Review Yatai Japanese Izakaya Restaurant - Palmerston North

A fabulous place for a family dinner, service was great and the food was outstanding. The flavours all worked really well. The style of Japanese shared dishes was really nice and added to the vibe of the restaurant. The varied desserts were nice and the portions were perfect for sharing.

This is the best scallop dish we have in NZ. And the grilled beef is juice and good. But we waste more than one and half hour to wait my food, it seems so crazy. Just like other clients said, food is fantastic, but...

Very expensive with small portions but the food is absolutely delicious. The service is very bad and often don't bring water or deliver your meal to another table or just outright forget. The food makes it worth it so I still recommend it if you love Japanese food!

Fantastic dining experience, as per usual, last night. The food is always delicious, fresh and prepared perfectly. There is an extensive selection of drinks that satisfies everyone. No chocolate brownie on the menu but the desserts are delicious too! The staff are considerate, friendly, and efficient. The atmosphere is lovely and authentic. My favourite place to dine in Palmerston North.

wonderful wee restaurant. The queue at the door was an indication of the quality dining experience on offer. superb service. v fresh fish and good pricing. #tinastip sashimi was quiveringly fresh.

We dropped in without a reservation on a busy night and the staff were excellent and found us a table with no fuss. Very friendly and efficient and that continued the rest of the evening. The food was beautifully presented and tasted fantastic. Highly recommended…

We went for dinner today and loved the food. The place was too busy and congested - otherwise all good.

Probably the best restaurant we dined at in New Zealand. Everything we ordered was fresh and delicious, service was excellent and the atmosphere was great. Catered well for our plant-based diet with a large variety of vegan dishes.

Beautiful, awesome and amazing experience. Amazing traditional Japanese food, with lovely customer service. Felt like a little slice straight from Japan.

The food is just fabulous and their Katsuya (spelt correctly?) Is really mouth watering. I also love their fritter dish (about the size of a bread and butter plate. I'm not even going to try and spell it.)

Excellent atmosphere, great service, and delicious food. A curious place on a busy suburban street, but the food is exceptional. Not cheap, but you very much get good value.

Never dissatisfied, Barbara and her team are amazing. Thankyou.

Have visited many times since 2009 and it always is the same high quality food and service It is my favorite Japanese restaurant and I have been to many. It's worth traveling from Wellington to visit here. Best dish is the beef tataki and traditional Japanese drinks45g

The most amazing dining experience. The staff were so lovely and accomodating. Highly recommend paying the $40 for the private room, which offered an authentic Japanese dining experience. Between 5 of us we paid $45 each for the pre-set menu, which you can adjust to your liking. All of the food was delicious, however the beef tataki was the crowd favourite.

The food quality and hospitality here is excellent. The owner is a lovely woman and the sashimi is not only the freshest I’ve had, but superbly cut and presented. Probably palmys best kept secret.

Absolutely loved this place was a breath of fresh air in Palmerston North 🙌🏼🙌🏼❤️❤️

Best restaurant in town, have come here for every possible celebration and brought our out of town visitors here for the last 3 years. Food is always impeccable, well presented and delicious. My favorites are the sashimi, takoyaki, beef tataki, miso naau, wakame salad and miso soup! Sad to be moving away so wont be able to come here as often... but will make sure to take a detour when travelling especially to come here!

Our family favourite restaurant in Palmerston North - went tonight with a couple of family members and some friends - just beautiful food as always, great service as well

We were very blessed to be gifted a super special meal from Yatai in Palmerston North this evening. It was absolutely lovely. Sashimi probably fave but then shrimp and asparagus and then the gyoza..... so good thank you.

Came to dinner to celebrate my daughters 13th Birthday. It's the special touches here. Rosie loved the hand printed birthday card from Yatai on the table when we arrived. The food was great - as always .We very much enjoyed a variety of dishes - Sashimi a first for the girls. My girls felt really special - that made it special for me. Barbara is a wonderful host & the staff accommodating. Highly recommend.

