Review Hayashi Japanese Restaurant - Birkenhead

This place is a wee hidden Gem , first time there and LOVED IT!!!! Definitely going back and love to support local businesses, staff were friendly and the food was Amazing

Hands down, one of the best Japanese restaurants in Auckland (With a bit of Korean). Greeted indoors with a smile and served with excellent food, I would highly recommend this place. Food taste is very clean to the end and is very polished. I don't review this detailed but this place left me a great impression. Atmosphere is great while on late evenings it gets even quieter. Parking can be a hassle though. Would highly recommend.

Very delicious, highly recommend the spicy chicken yaki don.

Great food, fast and friendly service. Went in for a quick meal after a movie and it really hit the spot. Glad to see Hayashi survived the madness of the last few years and still going strong. One of Birkenhead's best restaurants.

Good service, lunch specials are of good values. Nice ambience and good seating spaces. Plenty on street parking. Popular with locals.

Without doubt, the food & refreshments, the service and the vibe elevate this fine establishment to be one of the best Japanese restaurants on Auckland's North Shore. Highly recommended. 🏯 1️⃣ ... and they are really friendly so no Passport is required from visitors to the North Shore.🛂😁

Great food, great service, great ambience - what more could you want :-)

Come here a few times as it’s local, wasn’t expecting much and was pleasantly impressed. The staff are friendly and attentive and the food is delicious.

We went for dinner as walk-ins. The food was delicious, the staff was very helpful and we will be going back.

I had a best dumplings in my life!!!! I fell in love with this food !!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

Excellent food. The rainbow sushi was to die for! Unfortunately they brought the entree’s out the same time as the mains. But that could have been because we didn’t have a lot of time to kill. Staff very friendly. They most definitely need more decoration as the bare walls give it a cold and un-intimate feeling. Would recommend for the food though. 😊

The food is excellent, sashimi is fresh and firm. Set menus are on the expensive side ($40+) but they give you quality produce and generous sizing in return.

Food and service always on point. Delicious as always.

Food was nice but definitely overpriced. There are plenty of other Japanese restaurants that offer same nice food with 1/2 price. Customer’s expectation of the experience is built on the the price they pay for. Service was slow tho there were only 2 tables in the restaurant at the time I went. I hope owners will see this review and find it helpful for improvement.

This is a “MUST TRY”!!!! I’ve been coming here for about 6 years now and the food is ALWAYS AMAZING! Freshly cooked, delicious and well presented. The menu is perfect, something for everyone. The staff are lovely. Very friendly, efficient and polite. Fantastic food and great value for money! A tucked away in a causal setting. This is by far one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in Auckland. I’m always recommending this place to friends & family... I love this place and will continue to visit!

Nice Japanese restaurant with reasonable prices. Appeared clean with nice atmosphere & nice decor. Came here for dinner with 6 family members of a variety of ages with the youngest being 10 yrs and everyone enjoyed their meal. The only minor negative was that the meals didn't arrive altogether and we had to wait nearly 10mins for the last meal to arrive from the first. Other than that, would still definitely return.

Staff were really friendly and very accommodating of dietary requirements. All The food was great. Especially the delicate salmon sashimi. Wooden floors can make for echoing acoustics but the music was at good quiet volume. Would definitely go back. Thanks to the Hayashi team for a lovely evening.

The food was delicious. This place deserves 4+

The food is delicious and portion sizes are quite large and the interior is spacious and aesthetic. The staff is also very professional and friendly. I especially enjoyed their tuna steak.

Delicious dinner, one of the best Chicken Teriyaki meals I have had. Beautifully presented. Excellent service and great value. Will be back soon!

