken Yakitori Bar ❤️ First, the staff is so nice and smiley and attentive to customers. I always get seated right away and never have to wait long for my orders. Sometimes the waitresses strike a conversation, asking whether you like the food or you need anything else. Second, whatever you order your stomach will thank you. What I would recommend if you are starving: Yakitori don or the grilled curry on rice. Also the deep fried wrapped up camembert cheese is not to be missed, and the Karaage chicken is a wise choice 👍🏼 As for their variety of skewers, I love the beef sirloin, the chicken thighs (with or without cheese), the prawn wrapped in bacon, the scallops and the mushrooms. If it's your first time here, you can order the special skewers combo they offer as it's well put together 😊 After you are done with your meals yet still want something more, have some green tea ice cream or the banana fritter (my favourite ❤️) Last but not least, be smart and order sake, it will complete the meal. For me I love coming to Ken Yakitori during cold days because I love their hot sake. Highly recommend this place ❤️

- very good staff. Attentive<br/>- authentic. Real variety of Japanese food as well as some fusion options<br/>- great taste. Fairly priced. <br/>/ nice venue. A little small but typical of a Japanese restaurant of This kind

The beef tongue skewer here is.. Homagawd. i just can't.. It's sooo buttery, tender, juicy, tasty..<br/>I used to come here once a week with my partner, or did take away. Needed to spare some cash at times but that's alright. Nothing else beats ken yakitori - at least for me. Not even in my home country. Now I'm craving for it. Damn!

I personally never had been to a yakitori bar before, but when me and my partner came here on Friday night, I was thrilled at what I experienced! So we get in and we were welcomed with this amazing umame smell I can only bring back from the grill houses we had in the Philippines. This has never happened before, and with my taste buts watering and the memories flooding back we took a seat. Service was reasonably good. There was one server and one chef and it was busy, so it was understandable why it took a bit of time to have our meals but boy we were NOT disappointed! We had the tasting skewer platter which had the minced chicken balls, the beef tongue, prawn and pork, and two others with two beers. Best thing ever. Would definitely go back there again!

Came here on a Wednesday night and it was surprisingly packed! Luckily we still got a seat. The seating plan in here is a bit odd and frankly there's just not enough space. <br/><br/>The food on the other hand was great! You usually get free cabbage to munch on while you wait for your order to come. The waiters forgot to give us our cabbage but the food came very quickly so everything was fine. <br/><br/>I love eating here because you can try so many different dishes and all of them are really yum!

Extremely cosy ! Great value for money.<br/>Love their chicken mince on skewer and also the wasabi octopus.<br/>Everything goes well with some nice warm sake !<br/>Just only suggestion is please be more flexible if some one doesn't eat beef ! <br/>You can swap just one item from the platter. Inspite of offering to pay extra for seafood the answer was no to swap the beef to any other entree .<br/>But overall was a nice time

Lunch here was quick, healthy and delicious. The staff were attentive and friendly. The portion may look small but it was filling! Will come back to try more items from the menu especially kaarage chicken.

Am never let down with this place. Have been here more times than I can count and it gets better every time. Prawn wrapped in bacon skewers are my absolute favourite. I could quite easily live on the food here, it's that good.

Small restaurant but quite busy at night. Friendly staff. Love there prawn and pork yakitori. We spent $74 for two people tonight. Quite expensive.

Yum! Have been here a few times and love it. The food is always consistently good. Love the atmosphere. Great place for a casual meal. Definitely be returning.

After the Russell Peters show and a few drinks this was a great late night snack foodie place! Food seemed to be served very quickly and it was delicious.

A friend and I popped in on a week night recently. I haven't been in for some time but I was pleased to find the food and service was still excellent. Like all good yakitori bars the charcoal grilled skewers were excellent. Ken has a very good range, plenty for those who like the less eaten bits and pieces. We enjoyed the skewered pork belly, beef tongue and squid, along with a delicious sashimi boat and the obligatory plate of octopus balls. All washed down with cold beer and treated to the cooking show seated at the counter, Ken Yakitori presents tasty food in a cheerful setting

Ken yakitori is one of my favourite yakitori bars in Auckland. (Tanukis cave is still by far the best in my opinion...) Only downside is I tend to order waaay to much and struggle trying to finish it all :) <br/><br/>Definitely recommend the ramen, the sirloin, and the chicken thigh. The hot crispy squid entree is also amazing!!!!

I’ve been a patron for over 10 years now and the service, experience and delicious food remain one of my favourite dining experiences in Auckland. <br/><br/>The food is fantastic and the Yakitori packs great smokeyness into its simplicity. Each skewer, unmistakably minimalist, has at the most two ingredients. Never pulling the palette too far from its charcoal infused base notes.<br/><br/>We were always attended and the staff had a sixth sense for a drink that needed replacing. They also filled what might have been a slight wait between platters, with some complimentary sweet potato crisps.<br/><br/>Top on the Yakitori menu: <br/>Pork belly skewers and Chicken Thighs <br/>Desert: Deep fired Camembert <br/>Drink: Asahi Dry and a warmed Sake or two.

Brilliant brilliant brilliant!<br/><br/>The food is magnificent. The service is just right. The ambiance and overall theatre of this restaurant cant be beat.

