Review Daikoku Takapuna - Takapuna

Delicious food. Amazing atmosphere. Great experience. The staff were so friendly.

The chef was amazing and the entertainment during cooking was fabulous. The crayfish was delicious, best cray I've had in years. The veges, prawns, scallops, fried rice, chicken and the steak were cooked to perfection. The 7 of us were extremely happy when we left. So glad Daikoku Taka is back up and running we missed you!

Great service treat values and tasty food. Lots of choice from Beef to fish, the idea of a chef cook in front of you emails noval even as a repeat customer. Our chef today was very friendly and knows what he was doing. Booking recommended, cheap on street parking on surrounding streets.$1 for an hour on weekends. Lunch delays are of good values, ice creams included. Recommending a visit.

Their yum-yum sauce (for the prawns) have not changed for 20 years. My favorite goes to the prawns. Good for get-together and kids, the chopping skills pretty amazing to watch. 2 minutes from the beautiful beach.

Great experience thanks to the chef, very funny and confident. We had steak, prawns and chicken served with carrots, courgettes and onions. All very tasty and fresh. Asahi beer on tap as well as bottled beers and wine. Upstairs by the George Mason theater.

Coco was AMAZING!! Best experience ever. We’ll be back. Thanks Coco for the most amazing experience - “don’t panic, it’s organic”

Headed out for a nice Friday evening meal. Very relaxed, funny and professional chefs. Flavourful food and a show. How can you go wrong. Great for groups of all sizes

Great night out, great entertainment while cooking. Recommend.

I've been here countless of times and still am keen to go again. Best price, entertainment, quality and quantity ratio. Always bring friends and family here for either a catch up or significant event. Must go if you haven't been.

Wonderful experience. Great entertainment of the chef cooking the food right in front of you. Food is delicious, and so is the warm sake. Really enjoyed it.

The best 'Teppan-Yaki' (chefs cook on Hot grill directly in front of you) style restaurant. Super delish options available - my fave splash n meadow (scotch fillet n prawns - and of course the famous n my fav YUM YUM (Japanese Mayo) sauce). Very family friendly restaurant...kids enjoy watching chef cook in front of you. Our chef, 'Mickey' was very entertaining and a delight to have cooking our meal 👍 Always enjoy having dinner or lunch & by far my favourite place to come 😍

Owned by the Japanese, food was ok. Different chiefs have different styles of plays and entertains. However most of the times hey do make bobos. You can either come on dinner with Zomato 2 for 1 deal, or go with the lunch menu which I think has more value. Sumo lunch is great

The guy cooking for us lost control of utensils whilst doing tricks, accidentally threw a bowl of soup at me and my nephew and portions were tiny

Went for lunch in the week. Table was a bit squashy with 10 of us. Food was super well priced and the chef and interactive and did some cool tricks. Food was very tasty. Will be back with a smaller group.

The front desk customer service was not friendly. Food is still good.<br/>The zomato gold discount cannot be use for lunch.

Been there countless times and never disappoint. <br/>Food is always on point. Great service and awesome experience watching the chef showing off their skills. <br/>Can’t wait to go back!

If you haven’t been to a teppanyaki restaurant then you should do this at least once in your lifetime, while the food may be good, you are not visiting it mainly because of that, what you are here for is the teppanyaki chef’s performance as they prepare your meal. While not all teppanyaki restaurants are the same, most of the do offer this type of entertainment, so if you visit one check their reviews and even if reviews are positive make sure when you reserve ask for their most funniest and interactive chef, this makes a big difference.

Very good meal.....never disappoints

Overrated restaurant, food is average, the chef is not approachable and seems like he’s not happy on what he’s doing. One of the worst restaurants I’ve ever been.

I had dinner here few months ago, I had a very nice day!<br/>The food was so good and also our chef's performance was amazing!<br/>Service was good too, the waitress was very friendly and kind!<br/>I like here so someday I want to come again!

Good food and still keeping their standard. It's more comfortable with some social distancing.

I felt the food was quite over-priced for the quantity and quality of the food served- the chop-chop fried rice was not worth the cost at all, and the so-called yum-yum sauce was just plain mayonnaise. The service wasnt very good- I was told that you dont have spicy sauce or chilli powder at all- seriously??? And my friend wanted to have one extra scoop of matcha ice-cream with her normal order, and was told she would have to pay the price for two scoops. And maybe I missed it, but I didnt see any sign saying we couldnt split the bill! One more thing- it might be good to mention that if you book a 6.30 table you might be SEATED at that time, but the food isnt served until close to 7.15pm!

Some what FoH staff was not very welcoming. Food was a bit bland for me. It was the chef's performance made 3 stars, without it, my experience was below average. <br/>P.S. do not order desserts!

