Kinji Japanese Restaurant

Highly recommend and wonderful experience, food is delicious and so great and beautifully presented high quality ingredients and A++ service highly recommended the best Japanese restaurant in Christchurch. We can here tonight for mums birthday. Thank you.

A colleague highly recommended this place to me. The food was so outstanding,especially the Sashimi, must try. And the staff are friendly. We felt cold inside,that’s only the reason we didn’t enjoy. But we will definitely go again.

Tasty comfy in big portion fresh sashimi. Also surprised with their sizzling lamb. It was perfectly cook soooo juicy and tanky and don't forget to order their desert!

Super fresh seafood- staff called the day before to check in with me on my budget for the fresh market seafood platter. High cost but totally worth it. Always a pleasant meal with my family

Had a belated birthday celebration by having the 8-course omakase here. We were fortunate that Chef Kinji was back for the month of May and got to enjoy his well-balanced dishes using fresh ingredients. The first dish with fried salmon was the star for me - crispy on the outside, tender and juicy meat inside. There was such a variety of sashimis (various types of fish) and other cooked proteins (beef, lamb, prawns and unagi). For the price of $100, this omakase is well worth its price with the range and heartiness of the food you get. We also ordered desserts (green tea tiramisu and crème brûlée) to end our dinner on a sweet note. Service was great and the atmosphere cosy. The restaurant was packed throughout the night with at least half the customers being Japanese (so you know it’s authentic) and everyone seems to know someone from another table, creating a friendly and homely vibe. It was such a memorable experience and the only bad thing was that they fed us tooo much - I haven’t eaten so much in ages! This is one of the best meals I’ve had in Christchurch. Highly recommend their omakase (go with an empty stomach) and have it while Chef Kinji is still in town!

Everything on this plate was so fresh and vibrant — from the sweet prawns to the buttery salmon and creamy oysters. The scallop was perfectly sliced and the plating was absolutely stunning, like a piece of art. You can really taste the quality of the seafood. Highly recommend if you love sashimi and want something that feels both luxurious and satisfying! 🍣🦪

We booked our wedding anniversary dinner, and it was a fantastic evening. Lovely food, nice people, and generally nice evening. They made the extra effort to decorate our dessert plate, but it actually said "Happy Birthday" :) As luck would have it, our wedding is actually the birthday of the dog who brought us together. It was not a wasted effort! One thing prevented me from giving them 5 stars... their eftpos machine presented me with tipping options! It was a very common thing in North America, which I actually found very handy. It was the first time I have ever seen it in NZ and, for some reason, it really irked me.

Food is fantastic, service is awesome, but the place feels shabby, crowded and noisy. Chairs and tables look like they were sourced at the dump. Prices are very high and portions are, well, smaller than expected - something the menu says should feed 2, 3 or 4 people I could easily devour alone and then ask for more. Still, probably the best Japanese restaurant in Chch.

Service was stellar at this establishment. Everyone was very friendly and helpful and made our visit very enjoyable. Based on atmosphere and service I'd give this place 5 stars. Based on food I'd say 3-4 stars. We ordered a salmon avocado roll which was delicious and I recommend ordering. I also ordered udon which was good but I don't fancy shiitake mushrooms which made the broth less desirable. The noodles are thinner than normal and the portion is pretty small so I'd recommend complimenting it with a roll. The fried tuna roll was my least favorite order because it was hard to chew and mostly rice. My favorite was the kfc chicken. It was hot, moist, and crispy and all it needed was a little salt. Overall, I thought this place was satisfying and enjoyed my experience here. If you're looking for excellent service, decent sushi, and decent prices I'd have a seat.

Visited Kinji with my partner and absolutely loved it. For a little restaurant it was really busy. The service was spot on and checked on us often. And the food, delicious I. We ordered the 10 piece nigiri set, deep fried soft shelled crab, octopus and venison tataki. We were satisfied with every dish. Highly recommend to anyone looking for top grade Japanese food in Christchurch.

Best sushi I had a New Zealand. Very fresh and good quality product. Unfortunately we didn't have a reservation but manage to have take away. It was great! Highly recommend if you are in town and would like to try best sushi New Zealand has to offer. The Tuna sashimi just melt in your mouth!

Not sure if people in New Zealand are able to fully enjoy sushi at it's best due to lack of locations but this place was just ok. The sashimi is actually great but the rolls are awfully made. There is a lot of rice and very little fish in the rolls. They did not offer much variety in rolls and when we asked for a spicy tuna roll, which is fairly common, we had to tell them what was in it. If you are really in the mood for sushi, I would stick with mostly sashimi in this place, but if you're leaving in a few days for a trip to Australia, just wait out the cravings.

I came here with three friends on a recent saturday night. They get very busy so I recommend booking well in advance. Decor is nice and understated, didn't stand out particularly. What you are here for is the food which is amazing. We ordered a lot of food with the plan to place it in the middle and share it, allowing us to sample a good range. Our waitress seemed a bit shocked by how much we ordered and actually advised us to order less but we plowed ahead (in retrospect she was probably right..) Food comes out fresh as it is prepared and as such is always hot and perfectly cooked. It was all timed perfectly so that as one plate was finished, the next one was coming out. We started with edamame which is a classic we all enjoy. Highly recommend the deep fried takoyaki (octopus ball) which was incredible. I'd never had them before and we ordered it on the recommendation of my asian companions but would definitely get it again. The spider rolls (soft shell crab sushi) were another standout. Amazing taste and presentation. For mains the particular highlights were the K.F.C (we ordered a second plate of this), and the specials menu and sizzling dishes are well worth a look. The only dish we didn't enjoy was the eggplant gratin. We finished this meal extremely full and contented. Didn't look at the desert menu. Service is good and attentive but our waitress did forget to bring us any water during our meal. It can be expensive if you order a lot of dishes but well worth it for a special night out. I think we spent about $80 each, without alcoholic drinks included. Bottom line: for interesting, unique, and delicious Japanese food in Christchurch this is the place to come.