Review Sharaku - Auckland Central

Great find just off Queen Street. Food was great and very tasty. Nice atmosphere and very friendly staff. Most of the dishes are box styled and there is plenty to choose from. Having only been here once the time for food to arrive was longer than expected but could have been a one off as it was pretty packed when we arrived. I'd totally return here.

Great japanese traditional ambience.. We had the 7 course dinner and the food is okay.. Good portion enough to be full

For the food quality and ambience, the pricing is neither good nor it is bad. Service level is great, staff made you feel welcome. Food is okay, if you stay near queen street, this restaurant can be recommended.

Food was great and service was excellent. Just beware of the steep price tag. :)

Very friendly service, delicious food. Service was a little slow but there were two large groups at the time I was there.

For nearly 30 years I’ve wandered past the “Sharaku” sign leading into an old fashioned, innocuous Queen Street arcade. Finally my sister, friends and I ventured in to enjoy the BEST Japanese food I’ve had in NZ. It looks as if the decor is the same as the day it opened but I knew we were in the right place when we sat next to visiting Japanese businessmen eating up a storm. The service is charming, dignified and warm and the food! Man, the food. Everything is delicious and you don’t feel as if you’ve eaten a building afterwards. Go into the arcade and be transported to Sharaku.

Went there for dinner and had a fantastic time. It was very uniquely Japanese and had nice decor. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The food was very tasty and well portioned with good presentation. Would definitely recommend to anyone

Omg where to begin. Very tasty food, good dish sizes. Reasonably priced. Very friendly staff. Authentic and yum Japanese cuisine

Sushi and the green tea ice cream are really great

Carefully crafted cuisine in a beautifully decorated haven, we would have thought we're somewhere in Ginza. The bentos are packed full of goodies, neatly arranged in Japanese precision. Flavourful & authentic taste. Very courteous staff.

Fantastic friendly service and artistically plated food that tasted very good. They were very accommodating of our requests for my Wife's birthday and we had a lovely experience all round. Have been there twice now and intend on coming back.

Love this restaurant. Plenty of delicious vegan options. Unfortunately their miso soup is pre-made with dashi. I recommend the grilled Eggplant, its divine! Well priced. Good selection of Japanese beverages, Plum Wine, Whiskeys.

Great little Japanese Restaurant that most wouldn't know was there.... Great food. Fantastic service and it's nice to see all the staff dressed in traditional attire... Something a bit different. The fact that this place has been around for nearly 30 years should speak for the quality of the place... Unfortunately there are some people that just want everything to be flash and modern... I'm just happy to have a nice quiet restaurant that you can have a nice dinner with your partner... Would definitely recommend :-)

Economical, quick to serve and quick to eat in a ramen-ya (ramen restaurants), the famous noodles are a bit like fast food in Japan. They are found on every street corner and the specialized signs are often very friendly, open until late. They are the meeting place for revelers who do not fail to go and taste a last bowl of ramen before returning home. The Japanese can eat it at any time, and often with lots of slurping - the aim being to swallow the broth at the same time as the noodles to enjoy the dish in its entirety.

A delightful restaurant with a very tasty menu set back just a little from the waterfront at the bottom of Queen St. Very good polite service and our courses came quickly, 5 courses in 1 hour 45 mins. Easy low cost parking at Downtown carpark then less than 5 minute walk.

Its closed permanently. Should be removed from zomato

Average food, small proportion. Would not recommend for zomato gold users.

If you want to exclude everything from the menu, please don’t trick customers by providing 1+1 food

Another hidden nice place to have decent dinner on Queen Street. Quite and hygiene atmosphere and they even offer you the hot towels to clean hands before dining. Have tried eel on rice ($29) and spicy udon with seafood ($28), both of which are highly recommended. Generous portion of fish and seafood with good quality.<br/>With Zomato gold have $28 deducted. Good value. <br/><br/>Location:4/5<br/>Ambience:5/5<br/>Taste:4/5<br/>Presentation:4/5<br/>Service:5/5<br/>Overall:4.5/5

ZGold 20% OFF code: SYSTEM<br/>Second time coming here, service is excellent. They did not have any table left so we had to stay at the bar table but everything is correct and the food is great!

