Review Samurai Sushi - Auckland Central

One of the best Japanese restaurants I've been to. The sashimi don and prawn tempura we had were so good and we loved the presentation. Service was top-notch as well, highly recommend.

Ordered sashimi lunch box for dinner, it was a large portion with fresh fish and crispy salad, overall I enjoyed this dish but the chicken was overly fatty for me and sauce was a bit overcooked/sugary. Teriyaki beef combo with dumplings was very tasty, and the beef quality was very good. The sauce with this dish was also very yummy. Both dishes came with miso.

Located inside Elliott stables food court. Great service and very friendly staff. The food was was really good. Although its price is above average for Japanese restaurant, it is still i think worth the money, as the portions are huge. Honestly, I didn't even finish my plate. I had a katsu curry dinner set, shown in the pics. One criticism tho, whould appreciate it if the food was warmer when it's served.

My partner and I ordered katsu chicken don and spicy tofu don. Food was fresh, delicious and huge! Would love to go again!

The Sashimi Don and Tempura were so great. highly recommend. also Sea food Ramen too. Sashimi Donburi is alway fresh and huge. lovely.

This one of my always reliable meals before a film or play. The dinner boxes have variety and make a good option when decision-fatigue sets in after a long day at work. Also, I love having a little bit of this and a little bit of that, all neatly presented in a bento box. The glasses of wine are huge, so good value for $9 (red) or $10 (white). There are a lot of options in Elliott Stables. This place is a good option if you feel like Japanese food and/or decision-fatigue has set in. Oh, you will need to decide whether you want teriyaki chicken or beef for your dinner box.

Really enjoyed our lunch there. Generous portions, well prepared. Good serving of salad alongside the rice and protein. Lunch special is a great deal and the customer service was spectacular. We will be back!! (And I always trust a Japanese restaurant who advises they don't have sashimi - it indicates they have high standards for food quality, which I want in a restaurant!!!!)

Massive portions for their deals for teriyaki and katsu chicken. I have eaten here multiple times and not once have I been disappointed. Located inside Elliott stables, Samurai Restaurant is a go to whenever I'm in the area. While the food does come out a bit slow, I would say it is worth the wait as the food is plenty and tasty. Will definitely return.

Super amazing friendly Staffs and very pleased to have lunch with my little boy. Delicious food and impressed with their extra care for me and my kid. Highly recommend ! Thanks

Very kind and gentle staff with amazing food. Sometimes they give you a surprise with some extra stuff! Totally reccomend. Seems like they've had a few bumps on the road from the previous reviews but definitely a solid option for an affordable meal in Central Auckland.

On a boring weekday at work, I enjoy treating myself here with a nice bento chicken or teriyaki chicken don meal here. In my humble opinion, the don meals have a good balance of meat, salad, and rice. Bento meals are the next level up. Also its a convinient place to try out japanese beers.

Great food from what I've tried so far, prices a bit high but worth it Only downside is the eating area is kind of packed

I took the Bento Box and it was MIND BLOWING! The portion was G-normous, nigiri &sashimi were so fresh they melt in your mouth. The tempura veggies were crispy and well seasoned and the teriyaki chicken was utterly outstanding. I ate the whole box and drank the soup after to wash everything down where it should go, and thank god I didn’t fall for the appealing bao next door as an appetizer, because I was about to explode (in a good way of course). I also had a little lychee cocktail and it was the best pre-made alcoholic drink I had in ages. I don’t know what’s the deal with the review before or if they took that into consideration but my experience there was all you could expect from good Japenese food. The service was as good as the food, and I was pretty pleases she recommended the Lychee drink.

Amazing! Before I ordered I noticed the most popular thing on peoples tables was the bento box. It was way bigger than I could get through, and everything was absolutely delicious.

Delicious meal. Yaki soba and chicken katsu were great and the meals are very big. Haven't been able to finish one yet

Had two donburi. I see the negative reviews but we loved it. Is a little pricier than other Japanese around here, but it is really good. Very fresh tasting and loads of flavour.

Easily one of the best Japanese restaurants in Auckland. The food is consistently fresh, healthy and comes out fast. Lovely people who serve you too who are always willing to help! Thank you so much :)

A large, healthy meal to eat. Lots of salad and chicken with the teriyaki chicken dish. Nicer than a foodcourt meal and in a fun place to eat. They also have great vegetarian and non-alcoholic beer.