One of the waitress who was talking order needs more training, we felt like we were being rushed and any questions we had were met with curt sharp responses which made it seem as if she couldn’t care less. The food was as delicious as usual and the chef was very welcoming and accommodating. Overall the initial interactions with the waitress left a sour taste in our mouths and we were rather disappointed with our experience at Daikoku, given how pleasant the team usually is when we dine there.

waitress was really rude!!

It is very tasty, especially wagyu beef. We use the zomato gold, just half price to eat wagyu beef, great. I highly recommend this restaurant, you cannot miss this tasty food.

Awesome service, lovely food and have to say the food smell is not as bad as before. The lunch special is very good size portion. Using zomato gold as well makes it a lot better too. Had prawn set menu and it is always delicious and tasty with yum yum sauce!! Will definitely come again with the service and food as you know it is fresh being cooked in front of you.

Had a lunch there today but didn’t meet my expectations. Service wasn’t good and food was under average maybe my expectations were a bit too high from reviews . Fish wasn’t fresh and too much mayo on ( just not my liking). I would not hurry go to back any time soon.

This place is a must try for a tepanyaki experience! The chef will definitely give you a good show while having your meals! The flavour is okay and staff are welcoming and kind! <br/><br/>Food 8/10<br/>Ambience 8/10<br/>Service 8/10<br/>

Great place , great novelty. We go here for lunch regularly. It is always good and enjoyable.

We came in here without reservation just over 6pm and got a table straight away with 5 other people. Dinner was delicious. I mean... meat, seafood and vegetables cooked on butter and teriyaki sauce cannot go wrong. Service was also great. <br/><br/>Just be aware that Zomato gold apparently does not apply to the menu at the bottom left (the most expensive ones). I first asked our waitress which items were available with zomato gold, and she told us everything on the left page of the menu was applicable. I triple confirmed her in case we had a miscommunication (because we occasionally had dispute with other restaurants) and she triple affirmed. After that we ordered lobster and wagyu WHICH WAS ON THE LEFT SIDE but then she said those are not available for zomato gold. What the ? ??? ?? What ?? Did I miss something there?? I wanted to avoid unnecessary quarrels so ordered something else.<br/><br/>Teppanyaki is a fun experience that one has to enjoy at least once in their lifetime. The chef shows off fire, frenzy and flamboyance. <br/><br/>It would be best for a family dinner of 6 people, or otherwise you are most likely to be seated with strangers. Yes it’s fun to break ice with unfamiliar faces, but not ideal if you want a romantic dinner.<br/><br/>Thanks so much 😇

I had my birthday dinner here. It isn’t the first time to dine here and I had lunch here couples of time. We ordered sumo steak set and Splash set, the steak cooked well and I love the prawn with yum yum sauce most. The Japanese chef is really professional and he is so nice to share his story in nz. We definitely will come again.

The cooking show was very entertaining, the fire blast was also really cool. It is unlikely that you are able see the cook food in front of you, so it was great to see the food cooked live.

Good place. Different chiefs have different styles but the performances are not perfect. Food great lunch menu is better even if you are zomato gold member

Food, staff and experience two thumbs up!! I will be back for sure. Their steak OMG melts in your mouth and their Yum Yum sauce is amazing :)

It has always a lovely experience to go for Tapanyaki. While going with Zomato Gold was even better! <br/>We had a lovely young chef for our late tapanyaki on a Friday night. Chef was very chatty + friendly and speaks great English, and great with young kids! Though for the professional side of cooking, it seems more Tapanyaki cooking training would be required. But I have to admit, this lovely chef got the fire fear out of our child and turned him around of enjoying Tapanyaki!<br/><br/>The preschool meal was plentiful and placed in a Shinkansen train that little boys would all love!

What a wonderful dinner with my girl friend here. Actually this is the first date of us and we have a good experience of dining in a Japanese style teppanyaki dinner. Thanks for the gold membership then I could have one on one special which is affordable for my wallet. LOL. Excellent customer service of every waiter and waiterss. The food is quite delicious and the portion of food is enough for everyone. Most of all, the Teppanyaki chef with us is friendly and professional and would have interaction and communication with customer kindly. Recommandation order set is scotch fillet and salmon fillet (Fresh and tasty, valuable of course.)

We decided to come to daikoku as we love japanese... we now have a slight addiction to daikoku. I always want to go back because I love the humor and entertainment plus the food is always delicious!

Nice foods, nice service.<br/>However, we used two Zomato Golds, instead of discount on the 2nd and 4th most expensive meals, the restaurant just discounted the cheapest two meals instead.

Quite pricey without zomato gold.<br/>The food was really nice and the performance they put on was enjoyable, but a bit awkward if you don't get into it.<br/>The serving size isnt very big unfortunately.

I love this place, especially now that they are doing zomato gold! The chefs are really friendly and funny... I love the prawns in yum yum sauce! Dinner and a show 😊

Very good service, food was fantastic. We had the wagu beef which also comes with other dishes. Very pleasant experience with the chef. Would definitely come back again!