To many limitations for the Zomato membership. We only have four choices among the menu and others are all snacks. Besides，we wait for a long time when we had lunch at around 12:30. However, the food is good.

I don't really fancy eating in a Japanese restaurant when im not in Japan. But since it was my birthday we gave it a go. The sashimi platter and tempura were nice. They also have hitsumabushi which i enjoyed showing and serving to my friends.

Sushi not so and falls off, no better than fast food sushi, but sevice is great very friendly staff. Ambience is good but background music doesnt match, they play hiphop n r n b which ruins japanese authenticity

Cute little Japanese restaurant! All the ingredients in the bento were fresh while the chawanmushi was super delicate. But the star dish was the agedashi tofu which came beautifully presented with a flavourful broth.

This place is a disappointment. The Nabeyaki udon came with 1 prawn tempura, 1 kumara , 1 potato, 2 zucchini’s and 1 piece of long bean. There’s 1 egg and 1 piece mushroom in the udon soup. This cost $26 and is a rip off. The crumbed tuna came in 3 small pieces and eatable. The restaurant might have change owner. They used to be better. Doesn’t deserve the one star.

Hot towel is quite impressive, environment is quiet and not many guest on Friday night. The food is average, avocado is a bit off, but service is excellent. Zomato gold can’t used for bento boxes or some shared platers, stuff well explained before order.

A discreet restaurant located in an alleyway on lower Queen Street. Standard Japanese interior, reasonably clean. <br/><br/>Friendly staff with great hospitality, we were provided with hot towels on arrival and the food were quick to serve.<br/><br/>The salmon sashimi was fresh and decently portioned. The beef tataki was disappointing, the meat was slightly tough, sliced too thick and over flavored. <br/><br/>The bento box was nice, contained a good variety of food. The tempura was excellent, especially the kumara tempura. Crispy but puffy with a lovely dip. The eel was nicely flavored but too few. The teriyaki chicken was standard.<br/><br/>Food: 6.5/10<br/>Food presentation: 7/10<br/>Service: 9/10<br/>Location: 7/10<br/>Ambience: 7/10<br/>Price $30 per person excl alcohol<br/>

Very bad service,I had dinner last night, when we enter the restaurant, no staff care us. The fish is also not fresh,I will not come back. I will recommend my friends do not go to this restaurant

Came for lunch with a work colleague. Very happy with our meals (Teriyaki Salmon Bowl and Chicken Katsu Bowl). They are probably one of the best Japanese food I have ever tried as they were so well cooked and you can tell the meat and ingredients used were fresh and tasted so yummy. Would like to come back for their Lunch Box, Lunch Combo and Bento Box although you cannot use your ZG discounts for those :-)

Come here for dinner and the place is very crowded.. ordered kaisen don hitsumabushi.. food took like more than half hour to serve, and also the portion is standard.. taste is nice but not worth the waiting time

Excellent high quality fresh sashimi.<br/><br/>Had the bento box for lunch which came with a variety of different raw fish. All of which were delicate and delicious.

Being a Zomato Gold member you are limited to a small session of the menu to get the benefit of 1+1 food. Literally you can only choose from 25% of the menu. So not really a good experience. But by saying that the food is nice and service is good.

Friendly staff. I used zomato gold here, some limitations on what you can order to get free meal. Very busy place, took a long while for the food to arrive, overall good food.

Great service at this resteraunt. The food fell flat. We used a Grabone voucher for a 5-course meal and for the money we spent we expected something more refined. Highlights were the beautifully prepared sashimi, the matcha pannacotta and the yuzu umeshu (very small glass).

