Review Nakayoshi Japanese Cuisine - Auckland Central

This is absolutely my favorite Japanese Restaurant in Auckland. Authentic Japanese food in high quality. Price is reasonable. The owners has run this Restaurant more than 15 years. You must try. Recommend: Jumbo Salmon Sushi Roll; Ell Bento. Yummy

Highly recommended, value for money!!! Food was superb and everything was very fresh. I was a bit cautious in regards to the services, having read the previous review. However, I found the entire dining experience very pleasant. The owner was actually very nice and accommodating. She is more like a "GTO" style character, if you know what I mean. The price is very fair for the quality of the food. The A5 beef sukiyaki was amazing! This is one of the best geniune Japanese restaurant that I have tired in Auckland. My first choice of Japanese food from now.

I visited this restaurant with my family for dinner.The restaurant is quite clean and unique. Sashimi and sushi set is very fresh and yummy. It is best choice. Food quality is so good. I enjoyed the food. Highly recommended.

My favourite place for Japanese food. Gion offers a wide range of dishes and all are of top quality and made with incredibly fresh ingredients. I often order ahead using their online ordering system which is quick and easy, meaning I don't have to wait in the restaurant for my food. Every experience at Gion has been amazing, and being able to dine-in is a whole other level. The decor and ambiance is unmatched. Always highly recommend to friends and family.

Been here a couple times now. The Gion Special sashimi looked amazing and tasted even better! Also had some A5 wagyu sirloin, chicken katsu and many other dishes. Very authentic, but some dishes could be seen as slightly pricey than some restaurants out there - yet it is worth it.

Excellent quality food, Service is OK no one smiles and welcomes you. The lady who took our order was so grumpy but the young lady who brought our food was the only friendly person in the whole restaurant. Would go back for the food.

Amazing service and atmosphere. Were here for our Wedding dinner and it was fantastic. They even gave us a little parting gift. We knew the food was good as we had been there once a few years ago, but this just blew us away.

We came here the other day for lunch. We had the bento lunch, spicy karaage and the teriyaki beef. The beef was very good and tender and juicy. The spicy karaage is a bit let down for me as it was not very crunchy. Other then that, the salad was fresh, miso soup was good. Rice was nice and soft, sashimi was fresh. Not a big fan of the chicken sushi as it was very dry. Overall the stuff that was good was very good quality. Price obviously on the pricier side being in Parnell. A good treat for an occassion.

30 June 2020: Had a lovely dinner at this restaurant for the first time. This is the first place where we were explicitly asked to scan the QR. The service was quick, and I especially appreciated a rare dish of fish on a grill and half-size options. Everything was tasty but not extraordinary. When the host approached us to ask how everything is, she suggest cutlery instead of chopsticks and cut the fish for me. This could be viewed as an instance of extra motherly care up to the point where she touched the dish with her bare hands. Well, there is a first for everything.

Was probably one of the most delicious and authentic Japanese restaurants I have been to! Amazing aesthetics and atmosphere I love how the employees wear kimonos it makes the place feel homely. Food was great! Price is slightly more than other places but I don't mind as the food was delicious and flavorful. Serving size could have been a little bit bigger though! Some of the food was a little too salty but I'm sure I could have asked for a little less soy :) overall great food and experience!

The GoodJapanese food in Akl Recommend ⬇️ 1.Sashimi 🍣 (must order) so delicious 2.Chawan Mushi (must order) is so delicious! 3.TATAKI is the best raw beef I have ever eaten unagi Don 🍱 fried chicken🍗 It's really great and the price is cheap I also want to boast about the speed of serving. It’s ready in less than 20 minutes. I love it here.🥰🥰

My second time to Gion tonight since 7 years ago as I live in Melbourne. Totally love the food very much. Freshness and the best quality you can get. I can eat here all night and still come back for more.

Great japanese experience, had teriyaki don, agadashi tofu and it was amazing, a bit pricey but worth it

Fabulous food. Beautiful fresh salmon that melted in your mouth. Four of us had bento boxes after salmon avocado sushi, all thought bento had a good amount of food and thoroughly enjoyed it. Felt strange to be down the back next to toilet with a window looking into another restaurant away from the buzz of the restaurant. Staff could do with smiling and looking like they were enjoying their job though!!! Didn't seem like they wanted to be there.

Absolutely love this place! The Japanese steak was amazing and the sashimi was fresh. My favorite was the drinks here! If you are someone love sweet alcohol then definitely try the drink here!

We had Katsu bento box & Special lunch selection- Salmon Teriyaki with mixed sashimi Foods were nice. We might go again, if we crave for Japanes foods.

When Nakayoshi used to be Karin, the food was traditional Japanese and I loved it. However, since the name change the menu has moved towards a modern style. <br/><br/>Normally this wouldn't be a problem if the food is executed well, but sadly this wasn't the case when I visited in 2014. Found the portions and quality disappointing.<br/><br/>I wouldn't come back to this place.