Highly recommended

This was crispy chicken dish was cooked perfectly, sauce was a great a compliment. This is a perfect meal for lunch time.

Had their dinner special. Reasonably priced with Teriyaki meat of choice, rice, miso, salad and 6pcs dumplings for $23 (Oct 2019). <br/><br/>Generous portion but taste wise was a bit too sweet to my liking.

Seafood Ramen ($18 worth the price and taste) - Requested the chef to make medium spicy. Amazing taste and generous amount of seafood in every bite. Needed to spend decent amount of time chewing, talking with friends, appreciating and enjoying the seafood. Will do visit again next time. Thanks.<br/>

The staff are so polite and friendly, and the food is really good. Also tried stir fry vegetarian noodles it was really delicious. Definitely recommend.

Went here for lunch and ordered chicken donburi, big portion and taste good. Worth it for lunch. They also have bento box version with bigger portion for bigger appetite

Usually come here for a quick lunch takeaway. Service friendly enough. Their lunch special chicken donbury is very tasty and portions are good.

Had the chicken bento box was a good deal for $17.00 including miso soup. There were 2 varieties of chicken including teriyaki. Could have had more soy sauce for the sushi but overall a lot of variety - tempura vegetables, salad with sesame dressing, rice and teriyaki chicken, fried chicken and sushi

Large portion. Lots of greens vs rice. Fair number of fish pieces. Shared dining area with other eateries. Service was poor. I had a few questions about their menu & the Lady that served us had an attitude. Fed up to answer even though its her job.

Always busy at lunch time and there will most definitely be a queue. Lunch price is cheaper than their dinner price for the same portion. Like getting their chicken or beef bento boxes for lunch, only $16 and you get so much. Katsu, teriyaki, sushi, tempura, rice, miso soup and salad.

I had the katsu-don. The meat was quite thin so was a little dry but not enough to not be enjoyable. It had a mayonnaise topping which was tasty with the different pickles and other veges, but I prefer the classic egg onion and dark sauce. 3.5 stars

I went to elliot stable on tuesday for $10 special. Didnt really have much for vegetarian option so i choose to eat here. The dressing on this donburi is really good. Sesame and mayo are perfect combo. The portion size is just right. I paid $12.50 for this, japanese places would have this kind of donburi for $9 only.

Decided to try this place out since I've been told that they are really nice. Ordered the Ten don and paid the wrong price so had to do another transaction to make up the difference.<br/><br/>The tempura was quite nice and crispy. The don was served with mayonnaise instead of the tempura sauce. Still nice but gave it a different flavour.

The teriyaki chicken is the only good part about this restaurant. The udon was very poorly made, with random steamed vegetables thrown in. It is not authentic at all and I was extremely disappointed by it.

If I could give 6 stars I would. The best restaurant at the stables in my opinion. The chicken don is DIVINE. So are the bento boxes. Great atmosphere. Not too pricey and most of all, delicious and filling! Shout out to the waitresses they are angels

A bit on the pricy side compared to other Japanese places outside the stables, but the service is excellent and the food really good (and well presented). The Miso soup is also really nice.

Recently discovered this nice foodcourt hiding in the city and decided to have a nice dinner on Easter Saturday :)<br/>Ordered Dinner Box A ($25) which came with tempura prawn, tempura veg, 2 gyoza, 2 nigiri, a few pieces of sashimi, green salad, katsu chicken with mayo, teriyaki beef with rice (and miso soup also!)<br/>Teriyaki beef: too salty😭 too much sauce and actually soaked all the rice also (I was gonna eat some rice to balance the saltiness...) it was also quite hard to chew<br/>Katsu chicken: chicken is well fried and was tender inside <br/>Gyoza: crispy but they don’t have sauce for dipping gyoza<br/>Green salad: not a big fan of salad but the dressing was like sweet and savoury so it was quite nice (but again it’s savoury....)<br/>Tempura: love tempura veg! Not too oily and quite crispy, but again no sauce for dipping tempura <br/>Nigiri: one was salmon and don’t know what the other one was but they were quite average<br/>Sashimi: I can’t say they are not fresh but they probably are not from the ‘nice’ part of the fish so just average <br/>Miso soup: just normal miso soup (but it’s also savoury flavour)<br/>Comment: as you can tell, almost the whole dinner box was bombarded with saltiness... although I know there are a lot of food which definitely make you full, i would appreciate a bit more rice coz i need something to balance the saltiness😭 <br/>And they only give us chopsticks but no spoon... when the rice was all soaked with teriyaki sauce, there’s no way to pick up the rice with chopsticks😂 and my kiwi friends struggled so much to use their chopsticks to pick up rice so it would be great to provide a spoon

