Very friendly service and got a very warm welcome from the staff. The beef is not that impressive. But, the sushi and sashimi platter come in a reasonable portion for 4 people. Not too much and not too less.
We got takeaways to have at home (ordered on Zomato) and it totally satisfied my sashimi cravings. The sashimi was delicious and fresh, as was the nigiri sushi. Also enjoyed the beef dishes and karage chicken. Yum! Definitely keen to order again. They also left a nice thank you note in the takeaway bag :)
Was craving sushi the other night so I walked in Mad Samurai for nigiri takeaway. Fast service and great quality of sushi 🍣🥰 there were 3x tuna, 3x salmon and 3x prawn nigiri. All were fresh and tasty. I was enjoying it at home with a cup of hot tea as well. Will definitely come back for more food
It was a nice place for dinner time with friends. The staffs were very friendly and helpful
Amazing salmon with miso plum sauce. The yummiest I've ever had! A very balanced meal with sweet savoury miso plum celebrating the salmon. The potato mash was a nice surprise.
With coupons, I had dinner with friends at this highly-rated Japanese eatery. I thought we might have 4 individual courses of dishes, but it happened to be 2 sharing plates. That was indeed very disappointing. Wagyu Sasha was the only item which deserves a thumb up.
(Food - 3/5; Service - 4/5; Ambience 4/5)
Visited on 14 December 2019
We came here for a work lunch, I ordered the vegetarian set.
The food was great, I especially liked the variety of vegetables for the tempura!
The sushi didn’t have seaweed but had a rice paper wrap - I really enjoyed both.
The miso spout didn’t have any taste and I would have been disappointed if I had ordered it seperate (in this case it came with my meal).
Everyone else in my group also really enjoyed their meals :)
I was a bit disappointed as my meal came out 10mins after everyone else’s but they were very busy so this may been why.
Also the sound of roadworks was very loud in the alley where we were sitting, obviously Mad Samurai can’t control this but if you do notice roadworks going on, ask for a table inside to avoid the noise during your meal :)
I've been here 4 times and I feel this place just has good vibes. The food is good, you'll find a few dishes you would be very familiar with, if you have been to other Japanese restaurants, and some others that might be a bit of a hit and miss. But that is OK, as you can try it once, and then move on to something else more suited to your taste buds!
They have both indoor and outdoor seating. The staff are great. There are dishes for a shared experience, or you can get something just for yourself.
In my humble opinion, try it once, with a 3-4 friends, order as much as you can from the menu to share and have a few drinks to go with it.
Overall, been happy with my experience here.
Great service, server came to the table and pours the green tea for you and tops it up as your stay continues. A must try this hidden gem in the snickle lane
Came for a late dinner weeknight, it wasn’t particularly busy and think they’re winding down for the night. It still had a friendly & cozy vibe. The ocean bowl was a mixture of various sashimi and salad pieces on rice. Some of the sashimi pieces were bit scrappy, but it did still taste good overall. The only real disappointment was that they ran out of the apple pie 🥧.
Alongside with super tasty sashimi, we definetely like super friendly staff in there 😍
So glad that my friend & I found this place that offers Japanese food with a twist. Its nice to be here that has casual laid back atmosphere after office work. We ordered Wagyu Beef Steak Strips, Mad Samurai Roll (wagyu beef, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise) & Karaage Chicken with vg chips. So tasty and in a good portion. The manager and the kitchen team were all very friendly and welcoming. I'll definitely be back here.
The staff are very friendly and the food is delicious. Really nice place and I will definitely come back!
Been here a few times and to be honest the food is low-key average for the full price. If you've got zomato gold it's very well worth it but the portion sizes are not exactly filling (and I don't eat much!) However the staff were all super friendly and polite and the food was fresh and quickly prepared. Which makes up somewhat for it's other short comings
Curry Wagyu Rice is flavourful & delightful. Customer service is great & hospitable. Made a great dining experience. Will be back for more great meals.
Raw fish on Sushi is really fresh and tasty. Sushi rice is also well made. It is the best sushi I have ever eaten in Auckland
Salad with the sushi is a nice combination also
The MAIN potion is small. Hoever, the fish is juciy, sweet ,and I can taste the freshness which is not premade by chefs. A little difficult to order meals with non- photo menu. If there is a lunch box menu,it will be very helful. A little shortage with staff.
The service was great. sashimi platter looks awesome. But sashimi can be fresher.
This restaurant is close to work, in the past few months I’ve visited a dozen times. There food is amazing and the vegetarian set is great. Love the staff they are all very friendly and they always manage to keep a smile on their faces despite it being super busy.