Don’t know why this place has a 3/5. Definitely 4+/5<br/><br/>Nice little Japanese restaurant located at Birkenhead. We come here often for lunch with my colleagues.<br/>The service was good and lunch menu tasty. <br/>We shared a selection of sashimi. I had the Hiyashi lunch combo with spicy chicken and spicy pork. <br/>The pork had a good kick and Smokey. Chicken was also sweet and spicy. Absolutely delicious! I would have liked more rice to go with the lunch because the flavours of the meat were so good. <br/><br/>Food: 5/5<br/>Service: 5/5<br/>Setting 4/5

I am a big fan of Japanese cuisine and I guess Hayashi is the best Japanese restaurant in Auckland! They serve freshest meal ever and staffs are so friendly! Highly recommend to everyone.

Great food and great service, had low expectation going in but really glad that we gave it a shot. price to portion was just right for me.<br/><br/>Definitely going back for more.

Food was ok and service pleasant, though I will have to say the portion sizes on alot of the dishes were quite small relatively, so it was probably one of the most over priced Japanese restaurants I've been to?

I liked variety of sashimi options nice and fresh. Good value for money. Ideal for casual dinner or just for drinking out. I will definetely visit again

Love this place, great tempura dishes, sashimi really fresh, beef yakiniku a little tough-flavour is really nice, oyster and mussel mayo yummy, gyozas delicate and tasty. Food is beautifully presented. Very friendly staff. Can be a bit of a wait if the place is full though. Highly recommend.

I totally agree with the comment below. Hayashi is definitely an underrated restaurant. Amazing food here - their spicy chicken is just divine and sashimi is always so fresh. They have the best chicken karaage in town as well. Excellent service from very attentive and friendly wait staffs. Would recommend to everyone.

I'm not sure why Hayashi is rated 2.3 at the moment as the food is amazing! I've been there about 4 times in the past month and have enjoyed all my meals. The takoyaki, pork gyoza, udon, prawn tempura sushi and salmon sashimi were so delicious! This is definitely an underrated restaurant that everyone should check out.

Stopped off for some Japanese as I'd eaten here once before with a friend & the food had been good. I'm not sure about the low ratings for this place as I found no real reason to mark them down today?<br/>Service was very friendly & efficient without being over the top. <br/>I ordered one of the chicken lunch boxes which is quite good value. I really like how everything seemed to be cooked fresh. So many Japanese places these days reheat chicken teriyaki or keep things hot which is really lazy & unpleasant. Luckily today it was all fresh & tasted good.<br/>Got a nice farewell from all staff - even the chef in the kitchen. A nice touch. Will definitely visit again next time I'm in the area.

Slowest service of my life. Was here as part of a group for dinner. After the entree, we placed mains orders for everybody just before 8pm. By 8.55pm we had only received one teriyaki dish. To make it even worse, they had only brought out one rice bowl and forgotten everybody else's (on a table of about 12). It wasn't a particularly busy night, and it's not like they were waiting to bring out the food all at once. I feel like the kitchen staff put far too much emphasis on presentation and not enough focus on the backlog of orders which have to be fulfilled. Expensive food, and when compared to quality and taste, I wouldn't say it is worth while waiting. We ended up asking the waitress if we could leave because we could see people who came before us still waiting for food and takeaway customers still waiting after 40 minutes.

Amazing!!! Warm, friendly welcoming by multiple staff on entrance, 4 of us dined here and all of us were blown away by our meals. Highly recommend the spicy chicken yaki for the main if you're into spicy food. Can't fault this place!

I was in the area, on the hunt for Japanese food and managed to spot this place!<br/><br/>The lady who served us was very friendly and attentive. Food came out in a reasonable time and was fresh and tasty, however nothing really wowed me. <br/><br/>Still a good spot if your around the area!

Friendly service came with my toddler which is very kid friendly daughter was given drawing pads to draw on. I ordered oysters for starters they were super fresh fat and juicy also order some sushi .Sushi was great tasted fresh only fault I could give was the miso was average and was luke warm. Apart from that I will be coming back.

