May 2, 2019 Restaurants
Kazuya is a finalist in the Metro Peugeot Restaurant of the Year 2019 awards for Best Fine-Dining Restaurant and Best Wine List. To see a full rundown of all our winners, click here.
The arrival at Kazuya is admittedly odd: though it’s right on Symonds St, the front windows are frosted over and the door opens into a long, dark corridor. Once inside, it’s a dramatic space with a soaring ceiling and low lighting. You sit in big leather booths; you have no idea if there is anyone else in the restaurant. There are various levels of dégustation available here: make sure you order the one with ‘texture of vegetables’ on it, which is the signature dish and extraordinary. There are tiny, perfect little pieces of vegetables, 30 types in all, scattered about the plate in various states of cookedness, accompanied with sauces and dressings ranging from umami to tart. Other dishes are just as wonderful, walking a line between Western and Japanese food, all of it presented in a spare, almost minimal way. The wine list is enormous; the waiters’ knowledge impeccable.
What it offers: Dégustation dining / Good for vegetarians and vegans / Bar
A favourite dish: Waitaha wagyu beef
Awards:
Finalist, Best Wine
Hours: Lunch Fri, Dinner Tue-Sat
Bookings: Yes
Price: $$$
Chef: Kazuya Yamauchi
Eden Terrace
193 Symonds St
Ph 377 8537
?kazuya.co.nz