Came here last week on a date. The decor gives a nice ambience and it's situated in a nice location. Got the salmon avo sushi, wagyu beef dumplings, udon noodles, and some warm sake. The sushi was amazing, some of the best I've had. The noodles were great too. However, the dumplings were average, which was annoying cause they sounded great. The dough was chewy. The sake was ok, but I think that's more down to me not being used to it. Overall it was a great night and the staff were lovely. Highly recommend
Delicious food - we love their salmon, vege platter, wagyu beef patty and karaage chicken. Very friendly service and consistently scrumptious food.
one of my favourite Japanese restaurants. They are so nice and friendly and patient about any questions. The service is like aaamazing
But food is the most important part to rate a restaurant, so here we go
Pretty much tried every main dish, haven't had anything I don't like yet. hamburger steak is my personal favourite, juicy but not too oily. Perfect when u r craving for meat 🥩 pork and chicken katsu is also nice and they give u a lot 😂 and they are quite tender. Sea food is fresh and I'm not seafood professional so that's all I can say, the flavour of the oeacn bowl is great, not fishy at all lol. The 🍣 rice are warm so I guess that's pretty nice? caus I heard the best sushi rice is body temperature.
Anyway highly recommend, brought many of my friends there and they love it!
P. S the new guy is cute lol check it out
Food was really yummy highly recommended. The staff was attentive the ambient was nice and prices are average. With zomato gold they become really affordable.
Cosy environment with a bar, the food was made very well with decent portions. I rate this high knowing that it's a high end restaurant, and therefore the price is relatively high, a minced up chunk of wagyu beef and some salad cost $29
Chicken Katsu is delicious. The sashimi platter is so beautifully presented - salmon and sushi are stand out elements. The only letdown was the tuna which didn’t taste fresh. The customer service here is outstanding, very friendly wait staff!
Come for the Sashimi & Sushi platter! Just looks amazing and priced fairly for what you get.
The Wagyu Fillet limited menu was slightly disappointing because the beef was slightly tough and you had to chew on it a bit.
The Vege Shojin Platter was just missing some flavour. The tofu, vege sushi and vege tempura themselves were bland - possibly a stronger tempura dipping sauce would help this dish a lot.
Kaarage chicken and beef spinach avocado salad were enjoyable and good starters to the meal.
Very friendly waitress, dishes came out quick. Around 40pp. Note for Zomato gold users, ZG does not apply to Sushi platter or Meat platter, so your 2nd dish will be at the top and 3rd dish taken off.
Really enjoyed the foods. Kindly staffs with free wifi. Foods are affordable and most of menus were able to redeemed as a complimentary dish.
I had to give it 5 stars because it’s soooooo good!!! Came in at the last hour before they closed, the girl at the counter was so friendly and helpful. She reminded me to unlock my Zomato Gold first as we might forget and they were closing soon.
We have four dishes, the beef is so juicy and tender. Fried Chicken is delicious with the sauce. The sukiyaki hot pot is very authentic just like I had in Japan. And the red sauce comes with the pork chop was delicious too!
Definitely come back again to try more dishes! The guy who worked at the kitchen is cute!
First time visit for dinner, Amazing food, great service, Absolutely LOVED the Wagyu curry in particular was delicious. I will definitely be back, thanks in large part to the amazing service provided by Heloisa team's Really appreciate it ❤️
Food here is so so so delicious! We loved it. Staff here are very enthusiastic and friendly. Very cute place and atmosphere is great. Definitely come back more often
👺🍣Hidden away in Snickel Lane is Mad Samurai, a fantastic Japanese restaurant. This is probably one of the fastest serving restaurant we have ever been to in Auckland. We came here for lunch and was seated by the waitress. We ordered the Sushi Set and Karage Chicken Set from the lunch menu and it came out within 5mins. Both dishes were very well presented and tasted delicious. They were quite generous with the big slice of fish on the sushi only down side was the freshness of the fish. It didn't really have that fresh sweetness to the fish. Though, the Karage Chicken was amazing with 2 different types of dipping mayo sauce.
Very good food and lovely servers! Portion is a little small, but the presentation was on point. The taste was excellent. Will be coming back for sure.
Never think a plate of salad can make lunch so full. Ordered salad with roasted beef and beef lunch set. The beef tasted so tender. Would love to try something different next time.
Great service, waitstaff were extremely friendly and attentive. The food was presented beautifully and my friends and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Would happily recommend!
Ate here twice this week! The wagyu beef with salad and rice is divine. All the elements work to make it a delicious dish- definitely a must try!
Also had the salmon, pork dumplings and Karaage chicken which was very yummy.
Loved the big portions and having Zomato gold was a good bonus!
Our waitress was superb! She was very friendly and made it a great dining experience for us both times.
I would surely recommend Mad Samuari in Snickel Lane. It’s surely a hidden gem in Auckland CBD.
Fantastic place downtown for Japanese food. The service is amazing, the food is even better, and it's excellent value for money. Their premium green tea is delicious. Definitely check out their new special sake tasting menu!
