Kura

Kia Ora and welcome to Kura. I will be your attendant for this evening’s Unilocal review. My name is Mike A. and I ate here a few weeks ago from the time that I am writing this review. I came with the lady that I am married to. We both like sushi and we both didn’t feel like going to Clooney for the reservations that I had made a couple of weeks prior. So we went here.
It was good. Actually, really pretty good. I didn’t have any other sushi in the city while I was in town (lie: I had some at the free buffet in the Club lounge at The Langham but I don’t think that counts) so I can’t say if you should go here ahead of any other places (lie: I can say you should go here ahead of the Club lounge at The Langham).
If you like fish and you like rice, you will probably like Kura.
PS it’s downstairs. If you have bad knees you may want to have them deliver your food up to the sidewalk.

Great Japanese restaurant on Queen street! Outside may not look as attractive, but once you get in, great vibe, dark/​intimate interior & lighting. Great service, excellent food! Good selection of drinks and sake~ Highly recommend for intimate dinner for date, or dinner out. Recommend chicken Karage (deep fried chicken) — delicious seasoning and unlike ordinary fried chicken, its fried thigh. Must try! Another highly recommend dish is Takowasabi (raw octopus seasoned with wasabi). Great appetizer to start and excellent dish to go wish cold sake! Good to make a reservation prior just in case!!!

Having the greatest time, made incredible by the «outta this world» Japanese food that takes me back to me days of living in Japan. Such a great place for a date, dark and sexy, lotsa Japanese beers on tap. … You won’t be disappointed !!

In need of a light pre-​movie/​theatre/​comedy dinner? Then Kura is your jam. It’s bang-​smack in the middle of Auckland’s Theatre district on Queen Street (near The Classic, Basement, Q Theatre, Aotea, Town Hall etc), the food comes out quick smart and it has a fun atmosphere to boot.
If you’re going with a group, definitely book one of the large sunken tables but beware you have to take off your shoes so strappy stilettos are a no go.
As far as food goes the sashimi is a must and the sushi rolls (spicy tuna and spider roll are my favourites) taste as good as they look. Keep in mind that most of the dishes are quite small and prices quickly add up so not the best for a group of hungry lads.

i wish I could do this review as a haiku,
the food is beautiful ‚
the scenery and service too,
I invite you to join them as they do,
make delicious authentic Japanese food for you

Came here last night for dinner with the girls– was a recommendation and was very impressed and happy with the choice.
Nearly missed the sly door entrance and stairs down to the restaurant. Had a great drinks menu to peruse.
They take reservations which is awesome and we were lucky to get the large table in the corner where you take shoes off.
We ordered plates among our group of six that included the soy beans to start and interesting Takowasabi. The teriyaki chicken was a great classic choice and I can see why their famous for their rainbow roll– it was beautiful as well as delicious. The spider roll was another favourite with the soft shelled crab legs sticking in the air. We were sashimi-​loading with both the small selection plate and the seafood salad. The sauteed scallops and prawns were great.
Unfortunately wasn’t able to try their delectable dessert menu– but that’s definitely for next time.
Great Japanese dinner!

In mico soup 3 peaces of tofu, and no mushrooms (it is usually with it), the roll crumbled when I took it.

We dined here one Saturday night to celebrate a birthday. The restaurant is located underground with dungeon-​like stone walls and large solid wood tables which is populated by a largely designer denim-​clad clientele. It was fairly typical for a Saturday night, busy, noisy and quite festive. As there was 10 in our party, we were allocated one of the large sunken tables reserved for large parties.
Three of our party formed a ‘cluster’ and shared the Assorted Fresh Sashimi & Nigiri platter for the entrée. The platter itself was okay although wouldn’t have passed for standout quality. The mains were another matter. All but two of us ordered Donburi which is a bowl of rice with a topping (such as Teriyaki Chicken) which was also accompanied by a miso soup. It was fairly unanimous amongst the table that there was nothing special about these dishes. Then again, these mains were modestly priced at about $ 19 so wouldn’t expect to fit with a fine-​dining.
I took someone else’s recommendation and ordered pork belly from the Small Side Dishes menu together with a bowl of rice as did one of our other party. This was in fact delicious… yes fatty… but the sauce was delectable and the meat soft and tender. Only downside was that the all mains got delivered at the same time except for the pork belly mains which didn’t turn up. It turns out they had been incorrectly delivered to the wrong table. To the restaurants credit, we were given these two dishes free of charge which I think is a measure of really good customer service.
In terms of the service, it was fairly so-​so. My partner was the designated waitress-​retriever who was tasked with clambering up from our sunken table to hunt out a waitress when we needed one. If past reviews were anything to go by, I suspect that they may have been one wait person short this night. However when we did manage to get the attention of a waitress they were always very courteous.

