Review Japanese Kitchen Sakura - Pukekohe

We tried both lunch ($18 bucks per bowl ramen) and Omakase style dinner. Everything’s just perfect. It’s a must try Japanese restaurant.

Gorgeous venue that makes you feel like you are in a classic Japanese restaurant. Open space with the kitchen in full view. The food is amazing!!! Such simple dishes with full deep flavours that make you enjoy each step of the omakase process. Friendly chef who has a passion for what he does. Fully recommend this experience, which at $65 approx per person is definately worth it!!

My first time visit to Pukekohe. I searched any asian food restaurant there and I found Sakura. It is a small family like restaurant. The owner was friendly and the food is nice. Although we only have lunch there and the lunch menu was not much choices but I think the quality of the food is more important. The taste of the ramen is special, it has the shop's own style taste. Unlike the other shops I had tried in Auckland were almost same or similar. I will absolutely go again if next time I visit Pukekohe.

What an amazing place!! A genuine hidden gem in Pukekohe, I highly recommend everyone gives this place a shot. The team are amazing, and you made my birthday super special. The food is incredible and the service was awesome. I will definitely be coming back. Thank you so much again!!

This is a very weird restaurant from the location to the chef to arrangement and everything. I don't have much experience with Japanese fine dining but overall seems alright. I went with my parents for dinner Omakase style. I will tell you the whole experience from the beginning. First, I booked a table. I let the chef know in advance what time we were coming by text. He answered well and explained that it is Omakase, which means chef will pick for you. It will be a course of 12 small dishes made fresh while we were at he restaurant. I agreed and confirmed the time. We went there. The entrance was tiny and hidden in between the butcher shop and Domino's pizza. The inside was small and a bit cluttered with tables and other Japanese stuff that the chef brought to NZ to feel like Japan although there was not much of interior design skills from him. It just looks like someone's house rather than a restaurant. We arrived 10 minutes before our allocated time which is very important in Japanese culture to not be late. The chef was behind his counter and kind of ignored us. We, as Asians were quite polite and unconfrontational so we just said hi and sat down and waited for him. He eventually came with some plates for each person. One at the time, Then another few without talking much. We did feel quite awkward for sure but we had each other's company so it was alright. Then the chef started asking us a few questions about where we were from, what we do. After that , he started opening up and ... To be continued, the phone is not typing very well, this is gonna be a long story. This place is really wired and it i does not deserve either 5 or 0 stars for sure. TLDR Extremely good food mixed with other less than stellar food, wired interactions with chef but that's from cultural differences. Price is very expensive but it is comparable to most

Super authentic Japanese flavour which takes me back to the time when I was home staying in Osaka! The flavour and atmosphere feels like you are eating at a Japanese friend’s house. Thank you for the wonderful food and memory.

Very special place, feeling like friend’s home, peaceful atmosphere. Raman is unique, different from the premade soup base, I can tell the soup is cooked from real meat with time.

I've tried many kinds of ramen in Japan, even in Europe and Australia. But the taste of soup is the best among that I've tried in my life. Highly recommended to have it for sure !!

Eating is relational. Sometimes eating is not only about food, it’s a relationship. We have built a good relationship with Chef Masa-san that we no longer focus on the food (which we always trust) but the relationship.

The chief was extremely polite and the ramen he made me was extremely delicious it was a taste of Japan and I would highly recommend this place for some ramen to the chief arigatou gozaimasu

We had such an amazing night, celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary. Was not expecting it but they had booked out the whole restaurant for just the two of us. Such a cool relaxed atmosphere & the food was AMAZING!! Highly recommend Sakura & cannot wait to go back!! Thank you again so much, we had a great night!!

Thank you Masa, we really enjoyed the food and the experience of dining at your restaurant. Everything tasted amazing, and we loved your concept. We will be back again for sure!

Delicious food and the chef makes the experience even better! Such a great character!