Went here with a friend for dinner and ordered a vegetarian shojin platter and chicken katsu, both were generous portion sizes, were presented well and were tasty. Staff were attentive and friendly. Would recommend and come back.
Chicken curry was good and the sushi here was delicious!! Ordered prawn avocado rolls and Mad Samurui rolls, both were yummy. And warm sake just made the night lovely:)
*Zomato gold*
Ordered the Wagyu curry lunch set ($27) and a traditional sashimi ($25) to share.
Wagyu hamburg was perfectly cooked with it still being pink in the middle. Hamburg was a bit more chewier than I would have thought for minced Wagyu.
Curry was mild in flavour and was not overly salty which was nice.
Would definitely come back and try other dishes.
Definitely worth the price with zomato gold!
Great food, great service and great price with Zomato gold...I liked it and we will go back again. Thanks to the team who serve us, it was lovely.
Came here for the first time with zomato gold, and was thoroughly impressed! We ordered the wagyu curry and the wagyu yakiniku set, and both beef dishes had tender melt-in-your mouth feeling. Will definitely be coming back :)
5/5 for service as the waiter was very lovely and food came out fast! Nice position and location where the restaurant is as tucked away. Would definitely be coming here again!!!! Would have got a 4.5 out of 5 if it was available!
Mad Samurai has amazing sushi! I really appreciate how fresh their fish was. 100% would recommend for a nice night out if you’re feeling Japanese.
Had an amazingg night here, this place is a hidden gem. The staff were so attentive and kind from the moment we stepped in.
We ordered Chicken Katsu, Sukiyaki, Traditional Sashimi, Seafood sushi, and Chicken Karaage.
Every dish was really satisfying. The sashimi is fresh and the portion sizes are quite good. The only downfall I’d say there was is that the sukiyaki broth was a bit sweet for my liking. The chicken katsu portions were especially really generous. I’ll be sure to be back to try their desserts next time.
They also do Zomato gold which is a plus. :)
Food - 9.5/1
Service - 10/10
Ambience - 9/10
Best Japanese food I have ever had. Great service and all of the staff are really lovely. The salmon and avocado roll is delicious and the chicken katsu is great value for money. Would highly recommend.
A discreet little restaurant hidden on Customs Street. Cozy and clean environment great for a causal lunch/dinner.
Nice and friendly waitress.
Food were beautifully arranged on the plates, very delightful to look at.
The sashimi was reasonably fresh. The wagyu tataki was nice and creamy, also well marinated. The chicken katsu was slightly dry and a bit over grilled on the outside, inside was reasonably tender. The wagyu stripes were a little disappointing, dry and difficult to chew.
Food: 7.5/10
Food presentation: 9.5/10
Service: 9/10
Location: 8/10
Ambience: 8.5/10
Price $40 per person excl alcohol
Best Japanese restaurant in Auckland. Very friendly staff and the food was delicious ( karaage Chicken and Nabeyaki Udon) 🍱🍣. I will go back many more times👏👏
Loved the sauces that came with my katsu chicken dish, absolutely delicious! This main came with miso, rice and salad, all very good. The reason I don’t rate it a 5 is because it’s a bit pricy compared to other places with similar dishes. This main is $29 at dinner time.
The staff was super friendly and accommodating and the location is very convenient.
Extremly warm service and quiet good dining environment. The food is delegate and delicious. We ordered two types of deep chicken and both of them taste great! Definitely will come here again :)
Lovely food, lovely atmosphere. Presentation could have been a bit better with the salmon avocado role though... The wait staff were really nice!
Absolutely love this spot! The food hasn’t let me down yet, and the service led by Miss Lima is phenomenal. It has a pretty good happy hour deal as well that I’m going to try next. I’ll keep coming back!
We went there for dinner with group of 3, environment and service were very nice, love the sushi&sushimi plate, the steak is really tasty but fried chicken is around average. A bit pricy even with zomato gold because sushi plate is not included in 1+1 food. Will visit again and try something else.
Came here on Zomato gold & it was so great - big portions, meat was so delicious and tucked away in snickel lane so cute! Def highly recommend! Such great service too!
Came in yesterday night with a friend after a history exam. Ordered the tofu salad with tuna and the tofu salad with salmon. Tuna was not that great but salmon was amazing. Personally liked the sesame dressing more than the other salad dressings. Service was so good. The woman serving us had such a great attitude and was super patient with us. Always smiling and being super polite. Loved the atmosphere and the food.
The tofu salad with salmon was great! Portion was good, and the sesame sauce was delicious, exceeded my expectation. The girl ordered our food served in a well manner. Definitely come back and recommend.
Food were well-prepared although took a bit of time. For the same taste, i would go for better priced places which works out to be as good pricing as 1for1 deal. Overall satisfactory and would come back using the deal.
We ordered the Salmon Sashimi (tasted fresh!), Wagyu tataki, Pork Katsu, Wagyu Curry (served with a side of salad) and Wagyu Hamburg Steak (comes out with mashed potato and salad).