You're greeted with a hot towel (hot towel! In Auckland!), A diverse menu, and a really good drinks menu. They know exactly when you're ready, take your order, and bring it out in record time. As the evening progresses, they discreetly and elegantly refill your drinks and take away your dishes. Sounds weird, but they just do it better ok?<br/><br/>The food itself was excellent, it almost felt like being back in Japan, especially their Pork Dumplings and Chicken Teriyaki. Honestly all of us loved the food.<br/><br/>I really feel for these guys, I honestly never would have noticed them on Queen St if it wasn't for Zomato Gold. They're hidden away in this funny alley, but opens up into this Japanese deco wonderland. The restaurant was pretty much empty, it's a shame because it's one of the best restaurants service wise I've visited.<br/><br/>Then there's the cost, it was amazing value even without Zomato, it surprises me a bit actually, these guys just became one of my regular places.<br/>

Amazing food in here .portion is really reasonable. We ordered a lot and the price is really cheap with Zomato Gold . nice environment.also staff is really nice .will definitely come back

Nice Japanese food, friendly staff and nice deco.<br/>We ordered the karaage, chawamushi, nabeyaki udon and Kaisen don. They were all really tasty, good portion slightly on the saltier side. Would been keen to try the bento box next time.

The food is really tasty, good portions, just a bit too much restrictions on what you can choose as a gold. No bento box, no set menus, no platter. Even on the bowls part you can’t choose eel bowl. But overall is a good price for 2. But you might easily get bored of it, there’s only few choices for gold.

Sharaku is located on Queen Street and a good place to visit for a business lunch or if you're just looking for a quiet place to catch up with friends.<br/><br/>We had Sashimi Set and Teriyaki Chicken with Rice. The dishes are good but it can seem a little pricey for the food offered, however the ambience may or may not make it up for you depending upon how much weight you put on the environment where you're having the food.<br/><br/>I love the design of this place and it will make you feel a good Japanese dining experience.<br/>

The restaurant is a hidden gem, tucked in an unsuspecting corner of the building. We only ordered two dishes as we were trying out the restaurant; we used zomato gold and it was worth it. We ordered the nigiri and the wafu steak. The presentation of the food was really pretty, the fish was fresh and the beef done to perfection. Overall very happy with the place, would definitely go back to try their bento boxes. Also, the have daily deals that makes it worth trying!

Zomato Gold can’t be use on bento box. Staff explained well to us before we make the order. Their beef tataki is legit as it is so tender and flavourful. The price is slightly higher compared to other Japanese restaurant but food was great and authentic. Will definitely be back again!

A little nice Japanese restaurant right in the heart of Auckland CBD. All the food that we ordered was very nice, tasty and well presented, especially the eel and teriyaki salmon. The restaurant has real Japanese ambience - very tradition and cozy. Booking is highly recommended because there are limited seats. We did enjoy all the food we had last night. Also a very good deal if you have Zomato Gold. Definitely on the list of my Favorite Restaurant

Good ambience and nice to see how the chief make sushi/sashimi plates. Good customer services, very busy place. The taste is OK compared to the other Japanese place I have been to in Auckland, but on the pricey side.

Just had there 7 course set menu that introduced by the staff. The food was really great as well as the portion size. Good to go with a few sake. The price is reasonable not overpriced. Enjoyed it so much will come back again definitely!

Tried the bento boxes, duck and snapper. Didn't like the pumpkin drink but the salmon pieces were fresh and tempura super tasty. On the pricy side however!

This Japanese restaurant is easily to be miss out especially when it's located along the busy queen street. We first came and tried out their bento. Loved the potion , especially their tempuras. Later we saw their 5 course promo in Grab one and we went back again. Loved it ! Service was excellent, explained everthing on the plate . We left with happy tummy. Definitely worth a visit if you haven try it out.

What a hidden gem! I would have walked past this place a hundred time before we actually tried it. <br/>We found a deal on grab one and decided to give it a try, the downside was the deal had no vegetarian options but they were happy for us to order a meal separately to the voucher. <br/>The 5 course set meal looked so good and tasted amazing - everyone was really happy with their meals and came away super full. The Vege Maku box was really good and filling too.<br/><br/>It is a very cute small restaurant with lovely staff and it is definitely worth stopping by when you get a chance.

Worst Japanese in Auckland. This place used to be excellent when there was a japanese owner. Now a Chinese owner. No wonder why they were on Grabone. Taste nothing like japanese. We ordered Bento boxes abd Udon which NONE of them were tasty. We drove all the way to town, had to pay for expensive parking. Will never go back and stronly suggest you not to do if you like real japanese cuisine.

