Review Kappa Japanese Restaurant - Queenstown

We were lucky to just be able to walk in for dinner- we tried booking last night and they were fully booked for the earlier sitting! Most of their food were delicious, although their sashimi and sushi could be a touch fresher. Their edamame, tofu salad, oysters, clams were highlights.

They have Miso Eggplant! Kappa Japanese Cuisine is great, the sashimi is fresh and the service is excellent. They have a small menu and portions are a bit small but every dish is cooked well and tastes on point. My recommendation is definitely the Miso Eggplant, not many restaurants serve this dish.

We savored our most delightful meal at this establishment. The oysters were nothing short of fresh and delectable, and we thoroughly enjoyed the expertly crafted sashimi platter. Additionally, we indulged in the scrumptious pickled fried salmon and a mouthwatering clam dish. Our server's courteous and attentive demeanor further enhanced our experience. Interestingly, two winemakers were spotted dining here as well, which suggests they found the meals just as satisfying. 🍷🍽️

A cute Japanese restaurant that was very friendly and happy to cater to my big group. They had some great bento box lunch sets and don as well. Great place to eat in Queenstown!

When going to a Japanese restaurant, I always observed if it's owned by Chinese or Japanese. I believe this restaurant is owned and run by Japanese. Soba noodle - Soba noodle is good but it didn't say much. As long as the chef can cook the noodle and rid of the buckwheat aftertastes and maintain the proper texture, not soggy and it's good. Possible improvement: dilute the soba sauce in the soup. A little strong. Also offer furikake on the side. It adds flavor to the soba noodle. Lunch bento - with Teriyaki chicken, salmon sashimi, shrimp and vegetable tempura, you will know how good this restaurant is and it's good. Teriyaki chicken seemed charcoal grilled. It made a big difference if it's char grilled, cause you can smell and taste a little bit of the charcoal and usually they are crispier. Only suggestion is to hold off excess sauce. It was soaked in sauce so you couldn't taste the charred chicken flavor. Salmon belly sashimi was very good quality. Fresh and sweet. Impressive. Tempura is where you can tell how good the chef is. The shrimp in the tempura was fresh, the batter was Crispy but most importantly, dry! No oil dripping and didn't taste oily. That's good tempura. I just came back from Japan early this year and living in SF bay area, I'm confident to say I've been to many high quality Japanese restaurant and this one could easily be my go to Japanese restaurant if it's opened in my neighborhood.

Humble little restaurant hidden on the second floor - ABSOLUTE JEM. Run by Japanese, and heard from the chefs that they get their food source from Japan. Food was amazing! Sashimi fish were tender and soft, melted in my mouth. Chef even made udon and soba (not on the menu) for my parents who were craving Japanese noodles! No complaints at all. Total damage about 300 NZD for: - 2 portions of sashimi platter - 2 plates of salmon sashimi (9 pieces each) - 1 udon - 1 soba - 1 Blue cod tempura - 1 veggie tempura - 1 edamame - 1 hot sake - 1 teriyaki chicken - 1 tonkatsu - 1 avocado salmon roll - 1 miso soup - 1 hot sake Absolutely delicious. I would come back everyday if I could!!!!!

Found this restaurant by accident, so glad we did. Service was great, food even better. Best grilled eel I've had. House hot sake was excellent. Will definitely be eating here next time I'm down.

This place is a hidden gem situation just off the main drag and upstairs. They don’t do walk ins so make sure to grab a reservation. They’ve got a simple menu but everything is fresh and amazing, the staff create a real vibe and it feels like you’re in Japan. Definitely recommend a few sakes as well

Really lovely restaurant! Nice variety of sashimi and sushi rolls and other items as well. We had the mixed sashimi and tuna avocado roll. Both were quite good - my favourite was the tuna roll. Small spot upstairs but we walked in without a reservation - it was later in the evening during the week though.

Very much like the traditional Japanese izakaya and very authentic Japanese food. We had the grilled kingfish wings ($20), recommended by my Japanese friend. I grew up eating fish but never was keen on fish heads- but definitely enjoyed this dish. Different parts of the head had unique flavours, and they serve radish with it. We also had the grilled eggplant miso ($16) and teriyaki tofu ($13), both absolutely delicious. Another friend ordered the unagi donburi (grilled eel rice bowl) - equally good. Great service too. The menu selection was quite small but every dish we had was awesome.

Food was very average. <br/>The service was horrible! Outside it was raining and there was five minutes till it opens, but the waiter didn’t let us in, and asked us to wait outside.

Not bad for just a quick bite. The venison tataki was enjoyable. The beef tataki was somewhat average; room for improvement. The serving speed was average as its an open kitchen so I can observe the speed at which the kitchen is working. The karaage was okay, but could probably serve with a side sauce. Overall it's enjoyable.

Good Meal. This was recommended to us as one of the best restaurants in the city. I ordered ordered set meal "A" and my husband ordered several a la carte items. First to arrive was the deep fried tofu followed by miso soup. Next were two plates of sashimi, one from the set meal and the other from the a la carte menu. We both got a generous serving of rice followed by my chicken teriyaki, the venison sashimi and finally the tempura. The restaurant was quite busy yet I was surprised by how quickly our meal arrived. The food was well done and tasty. My husband wasn't keen on the venison sashimi but that's just a personal preference. I don't know if it's the best in the city but it is pretty good just the same.

I had a hankering for sushi, and asked all over town where I could find some, the unanimous recommendation was Kappa, I didn’t want to get my expectations too high as we weren’t anywhere near the ocean, but I went ahead, and it was really good, fun friendly people, fast service, the dining area was a bit small, so felt a bit cramped, but otherwise, had a good time and filled my sushi craving.

Walking in your expectations drop as it is by no means a flash restaurant.. It even feels like you have walked in the back door..<br/><br/>But the food... Is beautifully prepared and cooked to perfection.. The calamari and the prawns melt in your mouth.<br/><br/>Service is friendly and very helpful language barriers aside..<br/><br/>If you want good Japanese in Queenstown go here as for $50 you can get a good meal for two with drinks..

Such a great place for lunch and excellent value. The bento boxes give you a good variety of sashimi, tempura, chicken teriyaki and miso soup. <br/><br/>It's a small place but the service is really quick so def worth waiting a bit for.

When we were in Queenstown last month, we were recommended by my brother to go to Kappa for authentic Japanese cuisine. This place was pretty packed when we arrived but luckily there was 1 table available for us YAY!! They have the normal seating area and also a sushi bar... read more on my food blog with pictures: http://chicabel.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/kappa.html

like Lakeside Palace I've visited this restaurant more than once ^^ Even though the portions have gotten smaller then when i started going there, everything is still delicious :)

SO Delicious. Everything I ordered was perfect and the staff were friendly despite some communication when I asked them about the food. The place is quite small and can be crowded. Also some menu items were unavailable but definitely recommend.