Absolutely loved this place. Great atmosphere, good vibes..The food and service is AMAZING! Loved the chicken hearts!!! Yum yum yummy. Promised my family that we would go back to Ken Yakitori at least once a month! :)

This is my favorite place to eat, the staff are extremely nice and accommodating, the food consistently well prepared and tasty, you can spend some money here but its worth it, you can taste the difference, especially when you stack it against the overated sheep-herding pen of Tanuki's, Ken actually feels like they care what you think, bravo and keep up the good work

This place is and will always be no. 1 in my list for Yakitori. They serve the best charcoal bbq'ed skewers in Auckland and probably in the country! All of their dishes go very well together, be it their side dishes like edamame, crispy fried lotus, silky agedashi tofu and many others appealing cute little side dishes. My most favourite dish besides the perfectly bbq'ed skewers would be one of the main dishes, karaage chicken. I cannot find anywhere else that make them as crunchy and succulent as they did here (not sure if they are using cornflakes for coating?). Love their warm sake and sweet umeshu (plum wine), which complemented superbly with their food.

Ken Anzac is consistently good. <br/><br/>Staff are accommodating and friendly.<br/><br/>Not the cheapest, but thems the breaks. Their yakitori stays pretty true to the genuine article. <br/><br/>People may not like the small interior, but this just makes the experience all the more authentic. <br/><br/>For first timers, go for the Ken combo.<br/><br/>If only they had tap beer instead of just bottles...<br/><br/>By the way, Anzac Ave Ken Bar gives you free cabbage, but I'm not sure if K-Road Ken does. There may be some slight menu variation as well.

This place remains my favourite in Auckland - always fantastic food, for what I think is very reasonable (two of us for $60 including a drink each). Its small and the service can be a little slow, but the prawn and pork kebabs are epic.

The atmosphere was good although the restaurant is quite small. The food is a bit expensive comparing to the portion.

I and my friends went to this place at a very late night for Sake and light meals. The environment was good, but the large table was not well designed (the space between seats and table was too broad).

Ken Yakitori is a favourite of mine. I love that it's such a different way of having a meal. Mostly skewers but plenty of other dishes as well. This is a place I would recommend if you were looking for something different but still tastes amazing. The Camembert wrapped and deep fried is a must try. Also the beef miso is really full of flavour and tasty. All the skewers are also really good. The only downsides are you can smell quite a bit after being in there for a while because of all the smoke and it's also not cheap but well worth the price for the experience. I've been here on multiple occasions, most recently as a Friday night catch up

Thus far, Winter's been suspiciously clement and stews haven't really started to appear in my kitchen. However, I couldn't resist one of my favourite winter haunts; Ken Yakitori. It's intimate, cosy and authentic. I took my new flatmate and had a bit of a 'get-to-know-you' over a couple of Kirins and some small plates. You know a restaurant of this size that has pages of information on their website about their charcoal are serious about their food. The traditional free cabbage thing is disconcerting; I can't help thinking of schoolboy humour regarding gas so tend to miss it. We had some sushi and prawn tempura and skewers of chicken hearts, thigh and gizzards, beef tongue and gingko nuts. Broccoli with sesame meant the chaps didn't feel we had been too unhealthy. It might be any port in a storm but this is my favourite place on a squally night.

Ken is a REALLY, REALLY good Japanese eatery in Auckland. It's small but full of energy; smell of grilled meats that make you really hungry even from outside! I was told that they imported their charcoal from Japan, that's why it tasted so good. <br/><br/>Dining here with hungry stomach is not cheap. Expect to pay $40 per person easily when you feel like trying several different sticks of yakitori, some shared entree dishes and a couple of drinks. Pairing Japanese beer and yakitori can be very, very addictive! Their umeshu (plum wine) is really tasty too. They do decent karaage that is crispy and juicy at the same time, their agedashi tofu is among the best in town and even if you feel like udon soup they do pretty decent one as well. I'm a big fan of their wasabi chicken yakitori but it might sting for those with weak nose and tongue. <br/><br/>The ambience is very busy and cramped/small... very Japanese! It's worth the pricetag as the food is very tasty, staff are efficient and friendly, and you get the whole Japanese dining experience in go. Expect to wait on Friday/Saturday nights... they are always very full!

God, I love Ken Yakitori so much...honestly, I had to think really hard about what I didn't like about it!!?<br/><br/>Warm and dark, loud and atmospheric, free cabbage, sometimes they bring you a free trial starter dish!<br/><br/>Must order: the crumbed fish & scallops dish, edamame, corn on the cob<br/><br/>Drink: one of the alcoholic fruit cocktails<br/><br/>I don't like: it's kinda cramped & the tables are small???<br/><br/>IT'S JUST THAT GOOD, OKAY?

There are at least three reasons to visit Ken Yakitori. First of all, its an authentic Japanese experience. Second, the food is very different from other Japanese places in the area. And lastly, because they are open till late, even on weeknights.<br/><br/>I like the set up here - I feel like I walked into a busy bar in Tokyo. The waitresses are very polite, but sometimes they have trouble understanding English. The food is excellent (at about $25 per person) - I have had the opportunity to try almost everything here. My favourites are the Karaage Chicken and the Yakitori combo (I would recommend you swap the scallops in for one of the other skewers). And if you like cheese, be sure to try the deep-fried camembert. And of course, don't forget the sake!