I’m actually always a bit surprised that people rave on about Tanuki’s and seem to not know about this place as I’ve always preferred Kura — I think there’s something about the lay out here that seems a little more relaxed than its sister restaurant. Perhaps it’s because Kura is more a restaurant than being a sake and yakitori bar?
If you’re up for splashing out a bit, the sashimi is really very good here — everything is, of course, very very fresh, and prepared very well.
This is a good place for a medium size group, as they have a couple of big tables sunk into the floor which makes for a fun time as everyone has to clamber over each other.
Last year we bought some visitors from San Francisco here who were big fans of Japanese food and they were very pleased with their meal there — although of course I think this was probably influenced by our sampling of some of the many types of sake they have here too!

I’ve got a lot of love for Kura. The fresh ingredients, the lip-​smacking dishes, the gorgeous people that always seem to be milling around this place; it’s simply just great.
I’ve only been there once but I have some pretty vivid memories of the things I ate there, probably because they were all so good! My starters were the crispy spring rolls with cheese and shrimp, along with the pretty simple broccoli with sesame mayo. My main was the most decadently delicious sushi I’ve ever had in my life — the spider sushi, which is deep fried soft shell crab rolled up and served immaculately. This isn’t your average sushi lunch stop — you can expect to pay $ 15 or more for a main — but when you’re offered up something like I wolfed down in seconds, you know you’re getting value for money.

Kura sits down a steep flight of stairs, off Queen Street. If you don’t notice the door, it’ll be a little tricky to find. Owned by the same people who run Tanuki’s and Tanuki’s Cave, Kura is another Japanese restaurant in that uptown spot.
Unlike Tanuki’s Cave, Kura is a lot less rowdy, and more of a traditional Japanese restaurant in terms of the menu. They produce all the standard offerings — tempura, sushi, sashimi, etc — but I would say my favourites are the seafood salad (sashimi, grilled prawn, calamari, on a bed of mesclun), the kakuni pork (slow cooked in a clay pot — incredibly tasty, but pretty fatty), and the softshell crab.
There are a couple of big tables which are great for groups, they’re sort of inset into the floor and have bench seating. Probably my favourite place to sit in the whole place. Be sure to book one for your next gathering.

If you are after good, fresh Japanese cuisine in Auckland then you can’t go far wrong with Kura.
Part of the trio that is Tanuki’s and Tanuki’s Cave, it couldn’t be further removed in terms of atmosphere from the other two. It feels like the upmarket version, and yes the pricing on the menu reflects this. There is a wonderfully relaxed ambience and it’s a sophisticated space for a date or an intimate meal.
The seafood is always fresh and melt-​in-​your-​mouth delicious. Apparently Kura is the only restaurant in Auckland where you can sample Okinawan-​style food. Regardless, it’s delectable Japanese and you won’t be disappointed.

I love Japanese cuisine. Love it. This place doesn’t disappoint. It is a highly popular japanese restaurant. It is a great place for dates, groups and drop ins, though it does et busy. The service is spot on and the food delicious. Known for their sushi, they use fresh seasonal produce ensuring a great meal — and they also do amazing food presentation. They are only open for lunch on Thursday and fridays so make those the days to stop in during the day — otherwise head there at night for a fun dining experience. So if you feel like a good vibe, some wasabi sorbet to accompany you Asahi head over to Kura sake bar. It is definitely worth a visit or two. Or three.

The number of under-​cover, über-​cool local celebs (no name dropping but one’s initials were KW) I’ve had sitting at the next wooden bench to me at this restaurant speaks volumes about this restaurant. The food, service, décor and atmosphere are all spot on for a great night out.
There are so many delicious delicacies on the menu for those with adventurous tastes, but I like the plain old chicken teriyaki donburi which is superbly cooked and at only $ 19 for a complete meal is quite frankly a bargain for one of the coolest restaurants in town.

Owned and run by the same people who run Tanuki’s, we discovered Kura when Tanuki’s was full, and man are we glad we did!
The décor is pure Japanese, and they even have a few sunken tables with bench seating around them, perfect for a group of mates.
The selection of Japanese tap beers and 24 different kinds of sake were fantastic enough, but add to that the standard of the food, and we were thoroughly impressed!
One very important point: I don’t care if you’re on a health kick or whatever, if you don’t try the slow braised pork belly, you are an idiot, and we can’t be friends anymore!