NISHIKI FREEMANS BAY

The mini iPads are totally horrible for ordering the food. Have been there with my parents and they couldn’t read anything from the menu, and that actually kind of embarrassing for them, that we had to read the menu for them.

We went to this restaurant on the recommendation of my partner’s sibling. It was quite busy, and although we didn’t have a reservation, we managed to get a table. We ordered takoyaki, okonomiyaki, grilled rice balls, yakitori, sashimi, and salad. Ordering was easy as it was done through a touchscreen system. The food took a while to arrive, but I thought the taste was good. I hadn’t had Pacific saury (sanma) in a long time, so I ordered it and was happy to enjoy it again. However, there were too many scales left on the fish. I didn’t eat the skin, but the scales stuck to my throat, which was a bit of a struggle on the way home. Despite this, I’d like to visit again as they offer a wide variety of Japanese dishes.

Been our family go to for years - but you have to know what to order! Highly recommend the Salmon or Tuna Namaharu (rice paper roll) - it’s a must try. Beef Tataki, Chikuwa Mayo, and Salmon Ikura Don are some of our favorites. It’s BYO as well.

Amazing restaurant! Food was outstanding! Very fast and great value for money! BYO wine service is a major plus as well! Highly recommend! One of my favourite places in Auckland to have dinner!

Price and portion are both reasonable, and the food was excellent. Food was served a little slow but that makes sense considering how busy they were. Recommended!!

I went to Nishiki for my birthday dinner on Saturday night. Booked a table for 8 at 8pm because 7pm was too busy (made booking day before). One bill per table which we knew in advance as were told when we booked. Arrived and were seated. The atmosphere was so overstimulating and loud. It was only half full but people were yelling and screaming, clearly drunk, and accidentally smashing glasses on the table next to us. We could barely hear each other making dinner conversation really awkward and difficult. Even yelling at each other it was difficult to hear. When outside tables cleared up we asked to be moved because the noise was horrific indoors and were declined by staff because they’d already put the chairs up (would have taken a few minutes to take them down again). Very disappointing and honestly just lazy? We’re paying hundreds of dollars in food and alcohol over a couple of hours. It wouldn’t have been hard to accomodate this basic request. The food was really good and it always is - but everything else was actually pretty awful and kind of ruined my birthday. I come to Nishiki several times a year usually bringing a group along but I don’t think I’ll be back for a while. Probably a great spot if you’re just looking for somewhere to get drunk on BYOW and yell at your friends across a table.

7th November, 2019: The family had a birthday dinner here, To celebrate the wife’s birthday. We had to really booked a place in advance because this is a very popular Japanese restaurant in Auckland, New Zealand. Food serve in reasonable time frame and they are yummy too! Ample of seating available plus dine tables outside the restaurant. Parking is available but you better park off the nearby street. The chefs are Japanese and the service are very professional too! We highly recommend this restaurant to all visitors to Auckland, New Zealand.

Absolutely awesome robata-yaki bar in the heart of Freemans Bay with some of the best Japanese food in Auckland. It’s best to share and choose a number of dishes. Ordering is by iPad and the dishes are normally delivered pretty quickly except when things get really busy. It’s best to book by phone in advance. And ask to be seated at the bar counter so that you can watch the food being prepared.

When we came in here it may have just been a Tuesday night but still it was busy. Seems like it may be best to book as we were asked if we had a booking , and who knows we could have been turned away. But no, there was a table for us. As I have found always with the Japanese restaurants , except one i have been to,there service is top notch from entering to leaving. You are greeted , attended to well and bid farewell at the end!!! The exact same applied to this restaurant. We did have a little difficulty choosing as we were tempted by a lot of menu , but alas there is only so much one can eat in one sitting. We eventually settled on the Chicken sauce katsu , Imo Mochi which is potatoe cake with sweet sauce and butter, Dragon roll or eel tempura roll, Kumara chips , and Sukiyaki Hot Pot . We did have a desert to finsh of Yuzu Misato. The Chicken Sauce Katsu for me was not the best I have had , it could do with a bit of improvement. The Imo Mochi was perfect, as were the Kumara chips. The Dragon roll was very tasty, helped by the fact that I am a big fan of eel dishes anyway. The Sukiyaki Hotpot was average and nothing to rave about but tasty all the same. The Yuzu Misato we had to finish was delicious and will have to have again one day. To sum it all up. The service as I stated before is as I have found in all Japanese restaurants bar one top notch. But I nearly forgot to mention that the waitress did bring us the wrong dish at first that was meant for another table. This was only there for a second and an apology was extended. Not a black mark for them because of that as they rectified it very quickly and apologised. The food was for the better part good and delicious and finally the bill did not break the bank hardly. Well deserving of a return visit to try some other dishes.

