The food was great! I had the fish katsu, chicken gizzards, beef tongue and chicken thigh sticks. My partner got the teriyaki chicken udon and the yakitori set. Everything was great! Great place to eat at especially if you're looking for drinks as well. Love the selection if beer as well.
Excellent Yakitori!!!, the place was a tad too packed and food was somewhat delayed, but we were in no rush so we weren’t too bothered by it.
Used to come here as a family all the time. Nice and authentic yakitori. Best you can get in the East Auckland area. Definitely worth a try.
The Japanese bar style is nice for a change and seems similar to what they have in Japan.
Had the 5 piece mixed skewer plate, the prawns and the sausage were very tasty. The chicken and beef were okay. For mains we had eel don and a tempura prawns. Overall was an average meal but i suppose our order was very basic too. Will come again to try something else next time.
Great ambience, very high prices, as is with most yakitori places. Wait time for food can be a bit long though. DO NOT recommend the tuna tataki- no flavour, super dry, felt like eating damp kitchen tissue roll. Salads were nice, kumara was nice. Serving sizes super small (as expected), but overall great service and very suitable for a quick late night snack and drinks.
Amazing service amazing food ! Bumped into a couple who have been coming for 20 years enough said ! And when the chef comes out and asks if everything was ok !! I’ll be back !
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Felt like a light evening nibble, but not a full meal. Discovered this little hidden gem of a place in Somerville. The entrance was inviting & the place has a cozy ambience with the authenticity of a Japanese bar. The staff were friendly & helpful, seating was on comfy stools, but no back on those, so one cannot remain seated for too long, it's a compact place & that's part of the decor. Check the sitting stools out, they are a most original design. I loved the lacquered solid timber slab table tops. I know, I am going on more about the decor than the food. After all it's the decor which is why I was attracted to this place. The menu was placed on a wall bracket & well within hands reach. Their authentic beers are certainly worth trying. As it was evening time I chose a warm 'sake' & it was perfectly heated. A slice of raw cabbage was the free accompaniment & I relished their tempura battered prawns. The prawns were amazingly long, straight & not curled up, this shows the excellent culinary prepping & frying skills of their Tempura Chef. The batter could have been a bit more browned but just a little bit only. The oily taste was not entirely to my liking but still a very nice presentation. The Ken Yakitori combo is a new top favourite & I relished the little skewers of prawns, sausages, beef & chicken mince balls. All of the skewers were beautifully marinaded & cooked to flavoursome perfection. The accompanying dipping sauces were just fine. The service was prompt friendly & most courteous & with a great smile. All in all a very pleasant experience & certainly a nice new favourite eating place has been added today to my growing list of favourites. Quantity was perfect & a very enjoyable meal with the perfectly matched warm sake. Definitely coming again sometime soon to try some more items on their varied menu. Pricing for quantity could have been better. Love this place & great atmosphere too. Thankyou Ken Yakitori team, for a nice & very enjoyable experience this evening.
Best Japanese restaurant ever! This has been a family favourite of ours for years. Kens is very small, so if you show up without a booking on a Friday or Saturday night you will probably have to wait awhile.
Food is amazing! Such a great selection and always made perfectly. Highly recommend Kens to anyone who loves Japanese- the Sommerville branch is the only good one.
Great atmosphere, tasty food. Service was good, food wasn't fast but was well worth the wait. Good selection on the menu and the portions were of a standard size, not too big.
One of my favourite Japanese places! Little put pricey but you get such a lovely meal it's all worth it. Great to go with a group so you can order lots of food and share. Also this place is BYO!
I used to frequent this restaurant with my family for more than 10 years when I lived in the area. I recently came back to the area with my fiancee for a date, everything was just as I had remembered. The food tasted the same and the atmosphere is still great. I'm glad they have been able to survive the pandemic and hope they keep making the food I love.
AMAZING!
Food was outstanding and staff were great!
Highly recommend A++!!!!
Have been regulars at Ken Yakitori for over 13 years! Excellent food every single time!
Lovely atmosphere and the owner has always been so kind! We have loved every meal and every time we have dined in!
We have spent a lot of time there with family and friends and it is our absolute fave!
We love all the meals with chicken curry, chicken katsu, teriyaki chicken udon, chicken karagee and beef tataki some of our absolute faves! The mushroom skewers too - so good!!!
Thank you William and team for the beautiful food and atmosphere. We realise there is a change of ownership and will still continue to order as per usual!
Thank you so much!!
Nice yakitori bar but generalyl come here for dons and have some yakitori sticks on the side.
The dons aren't the biggest but they are quite nice. A fairly large selection on the menu and it is all quite good.
It is generally self service for water and tea.
Hands down my absolute favourite restaurant, we live in Orewa and travel down just for their food. Their yakitori combo is incredible, highly recommend ordering this dish. Loved every dish I've ever ordered. Thanks so much team for always delivering amazing food :-)
I have been going there for over 20 years... still amazing! Love the food and the atmosphere
Our favourite Japanese restaurant in town! Hot and fresh foods, wash down with sake or a cold beer. Staff are always friendly and attentive. Parking is not convenient but the food and cosy ambience makes up for that.
You can find homemade Japanese food here, good taste.
This was our first time there but we will definitely be back. The food was flavourful and delicious. Loved the decor too especially the "crate" chairs. Lovely experience. Chefs cook with care, tradition and passion.
The food here is delicious, especially the Japanese curry (even though it's kinda spicy for me, but I have a pathetically low spice tolerance). The atmosphere and the owner of the restaurant is very nice. The food is also reasonably priced. I would recommend this restaurant for hanging out with friends and/or family.
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