Very nice relaxed atmosphere. Our chef Masa was very good to talk to and his dishes were some of the most authentic tasting food we have had. The attention to detail was excellent and I cannot fault anything. Will definitely be coming back. I wish i could give it more stars

Awesome little place with fantastic food. I ate so many things I don't normally eat just because they tasted so good. Going back in a couple of weeks for lunch. Can't wait.

It is true, I proved it myself, Sakura is really one of the best authentic Japanese restaurants in the city. Their Omakase experience is a must-try when you visit Auckland. Food is great and hospitality of the chef and staff is heart-warming. Make sure to place a booking prior to visiting.

By far the best restaurant in pukekohe. Food was to die for and the service was outstanding

Food was delicious but customer service was the worst I ever experienced. I do feel sorry for 4 adults with 2 kids and a baby ordering 3 mains after lunch hour. But I do call in to ask whether we still welcome to come in for lunch before we heading to your restaurant within 5 mins at 2pm. You are more than welcome to tell us you are closing and as I said you should tell us each adults should has a meal order as min requirement. We will be very happy to order another main dish although my friend just had two burger. If another 15 dollars would have make a big difference on your service we are very happy to do that. Meal sharing among parents and kids is not only a culture among Chinese. I’m a Malaysian Chinese although I haven’t been traveling around the world but I do visit a couple of country :) from Asia to Europe they do have meal sharing and a lot of Eatery opened nowadays promoting meal sharing from fine European dining to Japanese dining and of course the “Chinese” restaurant as u mentioned to us a couple of times. I do feel sorry we coming in a gang not ordering enough food but seriously I do think that’s nothing wrong with this”Chinese” food sharing culture as u mentioned. We should respect one another. By the way I just came back from Japan during May, I’ll reckon what you can do is putting a sign outside your restaurant or on the menu indicating no meal sharing instead of showing an unhappy face and trying to be rude to your customers. Be polite is a basic customer service for all races. Thank you�

Great food thoroughly enjoyed it!! Thank you ���

Best night in ages. The food was amazing and the entertainment was great fun. Will definitely be going back.

Great food, awesome hospitality! Such an authentic experience.

Excellent meal with fantastic fun Chef/owner Masa. Celebrating Simons birthday and our Anniversary weekend. Kerry :)

Fantastic, unique experience, relaxed setting but amazing personal service & great dishes.

Magnificent food and an amazing experience

The food was absolutely fantastic, will definitely go again.

The owner was so rude and disrespectful , he did not want to speak to us at the first time then he said racist comments about my ethnicity. <br/>Do not recommend this restaurant unless you wanna waste your money and time. <br/>Does not even deserve 1 star.

The owner got super angry at most of my party that turned up just after the arranged time. Myself and partner were there on time but others were shouted at. Nearly walked out but it was a friends bday gathering. Average vegetarian food. Ok meaty food. Not worth the money.

We had a terrific time with Mr Masa.<br/>He is an awesome chef and the plates were amazing.<br/>A great range of what the Japanese cuisine offers.<br/>The whole night was alot of fun as he was a very entertaining host.<br/>Will definately be returning soon.<br/>

Food is good but definitely NO return and recommended to others because of the disgrace owner Mr. Masa. I’ve wrote a comment on their Facebook and I’ve did received a reply but it’s totally another story at what’s happening in the restaurant. Couldn’t believed an mature old man could make up such a story! A good cook should have a kind heart! God bless you!

Well, it would have been nice to try this place except we were told to leave a few minutes after arriving. We had a booking for 6PM and arrived 10 minutes late, which happens - no one's perfect, and even though we apologised we were greeted with the worst hospitality ever by a grumpy old man. You could cut through the tension in the air with a knife it was that thick! We sat down and we're seated far apart which I found very strange. Then the man came over and threw some hot towels on our plates - soon after saying we can leave if we want to, but be was obviously telling us to leave in a passive aggressive way. At $65 per person and there being 3 of us, you would think that he'd want to be understanding and keep our business. But the exact opposite happened so we left! Never have I EVER experienced such terrible service and downright rude behaviour. I don't care which country you or your cuisine is from, in New Zealand we don't treat people that way.