This is the best restaurant in Palmy! The food is incredible and the staff are so welcoming. Barbara the host is so friendly and we love coming here! The food is so fresh and all the dishes are so unique you don't feel like you are eating commercially driven food and there is always a special new dish to try. Love love love!

There is not enough stars to to select. Barbara and the waitresses were absolutely lovely And the food was Godly. Arigatou Gozaimasu. Yatai wa watashitachi ga okonatta saikō no resutoran desu yo!

We had a special group dinner at Yatai last weekend. Barbara and her team were friendly, flexible and made sure we had all we needed. The layered dining experience is amazing; each dish delicious.

Top food, top service, brilliant experience is no where near enough to explain how awesome this place is.

Another fantastic meal and great evening. Staff are lovely and the food is exceptional. Looking forward to the next date night.

Delicious okinomiyaki - felt like I was back in Tokyo! Great food all round.

Outstanding - food, service while experience. Barbara a d the team deliver!

Been there a couple of times. Great staff and great food.

One of the best Japanese place in Palmy���

We just found our favorite restaurant in palmy excellent food outstanding service thank you

The best Chicken Curry period!

healthy options/ fantastic dinning/ great varitey.

Most amazing, yummy meal! Fabulous service - absolutely top. We will be back!

Definitely go again. A lot more menu to get thru. And then of there was the saki.

Our experience at Yatai was definitely made exceptional thanks to the great service offered by the FOH Team. In particular, the waiter called Shona looked after us really well. 10/10 Would recommend!

Cosy restaurant but the way tableswere arranged made it look a little crowded. The waiter was informative, friendly and attentive. The food however was average. Beef Tataki was ok, nothing special; Chicken Kimuchi Stir-fry only has a handful of 2cm long chicken pieces in it; Grilled Squid was tender but has no flavour (could be better if its accompanied with a more authentic Japanese sauce rather than mayo); Renkon salad was nice and light, but very small, does not worth $15. Overall, not worth the money.

The food was quite flavourful but not as authentic as I would've liked. The beef tataki had a bit too much spring onions on it but it was well seasoned and thinly sliced. The sashimi was quite normal, however to replace the tuna, there was smoked salmon and salmon roe which were both quite good. There was a sweetness to the rice in the sushi which accompanied the fillings well. The takoyaki was pretty standard, it could've been crisper on the outside. The tempura was made nicely, the batter was thin enough and it wasn't overfried. However, the pumpkin was a bit undercooked and hard. As for the dons, the rice was a bit too mushy and there was not enough sauce, however the toppings were good, the fish roe Don was probably my favourite. Both the egg and chicken in the oyakodon was a bit dry.<br/>We spent almost $300 for 5 people, a bit much to come back regularly.

We had a lovely family dining experience at the Yatai this evening, We decided to enjoy the shared platter style of dining, which was a wonderful way to sample lots of different tastes, The flavours, without exception, were delicious! The service was friendly and helpful, yet unobtrusive. I was particularly impressed with how Barbara and the team catered to our need to be finished by a particular time, because of other commitments. I rang ahead to discuss our needs and was delighted at how helpful and welcoming they were. We will definitely be back!

Small Japanese izakaya restaurant serving a variety of japanese foods. The food quality was medium, and was overpriced for what they were. <br/>The takoyaki was obviously from the mass frozen packs they buy and the yakiniku was too obviously marinated in baking soda for tenderness. The katsu was good but were cut into >20 pieces that were less than 1cm wide for some reason. Normal tonkatsu sauce and salads too.<br/>The service was questionable. Only one waitress working tonight it seems, we didn't even get water for the first 15 minutes. After we ordered, waitress acts surprised we ordered so little but says ok and goes off.<br/>Ambience is otherwise good.<br/><br/>Food: 6/10<br/>Service: 4/10<br/>Ambience: 8/10<br/>Value for money: 4/10

Love this place staff are polite and friendly and answer any question about the food explain what it is <br/> Very filling and an ample amount so you don’t leave hungry

Great atmosphere, felt very authentic. Food was great and service was attentive. Had about 7 dishes between 4 people and we were definitely full. Even received a beautiful card as we were dining here as a celebration.