Food was good. Ordered fish and teriyaki chicken. I prefer the fish. Good value for money. Lots of lunch special deals plus weekend special deals.

Great food, good service (although difficult to get a second drink or any attention once you have initially ordered) Great chef but the whole place could do with a really good clean. Prefer other teppanyaki restaurants eg browns bay and town as the one in Albany could also do with some elbow grease especially in the fans above the tables

Fun vibe, it's really dinner and a show - all of the food was melt in your mouth delicious! Call ahead to book a time, as they need a nearly full table before they start cooking.

Food and service are good. However when finish the lunch we had saw the staff clean the teppanyaki table, they twist wipes with almost black water on it and clean the cooking area while we seating there, makes us disgusting, it is too dirty, we thought it might have second time cleaning later, unfortunately not!

This is one of the best teppanyaki I have been to. Good size portions and a selection of set menu of meat, seafood and vegetables. Fun entertainment provided by the chef when he's firing up the food. Great for couples, family and kids to dine at.<br/>

I am a Japanese food lover.  I really like wayu beef. It is tasted quite soft and juicy. It is totally different from normal steak. In addition the chef would make a show before having the BBQ. Great service, I should be come back again.

we visited Daikoku for celebrating my friend’s birthday. The greatest chef, Tetsu did a great performance for us . His talking is fun, juggling is awesome and especially egg catch and chop chop performance were amazing. I recommend everyone order fried rice. It was a wonderful experience.

Always nice teppanyaki with chuuchuu train n it's friends. Also yum yum sauce (the perfect one), finished by this drawing. TETSU SAN, you are awesome! 😁

Great experience, friendly staff with a very personal touch. Food was incredible and fresh with a great comedic side to the evening due to the humour of the chef. Highly recommend.

4/5 Taste<br/>4.5/5 Display <br/>4.5/5 Quantity <br/>4.5/5 Customer Service<br/><br/>Very good Japanese Teppanyaki Restaurant in Takapuna.<br/><br/>Great taste, great show and service. Portion is a lot bigger than I expected, I would totally go again.<br/>Beef, salmon, prawn, they were all really tender. <br/><br/>Dessert was a little disappointing.<br/>

Good service, nice staff, wonderful presentation and the chef very talented to Performance cooking. In the end the chef write a happy birthday in cooking pan. Recommend to who have birthday celebration it is one of Choice.

Was a fun night and the food was good, although our chef seemed new and accidentally splashed a reasonable amount of hot oil on the man next to us which was a little worrying. The man took it well but you could see the stain on his shirt and the patch on his face where the oil hit slowly go red. I spilled oil on myself as a kid so hot oil terrifies me. Hope he got a discount lol.<br/><br/>They only allow you to redeem Zomato Gold on dinner mains and sides (their lunch menu is off limits) which was a little disappointing but overall it was an enjoyable experience. They cooked our vegan meal first which was great.

Absolutely LOVE this place. Food is delicious, staff are amazing, the show they put on is flawless. Definitely worth the money! We had Yu as our chef and he was fantastic. Waitresses were super lovely and gave us free drinks because of a short wait on food. A++ service, and everything else for that matter.

Fantastic value for money. We had their head chef Tetsu by chance and he was amazing. Very funny, extremely skilled and polite. We will definitely be coming again and will definitely ask for Testu again.

Food is yummy as usual, staff is enthusiastic about Teppanyaki food. The kids are excited about the chef’s show-flame on. Kids menu comes in a cute train plate and kids love it. Love the yum yum sauce on prawn, creamy and fresh.

Very friendly service and great value for the amount of food you get. We enjoyed the whole experience. This last sentence is just to fulfill the amount of characters needed to submit the review.

I went for dinner wi my hubby for my birthday. Its definitely worth the visit. everything good. wagyu steak tasted so yum. the upgraded fried rice is very delicious. service there is brilliant. the chef cooked in front of us and entertained us. very thoughtful and friendly singing birthday song for me and presented my dessert in a more special way. Would love to go back again and recommend to my friends.

Love this place, we eat here often. Best prawns with yum yum sauce. Excellent service. Great for the family. Kids love watching the chef cook. We have always had a good experience here.

I wish i had something nice to say, but $270 for 2 of us... over cooked lobster tail...well slaughtered is a better word and smothered in soy sauce.. there was nothing good apart from the company we had at the table.<br/>Not to mention our cook was miserable, no fun choo choo train for us... we joined in next door tables fun!<br/>A NEVER TO BE REPEATED TREAT NIGHT OUT.