Tokyo Nakayoshi is located next to the Elephant House, at where Karin was a few years ago. We had a voucher ($29 for 2) & were happy to try out its lunch which included misu soup, 2 pieces of sushi, a bowl of rice, salad, a piece of flour cake, a piece of cooked salmon, 2 pieces of beef on volcanic rock & ice-cream.  (Food - 3.5/5; Service - 4/5; Ambience - 3/5)

We had dinner at Nakayoshi and it was excellent. The food was all presented beautifully (especially the fried prawn) and tasted incredible. Lovely service - can't wait to go back

Purchased the $29.00 for two of Japanese hot stone beef stake lunch set vouchers on Grab**e. It includes miso / green salad / sushi / stone beef stake / two pickled side dishes / rice / vanilla ice cream. Very happy to enjoy all dishes with such lovely price. And one more impression sector was that every staff kept showing smiles to customers.

3.5/5.0 for food and 4.5/5.0 for service.<br/>The waitress is really soft and nice person, taking care of clients and you will feel Japanese style service-totally thoughtful. I took my baby with me and they don't only set up high chair but also give my baby a plate set specially for baby. <br/>There were no much ppl during weekend lunch time. The sashimi and nirigi can be fresher. Salmon and beef is good.

This place is awesome! Came here several times already and I was happy with every part of it! The udon noodles were tasty and beautifully presented. Yummy and fresh sushi. The staff were really friendly and helpful. Totally worth checking out.

Great Atmosphere. They do happy hours in the evening. We came here without a booking on our way to another event. We had the deep fried Camembert, deep fried squid & seared tuna. Out of the three the seared tuna was delicious. The Camembert was the next best but the tempura was a bit heavy on it. The squid needed seasoning and it was chewy. We had the plum wine which was yummy!! All up pleasant place for a quick bite

Got given a voucher for the 8 course degusation for Xmas, which was great as we'd never been before.<br/>Absolutely amazing meal - one little "refresh" dish didn't really spin my wheels as it was a bit salty, but every single other piece on every other plate was incredibly delicious. Chicken, steak, prawns, tuna, salmon, vegetables, miso - all of it perfectly cooked and beautifully presented, this was a truly fantastic dining experience. Staff were very friendly and attentive, without being overbearing and the restaurant itself is a great little space.<br/>Had a gaze over the standard menu and will definitely be going back again to try the many, many dishes that caught my eye. Brilliant.

With the end of 2014 in sight, Sarah and Yatchi from the Auckland Zomato Team invited me for chat over coffee at Chuffed. <br/><br/>Sipping the last bit of my cappuccino, Sarah handed me a small envelope which marked my first Christmas gift.<br/><br/>A voucher for Parnell's very own Nakayoshi was the perfect way to start the season.<br/><br/>Hidden off the Main Street of Parnell a friend and I made our way down a pedestrianized alley towards the front door of Nakayoshi. <br/><br/>Climbing up a few staircases we were greeted and sat down at a table of our choice. With one other reasonably large group seated in the restaurant, the place was quiet and relaxing. <br/><br/>Nakayoshi holds an interesting view of Parnell Road you might otherwise miss out on if you never venture above the footpath. <br/><br/>The service was very good as the waitresses were kind and willing to explain a few things on the menu. <br/><br/>With a lot of options we narrowed it down and ordered: A bowl of Udon Noodles each, a platter and chicken pizza to share. <br/><br/>The Udon noodles proved to be a bit of challenge for my basic chopstick abilities but in terms of flavor and texture - very good.<br/><br/>The platter came with salmon sushi which I wasn't much of a fan of (only because I don't like salmon). There were two fish cakes that went down a treat and probably my favorite things on the plate. <br/><br/>Overall I really enjoyed my experience of Nakayoshi. There is something on the menu to suit everyone's budget and the menu has a decent range of things on it. <br/>

Thanks to a voucher from Zomato, we checked out Nakayoshi the other night and really enjoyed ourselves.<br/>Nakayoshi serves modern Japanese cuisine in a more casual atmosphere and we found the service to be friendly and attentive.<br/>We decided to order lots of small plates to try and were really stuffed by the end!  Our favourite dishes include the mushroom tempura with Japanese basil salt (piping hot and crispy), the seared fresh tuna salad with spicy miso sauce and crispy wasabi powder (this is so delicious!), and the creamed NZ scampi with shittake mushroom and hakusai cabbage with soft steamed egg (rich and indulgent).<br/>We also enjoyed the rolled beef tataki, sashimi, beef tartare and chicken karaage which were all also well-cooked.  We did order the dessert platter as well, but perhaps we were too full by then as we didn't enjoy it as much as the savoury dishes.<br/>We were pleasantly surprised by the food as we were just expecting the typical Japanese fare that most restaurants offer.  Definitely a place to go to if you want to try fancy Japanese food with a twist in a slighly more relaxed atmosphere.