Wagyu tataki was the best. The Pork Katsu was nice as well. The food was not salty which I enjoyed as I find that a lot of food served in restaurants tends to be a bit salty for my personal preference.
Great value especially with Zomato Gold. Happy hour drinks are great 6.50 for Asahi.
They have friendly and efficient service with smiles all around, this makes such a difference!
A cosy place with a funky and modern environment. Suitable for event as well I guess. The food is nice (as can been seen on photos). Sukiyaki is a little small though. But with Zomato gold, it’s a really nice choice for a relaxed Japanese dinner with good price
#zomato gold#
Got the Udon noodles which was nice for a simple lightish meal. A bit on the pricey side if not using Zomato Gold. Will be back to try other options.
Dora The Food Explorer
+4
Loved this place.Food and service were both great. We ordered small plates to share and was filling.
Agedashi Tofu
Eggplant and Courgette
Karage Chicken
Okonomiyaki
Pork Belly
I loved the flavours. Will definitely return.
Great food and super friendly staff!! We normally use discount vouchers like Zomato Gold and we always feel we're being frowned upon by the staff, but not in this restaurant!
Nice little place in a cosy alley. The portion of the food is quite big, especially the chicken katsu curry. The curry is full of flavor, but the chicken is a bit dry. Overall I enjoyed the time here with my friend.
Mad Samurai has amazing Japanese food. The location makes it tricky to be spot this jewel along the bunch but it's a beautiful culinary experience to be here. We went here for a group lunch, and had a table booked in advance because it can got quite busy during rush hours, but the restaurant staff are very polite and accommodating. I would highly recommend mad Samurai.
The waitress is amazing :) we felt very welcomed. Nice cosy place, ordered the wagyu hamburg steak and wagyu curry using our Gold. Both very delicious, can’t wait to return to taste other dishes they have to offer. Neat and cosy ambiance. Highly recommend!
The staff were friendly and extremely welcoming. We ordered the salmon w/ sweet miso sauce and the vegetarian shojin platter. The salmon tasted great and was cooked excellently. The vege platter was delicious as well and was a good size.
Got the wagyu aburi for starters because we've heard good things. Half came raw and the other, cooked. Raw wagyu was chewy and not as enjoyable as the cooked wagyu which was delicious. As for the mains, we got the wagyu hamberg and salmon. Thoroughly enjoyed the hamberg steak - patty was moist and juicy 💦 with a nice grilled texture outside. Salmon was cooked well but not amazing. Advisable to order more dishes because serving size will leave you still peckish after.
Used my first ever Zomato Gold here! The service was very friendly and welcoming. We had miso salmon and chicken teriyaki. Both served with mashed potato which rather unusual for a Japanese place but I really liked it. Food presentation and flavour was nice but portion size is small (maybe because we had Zomato gold??)
Sashimi must try!!!
Wagyu beef is legit!!!!
Staffs were polite and ambience was good
I don’t really like their sukiyaki as their soup broth is REALLY REALLY SWEET 😂
The food was mad good! And the service was stellar! :) They were so attentive and looked so happy to serve their customers. We ordered the Wagyu Beef Hamburg Steak & the Pork Katsu. Definitely coming back (next week?) lol
Staff were really friendly and the food was delicious! I had a very filling and tasty Salmon dish, not bad at all! Will definitely visit there again!
Very polite and attentive staff! The first time I used my Zomato Gold was at this restaurant. Ordered the Premium Wagyu Beef Hamburg Steak and the Salmon with sweet miso sauce. I absolutely loved the Wagyu steak, as it just melted in your mouth and the texture was soft. Although I rarely eat rare/medium rare meats, I can definitely say that the taste of the Wagyu Hamburg Steak had surprised me. My friend ordered the Salmon with sweet miso sauce, and it was cooked to perfection. The staff there are wonderful and the food is delicious.
Tried this place since they’re part of the Zomato Gold list. Surprisingly their food is good and the portions are really big! We ordered Wagyu Curries and Chicken Karaage and they tasted great. Would surely be coming back!
Use Code “NICH0726” For 20% Zomato Gold Discount
+4
Came here with some friends last night for dinner using the Zomato Gold 1+1 deal. It is tucked away in Snicklel Lane and has a cosy vibe. The staff and service was very friendly and attentive. We ordered the chicken and pork katsu dishes which served in generation portion with extra sauce. The Food tasted good and we had a great experience overall
5/5 Taste
4.5/5 Display
4/5 Quantity
5/5 Customer Services
My new Favourite Japanese Wagyu Restaurant in CBD.
If you like Japanese food or Wagyu, this is the place to go.
From Wagyu Tatakis, Wagyu nigiris to Wagyu hamburg steaks and meatballs. They have all the wagyu you would ever want. Top class quality, taste and even customer service was exceptionally good.