Came here for lunch, and ordered the Beef Lunch Box, and friends ordered the Sashimi Lunch Box. Generous portions, I must say. I wish the beef was cooked to well done, as I could still see some red bits on the beef. Service was good, I have no complaints. Not the best place to get your Japanese fix, but reasonable food with a reasonable price.

They have variety of Asian dishes. I tried chicken teriyaki which was considered to be very good even by my friends. Service is very helpful and you can even modify the dishes the way you would like it to be.

We have been to Samurai Sushi twice and LOVED it both times. We love the Teriyaki chicken and Chicken Katsu most as well as the Sushi and entree sides. The staff are lovely and friendly and the food comes out hot and super fast! Would highly recommend. Great quality and pricing is great! we love it :) The only problem we have is that it is in town - we wish it was closer to home! but def worth the trip!

I had the chicken katsu and it's was good. Would have preferred slightly bigger portion size but hey that's just me. It does get really busy during lunch however their service is pretty quick. No long wait times and the food comes out hot..

Great concept! I had a Japanese Katsu Curry. Nice vibe to the place too. Could also order beer, which I certainly did! I was a bit dubious at first but as soon as I walked in thought yep, lets do this...was glad I did. Went for lunch. Would go back if I was a local.

I think this place has taken over as my go to place for Japanese food in the city. The lunch boxes are exceptionally good value and I can never eat everything. The food quality is always at a high standard but the wait times can vary, which is rather common with Elliot Stables.

I ordered vegetarian sushi here and it was surprisingly cheap for the supreme quality and quantity they serve. I would suggest that you share a plate with someone, because it's a lot of sushi rolls and they're also a little bigger than the usual size.

A Japanese part of the Elliot stables where you get typical Japanese cuisine(teriyaki, donburis, salads etc)<br/><br/>By default the ambience is vibrant and the service is super quick. Lately I've noticed that the air conditioning at the Elliot Stables has been very poor!<br/><br/>I found the food was over oiled and the quantity was a bit overwhelming.

Delicious meals, love their salads and chicken donburi meals. The chicken is really moist and tasty. Plus the meals on their lunch special is really value for money as the serving is quite large 🌟

Only been here once or twice. Quality of food is pretty good; fresh and tasty. A bit pricier than other Japanese eateries around town, but it's nice to have at least one Asian outlet in Elliott Stables. Service was fine, but on the whole my experience with Samurai wasn't very memorable.

I love Elliott stables as a location. Everyone needs to come here it has something for any type of food preference. My partner and I favourite cuisine is Japanese so of course we had to come here first. I got a dinner box which was a tone of food I couldn't finish it all! But it all tasted really good. If you love Japanese food and can't decide on what to eat when looking around the options in Elliot stables, check out this place.

Great place for fresh sushi & dinner boxes. I've previously enjoyed their lunch boxes too.<br/>Tonight a friend had Katsu chicken donburi & I tried the teriyaki beef. It was well cooked with good flavour & a decent amount of Veges. Served with miso for $18.00 - not bad for an evening menu.<br/>Service was good & our meals came promptly. They serve a range of alcohol - we had Asahi with our meals.

Grabbed one Dinner Box A for $25.00 there this evening. Cashier staff looked not good mood for working today. Compare to its price, taste was not good enough. Have to leave some pieces of teriyaki chicken and fried chicken in the box.