I’ve been going to Dai KoKu Takapuna for the last 20 years. Always thoroughly enjoyed it.<br/>This time however I was just extremely let down by the front of house staff member who right from booking a table on the phone was rude and too busy to speak properly to me. I booked for two people at 8:15 and when we turned up on time, the front of house guy sat us down to a table half way through their meal and show. He then shoved a couple menus in front of us and as rudely as I can imagine, hurried us along to order our meals. <br/>The food was prepared very basically and the chef didn’t do any of the regular tricks and effects.<br/>

Awesome little spot! Very authentic Japanese teppanyaki restaurant with a very friendly and happy team! The food was well prepared, the artistry (cooking wise) was on point and it’s just a great time! We went with the Zomato Gold perk and it was highly enjoyable and such a substantial savings, too! Really lovely time all round and a great staff.

Great food and service. Especially Nicky who did our teppan for our table was funny and showed off some of his teppan skills. It was enjoyable to watch and the meat and seafood was fresh. Definitely will be back soon!

[Dinner] 🇳🇿<br/>Daikoku Teppanyaki - 156 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand<br/>(Booking in advance recommended)<br/><br/>Menu:<br/>Teppan Steak (NZ$ 37)<br/>[Sirloin Steak, Miso Soup, Yum-Yum Prawns, Teppan-Yaki Vegetables, Rice]<br/><br/>Impressions:<br/>+ Good portion<br/>+ Very entertaining as they cook in front of you<br/>+ Very delicious Yum-Yum Sauce<br/>- Can be quite busy<br/><br/>Food Rating:<br/>(8.5/10)<br/><br/>Service Rating:<br/>(8/10)<br/><br/>Ambience Rating:<br/>(8/10)<br/><br/>#food #foodporn #foodblog #foodies #instafood #meat #eat #culinary #makan #foodblogger

Very average and also very expensive for what you get. Our chef was lovely and so were the rest of the staff but I must say that for the amount of food you get and what it is, it's extremely overpriced.

Very nice experience to see the food cooked right at our table ~ the taste is A+ highly recommended for group visit or even solo to cheer ourselves ;)

Always my go to place when i after Japanese! Food is always very good as is the service, it can become a bit of a theatrical thing so if your after just food then perhaps head somewhere else , great for the kids, reasonably price menu with the lunch specials. Value for money 7/10

It was a very entertaining evening. Great for kids or people who like a performance. The food was good, portions a bit small for the menfolk in my family. A pleasant experience .

It is really cool to see tham cook the food in front of you. And if you want to go there get sutff from there compo muny..............................

Amazing food and service. Very quick to provide beverages and appetisers and the chef was very entertaining. Best steak I’ve had in a while.

Lovely place. Great customer service. Enjoyed the hospitality and will definitely be coming back here again. Special thanks to miki, our chef <br/>

Love teppanyaki, and this place sets the bar for my teppanyaki taste. I’ve been here 2 twice and each time it hits the spot. Garlic prawn with yum yum sauce - amazing; then with continuous shots of sake. Steak cooked and served straight from the teppan awesome. A bit pricy but I love it.

AMAZING! Loved my night at Daikoku tonight. Best Daikoku on the shore by far 👌 I had the fish fillet and it was cooked to perfection, melted in my mouth.... yum. Great atmosphere and staff were so attentive. My son loved it ❤❤ Will definitely be back 😁

The food was delicious but a little bit pricey if compares to the other Japanese restaurant. The staff lack warmth and friendless. The decoration quite old and overall experience was not good. would rather go somewhere else as doesn't worth at all.

Went here for lunch with some colleagues. I had the $16.80 Lunch with Steak. The steak was served with veggies (few pieces of zucchini and mostly onions), a small bowl of salad, three kinds of sauces, a bowl of steamed rice, and two small scoops of ice cream to finish off. Although, the meal tasted good I was a little disappointed as the meal was worth the price. Apart from the steak, I also tried a bit of the fish. I was not impressed with the quality of the fish. In fact, the menu did not mention what kind of fish they were using. I would definitely not recommend the fish option. Also, if you have a big appetite I would not recommend this place as the food is overpriced and you will be paying a lot for just another piece of meat.<br/><br/>In terms of the service and atmosphere, the enjoyed the chefs stunts, tricks and humour. However, the staff lacked warmth and friendliness. Moreover, if you are going in a group with less than 8 people, be prepared to share the table with strangers, which makes the experience a tad awkward and uncomfortable. <br/><br/>Would I go back? No.