The meat platter I ordered was $80 and it came with Wagyu Tataki, Wagyu meatball, Roasted Wagyu, Chicken Katsu, Chicken Karaage, Chicken in miso sauce, salad and some deep fried veges.
This was probably the best dish I have ordered in 2019 I feel hungry even thinking about it now.
Ordered Wagyu Sukiyaki hotpot and Curry with Wagyu hamburg steak and they were really really good too. Portion was very generous also.
Selina EverHungry Nihalani
+4
Yummmmmy!!! Really delicious food.
Was expecting (and willing!) to pay more for food with such flavour, quality and presentation.
Nestled down in Snickle Lane are the very friendly folk from Mad Samurai. I was served by a very friendly lady who recommended these two dishes.
I will be back to try more from the menu.
I dined here with two friends on Friday. The Wagyu rump steaks were great. The staff went above and beyond in terms of customer service. Would highly recommend.
The chicken katsu was literally a mountain of food. Never thought I would get full from this type of place as I am of well loved size. Good value if you’re like me and dislike eating at expensive places but have to take people out for bdays to a nice place.
Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ambience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️
Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Usually I wouldn’t come to a place like this since the price is a bit high for a student like me however, with zomato gold it really did make the whole experience more enjoyable.
My experience here was really great. The waitress was super friendly and helpful and the food provided was amazing. We has ordered the salmon avocado sushi and the chicken curry. I cannot reason paying 20$ for 8 pieces of sushi (ily z.gold) but the chicken curry was great. I would’ve even paid for in full price because it was that good.
Definitely coming back here to try out the other dishes 🤤🤤
A very pleasant dinning experience here. It’s one the restaurant tuck in Snickel lane.
Great atmosphere, great service, and food are surprising good. Sashimi was fresh, we really like the soy yuzu sauce come with the sashimi don. ( we asked for the sauce to come separately so we have it to our liking), the wagyu Beef tataki was the highlight, a very petite dish but full of flavour!
Overall we enjoyed our meal very much and will definitely be back.
Eeeeeeat -> Use P6223 For Twenty% Off Gold Membership
+5
Its a pretty small restaurant hidden amongst a few others in Snickel Lane. It exceeded my expectations.
Seevice was excellent. We were greeted straight away & lead to our table. Really friendly from all the staff.
For an entree we tried the agedashi tofu. It was ok, it was a bit odd it didnt have the usual salty brown sauce, instead it came in a semi thick lemony sauce. The sukiyaki soup was tasty, but wished there would be more of the vermicelli noodle in it. The chicken katsu dish was massive. We did not expect it to be so big - it was like a platter!
Overall it was a great experience and we will be back to try more.
It was a nice filling experience:) brought my partner to have our weekend lunch and must say that our favourite is the chicken katsu.. it was big enough for two people to share. We liked the chicken more than the pork though. Amazing presentation.. especially the crab bao- which was the last that was served- which to my opinion is the most expensive dish at $13, but filling as well.
The service was good, fast and really nice people :)
We used zomato gold, ordered 2 mains plus 1 bao and 2 drinks (sake was at $14$), all for about $64. Plus we had some take home as we were just too full to finish it all.
Also, i like that they gave us extra sauce for the katsus that we ordered, eventhough i didnt get to use it, i still appreciate the thought.
Would have given a 4.4 stars for MAD SUMARAI 👍🏼👍🏼
Just went there with two of my friends for lunch. Absolutely LOVED the Wagyu steak, the steak sauce in particular was delicious. I will definitely be back, thanks in large part to the amazing service provided by Heliosa and Miki. Really appreciate it guys
Enjoyed the ambience of the location. It's in the city but a nice spot away from the hustle and bustle of it. Presentation was wonderful and food was good and filling. The highlight of my experience was the service though. Amazing, friendly service with a smile. Used our zomato gold membership here with ease. They were very helpful and patient. Would go back for the service alone :)
This place is tucked away on Snickel Lane which gets super busy during weekdays at lunchtime. Good value for money: the food is tasty and the portion sizes of the mains are good for two people; an even better deal for Zomato Gold members. They have a happy hour as well. Friendly service.
Great food and service. Came for lunch, I ordered the salmon salad (healthy day) and my friend had the Katsu Curry. I had major food envy. Mine was good, the sesame dressing was tasty 👌Got to taste a little of the katsu curry and I will be buying that next time! Thanks.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Food: We ordered the Wagyu Curry, Chicken Katsu Curry, Karaage Chicken and Chocolate Parfait.
My most liked dish was the Wagyu Curry. The steak was soft, greasy and cooked medium rare. Adding the curry to it made it even better. The curry in general, was really good, I really liked it. Portion wise, it was pretty big and filling. It also came with the typical salad on the side.