This is getting a high score not because it is by any means fancy or fine dining or unique....it is just good clean food in an awesome funky food court.<br/><br/>I am travelling for work and overeating every day so i wanted beef and vegetable stir fry so after pounding the pavement i stumbled across Elliot Stables. What a cool venue! I asked for the teriyaki beef with no rice and extra vegetables ($18) and what came out was a meal that could easily feed two people. It was delicious and the miso a nice touch.<br/><br/>The menu was extensive so this venue is highly recommended for a good meal close to home cooking.

I ordered the vegetarian Yaki udon and it was delicious. It was a huge plate full of udon noodles, veggies and tofu and a lovely salad. The only negative was that the sauce was a little too sweet. I also ordered the vegetarian dumplings/gyoza and had to check with the staff that they were actually vegetarian because the "tofu" inside very really resembled chicken. Overall it was a very filling and inexpensive, yummy meal.

First time trying Japanese food and we were very impressed! Ridiculously cheap wine ($7 for a glass filled literally to the brim) and great priced mains. We ordered the teriyaki chicken and the chicken katsu curry, both around the $20 mark if I remember rightly. Great sized portion, you get the chicken dish with rice and a nice, fresh side salad. Plenty of chicken too - they certainly don't scrimp on the meat! Both dishes were great and the flavours were wonderful. Will definitely be coming back again soon! Service was friendly and fast also.

I love this sushi place in Elliott Stables. It's not too expensive and the portion sizes are super generous :) I got the teriyaki salmon and it was delicious! I would also love to try some other different cuisines on offer in Elliot stables as well :)

Great food and Elliott Stables is a busy place. Live music on the day we went made it hard to have a conversation so I wouldn't go there for a quiet dinner catch up. Lol. A great option when you go with someone who doesn't like the same food as you.

Service here is friendly and efficient.<br/><br/>On this occasion I ordered the crispy prawn don, takeaway. The portion was very generous, with 6 prawns which was value for money. What was hidden under this and the rice was a lovely light cabbage salad which was a nice healthier touch. This dish was enough for 2 portions. <br/><br/>The whole dish was very delicious. Would definitely go back.

Came here yesterday before watching a movie. Ordered the chicken lunch bento and it came out really fast! The food was really good and tasty and I really enjoyed it. The teriyaki chicken and chicken katsu with the sauces were perfect. The salad was really good too. The only downside was there was really little rice, like maybe 2 spoons spread out and it was definitely not enough. It was too little that it was the first thing that caught my attention when the bento was put on the table. But other than that, it was really good.

This place has to be the fastest tastiest Japanese I know. Im super impressed with its large servings of food and how quick this restaurant delivers food to your table. The bento box is always a favourite along with the fried gyoza. Ill also say the teriyaki chicken has a slight smoke taste which I believe makes this dish, one of the best in its kind. Highly recommend.

I'm usually very impressed with my meal here, however have to be honest and say my beef teriyaki was slightly over cooked. Usually very tender and cooked to perfection, it was a little dry this time. Still highly recommend as a great option in Elliott Stables...lunch or dinner.

Samurai Sushi is the standout for me at Elliot Stables. I have been there so many times that the lady always remembers my order and greets me with a smile and a chat. It’s really lovely and makes the dinner extra special every time. <br/><br/>The edamame beans ($7) are perfectly cooked and salted and are great for an entrée. Their mixed sashimi salad ($15) is the best sashimi salad I’ve had in Auckland. It’s presented beautifully and it is such good value for money. The sashimi is always fresh and I love the dried seaweed on top. <br/><br/>I’m always raving about Samurai Sushi and have recommended lots of friends to go check them out. If you love Japanese then this is the place to go!

Nice place for having Japanese food. The combination box is larger than we thought and it was tasty as well. The price is fair enough and the service is just all right. The environment is pleasant with some candles on the table.

One of the standouts in the epicurean delight that is Elliot Stables, everything on their menu looked fantastic and what I saw being delivered also. The crispy prawn don I had was served with flair, some of the most tender prawns in a while. Eating at the Stables is an experience in itself, highly conducive to propagating oneself into a state of total relaxation... anyway need I go on, just try it for yourself!