Went for dinner with a group. After the dinner rush service was a bit slow but friendly. I ordered the Emperor stack others ordered the and the Emperor stack and chefs choice (steak and chicken) . The chef was inexperienced to typical Diakoku culture forgetting to do the train demonstration (when you go you will see) and other tricks the chefs usually do. The Emperor stack includes steak, scallops , prawns and crayfish .also sushimi ,miso soup , salad and rice . Asked for medium steak was cooked ok but not as good as usual. Chef had to redo my crayfish as he stuffed it up and turned it into mince literally! Prawns were great as well as the sides. The meal was average and the experience lacking. Had we got one of the other chefs that have been in country longer than 2 months . I feel our experience would have been better like previous experiences

Great view of Takapuna love there lunch special ! Personal chef that cooks for you and he was very entertaining. Would definitely go back :)

Yummy food，great service！We went there on Sunday，so there were a few customers in the restaurant. No other people sat in our table，so the chief only served us by his excellent show. We also experienced “egg catch”！Very funny！

Loved it here. Delicious food and doesn't break the bank. Very entertaining as well :) yum yum sauce on everything!! I recommend going with a big group so you don't have to sit with strangers

Gorgeous place with amazing service, a chef makes everything right in front of you! Delicious plates aswell that are quickly and well-presented. Highly recommend. My main and dessert was amazing, and high quality.

came for lunch the workers were lovely and funny also it was a great experience, i was worried about eating the prawns as i am pregnant but they were perfect with no issues food was amazing

The meal was very good and the chef makes the night. The theatrics involved in the preparation and cooking make it a fun experience, a little pricy but worth it once in a while. Good luck catching the egg!!

I love teppanyaki. went I went to this place 15 years ago and it was awesome. The chefs were japanese and very skilled. After working in asia for the last 10 years I came back to try it. Food is still pretty good, but chef skills have declined (not japanese) and decor very shabby and in need of update. Will return but with much lower expectations.

Awesome restaurant with such amazing staff. Food is delicious and I love their flaming technique. Worth the money. Will be coming back definitely.

Awesome restaurant! Such a great experience, I would highly recommend to anyone. Went with a large group, and the only downside was the wait but we kept ourselves entertained. Once our chef arrived it was all fun and tasty food! Partner and I shared the set menu (for two). Great value IMO. Miso, dumplings, rice, salad, steak, crayfish to name a few of the things we had. Cooked perfectly. And the prawns with the yum yum sauce!! Name says it all!! Will be back with friends.

Always fun to dine here. Emphasis here seems to be on the entertainment side of the meal however, food is good just not fantastic. <br/><br/>Teppanyaki is one of my favourite styles of Japanese cuisine. It is really is an experience to be part of with a good chef throwing food around and entertaining however the food also needs to stack up. Its not bad at all here, just seems to be 5-10% off where it should be for the price.<br/><br/>Decor a bit tired, hasn't changed in years. Can be very busy on a weekend evening, be ready to share your station with others.<br/> <br/><br/>That all said, it is always busy so perhaps I am just a little fussy (a year living in Japan will do that perhaps).

Over price and unqualified chef, not a good experience, food very average.the only good thing was the wagyu beef which was tasty but then not cook correctly. Would NOT recommend this place.

Came here a couple of Fridays ago for lunch. There were only two other diners when we arrived but the place filled up over the hour we were there. We took the set teppan-yaki lunch menu for $15.80 - I had the chicken and my son had the beef. We enjoyed our meal, my son especially enjoyed his steak. The side dishes - a salad and a miso soup were just right. The dressings, a Japanese ginger one and a sesame one, were outstanding, really yum. My only complaint was that the teppan veges - onion and courgette were overwhelmingly onion. The menu also includes a small dessert of icecream.

pretty good the service is alright though the atmosphere is quite dark and gloomy. It is quite hot as well and the food isn't amazing amazing its just the average. The lunch special is an affordable price for what you get though if your going with only some people you have to share a table with someone else. But it was average overall

I would love to go back to this place again some time. Affordable lunch menu, food being cooked in front of you and if the chef is in the mood, then he might just do cool tricks while he's cooking. Long story short, I love the place and the food. If you'd like to try out a restau that cooks food in front of you, then go eat here! :)

We used to be fans of Daikoku before our recent experience. After a recent visit me and my wife ended up with food poisoning. Sad to see a previously good place turned a blind eye on food safety and hygiene.Not recommended.

Had very unpleasant experience there. The food the was okay but the service was awful! I've been to so many Japanese restaurants and never been treat like that! I asked one of the waitress for a take away box but she never came back! Been to the one in Albany that was much better compared to this one. Never go there again!

Went for a friend's birthday there, mainly for the tepanyakk experience. We had the $55 meal /dinner option. Surrounding tables had the chef put up a show; sadly our chef was very unenthusiastic. Ordered the beef which was really inedible, so chewy, half of it remained in your teeth and the other half went into a chewy ball you couldnt swallow. The prawns were very yum, but then again anything with that japanese mayo is amazing.. Ice cream was probably the "kiwi" brand- vanilla, not so great. In conclusion, dont order beef AND dont order ice cream there. Also we arrived 10 minutes early and it took 30 minutes for them to move us from the waiting area to where we were to eat. Mediocre experience, def. had better tepanyaki experiences.

