Review Taisho Japanese Restaurant - Auckland Central

Overall it was good. Sashimi was so fresh!!! Yakitori was also yummy! We ve got chef selection and chicken heart. The chicken heart was real good !! Chef selection was good deal for what you get but next time, we would prefer to order individual yakitori as we can pick what we want. We added karrage chicken in the end. I felt the chicken didn't have enough seasoning. a bit blend to me. We will definitely be back to have more yakitori!

So incredibly delicious every time! Love the Cheese Mi, Sashimi 3 Kinds and Scallops and Bacon ❤️ The sashimi is so fresh!!!

Really good king ora salmon sashimi! So fresh! Love the pork belly skewers, aburi salmon!! 🍣 😍

Tasty food . Sashimi always taste fresh . Good and comfortable seating area. We have been there a few times .

If you fancy Yakatori then the Taisho restaurant in Herne Bay is THE place to go. You will enjoy the buzz, the bar and smooth service before being delighted by the fabulous food on wooden Skewers that is cooked to perfection on the charcoal grill by the owner and Master of Taste. Highly recommended! 🇯🇵 🔥 😋no 8 ml

I always have a great time. Good people, good food, consistent service and quality. I really like when we have a big group and stay by ourselves in a private room as it can be quite loud in the main area because of others. But that doesn't mean that is bad. And it is a BYO

Great spot for dinner- tasty food and good vegetarian options! Easy to dine with kids too

Fantastic authentic Japanese food. A wide variety of food freshly prepared and cooked in front of you. A packed house told me I wasn't the only one who thought it was good!

I have never left a restaurant review but this the food here is exquisite. No tedious sushi overwhelmed with rice; no basins of noddles in broth which are wholesome and fun to slurp. This is an entirely different level. Tiny portions of tasty pork, lamb, salmon, shrimps wrapped in bacon etc all so simply and intensely what they are, not adulterated or played around with. Everything is cooked on tiny racks over a rectangular ditch containing the charcoal. The maestro Japanese chef stands in his kimono and head scarf watching his customers as he manipulates the delicate and tasty morsels with chopsticks before each is placed in tiny bowls and born by delicate looking Japanese waitresses. I went last night and wish I could go again tonight. And the next night....

10/10 - sashimi melts in your mouth and service/atmosphere is good. A great find😊🙌🏻

Superb skewers, well priced for the quality. The service is friendly and efficient. The chef has a DJ booth style thing where you can see him turning the skewers over a grill, there's a giant lantern and cold asahi. What more do you need?

Myself and my friends came here because the restaurant we wanted to go to next door (Thai) was fully booked. Was a good choice! I loved the chicken karaage and gyoza, authentic flavour. Will definitely be back again.

absolutely wonderful in every way. The food was perfect and the service was really great too - they made everybody feel special. I can’t recommend it enough!!!! we left with the warmest fuzzies. 大正ありがとうございます！

Another excellent Friday night end of week wind down meal here. Never fails to please. Great service, BYO, chefs special, salad (yum) and a few extra skewers of whatever you fancy. Satisfied.

Small but very good yakatori authentic and good value especially a especially for Herne Bay. Have been here several times. Order a few dishes a and share them its the best way to get a range.

Best beef I've had the pleasure of eating. Best gyoza too, by a wide margin. Each dish is served as soon as it is cooked precisely to perfection.

A cozy Japanese restaurant with authentic cuisine and friendly service. We had a nice warming bottle of sake (nihonshuu) with kebabs (yakitori). The bacon wrapped scallops were especially good.

Best authentic Japanese in Auckland. Lots of veggie options as well as rocking the meat/fish/poultry!

One of our faves and suits all the tastes in our family - great staff cheap, cheerful and yummy food :) highly recommend!!!!

Left me waiting at front door .. No acknowledgement at all then seated people who walked in after us. Shocking service.. Regards Michael Five loaves!

Everything was so delicious, except the green Tsukemono.

Great food Great staff ✨My favorite!

The food was delicious, the staff friendly and helpful, the atmosphere welcoming and joyful. What more could one ask for!?

This is one of our favourite places, whole family loves it.

Absolutely love this little local. The skewers are so good, this is our regularly weekly Japanese spot. It’s quick, healthy. This place is always busy so make sure you book . Price wise I feel it’s fair for the quality of the food .

