578 3D Short Street,
Auckland,
(09) 529 0808
The ViewAuckland Review
4 out of 5
Make sure you arrive at Don Don Rikka hungry.
This small dark Japanese restaurant—warm and cosy behind a set of double doors in Newmarket—serves up well-proportioned, delicately flavoured treats.
The crowd is young and intimate—mostly romantic twosomes, with a few dinner parties added to the mix. You’d best be prepared to share air with them, as the lacquered black dining room is small; you could fit about 35 diners at a push.
Don Don Rikka specialises in a dish called kamameshi; a rice casserole cooked in an iron pot with meat, rice and sauce all thrown in. It arrives at your table with an egg timer and a sealed lid, and then you’re left to your own devices.
We ordered a sashimi and prawn kamameshi, teriyaki chicken donburi and tuna sashimi donburi. Each came with three miniature teasers: a piece of sesame-fried chicken, fresh green beans with peanut sauce, and tamagoyaki (sweet egg roll).
The endamame and spring roll sides we ordered to tide us over were unnecessary extras. The wine list is very reasonable—glasses started at $7 and warm sake at $6.50.
None of the meals stood out for their unique flavours, but each were tasty and filling. Our prawns were crunchy, the sashimi fresh and the chicken succulent.
Two entrees, three mains and four drinks cost under $100 all up—very reasonable for the quantity and service we received.
Don Don Rikka has been reviewed by 1 users