The food looks nice, tastes average, and is quite expensive. The food's portion were small, and the waitress is not very friendly if you don't order any of their overpriced drinks (40~50 bucks for a 300ml bottle of hot sake). And they force you to donate money after swiping your card.

Lovely romantic dinner setting. Dishes were served in small tapa style for sharing, 5-6 dishes between two people should do the trick. Highlights for us were the kingfish ceviche, lobster tostada and black tiger prawn dumpling. I’m sure the other dishes were good too but in the grand scheme of things, it was just okay in comparison to the others.

A modern contemporary Japanese restaurant located at Grey Lynn/Ponsonby. If you never been to the restaurant, it is a bit hard to find, the only clue to the restaurant from the footpath is the "Asahi" sign above your head. However, staff are friendly and courteous. They gave you choices of tap water or sparkling water when seated. They have kids menu with good selection of meals. Good selection of dishes from the menu and you can order a few and share among the diners. After we ordered the dishes, they came out very quickly. All dishes are tasty and yummy. We will come again.

Great people great atmosphere great foods, what else you need?

The entrance is subtle and easy to miss. When you walk in you'll find yourself in a cosy space with the chic dark bar/restaurant feel. The waitstaff were prompt and happy to help. The food was delicious, though pricey as it is upper end. The flavours are exquisite and the food was all cooked very well. We ordered 2 mains and a small plate to share between 2 of us, and I think I was happy not to come out feeling bloated, but I think if you're a guy, or just have a bit appetite, you may need to order more which would mean spending around $60-70pp or more... I'd recommend it for if you want to splash out on a special night :)

A very busy restaurant with good service. The lady who served us gave a good suggestion to try out the dessert. Dishes: Snapper Ceviche, Rainbow Rolls, Nikkei steak, Tempura, dessert

A fantastic place for modern Japanese food with contemporary decor, great cocktails, and excellent food. The sashimi was fresh, and the fried soft shelled crab was nice and crunchy. The flamed fish roe is a first for me, I’ve had torched scallop and salmon etc but never fish roe.. to be honest I think it’s gimmicky as the flavour is more pronounced as on scallops, just it’s taste, and hearing all the roe crackling under the torch was strangely satisfying.

What a great vibe! The staff is so nice and accommodative! The drinks for 2-3 people are so great for sun! The whole drinks menu is very original. Good was great. Small portions but that's what Japanese food is about. The steak (in mains) was like absolute butter and full of flavour. Def worth the buzz! Lots of restaurants in NZ mess up with sushi too much with adding too much to it. These guys nail the thin line in between. I like simple fresh sushi, and this was was absolute delicious.

Love this place! The staff are polite and quietly efficient, and the flavours in the dishes are a journey in every mouthful. I always take a trip through the smaller dishes - I'm never bored. I prefer sitting at the sushi bar where I can see the chefs at work. Such respect, attention, detail and passion in every dish..

Definitely recommend. Absolutely delicious food. Service was okay, we were served the wrong dish and waiter didn’t know some of the dishes, but overall great meal, especially the volcano sushi roll

Food is good but expensive as food is not that amazing and service made me feel very uncomfortable. We made a booking at 615pm and were reminded that we only got 20 minutes left at around 725pm. That time, sushi roll, buns, sake and red wine just came. Very uncomfortable experience. I wonder this is the reason why so many tables are available before 8pm.

Loved each and every dish here, and we tried quite a few. Appreciate how all you need to do is place your order, then they bring the dishes out to you one at a time so you can enjoy each one before moving on to the next. Special mention to the sushi, which got blow torched at the table!

So many things to really enjoy about Azabu Ponsonby. Comfortable tables (high bar stools would be challenging for the elderly/frail). Attentive service, great menu, delicious Japanese fusion style food. Comprehensive cocktail and drinks menu. What's not to love?! We got the tiger prawn dumplings, tempura crab, kingfish sashimi, cucumber salad. All were yum 😋

Our second visit. The food never disappointed us. We enjoyed every bit. A very small disappointment that my partner had waited too long for his main, came after I finished mine.

Slick setting, very attentive team, fabulous food. Something to consider: Food comes out too quickly (recommend ordering in waves to be able to enjoy - and for the size of the tables to cater) but what really put us off was some sort of smoking area at the back of the restaurant which ended up spreading its ugly fumes to where we were sitting (in the middle of the restaurant).