This place has 2 meetings ON Saturday night, 6pm or 8pm. We went for the earlier option when they opened for a group of 6. Definitely the place to come to eat and drink on the cheap before hitting the Ponsonby bars. Food was great and came out steadily throughout the night. Basic service, help yourself to water. Cheap, delicious, easy, be sure to book!

Nishiki will always have a special place in my heart as it was a 2nd date 15yrs ago with my husband and we've been loving it here ever since. It's got bigger through the years and though the decor is rather basic your not gonna be dissatisfied by the authentic Japanese flavours. Always busy I definitely recommend booking, you will often be asked at booking if you can vacate your table at a certain time as it gets crazy on the weekends. Really well priced and the staff are so friendly. Our youngest (4) dropped her drink all over the floor. It was graciously cleaned away and then a replacement was delivered with a smile. Very Kind I could eat here a few times a week and never get bored. Recommended dishes - sukiyaki, all sushi and sashimi, chicken stuffed mushroom. Teriyaki beef skewers. Grilled tube fish cake with Mayo, Gyoza. Enjoy!!

Amazing experience with fast service and delicious food. The sukiyaki was fabulous and the gyoza nabe was excellent with a side of udon noodles. I would highly recommend Nishiki. It was very busy for a Wednesday night, but that always votes well for a restaurant when locals can't get enough.

Excellent Japanese restaurant serving up fresh and tasty food. Usually very busy so bookings are advisable. The menu is extensive and food comes out quickly.

Ordered 2 dishes tonight，waited for 40 min the second one was still missing while the grouped customers sitting around me were quickly getting served, none of them came to me to ask. Then i asked them have they start to make it or not, they told me that they need 10 more mins and can't change to others. Clearly they weren't doing that earlyer cause i was sitting at the bar which near the kitchen, i saw that they were having conversation about missing my dish after i reminding them. I really don't like that restaurants take no care to single eaters, although the dishes tastes really good and price is quite reasonable, but this is not how single customers should be treated, and the good taste was just ruined by the experience

Despite being our usual go-to BYO spot, we decided to go with a group of us for a Sunday night catch up minus the wine. I usually associate BYOs with sub-standard food however Nishiki is an exception. I was surprised to see the place packed to the brim on a Sunday night - a testament to their popularity. With an extremely large and colourful menu decisions are tricky here, but there is nearly every kind of small dish you could want and if your sharing between a few or a lot of you it works very well. My friend and I shared a few dishes - Beef Tataki, Kumara Chips, Stir-Fried Vegetables, Yaki Soba, and Karaage Chicken - far too much food but having to pay only $25 at the end I was reminded how cheap this spot is! Everyone at the table enjoyed their food and I don't think I heard a single complaint. The food does come out rather randomly (Kumara Chips at the end of the meal were not ideal) and getting your order across correctly is a little difficult with the language barrier - especially if you're changing things around as we always seem to do..

Nishiki is like a traditional Japanese bar &restaurantIt that you could hang out with friends to have a special experience. It may not be a right place for family.

I've been coming to Nishiki for years now. It's BYO so a great starting point for a Friday or Saturday night out, not to mention the food is actually pretty good. It can get pretty noisy and rowdy on the weekend so maybe not the best place for a romantic date, but it can be quieter during the week and I've often come in for a quick dinner for two, sitting at the bar in front of the kitchen - it's quite fun watching them work. The food selection is HUGE and great for ordering as a group as you can sample a whole range of things. Must-try is the eggplant grilled with miso and cheese, soooo creamy and delicious.

Perhaps just caught Nishiki on the wrong night, or perhaps my views in regard to what makes a place worth four or even five stars are different. But when I went to Nishiki, I really felt like it was okay but not the most amazing of all time. I will give total credit where credit's due. The chippies with maple syrup were super super nice and weird also which was good. But overall I just wasn't that pumped on the place. Maybe it was because of the riotous atmosphere. I guess that can be good at times, but when I went there I kind of felt like it was a little bit too much.