This is the worst Japanese food and service I ever had.  Material used was cheap and not fresh, we both have diarrhea afterwards.  This is more like Japanese street food, if you are expecting top quality Japanese food, it is not happening.  A grumpy old man who doesn't even know to serve cold dish first and started with deep fried stuff.  No explanation of the food except the soup.  In one of the dish which seems to be like potato fritter with vegetables in it, a piece of metal was found inside it, we complained and a "sorry" is all we have got.  The next dish was carrot strips with tiny bits of bacon in it (don't know how that is japanese related), when we both leave the dish practically untouched, the "chef" (don't really think he deserved the name) complained we wasted food.  At this point we had enough and decided to pay him in full - $130 and walked away as the service is none and food is not bearable any more.  We shouldn't even pay him but he is an old man on his own and we just don't want to argue with him.  We are at our 5th or 6th dish, according to the restaurant, there should be around 12-16 (one dish is one mushroom with cheese on it deep fried) for the set price of $65 per person. <br/><br/>We were downstairs about to get in the car and the old man came down, we thought he was going to apologise, instead he was asking us for $8 for the Japanese tea we ordered!!! the cheek of him!!  Unbelievable!!  This is also the most expensive Japanese tea we have ever come across, none of the top Japanese restaurants has charged more than $3 a cup, refillable, and we haven't even had a refill yet.  Of course I did not pay and just left.  But people, if you are used to the good service and good food you have with most of the Japanese restaurants, don't go there.

We had a wonderful dining experience with Masa. It's not your typical restaurant, so go in with an open mind and a hungry tummy and you'll be well rewarded. The food was amazing, we had 9 small courses, none of which I found a negative in. Give it a go, it's well worth a try!

What a great dining experience!  Set menu consists of very many (I lost count) small dishes beautifully presented and each with a fresh and interesting flavour.  Finishing up with green tea ice cream:) The master chef was delightful and each dish was explained as it was presented.  A great way to celebrate a birthday.

A group of us came here for dinner for my husbands belated birthday. What an awesome meal! Very personalized service from Masa the owner. Prepare yourself for a long evening with loads of laughter. <br/>Be sure to confirm your numbers to Masa as he prepares the dishes in advance based on those number (We had a couple of people drop out and we still had to pay for them)<br/>There were 1 or 2 dishes I wasnt particularly keen on but thats purely because of my personal taste (sashimi)<br/>Really enjoyed our dining experience here, we left with full tummies for sure!

Came here for a group booking. The Chef was the nicest I've ever met. The food was amazing. Every course was explained. Nothing was too much trouble.

This place is amazing! Such an awesome experience that everyone should try. The food was all delicious, especially the corn, the stuffed mushroom and the prawns. I love that it is like eating in someone's home and I adored the hospitality and interaction from the chef. Make sure you book in, in advance as this place is always busy.. each night the menu is changed and you get a delightful surprise of a menu. Would definitely go back again!!

Wanted to try this place for a while and was not dissapointed. I was totally blown away by the dining experience. A set menu which was 12 dishes of Japanese cuisine. Masa the chef was an amazing host and an amazing chef who entertained and created a wonderful atmosphere. A true hidden gem of Pukekohe. If you want a true Japanese cuisine experience then this place is for you.

Lovely restaurant. Good food, good service, good atmosphere. Hidden gem of Pukekohe. Would definitely reccomend to anyone wanting to try authentic japanese food.

This place is awesome! It's sat menu only and you have to book ahead as its tiny and the chef does prep based on bookings. Some of the best jap I've had in NZ

Finally authentic Japanese food. Love love love! Have bought big groups of friends here twice now. Thank you Masa. We will be back again.