This is a great spot to get yakitori, they use only the best charcoal called “Binchotan” which is made from oak and gives the meat a delicious smoky aroma. Highly recommend the chefs selection yakitori, sashimi is always super fresh and melts in your mouth, shabushabu (pork belly) salad is great, all sushi great, and ANY yakitori is fantastic

I have been here in several occasions with family and have never been disappointed. Great friendly service, charismatic chef and amazing fresh food. We always get a variety of food: skewers, sushi, sashimi, edamame, gyoza and the salads. All fresh and tasty. Highly Recommend.

One of my favourite Japanese diners. Great taste and quantity. Parking is fairly easy around. Got all my favourites and whether you feel like a don or a yakitori - the choice is yours. And it is also a BYOW ;)

Great food, skewers excellent, go for the chefs selection! Good atmosphere early in the evening with lots of family dining. Gyoza dumplings were really good.

Up until last weekend, Taisho was the only restaurant in Herne Bay I hadn't been to, even though it's been there forever and I love Japanese. <br/><br/>Damn. I should've come here before. So close and such great food. The skewers are all really good and smokey. They are quite plain so a wide selection will liven things up. The gyoza are top notch. Perfect crunch and dumpling thickness. <br/><br/>We were seated upstairs (which I didn't know existed) so we missed out on the liveliness of the kitchen downstairs which was unfortunate but no booking on a Friday night so our fault. <br/><br/>Great Japanese food!

I've been to Taisho  on a regular basis since it opened many years ago with my family.<br/><br/>It is remarkably consistent both in terms of service and the food standard. In fact, I'm not sure I know of any place that delivers food with such impeccable consistency. While Taisho might not be serving ground-breaking cuisine, the yakitori style is served with effortless grace. Among my favourite dishes from the grill I would include; pork belly, chicken thighs, ox tongue and chicken livers. I also like to start the meal with the raw octopus and wasabi and a small side salad. The fried chicken - tender, piping hot boneless morsels of deep fried chickeny goodness are also remarkable.<br/><br/>An unpretentious, very reasonably priced restaurant in an upmarket area of town with very friendly staff. You might not necessarily want to drive the whole way across town to get to this place, but if you're passing by it is absolutely worth the stop. I had to put up this review because of the 1 star reviews which are surely disingenuous. I've been to this place so many times over so many years and it has always delivered the exact same standard. Which cannot be said of other places in the area. Can't wait to visit again. Godspeed, Taisho!

We eat here once a fortnight and the food is excellent. It's a healthy meal the whole family lives. The Yakitori cook is a real character too. Thanks Taisho team!

Wonderful service, with absolutely delicious food, in a lovely ambient setting. What more could you ask for really? One of my favourite places to go, never dissapointed.

The wooden signage above the narrow entrance and the gigantic red lantern has captured one of us as we drove past the main road of many popular fine dining restaurants.<br/><br/>The two of us has ordered the following and be honest, we've over done it unless you have a large appetite.<br/><br/>- hot large sake<br/>- beef tataki<br/>- chef's special (yakitori combo)<br/>- chicken liver (ordered by mistake)<br/>- salmon nigiri<br/>- bacon mushroom wraps<br/>- prawn dumpling (special menu)<br/>- char-grill pork neck (special menu)<br/><br/>Fav dish for the night:<br/>- char-grill pork neck<br/><br/>Least fav dish for the night:<br/>- beef tataki apart from the chicken liver as we thought it was chicken gizzard.<br/><br/>The pork neck was perfectly cooked and seasoned, it was absolutely delicious even though this was served last. We've even contemplated to cancel this order due to eyes bigger than stomach, we were glad that we didn't. It's definitely worth a try and might be one of those dishes that you would return for.<br/><br/>As for the beef tataki, it was over cooked perhaps they intended to suit the western taste buds. It was almost like slices of medium steak which totally got rid of the idea of beef tataki :-(<br/><br/>We also didn't expect the salmon nigiri to be served torch seared, if you're a fan of it then you're likely to give it a high score.<br/><br/>One thing you need to be aware of, the narrow layout does not hold alot of tables so bear that in mind if you are starving. The amount of noise captured bouncing between the narrow interior space has made our night of conversation very difficult and it could be irritating after awhile. So if you're after a quiet place to dine, this may not be suitable.<br/><br/>Overall, it was a positive spontaneous dining experience over the weekend. Will definitely return for more :-)

This is my family favourite restaurant. We feel at home whenever we visit Taisho because of the friendly boss, Taka San. He greets every guest as his friends. He is the one grilling the delicious teriyaki for all his guests. My favourite are karaage (fried chicken), kurmara teriyaki and their yaki soba (fried Japanese noodle). If you don't want to cleck your head to think of what to have, just order the chef's selection. It is consists of pork, scallop, prawn, beef, salmon and chicken teriyaki (skewers).