I really think that Nishiki is one of the best Japanese spots in Auckland. It doesn't have the best interior, so if your looking for quaint or cute then you're best to go elsewhere. It's BYO and reasonably cheap but that doesn't mean the food suffers. Everything is really good quality and generously portioned. The menu is really extensive and wine list decent - they even serve my favorite sparkling sake (Takara -Mio). Amazing tataki, sushi and sashimi. Amazing Ka-raage and amazing cheesy eggplant! The service is great, food comes out quick and they are super casual if you want to get rowdy.

I have a theory that no matter what, or how much you order at Nishiki the bill is magically always $30 per head. Nishiki is delicious. The menu is HUGE, loaded with small Japanese plates perfect for table sharing. The corn is good and the eggplant is amazing (although not a health choice). I would recommend anything on a skewer, or smeared with their delicious mayo. It's a popular place for birthdays as they easily cater for large groups. There is no extra charge for bringing your own birthday cake and you can guarantee the whole restaurant joins in for 'Happy Birthday' = maximum embarrassment. BYOW means it can get a little rowdy, and there is a fun atmosphere on Friday and Saturday nights.

Nishiki is a super popular Japanese joint in Freeman's Bay. It's BYO, and it pays to book because that place gets super busy, especially on a Friday or Saturday night. Groups pack themselves in at the tables and get rowdy. They do dishes to share at Nishiki - agedashi tofu, sushi, sashimi, skewers, salads, tempura, specials, some kind of eggplant with miso and cheese that Maddy loves. The menu is pretty extensive. It's not my favourite in terms of the food, but it's still a good time. The atmosphere is pretty good in there - kind of loud, if you like that, the decor could do with a bit of an update though. Parking is generally pretty good. Prices are relatively inexpensive, although a lot of drinks and dishes in and it adds up.

Poor service, with poor payment methods. Would not except payment by eftpos or credit, and forced payment my table, rather then individual. Do not recommend.

Just OK. The night i went it was super busy and we didn't book so maybe it was our fault. We ended up being seated outside which was fine, it was winter so they said they would put the heater on - but didnt. We kinda got forgotten about and another table was even seated next to us later and got heater switched on and drinks asked for and served before we even ordered our drinks! The menu was good, very varied. all looking authentic. Went for one of the hotpots. was good. Only problem was this place was too busy for its own good! Even paying was an ordeal standing around in the middle of all the waiters and others trying to pay.

God that restaurant is good... First all people working there are Japanese so they know what they do, the food is hyper fresh and made on orders. And the service is also pretty efficient. Long menu. Sometimes it gets very busy and difficult to get a table. So don't forget to book. My favorite Japanese by far, and very good price wise. Excellent for a before party

My main problem with Nishiki is that everything on the extensive menu looks and sounds so good, and is so very cheap, that I order way more than I would at any other restaurant and then feel obliged to try and eat it all. Over-eating aside, the food is delicious and cheap, the location is great, and while not the prettiest place in the world, the relaxed atmosphere makes you feel OK to rock in after the beach or a casual day out, without having to spruce yourself up first. BYO is definitely a bonus but the drinks menu is quite reasonable too if you only want to have one or two. I also like to sit at the bar by the kitchen and watch the magic happen.

An unglamorous spot a few minutes down from Ponsonby Road in Freemans Bay, Nishiki is all about cheap and cheerful Japanese food! It's one of those places where I go with the same people everytime - it's 'our' thing, and we invariably enjoy ourselves. We basically order every kind of meat on skewers they do, and it always comes out tasty as and in ridiculously massive numbers! Epic. BYO is a welcome bonus so as the other reviewers have said, it's a logical starting point for a night out in Ponsonby.

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE Japanese restaurant in New Zealand. If you want to experience incredibility rude service, go to these guys. The manager is so rude it's a joke! This is the worst Japanese place in the entire New Zealand! Kitchen is a mess too! Have no faith in where they got the "a" from!

Incredible food! The miso tofu is insane and so is the beef carppacio! They are must must haves. The tempura prawns are incredible too :) all of the dishes are so fresh and it's BYO!

Always busy nd always up to the mark for good value japanese in a fun venue. Worth a visit