Best way to review a Japanese restaurant is by ordering their sashimi. Yatai didn't disappoint with the spread of salmon, mahimahi, and tuna. The other dishes and rice bowls were delicious too.

Beautiful fresh food. I have been here numerous times and I have never been disappointed.<br/>This has got to be one of my favourite places to eat in Palmy, I highly recommend it!

Have been here a couple times, and loved it ! If you don't know if you like Japanese food or not this place will definitely help you make up your mind ! As a group We hired out the private room, the experience was great and most newbies enjoyed the food, it is quite pricey so be good for a special occasion, there is other places in Palmerston North that you can get similar food for cheaper. Overall deeelish :)

My wife and I have been coming here more and more frequently. I'd now rate Yatai as one of my favorite restaurants in Palmy - certainly the best Japanese restaurant. Great service and even better tasting food. The menu is geared towards ordering many dishes and sharing with your table. I was uncertain of this approach on my first visit but found it to be a brilliant way of sampling many different courses in one meal. If you're really into one dish and want more, you can always order seconds! I find it difficult not to do this every time with the Shiitage Age (deep fried crumbed mushrooms with sauce or lemon+salt) - delicious! I recommend finishing with the chicken curry - very tasty and hearty, but not hot.

Another rave review here. Yatai really wins out in all areas. The venue is intimate, welcoming, and authentic. The staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful, and the food is amazing. The dishes we chose were served promptly and beautifully presented. The taste and texture were just superb. This is top class ethnic food at it's very best. We will be going back soon to try some of the other dishes on the extensive menu. For a restaurant of this quality, the prices are very reasonable. A word of advice - have a look at the menu at home on line before you go. Needless to say we would recommend Yatai to anyone.

Authentic food, great service, loads of fun for a group of friends. Never disappoints!<br/>We visit Japan annually and can always bring our dining experiences from Tokyo back to NZ and easily enjoy a meal.

we had a fabulous meal here last Saturday. The food was just amazing , beautifully presented and the flavours were just Devine. The service was flawless. I would recommend to restaurant to anyone and look forward to returning. The even had a birthday card for our friend. Thank you

7 Friends and I shared a wonderful meal at Yatai last night and I was so happy once again to be a part of their unique dining experience. It was the beginning of my hens night and my evening started by my receiving a lovely card from Yatai's proprietors which was very sweet.<br/><br/> Many of my guests were unfamiliar with Japanese food, however everything was well explained and they all quickly became experimental and loved everything, much to my delight. We were all stuffed to bursting by the time we asked for the bill and I was amazed to find out that we had spent no more than $40 per person. I would recommend Yatai to anyone wanting a wonderfully social dining experience with beautiful food and wonderful service. I would gladly travel from Wellington to Palmy to eat here again soon!

We had a meal here last week and it was beautiful! The shitake mushrooms were excellent and we highly recommend them. Everything is prepared freshly and the service is very prompt. We were well looked after and thoroughly enjoyed our evening. We didn't find it expensive - only order what you want from the comprehensive menu and the prices of the individual dishes vary a lot. We will be back soon!

Excellent. Just top notch. There are plenty of vegetarian options, everything is well cooked and tasty, and as far as I can see it is authentic. The service is friendly and efficient. It is expensive, though, so don't go without a good amount of money in your bank account!

First timers! Very impressed with service. Me &amp; my husband thought we would try something different. So off to Yatai we went. Loved it so we are going back for our wedding anniversary. <br/><br/>Highly recommend Yatai &amp; keep up the great work :D

Yatai is genuinely good. We went there again this weekend and it was a delicious meal as always, the food is fresh and the flavours are amazing. Consistently great food and service, its a must visit restaurant.