I'm in Auckland worth a work mate, so I thought it would be good to go to the Elliott Stables for dinner... And I wasn't wrong.<br/><br/>As always the concept of the stables meant that there was an eclectic bunch of people present, all contributing toward the general cacophony that makes for the unique environment that really needs to be experienced.<br/><br/>And Samurai didn't disappoint either with a generous serving of Chicken Teriyaki, along with some very good dumplings that showed why it was tonight's special.<br/><br/>Vibrant and flavourful food with a casual atmosphere made for a great dinner.<br/><br/>The only thing I can't work or is why we ordered edamame. I mean really, why?

Had one of the lunch specials one weekend - the tofu don. It was different to the usual teriyaki tofu served at other Japanese quick dine restaurants, in a good way (this had more of a sesame sauce taste). Serving size was good, service was fast. A smile from the person taking the order would bump up the rating for sure.

The place would have had 5 star if it wasn't for the worst staff I have ever come across. The Snobby lady at the counter kept giving us bad attitude even after we were polite to her. When I requested for Teriyaki Tofu Don, she mentioned yes it will cost you $18 (three times) until I had to stop her saying that we are not arguing for the price, it is a request. <br/>When she served the food, I politely told her "sorry we don't use chopsticks", she rudely replied "You have to come back with me to get the forks". I would have offered to do that but as a part of service she could have at least offered to bring us forks. <br/>Unfortunately we ordered too much and I had to go back one last time to request for a takeaway only to hear her rude tone again " You have to pack it yourself". <br/>No use of the word "Please" , no smile while serving. <br/>We were having a great time at Elliot Stables so we ignored this, but in hindsight, she doesn't deserve to work there and Samurai deserves a better employee to go with the good food.<br/>Sorry Samurai but this had to said after everyone at our table of 20 agreed on the uncalled rudeness.

Always a happy camper when I get food from here! I have been twice so far and only tried the Tofu Don (so good I had to order it the next time I went) but my friends had the Prawn Don and the Pork Don which they said were good. Service isn't great but you don't really go to Elliot Stables for the service!

Today I went to Samurai Sushi for lunch, I always check the health rating before eating somewhere and noticed I couldn't see their rating. Already suspicious,I asked the lady where the rating was. She gave a guilty laugh before showing it to me which she had hidden behind the water glasses and IT WAS AN E!!! She then began making up excuses saying they usually have it on display but I don't believe that for a second. Not only was this restaurant disgusting but the ladies attitude was too and I feel sorry for the people who we're eating there. I will now be contacting the council as this is not acceptable !!!!

$3 for a can of coke and $5 for a small bottled drink? Ahhh now I understand how they charge so little for the individual sushi, they are ripping you off with the beverages.

Now renamed Kim's Donburi, I enjoyed their food in 2011 but in the last two weeks I have tried the Ramen twice (hoping that the first time was just a mistake) and it was by far the worst I have come across. Ramen is supposed to be something of an art form, but this was pretty much just 2 minute noodles. When I ordered the 2nd time I emphasized that I wanted it to look like the menu photo, but it wasn't even close. I pointed this out to them but they just looked at me blankly.

I have been to Samurai sushi now called Elliot sushi a few times. I think the sushi is quite good compared to other sushi places because there is a wide variety and they make the sushi fresh. However, I noticed that the cashier lady (i am assuming that she is the owner) is either not very honest or does not know anything about customer service (which i somehow doubt because i believe that the place has been in business for at least 3 years). I went yesterday and bought 4 pieces of sushi- 2 seaweed, 1 salmon and 1 tuna. The salmon and tuna are $1.20 each whilst the seaweed is supposedly $1.50 (as written on a piece of paper in front of the sushi). I paid $6.40 for the 4 pieces but realized after paying that it didn't make sense. I queued again (it was lunch hour so quite a few people) and asked to see the receipt since i used eftpos. I said to her that it didn't add up and she gave me an exasperated look and said that the seaweed sushi is $2.00 not $1.50. I said to her that they should have updated the price to $2.00 instead of $1.50 but she just waved her hand as to dismiss me. Due to her lack of English, I let it go. However, I am not very happy as she didn't even apologize. I think in this case, she should have refunded me the difference as I bought the food unaware that the price was incorrect. I am actually not upset about the $1.00 difference but i think that she was dishonest. Therefore, I do not recommend going to Elliot sushi because the owner does not seem very honest and good customer service seems to be the last thing on her list.