Been here a few times for lunch. Short and sweet. I like it alot. Nothing over the top or fancy. Just Daikoku. Your chosen protein (beef, chicken or fish) cooked very well in front of you as the chef entertains you with his knife skills. Veges, rice, salad, miso and ice cream for dessert.. all for $14.50 currently. <br/><br/>I like this setting as its very interactive esp for a group of more than 4 and as with most japanese meals it leaves you satisfied but still feeling light. <br/><br/>There are extra options on menu if you like but for a nice cheap lunch with gorgeous takapuna beach views then this would be a lovely choice. <br/><br/>Ps - I always have fish as I feel that you get more protein than the other options hehe. Plus they squeeze lemon on it with a spoonful of Yum yum sauce. Delish!

The food here is absolutely amazing and it is very entertaining to watch the chefs cook your food right in front of you. They also did things such as flicking food up for you to catch in your mouth. Very fun and the food is great

WHY IS DAIKOKU SO OVER-HYPED? apart from their lunch deals, everything is just extremely overpriced. For me, Daikoku is entertaining (like who doesn't love watching people try to catch fried egg in their mouth 😂), that is all. I love their yum yum sauce covered prawns, and how you get a side of salad, japanese coleslaw, rice, miso soup etc with certain sets. I do think that their meat portions are on the smaller side and I honestly think that Daikoku is more entertainment and food. I'm a sucker for authentic Japanese; this isn't it. Daikoku just doesn't make the cut for me. <br/><br/>I cry a little when my girlfriends ask if I want to go to Daikoku for dinner. There's other places I'd rather spend my dimes on.

Love this place. We go as often as the wallet let's us. Love the salad dressing, miso soup and prawns, omgosh the prawns....so good. Very very filling, quite expensive but worth it. And if you are an early bird you get an extra starter.

Been dinner once and it was amazing. But lunch is ridiculously delicious. Can't stop thinking about their salad the miso soup. It is super affordable for lunch deals and the staff and chefs every visit has been delivering exceptional service. I love this place. Can never get sick of it.

Very expensive compared to other Japanese food places. The best thing about this place is definitely the experience as the chefs will literally put on a show for you while cooking your ordered dishes for you. I have once seen a chef "throwing" chopped pieces of egg to the diners who open their mouth to catch them! The service and overall atmosphere was really nice and the only thing that puts me off is the price.

Love this place. If your not a fan of that yum-yum sauce or you havent tried it yet then your missing out on the whole experience of dai-koku hehe. Each time is a different experience. Youll be lucky to have the same chef twice. Each chef is unique and will sometimes put on a show with the cooking tools. We always go for that special. Real cheap. Quality of food is always great. Love the steak. I always add a fried rice to go with my meal. Cant go wrong here. It gets real busy so make sure to turn up early or youll be in the waiting corner! ✌👊💯

Fun and interactive with some great food but looking a little aged. If this place had a little spruce up, maybe add a few changes (due to much of it looking empty a lot of the time) to enhance the ambiance and the experience. I can't fault the food nor the famous yum-yum sauce. I think we'll be heading back here soon, it's be on the agenda for a while.

This is my favourite Japanese restaurant, the fact that they cook your meal in front of you makes it very entertaining. Food never disappoints me and I always leave with a happy tummy. Prices have gone up in the past few years though, and it's always so crowded.

Lunch with a family of 3 adults. Everything, from the seasoning on the meat to the sauce in the salad, tasted very bland and 'off'. Meal portions were very small. Just as well, because 2 of the 3 in our party developed food-poisoning like symptoms, while the third felt 'queasy' for the rest of the day. AVOID if at all possible.

Been here a number of times and always enjoy my meals. Always try get the early bird special where you dine before 730 mon-fri to get a cheaper rate. Love the yumyum sauce and always enjoy the seafood.

First impressions were of the dirty floor so greasy that it was dangerously slippery. Second impression was the oppressive heat of the place- I know it's February but the heat was unbearable and the cooking hadn't even started by then. We were served the salad as part of the usual teppanyaki combo. The salad seemed like it had been made a few days before and sat waiting in the fridge. The miso just tasted like instant supermarket miso. The cooking began and seemed like the chef could be bothered doing much. I was less concerned with that and more concerned that the food was very average. I could easily cook better on a weeknight at home.. All sauces tasted like they were straight out of a bottle and it was just blah. The worst food was my son's prawn tempura. I think they had been deep fried the day before and reheated - absolute crap. He peeled the soft limp batter off and ate the prawns. $16 for about 6 prawns with rubbish batter. How does this restaurant survive in such a position with so much competition around? Overpriced rubbish - Japanese food is supposed to be fresh and beautifully presented and normally in auckland that's what you get. Not here though. Don't waste your money.

Had our work do here. We were a bit late seated due to team members turning up late. However we were all quickly seated between two tables.<br/>Out table had an older pleasant chef Jim who put on a great show entertaining and cooking the food to perfection. I would suggest not bothering with a starter I went for the vegetable tempura but was disappointed. The batter was heavy and veggies were starchy. I was expecting more vegetables than carbs. <br/>Stick with the meat which was generously portioned and tasty.

