ADDRESS: 193 Symonds St, Eden Terrace, Auckland
CONTACT: 09 377 8537
WEBSITE: kazuya.co.nz
Check website for opening hours
SET MENU: $190pp seven courses, $160 five courses

SCORE: 18/20

Enter here – and undergo something of a transformative experience. Outside this unassuming address, there’s a touch of street grunge; inside is the safest haven imaginable. Chef-owner Kazuya Yamauchi is Japanese-born and trained, but says his culinary roots are inspired by our own multi-cultural society and the diversity of dining experiences here. Perhaps that explains his ‘Texture’ item on his tasting menu: 30 textured seasonal vegetables plus prosciutto. This is memorable stuff indeed, from both a visual and palate perspective. Every dish is clever and considered. Everything about this place is what you’d struggle to find elsewhere. It’s fine dining but not stuffy, it’s hushed and discreet but not to the point of alienation. And there’s nothing pompous about the achingly attentive service. This is, without a doubt, one spot where eponymous-ness is wholeheartedly deserved.

IN BRIEF: A feast of Japanese fine dining

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