Wow! The food was beautiful in appearance and taste. Seemed quite authentic and unusual (exotic) to me. The serving staff was friendly and informative. This was the third time I've been and the owner comes out to talk to patrons often. She even offered to make me a special sauce. Each dish we got was completely different and tasty. It was a bit pricey (I'm a student) but so worth it. I'm gluten free and they made it so easy- so many choices- such a range of sauces even! Good for vegetarians as well. I plan on going back regularly. Thanks so much!

Absolutely blown away with the beautiful food. First timers we went as a work group. Had a " ? progressive " dinner<br/>( sorry forgot the correct name ) with loads of taste bud awesome-ness.<br/>Will definately be back and definately reccommend to all my friends.<br/>Well done :)

This cozy, intimate restaurant got me hooked on Japanese cuisine. The food is devine! Friendly staff make it a great dining experience. Yes it is a little pricey, but the standard of the food and the presentation is worth every cent. It's our favourite eating out place in Palmerston North.

A great night, personal service and a variety of dishes which were explained fully, fresh and beautifully presented. <br/>We had the sashimi which was salmon, kingfish and tuna, the beef tataki was succulent and the yakinuku (octopus)is so tasty. There are tiny thin waving fish flakes. We had pre-ordered the sole, and ate the skeleton too, tasted like chippies!<br/>Not the cheapest way to eat out for sure, because you order so many dishes from $14 to $20 each, but always a pleasure to relax there.

A wonderful Japanese restaurant. Outstanding food, outstanding service and outstanding atmosphere! The food was served with care and friendliness and the Katsu was fantastic! Everything we ordered was wonderful. I highly recommend this restaurant! A+++

I love this place. Great variety on the menu - I don't eat fish, but there are great chicken and beef options. Service is fantastic, food is perfect and can be relied upon. Good atmosphere. My go-to restaurant in Palm Nth.

Had the pleasure to dine here on several occasions now and Yatai consistently delivers in food quality and service.<br/>Suggest diners make a reservation due to its popularity. Pricing i find moderate and value for money when comparing to other alternatives offering same level of service.

My favourite restaurant to go out to for a treat! I can't remember celebrating a birthday and not eating here! When in search of something different, Yatai is sure to hit the spot! Absolutely wonderful food and the staff are true gems. A must for all Palmerstonians or passers by!

wow if you haven't been there before you simply have to try it. The staff are always extra friendly and go out of their way to provide the best service ever and the food...i could eat it for breakfast lunch and tea! it is always of the highest standard. I have been there soo many times with friends, family and partner and never heard a complaint.

Went to Yatai on Tuesday and it was our 32nd visit since May 2008!<br/>As usual, the food was superb and the service excellent.<br/>It's no surprise that Atsushi and Barbara win so many accolades.<br/>Do yourself a favour and spend an evening enjoying the unique dishes and ambiance at Yatai.

One of my favorite restaurants in Palmerston North, food is amazing and awesome friendly staff

Lovely food, great service - although a little pricey - worth it for a treat.

We enjoyed our dinner but this place is a bit of a shrine to Japan and we were a bit taken aback by receiving a lecture on how to obey japanese etiquette - we were just there to enjoy ourselves. Service a little aloof and over-attentive. Having said that, the food was delicious, if a little pricey.

Absolutely the most divine food in Palmerston North. Authentic Japanese flavours and a thoughtful wine list. Worth the price for a completely different dining experience.

This is a favourite restaurant for me and my partner and come here every couple of months however is quite expensive thus why we don't go there more often. Me and my partner manage to spend approximately $50-$75 per person here however we love the food and the atmosphere as you dine in a room that makes you feel like your in Japan. Their menu is extensive with a wide range of meals. You choose between 2-4 dishes per person as they are fairly small portions. Their food is well presented and high quality. They also offer a range of Japanese alcohol, which chuhai are me and my partners favourite.