Love this place. The food is fab, the staff friendly and the prices very reasonable. We often take friends, never had a bad dish. BYO WINE IS THE ICING ON THE CAKE. decor is pleasant, we really enjoy watching the chef on the yakatori grill. such care. Do try the octopus balls, the dumplings, the crispy chicken and the grilled squid. Don't miss the grilled courgette and the kumara. We have never been disappointed in a meal at Taisho.

Excellent food and friendly staff, this restaurant never disappoints! Nice new menu too. We've been coming here since they opened and it just gets better and better. Highly recommended to anyone who likes good Japanese food!<br/><br/><br/>----- 03 Sep, 2011 -----<br/><br/>Absolutely fantastic. I don't know what 'Bunky' is talking about, this place is very authentic indeed. First class food and service. Amazingly well priced considering its on Jervois Rd. I have been here several times now and will continue to do so. <br/>Highly recommended!

I celebrate my birthday here with hubby and 2 year old daughter as all of our Japanese friends recommended us to go to Taisho and it was awesome! <br/><br/>Lovely restaurant with very friendly and helpful staff, the food was very delicious, very authentic and great variety. They also gave us kids cutlery and plate without asking, which was so nice (they also have a couple of high chairs). <br/><br/>We have been to many Japanese restaurants though out NZ, but this one is unique, you must experience it yourself.

Very disapointed with meal. The shashimi plate at $29.00 had, I would suggest less then 100 grams of fish !!!!! the pork dish at $18.00 was a nibble !!!!We do visit Japanese restaurants a lot and feel being ripped off in this establishment. This is the first time I ever commented on a restaurant but felt it was worth the effort doing so. I think theysurvive on the Ponsonby image.<br/>The wine was great.<br/>Will not visit again as there are so many better Japanese restaurants about.

What a find! Absolutely excellent and the wait service was outstanding without being intrusive. Fell across it late after work one Friday night and left the menu up to the waiter - great idea - just ask for no mayo or mayo on the side. Wine list only average - but is a small criticism. Decided to have my birthday family dinner there - very eclectic tastes - and they all thought it was very very good and reasonably priced. Try the Aubergine and the rare beef - mmmmmmm. Enjoy

Worst yakitori I've had in NZ, awkward service, I've never seen a waiter acting like a door to door sales, its annoying! me and my partner asked for green tea, and we got 2 pots of badly made teas! yes two pots that took 1/3 of table, they knows how to rip you off(in your face)! yakitori was below average, some are over cooked, and unevenly flavored! Salad was average! okonomiyaki was terrible, we had it in Japan before so we know exactly what it should be, what we get is more like a shrimp pancake, wouldn't mind if it taste good, but it's way too salty, portion of sauce and mayo just not right.... with many good yakitori bars around Auckland, I won't go back Taisho again!

Really great food. Must have eaten here at least 10 times. For $60 you can get seveal courses and a drink each. Great authentic Japanese feel and lovely staff.<br/><br/>Busy from the day it opened (we managed to get in on the first night) and a regular haunt for us.<br/><br/>Would thoroughly recommend to anyone.

So so yummy and prices are very reasonable! 3 of us ate there recently and took our own sauvignon blanc to accompany our meal. (the owner of glengarry the bottle shop a few doors down recommended this restaurants to us)<br/>had the table covered in a random assortment of dishes from mayo covered prawns, deep fried tofu salad, soy beans to raw fish platters. <br/>the wait staff were friendly and the chef is funny especially when you sit at the table infront of his hot plate! great chilled atmosphere, much fun to be had.A+

Great friendly staff, intimate seating area, yummy Yakitori with some intersting options - check out the potato swirls! Would have been a five out of five except they dont have beef tongue or chicken skins.

Absolutely excellent; good atmosphere, good service, remarkable value and good quality yakitori, and I know what I'm talking about, lived Tokyo 5yrs and LOVE to eat.

The best Japanese BBQ meal ever - my best friend got us to go along and now it's our new fav Friday night meeting place with friends. Fab for kids as well and Yummy Japanese saki, whiskey, and beer. The price's for Ponsonby is amazingly cheap. Service friendly and prompt and the atmosphere lots of fun. Skewers try everything delicious.