The chicken katsu to me, tasted just like all the other chicken katsus I've had at other Japanese restaurants (which is not bad, just don't expect anything different). It was evenly and thinly sliced, crispy and a little chewy.
Karaage chicken to me was okay. I've just been spoilt with better karaage chicken elsewhere (Kensan). It was crispy, deep fried and greasy chicken served with bean sprouts on top, with two sauces - peri peri Mayo and wasabi Mayo. The outside was a little bit burnt. I know this is how it is supposed to be but I love my karaage chicken crunchy and adding some lemon makes it nicer to me.
I didn't have much of the chocolate parfait as I wasn't interested. The portion was very small for the price of $12, it also said that it had a milk jelly on the menu but there was nothing like that in it. My friend who is a sweet fanatic was a bit disappointed, but I am not a sweet person so it wasnt so bad for me.
Water was served at room temperature. I would prefer if it was chilled, especially in warm/hot weather! It is free though so can't complain.
Aesthetics: The presentation of the food was beautiful and the overall aesthetic of the store makes good use of the small space, very cozy and pretty, but they did have a playlist of depressing song covers playing which was a little awkward. It gives off a classical/jazzy vibe. The place was clean. We had taken a table that was just eaten from and it was wiped down quickly.
Service: I feel like it took 5 minutes too long for our food to be served as it felt like we were sitting there for a good 15+ minutes, sipping on the water that it nearly finished first instead of the food. There was only 1 waiter when we went (Thursday 1250) and she had to serve a lot of customers so it took a while to get our order as well. However, she was attentive and nice which made me feel welcome.
I think the prices are a little too high for what we got, but with zomato gold, it made it better.
Sorry, no photos as I was too hungry and excited to eat!
Erin - Gold Code For 20% Off : CATH6386
+5
Friday night out - custom street was crowded as always and we found this hidden place full of restaurant, tried wagyu curry and pork katsu which are so nice and yummy.. i like it, will come back again for their other special menu
We like this name, the crazy knight😁~(Maybe not that right translation)
The food is amazing~Big portion, very yummy~
We ordered tofu salad with tuna and beef sukiyaki (maybe spell it wrongly, but beef soup will work).
The material is very fresh. The environment is also amazing, good to have business talk inside and enjoy the busy atmosphere outside.
They also have food 1+1, 28 for 2pp is great bargain~
Very friendly/helpful service! Great food too.. generous portions.
We ordered the Wagyu Curry, Wagyu Hamburg Steak, Chicken Katsu & Tuna Tataki. Very happy with all our choices. Tuna was fresh and the Chicken Katsu was fried really nicely - still juicy and tender inside.
Amazing food and very good customer service from Heloise. Had the wagyu beef hamburg, tuna tataki, curry and katsu chicken. Will definitely come back.
I was super enjoy dining here. We ordered 4 kinds of wagyu dishes. All different flavour and cooking methods but same delicious！ curry very tasty as well. Staff was really friendly and helpful！will back soon for another enjoyment
Excellent customer service everything wagyu!
We ordered Wagyu steak, Wagyu curry, Wagyu Tataki, Wagyu Nigiri. The wagyu Quality is better than most restaurants.
Professional chef, sprinkled sat on tuna tataki. Very experienced move to give the meat more flavour.
We thoroughly enjoyed it with our gold membership. Will definitely be back again.
Service: 5/5
Environment: 5/5
Presentation: 3.5/5
Food Quality: 5/5
Food Quantity: 5/5
Price per person: $35-$60
Nice little place with friendly staff. Ordered chicken katsu curry & wagyu hamburg. The curry was alright, huge portion with a side of fresh salad & pickles. The wagyu hamburg was YUM, just slightly seasoned so that the taste of the beef itself was not underwhelmed. It was soft & juicy too. Hamburg was served with a side of salad & fried vegs.
Had an absolutely wonderful time here. Warm, heartfelt service and excellent food. The tempura was great as was the sashimi. Will definitely be back.
初めてプラッターを食べました。
ミートプラッターと寿司プラッター！
ミートプラッターは和牛100パーセント使用しているらしく、本当においしかった💓
寿司プラッターは見た目も美しくて味も抜群でした😊🇯🇵ぜひおすすめのお店です！(*^ω^*)(*^ω^*)(*^ω^*)(*^ω^*)
Highly recommend this Japanese restaurant!!
Very close to Britomart station and Snickel lane is massive cool!!
Sushi is fresh and such a awesome beautiful presentation grilled Salmon with Miso sauce ever!!
We ate Karaage deep fried chicken, Pork dumpling these were fantastic much with ASAHI BEER!!
I’ll definitely come back!!
Cheers gave to us a wonderful experience!!
Best karagee chicken in town, sashimi also is super yummy and fresh! This place is very cute and peaceful for auckland cbd, they have great food for good price!
One of The best tempura udon i ever had.
This place is a hidden gem...with indoor and outdoor setting. This place is definitely worth looking for.
