Japanese Kitchen SAKURA

"This is a very weird restaurant from the location to the chef to arrangement and everything. I don't have much experience with Japanese fine dining but overall seems alright. I went with my parents for dinner Omakase style. I will tell you the whole experience from the beginning. First, I booked a table. I let the chef know in advance what time we were coming by text. He answered well and explained that it is Omakase, which means chef will pick for you. It will be a course of 12 small dishes made fresh while we were at he restaurant. I agreed and confirmed the time. We went there. The entrance was tiny and hidden in between the butcher shop and Domino's pizza. The inside was small and a bit cluttered with tables and other Japanese stuff that the chef brought to NZ to feel like Japan although there was not much of interior design skills from him. It just looks like someone's house rather than a restaurant. We arrived 10 minutes before our allocated time which is very important in Japanese culture to not be late. The chef was behind his counter and kind of ignored us. We, as Asians were quite polite and unconfrontational so we just said hi and sat down and waited for him. He eventually came with some plates for each person. One at the time, Then another few without talking much. We did feel quite awkward for sure but we had each other's company so it was alright. Then the chef started asking us a few questions about where we were from, what we do. After that , he started opening up and ... To be continued, the phone is not typing very well, this is gonna be a long story. This place is really wired and it i does not deserve either 5 or 0 stars for sure. TLDR Extremely good food mixed with other less than stellar food, wired interactions with chef but that's from cultural differences. Price is very expensive but it is comparable to most"

"The chief was extremely polite and the ramen he made me was extremely delicious it was a taste of Japan and I would highly recommend this place for some ramen to the chief arigatou gozaimasu"

"My first time visit to Pukekohe. I searched any asian food restaurant there and I found Sakura. It is a small family like restaurant. The owner was friendly and the food is nice. Although we only have lunch there and the lunch menu was not much choices but I think the quality of the food is more important. The taste of the ramen is special, it has the shop's own style taste. Unlike the other shops I had tried in Auckland were almost same or similar. I will absolutely go again if next time I visit Pukekohe."

"Gorgeous venue that makes you feel like you are in a classic Japanese restaurant. Open space with the kitchen in full view. The food is amazing!!! Such simple dishes with full deep flavours that make you enjoy each step of the omakase process. Friendly chef who has a passion for what he does. Fully recommend this experience, which at $65 approx per person is definately worth it!!"

"What an amazing place!! A genuine hidden gem in Pukekohe, I highly recommend everyone gives this place a shot. The team are amazing, and you made my birthday super special. The food is incredible and the service was awesome. I will definitely be coming back. Thank you so much again!!"