Tried this place due to the good review. Good customer service, atmosphere, and really enjoyed the food.<br/><br/>Customer Service: 8/10 <br/><br/>Food: 7.5/10 <br/><br/>Atmosphere: 7/10<br/><br/>Date: August 2018

Haven't been here for long time and i have to say it is still one of the best authentic Japanese restaurant.<br/>Excellent greetings and services, the food is as fresh as it used to be.

Went there for dinner and had a fantastic time. It was very uniquely Japanese and had nice decor.<br/>The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The food was very tasty and well portioned with good presentation. <br/>Would definitely recommend to anyone

Stellar service, stellar food, stellar atmosphere. Best roll sushi and teriyaki chicken I have ever had, hands down. Would recommend the lunch boxes so you get a taste of everything.

Great service. <br/>I recommend the wafu steak and nigiri platter, it’s great to have the option to choose your own nigiri fish sort. <br/><br/>The batter of the tempura prawn was a little hard otherwise the prawn was cooked right. <br/><br/>Will return to try their dinner menu.

Decent food and excellent service from the staff. The tempura was excellent and the sushi we had we pretty outstanding. The matcha pannacotta was not too sweet and was complimented well with the red bean sauce.

This restaurant is very vegan and vegetarian friendly- lots of options. The customer service is fantastic as the waitresses are super polite and friendly. The food is great and authentic. The meat isn't dry at all and full of flavour and seasoning. Atmosphere is calm and cosy.

Generally speaking, we had a good experience in this outlet last night. The service was excellent. The girls were friendly, quick to response, always looking around while doing other odd jobs, helpful. Food is good. We will be back.

Went here for a business lunch. <br/>Ambience wise, everything inside looks a bit old. Except for the bar area which is connect to the kitchen like authentic Japanese small restaurants, everything they did to decorate was all over the place. <br/><br/>I ordered teriyaki chicken with sushi on lunch menu which is $35. This didn't come with a bowl of rice. Teriyaki chicken is normally over seasoned so that you can eat them with rice so as this one but I had no rice with it. Was I supposed to eat it with sushi? No I don't want to ruin the taste of sushi. <br/><br/>Sushi was quite good tho. Fresh and well seasoned rice. However I think this meal is overpriced. People would expect more for a lunch meal that costs $35 especially in a restaurant with this ambience.

A friend and myself dined here tonight with a grab one voucher. The food and all the staff were amazing. Highly recommend, we will definately be back.

Grabbed a five course Japanese dinner for two people for only $69 voucher on Group*n. Both my friend and I was very satisfied with their nice service and tasty dishes. Raw food materials were very fresh. Especially the grilled eel dish and sashimi dish. We liked their pretty vanilla ice-cream dish very much. Also the white rice was very soft and good texture. Staff were very friendly. <br/> <br/><br/>This restaurant has very original decorations. Walls were covered by lots of Japanese culture items. Before started to have the first course, friendly staff delivered us heated towel for cleaning hands. What a intimate service!  Very enjoyed dinner and got a whole lot for my money there.

My partner bought a GrabOne voucher here for a 5 course meal for two. This place is a little hidden though. Nice atmosphere inside -needs better ventilation though I think. Quite stuffy inside. Staff were friendly and we were greeted as soon as we walked in. <br/><br/>The waitress that served us asked what we'd like to drink and we asked for green tea. She then explained to us on what we were going to get with the 5 course meal. <br/><br/>The food came pretty fast. As soon as you finished one course, the next one would be served within minutes. Presentation of the food was nice and the food itself was delicious. <br/><br/>As weird as the Beetroot soup or whatever it's called in out entrée/appetiser was actually weirdly nice. The sashimi & nigiri selection (2nd course) was great. Wish there was more but mmm still good 😋 the grilled eel (5th course) was cooked nicely. Very flavoursome and soft. My partner preferred the eel over the steak. The dessert was just plain vanilla ice cream (presumably homemade?) but it just tasted good... Very satisfying... 🍦 overall it was pretty filling -surprisingly. <br/><br/>Would definitely come back to this place to try out their other meals. Their dessert menu looks very enticing too!