I have been coming here since it opened over 12 years ago , with new owners in the last year, they have continued to offer the best fresh fish nz has to offer, not scrimping on quality in any way , (I owned my own seafood company for 20years ) and I personally know that all marinades are remade everyday insuring flavours are always fresh <br/>I rate this Japanese Restaurant in the top 5 in New Zealand

Had dinner with my partner here the other night. IMO there are two serious contenders for Japanese food in Birkenhead, this is the most expensive comparatively, however the quality of the food is unparalled so if you are after a more refined experience I can highly recommend. They have a good selection of Sake and even do fresh tempura oysters which are a favourite of mine. Service is fast and very friendly, not just another Korean owned "Japanese" knock off!

The chicken katsu was quite impressive! The salmon teriyaki and sashimi looked fresh even though i am not a fan of fish 😂 nice service and would definitely come back to try the other dishes! 😊

Everything is amazing here. Enough said. Fresh sashimi, perfectly rolled sushi, delicate agadashi tofu. Can't fault it and will be back often. Am blessed to have this nearby.. Try it! The only other Japanese in auckland that serves everyday Japanese food to this standard is goeuemon in half moon bay

Fantastic - have eaten here many times and will continue to frequent when we want Japanese. The standards of food, service, atmosphere and cleanliness is amazing!<br/><br/>We have tried everything here from fresh oysters to spring rolls and dumplings, all of which surpass expectations. Combine this with extremely friendly staff and a quiet, cosy atmosphere and you've got a great place to have a meal.

Decided to try Japanese with friends one night and we came across this place. Glad to say, we did because it has not been a disappointment. Serving was just alright to make us full and the chef also gave us sushi's on the house. This made us smile from ear to ear, ofcourse! (Happy customer, great for the business as they say) They are really friendly and we enjoyed our time there. I would definitely recommend this place for Japanese cuisine and take my friends here as well next time we visit!

A very low profile hidden gem in Birkenhead. We went to this place without expecting special based on the look of it from the outside, but man, do not judge a book by its cover, specially this one. We loved everything about it. I Highly recommend this place.

I have been coming to Hayashi for many years. It is the place to go for more traditional japanese but with all the creativity of new flavours. Always lovely service and never have to wait long for the food. Highly recommend coming here with a few friends and sharing some different plates!

I'm not usually one to write a review, but after the experience I had at this gem last night, it would be a crime not to!<br/>A wintry Tuesday night can sometimes be somewhat substandard, dining-wise, in Auckland, but Hayashi, on all fronts, was flawless.<br/>Birkenhead is not normally a place I would expect a restaurant of such calibre, but, even upon walking in, I realised the importance of not judging a book by it's cover. The actual restaurant is very clean and tastefully fitted, with an intimate and welcoming feel. The waitress was very polite and attentive, and came with menus and water while I waited for my dining partner. Upon asking for recommendations, she was knowledgeable, and offered alternatives for someone with a wheat intolerance. We both loved her!<br/>Now, the food - out of this world! I'm a pretty picky eater, and am not big on rice (I know, why go to a Japanese restaurant if you don't eat rice?), but i love seafood, and i can honestly say, i have never eaten sashimi so tasty and fresh, and cooked tuna steaks so delectable! I've eaten ALOT of seafood, all over the world, and I can, without a doubt, say this was THE BEST i have tasted! The special tuna steak with vegetables was incredibly generous, and melted in your mouth - it was cooked to perfection, not too raw, and defintely not remotely overdone (no mean feat when it comes to tuna)... I will be dreaming about it for a long time to come.<br/>Honestly, I cannot speak more highly of this restaurant. I am thanking my lucky stars it is not only so local to me, but also not tainted by Auckland CBD prices and practices!<br/>I will DEFINITELY be visiting many more times :)

We went here for dinner and found the food outstanding! the sashimi platter as a main was the best I have seen, it had more than your standard salmon and tuna, with prawns and scallops and snapper too. and the fried squid main we had was delicious too.<br/>The atmosphere is pretty stark ,but I would definitely recommend it for the food.