The staff is very friendly and attentive.
Great for small to large group of 10.
Reasonably price and really good food.
I definitely be coming here again.
Staff so friendly and smiling. They have a cool environment. The food is really good, especially Wagyu Tataki. I really recommend. I loved it
Mad Samurai specialise in offering dishes that use high-quality New Zealand wagyu beef. This means that some of their dishes are more expensive than those offered at similar Japanese restaurants in Auckland. If the prices make you feel a bit dubious, try Mad Samurai out at 50% off using First Table - their dishes are delicious and well worth the prices, especially their curry. Snickel Lane is also quite a hip location, with cool ambience.
Love the decor and ambience of this Little Japanese cafe tucked away in snickel lane. I got the karaage chicken off the lunch menu with a small plate of vege chips and food was well cooked and full of flavour. Staff are really nice however we did wait about half an hour from when we arrived to when we got our meal even though it wasn’t that busy ( little rushed if you are going out for lunch doing a work day). However overall had a really nice meal and good experience.
This place is a surprise. The food is good and ambiance is lovely. We ordered quite a few dishes and they were all very tasty even the tofu salad !!! Our favourite were the sushi. The ramen was my least favourite because it has beans in it and taste more Chinese than Japanese.
Such a cute hidden away restaraunt in Snickel Lane! Service was very fast and efficient, food is decently priced and presented beautifully. We got karaage chicken to start, then the tempura udon and tried out some sushi as well. Everything was super tasty and authentic, will definitley be coming back to try out more of the menu!
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This place is a little hidden gem in town in a newish area off imperial Lane. We were the only other table dining inside on a Friday evening so it definitely deserves a bit more attention than it had.
We ordered a hot sake and edameme to start. This is the first Japanese place I went to that offered edameme pan fried as an alternative to steamed and they were delicious, oily and well salted with bits of browned peanuts. The chefs assortment of sashimi tastes fresh and came with lots of garnish. Best part was the *fresh* wasabi that came with it, as opposed to wasabi paste.
I had the honey salmon as a main. The salmon fillet itself was well cooked, tender and soft. The honey sauce was nice but better balanced when I added some soy sauce to balance the intense sweetness of it. The lemon pieces were slightly cooked and its tartness went perfectly with the honey salmon - I recommend trying a small piece of lemon in the same mouthful as a piece of the salmon! Not too sure about the potato mash and green mash though, they definitely tasted pre cooked as they were lukewarm while the salmon was hot. The green one looked like pesto bit tasted a bit vague and more on the sweet side.
Service was lovely and super efficient!
my favourite haunt for a quick work lunch. always great service and the food is top notch. I highly recommend this place. vegetarian springs rolls are my favourite.
Great lunch, I enjoyed the wagyu, liked the fact it came with a Salad and miso soup. I also had chicken Katsu the night before, was the best chicken I ever ate.
Really tasty food using fresh quality ingredients. I had the vegetarian dumplings and salmon main. The portion size of the salmon was huge however I thought the other dishes were a little small for the price. The staff were really friendly, even bringing out a little dish of water for my friend’s puppy. Recommend to anyone looking for quality Japanese as long as you aren’t on a tight budget!
The food was delicious, beautiful presentation and excellent service. Starters were a little small but mains were just right. My friends salmon was a massive fresh piece, cooked perfectly. Definitely coming back, liked Snickel Lane as well, dog friendly :)
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Came here on a Saturday evening because I heard about it through Urban List!
We got Fresh Spring Rolls, Wagyu Meatballs, Wagyu Tataki, Salmon and Ginger Pork Belly.
Exquisitely and delicately presented, every dish is definitely a different experience on the palette.
• Meatballs were hot, tender and juicy and perfectly accompanied by the sweet bed of teriyaki sauce.
• Fresh Spring Rolls were insanely fresh and nicely pulled together with the sesame sauce, with vibrant flavours going on that I can’t quite put a finger on.
• Wagyu Tataki was tender and fresh and the side garnish of wasabi, ginger and pickles gave it that extra punch.
• Salmon was a winner for us, cooked to perfectly to the state where it’s neither raw or cooked! Incredibly juicy, it sat on potato mash and spinach purée; and the sweet apricot sauce made it a sweet delight in the mouth.
• Ginger pork belly was cooked to perfection, succulent and soft but maintaining its chew, you’re hit with mild subtle flavours of the ginger with a hint of sweetness from miso.
Service was friendly and attentive, coming around with water every few minutes. Price to portion wise it’s a bit on the dearer side but it’s worth it if you’re up for extensive tasting. Set us back by $87.
Food: 8/10
Price: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10
Service: 10/10
Salmon was delicious and fresh, staff are super friendly and attentive. Food almost looked to pretty to eat. Bottomless green tea and a great dining atmosphere as we sat in the lane. Plenty to watch as the busy lane filled up.