Great show by the chef. We kinda waited a bit coz our chef is still doing the other table. But was a good service and a decent meal. Bit pricey but is okay.

This place is awesome!<br/>Dinner and a show!<br/>The chefs are adorable and very talented<br/>food is great and the atmosphere is just lovely.<br/>Would recomend going here for lunch before dinner but either way its awesome.

I asked for a certain table setting for me and my guests and they rejected me on the phone straight away. <br/><br/>We asked for glasses of waters for us for three times yet only a glass of water arrived on our table. When we asked for more water for twice the water still hasn't arrived on our table. When I stopped a service man he was very grumpy at me and he had to complete the setting of the other 'empty' table first before responding to our request. (I think they do not know who to serve first). <br/><br/>Later they were throwing desert serves at us. (I am not talking about fried eggs or fried rice in a ball.....sigh) <br/>I was so upset and do not want to go there again if that particular person serves us. <br/><br/>In the past, I really enjoyed their food and services. I usually went there for celebrations. However, today, they disappointed me very much.

Great value for the basic lunch special. $13.80 gets you salad, Miso soup, a choice of steak or chicken or fish with cooked veg and ice-cream. Love ths place. Though not flash in terms of atmosphere and decor, the food is good. You will need a change of clothes after the meal (from the smell of the cooking), but it's all part of the experience.

The food here is so over-priced for what you get it's a joke!! The chicken thigh fillet @ $32.00 was just that - one chicken thigh fillet cooked with a little bit of soy sauce! It was unbelievable. How do they justify the prices?? We took our family and it was very disappointing. Would not hurry back.

The 2 stars are for Mike the chef who was entertaining, even though the cooking skills were lacking. The portions were very disappointing. The kids portion of chicken at $15 was the exact same size as the main portion at $35 &amp; the kids got ice cream included?! The salmon at nearly $40 was the size I'd expect for an entree &amp; very much over-cooked, served after the med-rare steak &amp; just before the chicken, and either old stock or pre-frozen judging by the very "fishy" flavour. This WAS one of our favorite places to take the kids but we will be in no hurry to return. Very disappointing

Had such an awesome experience, the chefs definately kept you entertained. The food was very nice couldn't have asked for better. Thank you very much. I went there last Thursday and going back tomoro Sunday with friends that we have told

It is so dirty, with clumsy chef who spelt fluid and food "around the table" while cooking.<br/>Staff was unhelpfully and disrespectful.<br/>Manager was so dismissive when I approached him about the quality of food.<br/>Extremely poor value for the money spent.

For what ever reason we only ever dine here on a Sunday night, we have only ever had good experiences here, good tasty food, a little bit on the expensive side but we have been back around 5 or 6 times now and always walk away having a great experience and great food!<br/><br/>Hamish

Chef great. Good show. Everything else awful. It is so dirty! Close to 2 hours wait for food. Half an hour to queue to pay. The eating part was great the other 2.5 hours was horrible. <br/>I returned after swearing I would never go again a couple of years ago due to the state of the toilets and overall cleanliness. Thought I would give it another chance to my regret. It is worse but very busy?

terrible service! My guests and I had to self serve the whole night for our table. For example, they asked us what we would like to drink and some of us replied water and others replied green tea. 10 minutes later; our drinks never arrived and my guest and I had to get our own glasses and pour ourselves glass of water from the bar. Few minutes before the food came, we asked the waiter for a fork but yet again, they never came back with the fork.<br/><br/>The chefs, however, were really friendly and that was just about the only good service we got from the restaurant. The food on overall was nice.

The worst Japanese Restaurant ever!!! Don't expect a nice service in this restaurant, coz looks like they like treating their customer badly<br/>2 very BAD experiences:<br/>(1) Made a reservation for 2 adult and 1 child, specifically requested a high chair, but when we arrived the high chair was not available. <br/>They asked us to wait, and we waited for 15 min and decided to leave because the child is already too hungry to wait.<br/>(2) Made a call to to make a reservation at the restaurant before their opening hours, the phone was picked up but the person on the other end just yelled "We are not opened" and hang up.

Well - this restaurant is actually a family favourite - especially for birthdays or special treats. We haven't had any bad experiences here - and would probably come here 4-6 times per year. It is probably overdue for some hefty refurbishments, but we have never had a problem with staff being rude. Drinks service can be a bit slow at times, but nothing unusual and probably depends on the staff at the time. Some/most of the teppanyaki chefs are awesome - and very entertaining.<br/><br/>We do bring overseas guests here if they've never experienced teppanyaki, and they've always thoroughly enjoyed it.

