415 Manukau Road,
Epsom
Auckland,


(09) 630 2511

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4 out of 5

Just a warning here: if you happen to walk past the empty Sake Bar Nippon Restaurant on your way to a 6pm movie at the Lido nearby and think, “Maybe we should have dinner here afterwards,” you’ll probably be out of luck.

Most nights the place is heaving from 7pm onwards and you’ll be pushing it to get a place at either the bar or one of the rough-hewn wooden tables.

This is a casual place to drop in and take your chances, certainly. But if you really are determined to eat at Sake Bar Nippon Restaurant, then you’d be wise to book.

Like all such places, the Sake Bar is a rowdy place, often with air thick from cooking steam and the grill. The food is excellent; the sake free flowing.

Sake Bar has a loyalty card (makes sense if you are a regular movie-goer too), and your card is stamped every time you spend more than $30. Do it ten times and you’ll get $20 off your next meal.

Two of you will get your card stamped at least twice, because once you add up the cheap delights of the teppanyaki skewers you‘ll happily order—fat scallops, chewy squid, chicken, beef chunks, prawns and so on for $5 or $8; miso soup and a bowl of rice ($2 each). Add a few drinks to this and you’ll have passed that $60 mark. And loved it.

There are, of course, numerous other eating options: okonomiyaki, sushi, steaks, teriyaki dishes, crumbed oysters and scallops, and much more besides.

And you can order banquet-style or just push the call button on the side of your table if you just want to keep a line of teppanyaki skewers coming.

Sake Bar Nippon Restaurant also has a private room upstairs if you want to take a group, and there is karaoke available if that’s your thing too.

You’ll get the customary rowdy greeting on arrival and warm thanks on departure, and between times you’ll have found plenty for your palate.

There is a small selection of wines and beers (yes, Japanese beers available of course), and my guess is once you’ve been there you’ll be looking for any excuse to get that loyalty card stamped again.

Great night out, especially in winter, when the cold is firmly locked outside those modest wooden doors and the room fills with the heat and aroma of a busy kitchen.