Cute little Japanese restaurant near Britomart in Auckland City<br/><br/>There was a Grabone voucher for a 6 course set so my friends and I decided to check it out. This restaurant is hidden away from the busy street which I really liked. We were welcomed in and seated quickly. The decor was very nice, felt like we were in Japan. The waitress gave us a hot wet towel which was perfect because it was quite a cold night.<br/><br/>We were asked if we wanted drinks and I asked for water. Unfortunately the water didn't come for quite some time and when I asked the first time, the lady forgot.. But we got there in the end! The waitress also gave us miso soup which is standard like most places, can't go wrong with miso soup.<br/><br/>The first course was the assorted appetizers which had beetroot juice, fried potato/kumara ball and shrimp/broccoli. I did not like the beetroot juice, it has a really weird taste to it but all my friends liked it so I guess that was just me. The other two were really nice; not oily and light but seemed a little simple.<br/><br/>The second course was the nigiri sushi and sashimi selection of the day. I really enjoyed this as I personally love sushi/sashimi and it tasted fresh. The presentation was really cute in a little box. <br/><br/>The third course was assorted tempura which consisted of black tiger prawn and seasonal vegetables. Who doesn't like tempura?! I felt it wasn't oily and the tempura was really thin so it didn't feel like I was eating a lot of batter. Cute presentation as well.<br/><br/>The fourth course was the steamed egg custard. There were mystery pieces of meat and mushroom in the egg custard but I felt it didn't have much taste. I thought it was pretty average.<br/><br/>The fifth course was the main which you could choose either beef scotch fillet steak or grilled eel with rice. I had the beef and unfortunately they didn't ask how I wanted my meat (I guess it's not really normal to ask in japanese restaurants) so I felt it was a little tough but I really liked the sauce they had it with. I had some eel and the meat was really soft. The skin has a weird texture that my friend didn't like so best not to get this option unless you really like eel.<br/><br/>The sixth and last course was the ice cream. It was vanilla ice cream topped with a raspberry/blueberry sauce with a chocolate cream and sesame cracker. It was average and nothing to rave about.<br/><br/>Pictures:<br/>- Assorted Appetizers<br/>- Miso soup<br/>- Nigiri sushi and sashimi selection of the day<br/>- Assorted tempura<br/>- Steamed egg custard<br/>- Scotch beef fillet with salad and rice<br/>- Grilled eel<br/>- Ice cream with chocolate cream and sesame cracker<br/><br/>All in all, I thought it was a really nice meal. We paid $34.50 each instead of $60.00 which I felt was worth it. I don't think I would have paid $60.00 for it. Everything was really simple and light, not heavy and oily.  The service was really accommodating (apart from the water incident) and we had a really good time. I wish they waited longer during the courses cause we were so stuffed after the tempura. They were really fast between the courses so we didn't get much time to rest. I will definitely come back and try the other dishes though!

Bought the 5 courses dinner for two on grabone, and it turned out to be excellent dinner. Good quality food, well presented dishes and Service was awesome, beer only $5! Definitely go back again in the future!! Arigatou!

Been coming here with friends very often for $5 beer and shared foods. I love the wasabi dices, karaage, fried eel, and of course their Orion Beer. Staff are very friendly all the time.

I love the Japanese feel of greetings & hot towels prior to a meal. For the 5-course dinner at Sharaku, we started with a trio of appetizers - interesting & enjoyable, but not particularly good in taste. Then came sushi & sashimi - again, nothing special. Tempura which came next was better, with big fresh tiger prawn & very good kumara & pumpkin slices.  Chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) was exceptional - so smooth & delicious. I had grilled eel for main which also came with miso soup & rice, while my wife had beef.  Both were above average.  The dessert was vanilla ice-cream with a piece of frozen blue berry & sesame biscuit - creative & outstanding.  (Food - 4/5; Service - 4.5/5; Ambience - 4/5)