Food is OK, but the manager is so rude to customer.<br/>I don't think you can find the other manager having a so bad-ass attitude to customers.<br/>We have 2 very bad experience with that manager.<br/><br/>1.)<br/>We have finished our lunch and the waiter was collecting all dishes, we were quite happy with food. Suddenly, that manager just come and yelling at my wife. "Don't put the handkerchief on the dish, it is very hard to wash!!!" ......<br/><br/>2.)<br/>Few months later....<br/>We made a booking at 12ish for 2 people, but we went there on time with 1 more person. It is because of the extra person, they told us to wait.<br/><br/>After 1 hour long waiting, there are 3 seats for us. (We saw so many new coming people got their seats during that hour.) <br/>We spoke to the waiter, and he finally feel happy to let us in.<br/>Suddenly, the angry manager jumped out, stopped the waiter and took those 3 menus back and yelling at my wife "NO!"<br/><br/>We left the restaurant with anger after that.<br/><br/>I can say it is the first time ever in my life having that kind of experience from a restaurant. <br/><br/>We come to enjoy the food with $, we are not coming for BEGGING. We come with 1 more person, does he need to be that angry???<br/><br/>100% not recommend anyone to go there. And, we will not go there again! (Or, they fire that manager.)<br/><br/>If I can give negative star, I will like to give them -6.

The food was ok, the staff pretty inconsiderate and rude for a restaurant. The place was filthy, feet sticking to the carpet, dirty lino, I really should have looked for their hygiene certificate to see how bad the council rated them.

Rude and unpleasant wait staff when we arrived.He made it sound like we didn't bookEd!when in fact I gave all my details on the phone when I book.So I went through their list and yes my name wasn't there but some other persons name with my cellph number on it!! And to top it off its my birthday!They gave us the newest cook in their staff by the looks of it as he was fumbling with everything and burnt our food esp the veges!! never again. I love teppan-Yaki so we tried the one in the city and got better service.

Best food, atmosphere and customer service I have ever had. Prices are extremely reasonable for a dinner and a show. I highly recommend this for a great night out!<br/><br/>The food is fresh and cooked in front of you and you can definitely taste the difference.<br/><br/>Will be going back this weekend as we have never been disappointed by Daikoku!<br/><br/>AAA+++

Love the ambience, love the showmanship of the guys at the Tepanyaki stoves... food was great and service was fine. However, there is limited choice for vegetarians, which is odd as most of the stuff being cooked are veges!

My niece introduced me to this restaurant and I totally loved it, the experience was great the food was even better to the point that I took my whole family the next time I went which included my mum who also loved it. A+

Hard to find the entrance; it’s on the left to the entrance of the event centre and up some stairs. Good large space with plenty of tables.<br/>Presentation and interaction with the chef is good since Teppan-Yaki is basically a show. Warning tho the food are a bit oily especially for Japanese food and the miso soup was too salty. Also since it is open cooking, be careful that the table will be covered in a thin film of oil by the end and your clothes will smell somewhat. I recommend getting some prawns in yumyum sauce and the tempura ice cream.

My family and I love this place, we hope it never closes or moves, we especially enjoy the lunch special because its so reasonable. My fav are the prawns in yumyum sauce and the californian sushi roll. We have been coming here for about 6 years now, and always will be a family favourite, my Dad gets treated like a king when we come, because hes such a regular lol. This was even my daughters 1st day trip out from the hospital lol, shes 3 and loves to eat there too, pretty much I could buy her her own plate, because she scoffs neally all of mine. Daikoku Takapuna are the best!!<br/>Sorry if I'm going on abit, but we just love the place, my parents have been to all the Daikoku here in Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney, Fiji even, they say Takapuna is the one and only best one out.

good lunch special, nice flavour and spectacle of the tepan yaki. <br/><br/>would go back, nice setting

this place is one of the best restraunts ive been to. the service was amazing and the meal was even better. i enjoyed the show put on by the chef. as for those who dont like this place shove it!!

I went there recently for a birthday so there was about 10 of us, we couldn't all sit together which was a bit disappointing as the tables cater for only about 8. But the food was absolutely to die for... esp the prawns! The service was great as was the entertaining chefs. Would definately go there again! It is well worth the experience!

Love this place. Great lunch special too, I was a bit dissapointed in the prawns which usually I love, they still had soem of the tail left on them the last time I went. I think the lunch should have more of showing off the chefs skills like they do at dinner with the flames and fried egg etc..

Cant get enough, Sunday lunch is a must.

This used to be a great restaurant, I don't know what happened. Took some friends there recently who where up from Wellington, raving about how great it was and the service was slow and even a bit rude. Not only did they take ages to ask for our drinks order, when it came it was wrong. Then they undercooked the prawns in yum yum sauce and didn't bother with the egg catching thing even though we ordered egg fried rice, with five kids with us it would have been entertaining. <br/>A real shame, used to be one of my favourite restaurants in Auckland, think I'll stick with my local teppenyaki in Browns Bay from now on.

Alot of fun. Good food worth the money