An amazing authentic Japanese restaurant with a kind and caring owner.
The Samurai Platter alone was enough to make the two of us 120% full. We managed to share an avocado salad and became 150% full at the end.
Fortunately, we took the owner's advice and removed the mixed tempura from our order to avoid wasting food.
I really enjoyed the vague taste and highly recommended the Samurai Meat Platter.
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Trying to figure out where to eat and just happened to stumble onto this place on a Friday evening. SO glad we did because the food and entire experience was incredible. First of all it was tucked back in Snickel Lane and was considerably less crowded than many of the other restaurants we popped into, so we were able to sit immediately and order drinks. I ordered the BRB Hazy Pale Ale - not totally sure if it was the frosty glass or the beer itself but this was by far the best beer I had anywhere in Australia OR New Zealand.
We jumped into food with the edamame- again, not sure what was going on here but this is the best edamame I’ve had in a long time. It was just steamed and seasoned with salt per usual, but something about the edamame beans themselves had so much more flavor than I’ve ever had. For the main course I had the on special Pork Katsu and my partner had the Wayu Black Burger. You can see from the pictures that the burger was just insane. Recently read a “best burgers in Auckland” post and they’re definitely missing this one!! The Pork Katsu also came with steamed rice and miso soup and was overall just DELIGHTFUL.
On top of everything the small staff of 3 running the place were lovely. Seriously go here- you won’t be disappointed.
definitely recommended!!! Very good food for lunch and dinner! Waygu beef so delicious. meat plate is alsome！ But the bottle is 全黑zenkuro sake is over price .
Quality Japanese cuisine hidden away in downtown Auckland.
I chanced upon this restaurant while looking for a place to eat not too far from the water front.
The menu looked good and the service was friendly.
Lots of choice with the standards of Japanese cafe eating. I opted for the chicken curry which was delicious. Generous serve, lovely chunky curry sauce and pickles and salad were served on the side.
Full I was not able to try the desserts but will be back to try them.
Staff were very kind after misunderstanding of what credit cards they accept. Amex is unfortunately not one of them.
Super nice price and dishes. I love the place, quite warm and cozy. The sashimi was fresh and delicious, the grilled salmon was superb. The cream cheese matcha cake is a must-try. It's not ordinary sponge cheese cake but a piece of matcha cheese ( Yup, a whole piece of matcha cheese, not cheesecake, I'm not wrong ). I would definitely come again after the lockdown.
Really liked the sake tasting and the Samurai platter was really good with the mix of waguy and pork.
Best Japanese restaurant we had in Auckland. The food is delicious and they are even offering delivery services now! The experience we had at the restaurant has always been awesome. The home delivery option was perfect, the only thing missing was the lovely staff ;)
Good food and service. Great experience overall.
Best Japanese curry that I’ve ever had in AKL and the sushi here was super delicious!! Ordered prawn avocado rolls and Mad Samurui rolls, both were yummy. And warm sake just made the night lovely:)
Amazing food in a laid back atmosphere. The staff were great and the dishes were fantastic. Add Mad Samurai to your "must try" list. Next time I am in Auckland I'm definitely coming back.
A hidden gem in a small arcade of Auckland. Beautiful and cosy place to experience a reasonably small list of Japanese dishes —and I say small as a compliment here.
The service was exceptional with the waitress being very polite and smiling and making sure that we get what we need. Time between order and service was reasonable for a place serving freshly cooked food.
The pork gyoza was deliciously cooked. The chicken katsu was crispy outside and juicy and tender inside, with an aftertaste free of frying oil which is one of the usual challenges with fried poultry. Extra points for the wonderful mix of mayonnaise and wasabi!
We really enjoyed our lunch. Thank you for your hospitality. Highly recommended.
A must try!! The meals were absolutely amazing and we loved getting to try the wagyu it was a really cool experience! Every dish was so so delicious and so fresh and also really beautiful. Not to mention each course came out so fast! The restaurant is also situated in a cool little Lane and the staff were so happy, professional, lovely and kind. I can't wait to go back!
It's the first time to visit this restaurant with my family. Foods are nice in a fair price. We specially enjoy Platters (Sushi & Sashimi, and Mad Samurai Meat) to share. I recommend to try this for your first time visit!
We stumbled across this place by absolute chance, and we were so glad we did. The food was divine. The fish was super fresh.
We had the Edamame, which was delicious. The salmon and avocado rolls were amazing. The vegetarian dumplings were delicious, but the Tuna Sashimi took the cake!
I hope this place continues to thrive, because I definitely want to come back.
Our first visit to Mad Samurai to celebrate our daughter's birthday. What a delightful eatery!! Lovely ambience, very attentive & friendly staff and the food was delicious! The menu is not huge but what we ordered came out well-presented & tasty. The sashimi/sushi platter was very fresh and generous portions. A great night out!
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