We think Kenzo was one of the first places in Christchurch to offer decent Tonkatsu Teishoku (Pork cutlet set) when they first opened.

After returning from a stint living overseas, we have gone back for the first time in nearly 8years. It was a brand new modern restaurant back then, and it still has the nice modern atmosphere.

We went there for lunch as we wanted to find a good dine in sushi place to have some more authentic sushi than the shopping mall variety, and we knew Kenzo’s sushi were all made fresh to order.

There seems to be plenty of sushi places around now catering to all budgets, but not too many with the right price/quality/dining space/atmosphere mix.

We think Kenzo has a lot going for it, and a nice estuary view from the restaurant to boot.

There are plenty of authentic sushi on offer as well as sashimi and a wide selection of Non-sushi dishes on the menu Katsu(Crumbed cutlets), Donburi(Rice bowls), Tempura, Udon noodles, Japanese curry etc.

We ended up having the lunch special Chicken Katsu set, Gyudon(Beef donburi), Edamame (soy beans), and a selection of sushi - Unagi(eel), Tamago(egg), Tobiko(fish roe).

We were pleasantly surprised to find lots of the other patrons having the sashimi. How times have changed!

A couple of (obviously) regulars came in while we were there and simply ordered the “usual”.

For people living in this part of town, it must be a best kept secret!

We will definitely be travelling across town again to satisfy our cravings for Japanese style lunch. It is the closest local substitute we have found so far to our weekly indulgence overseas.