I've been coming to this place for 10 years and very little has changed. The head sushi chef may have left and the waitress no longer wears a kimono but the service is outstanding and the atmosphere is just as good.<br/><br/>I love seeing Japanese business men sitting by the sushi bar conversing with the sushi chef. I love the soft lighting and the inaudible music. I love the side display area and the table for two placed beside it. <br/><br/>To the food then! I ordered the Sharaku Special with all its dishes. It no longer comes in a Bento style box but separate dishes in time to keep the food fresh from the kitchen.<br/><br/>The starters are the Beef Tataki, Salmon Mash and Greens. I loved the salmon mash and it's sweet sauce. This was followed by Tempura, Steam Egg with mushrooms and others, prawn salad and miso soup. I absolutely loved the simple and elegant steam egg as it is so tasty!!! For mains I opt for the Teriyaki Salmon and it was mouth watering!!! With just the right texture it melted in my mouth and I can talk coz I made my own Terikyaki salmon just the previous night! I wash my meal down with hot green tea before finishing the dinner off with the Green Tea Ice Cream.<br/><br/>The consistency of this place, it's menu and it's Japanese clientele has hardly changed in 10 years is a testament to its authenticity and it's tasty treat. <br/><br/>This is hands down my favourite Japanese restaurant in Auckland!

The nigiri sushi were the best ! Really enjoyed it, all dishes are made with high standard , service was very good , nice and friendly. will definitely come back

I went here for a business lunch a couple of weeks ago. The restaurant itself is tucked away off Queen Street and wasn't overly busy the day we were there. The ambience was nice and peaceful, it was nice to not be amongst the crowds. We were seated immediately by our friendly waitress and offered drinks. We both ordered the katsu chicken which was cooked perfectly and was nice and light. I'm so glad we've got a great little Japanese place near the office!

This place is amazing !! Staff is very nice ( : the lady who take my order was in Japanese costumes !! Feels like i m in Japan.further,Food was delicious . Like to visit again !!

This place is absolutely superb. I love Japanese food, and unlike other commenters I feel we Japanese lovers have it pretty good in Auckland - the likes of Masu, Kushi, Gouemon are all superb for varying reasons - but I think Sharaku takes the cake. <br/><br/>From the moment you walk in you're greeted by waitresses in authentic Japanese dress, kimono and all, and the furnishings are elegant, making you feel well off the beaten track (despite it being on Queen Street) in an intimate environment. <br/><br/>The head chef is a trained Japanese sushi chef, so certainly knows a thing or two about preparing superb sushi rolls and sashimi. The presentation isn't as funky as the likes of Kushi and Industry Zen, but it's still immaculate. Try the Gyoza, again the best Japanese dumplings in Auckland. Also, for a incredibly cheap price for any dessert, treat yourself to some ice cream. Green tea is always delicious, but I'd recommend the red bean ice cream. The green tea dessert is yum too.<br/><br/>Overall the whole experience feels very authentic, dignified and intimate, while the food is absolutely superb, and at a reasonable price too (you know Japanese food isn't going to be cheap, but Sharaku is more reasonably priced than other places).

This is by far the most authentic, mindful, and best sushi in New Zealand that I've tasted. I come from California, where I normally eat the likes of Matsuhisa, Nobu, and Katsu, and this place is the only one here that comes even slightly close to the quality. If you are concerned about nuances such as the subtlety of the rice seasoning, amounts of rice to fish, tenderness of fish, and so forth, than this place is the place for you. Highly recommended, and good value for money as the size of the fish on the sushi is not stingy by any means.

One of my favourite Japanese restaurants in Auckland!<br/><br/>Always serving authentic and traditional Japanese food. I normally get one of the dinner sets or bento boxes - the prices for these can appear a bit high but for that you get quality and quantity! Always leave here with a full and satisfied stomach.<br/><br/>Service is good with lots of friendly and attentive staff.

My partner and I love Japanese food. We have been to many Japanese restaurants &amp; we both agree that Sharaku is still one of the best Japanese restaurant. The sashimi is great and the tempura is to die for. Possibly the best tempura outside of Japan! Their prices are probably a little more expensive compare to other Japanese restaurant, but I still think it's pretty good value for money. Anyway if you have room for dessert do try their moochi!

The atmosphere of this restaurant is very nice and calm. <br/>I like the decor.<br/>I usually order Prawn don and it is very satisfying, although I felt like the quality is a little bit dropping.<br/><br/>The only disappointing point was that the attitude of the lady who seemed to be the manager was a bit arrogant and snobbish..<br/>The other staffs were polite and nice.

I am not happy with their service. One of server, She looks like one of senior there, but was impolite. the food was not too bad. but comparing all services and foods with other Japanese restaurants, I was disappointed.