Something my husband said a lot during this meal was "usually". Usually, upstairs restaurants don't have beautiful galleries. Usually Orion isn't on a beer list. Usually we can pass by a dessert menu. But here it is different.<br/><br/>The standout of the evening was the creamed scampi with shiitake, cabbage and poached egg. We ordered it simply because it sounded unusual; it was PHENOMENAL. I have never wanted a recipe so much in my life.<br/><br/>We ordered a variety from the menu to share tapas-style. We were the only customers at that time (6 on a Tuesday evening) but the food was well-timed and the waitress was attentive and friendly. <br/><br/>We began with mushroom tempura - I was reluctant but instantly converted by the first mouthful. Savoury and crunchy, and accompanied by a delicious salt with (I think) dried Japanese basil. Beef tataki was beautifully tender, with sprouts and a cold ginger sauce that was pungent without being overwhelming.<br/><br/>The Nakayoshi tempura was perfect as well. The haloumi with sweet red miso sauce made a good fusion dish, but I felt like it was missing a little something: some chopped citrus fruits, or a few pickles, would transform that dish from good to incredible. <br/><br/>The dessert menu looked amazing and we had trouble ruling anything out. We ordered a $20 platter (two desserts and matcha icecream) with "rare" yuzu cheesecake and lemongrass chilli creme brulee. The brulee (I usually avoid it because it's hardly ever worthwhile) was the best I have ever eaten, and the cheesecake (deconstructed style, served with crunchy cornflakes) was also one of the best I have tasted. <br/><br/>Nakayoshi serves up perfectly-executed, unpretentious goodness.

I came here to enjoy a nice dinner out with friends because it was recommended to me by one of my colleagues. I have a genuine appreciation for Japanese food, so I was actually pretty excited to come eat here. When we got there, we were greeted warmly by the waitress who works there. The attitude we got from her as our waitress was great, and was on par with what you would normally expect from fine dining restaurants. As for the food, I didn't really know what to expect. I was told it was going to be French fusion Japanese food, and I never really had anything like that to eat before. I ended up ordering the fish as my main dish, and it was delicious. Whenever I go out to eat with my friends, we usually always end up sharing so I had a taste of what everyone else was having as well and everything was just amazing! Uploaded some pictures so you guys can see! :) <br/><br/>The food is excellent. The service is great. If you're looking for a nice place to have dinner, and you have an appetite for Japanese food, then you should check out Nakayoshi! :p<br/><br/>Also had some hot saké with our meal!

This restaurant used to be Karin Japanese Restaurant, a particular favourite to my friends and I. It underwent a name and staff change so we decided to visit and see what it was like. The previous menu had a certain charm with photos of all the food you could order to give you an impression of what you were in for - the new menu did not, as well as being drastically reduced in size with some odd NZ esque, not very authentically Japanese sounding meals. The food that followed was some of the worst Japanese food I have ever tasted in my life - badly reheated, luke warm, dry and utterly tasteless. Karin was the epitome of an amazing Japanese dining experience and the new restaurant does not come close to matching its predecessor. <br/>On the other hand, the service was impeccable, the same young lady who used to work in Karin is attentive, charming, well versed in restaurant etiquette and overall was the reason we didn't kick up as much of a fuss as the terrible food deserved. Unfortunately we would not go again.

A really good Japanese restaurant. Offering both more authentic and fusion dining experience. The sashimi was fresh, and the portion is good for its price :))

I have been there few times. Great food and service. Used to been Karin Japanese Restaurant, but changed to this lovely new fusion Japanese style restaurant.<br/><br/>They have a great variety of dishes. The Nakayoshi tapas are a great with any wine or sake. Until now we have tried all their tapas, All my friends were very happy. Especially the mushroom tempura, I love it!. <br/>The decor is cool Japanese castle style and I really love the upstair which is a Japanese little house. The service is good and the girls were very friendly.<br/>One of my favorite Restaurant so far.

My partner and I enjoyed the degustation menu a lot! Food were well presented without compromising the taste. Everything was exceptional, kudos to the waitress that looked after us and she explained the food to us well.

Quite little place, good for catching up with friends while having a bite. Excellent food. Their sushi rolls taste much better than the ones from the sushi chain shops. Kobe beef is quite unique and worth trying. Staffs are quite friendly and service is prompt.

I had a lovely evening with my best friends. It is a very nice and quiet place. Food is delicious. Teriyaki chicken and short beef ribs are my favorite. It has the added advantage of being pretty healthy in terms of ingredients and preparation. The staff are friendly and helpful, and speed of service was reasonable.