I was an azabu fan before the pandemic and this is my first time in a long while. The service was amazing, atmosphere was great! The softshell crab was fantastic, and so wss the chicken karaage. The prawn dumpling skin was on the chewy side but the sauces were great. However, the lamb chuleta and nikkei steak, both well cooked was overwhelmingly salty. We thought at first that the chef might have just over salted the steak which came first. But when the chuletas arrived with the same degree of salt overdose, we knew there was something off. We should have asked them to replace our orders. We did tell the maître d. Not sure if there was extra MSG as well. I hope it was a one off but it was a bit disappointing. Didnt have the desire to order dessert after that.

Great dumplings, good sushi. Though the soft shelf crab wasn't soft at all, rather crunchy. We had a corner table, hence not too noisy.

The food is great here and has been consistently good over the years. I’m always skeptical of fusion restaurants or when mashing together of cuisines- in this case Japanese and Peruvian. However, the recipes work here and are delicious. The highlights of our recent meal were the tuna sashimi tostada and the pork belly. The tiger prawn dumplings were ok. And so we’re the kingfish ceviche and soft shell crab. The atmosphere is ok as you’re packed in like sardines. The dishes are on the expensive side but I don’t think it’s value for money for what you get, but could have justified it if the atmosphere was better.

Absolutely loved our experience at Azabu. The food was absolutely divine and cocktails were delicious. Servers were super attentive and professional. Definitely recommend the tuna ceviche and the sirloin. Just a side note to please get the lounge seat fixed.

I am sorry but Azabu has lost its magic. Their new menu for spring? Do yourself a favour and give it a miss. ⛔️ At $32 for a miso grillled salmon fillet, serving a mushy-textured, bland, pre- frozen fillet is totally unacceptable. ⛔️Charging $20 for a few spoonfuls of CANNED lychee 'ceviche' felt like daylight robbery. At the very least try to serve fresh fruit. ⛔️ Piri piri tuna roll - I cannot taste the (very small piece of) tuna at all. The crunchy topping overwhelmed everything. I also ordered the Artichoke Dumplings and the Beef Tostada. They were ok, nothing special, really. It's disappointing as the dishes were fantastic when Azabu first opened in 2019.

Awesome place. Food was flavoursome, punchy and had great combination of flavours. Service was excellent, especially from the Italian Maitre D. We went on a Sunday night and it was packed. Will definitely come back 👌

Food is nice, portion size is also pretty good...however, the service for a Friday night although prompt, could be a bit more friendlier!!

A quick bite before going to a gig. Had heard a lot of good things and they were all true. Would love to go back again to take the time to savor all the tastes, food really was exceptional. Felt intimate and an attentive team

Fantastic experience, really nice, great service.

Food was good but a little expensive. It was not extraordinary for the price. To get more water for our glasses, we had to ask. I wish the service was more attentive and more personable and not so rushed. Really, there isn't much more to say than that—nice vibe, decent location, famous big restaurant chain.

Just wow! Amazing food & service. Will definitely be coming back.

If you are thinking about going to Azabu for Valentines Day, turn back right now. At $115 per person, the food was questionable. I thought the problem was me halfway through because I heard such great reviews from friends. What sealed the deal for me was the last item of the menu. A pavlova! You know those mini pavlova you get at supermarkets during Christmas? Yes. For a $115 set menu. They have great cocktails though hence 2 stars.

Delicious flavors, brave pairings really enjoyed the sharing style platters. Staff friendly, service was prompt and dishes came at a great pace. Would highly recommend

Nice location, good presentation, great food. Service was a bit robotic, no real warmth or interest coming from the waiters (that’s fine we can let the food do the talking). The volcano sushi roll (not pictured) is a must-try, and comes with a bit of a show. The dessert pavlova, well let’s just say there is a reason I didn’t put a picture of that, not good, sticking to the plate like glue. Still despite this a 4/5. When the food is on point it is that good.

Good ambience for a date night as the food is meant to be shared together. Small gatherings among friends would also be delightful.

Love their beef tataki , good food presentation, sushi a bit burnt but still nice, chicken karage just normal

Just a delight, food, staff and ambience was fantastic.