Went yesterday, Valentines Day.

Came early, thankfully. Restaurant was relatively empty although was meant to be booked out looking at all the reserved signs put out. Were given `special` menus for the day, three main options priced from $45 to $60. As it was a special day, the normal menu was not available. We decided to proceed anyway, perhaps to check out the supposedly authentic Japanese food.

Everything looked fairly promising until the other guests arrived. We quickly noticed that the owner manager doubled up as the waiter as well. The chefs also doubled up as waiters serving our food personally to us as they were cooked. Would have been great had it not been for the amount of people they had to deal with! Subsequently, the WAIT started. There were periods on end whereby there was not a waiting staff to be seen as the chefs and manager struggled to cope with preparation of the food and the numbers. Customers coming in were left standing at the door and many left as no one were there to greet them. In fact, some couples decided to leave before even ordering, we should have done that. Ordered green tea, almost never came. Had to remind chefs and manager three times. It was not a very pleasant ambiance and the disgruntled looks of the other tables who had to wait added to the unpleasantness.

The food was alright and started off well. Sashimi was nice, the small dishes acceptable (not mind blowingly great). The mains were cold – probably as a result of the chefs having to serve and not being able to cope with numbers having to leave our dishes for prolonged periods before being able to serve. My grilled seafood plate was, well, cold. Would have sent it back but really didn’t want to deal with the wait and oh, we couldn’t find anyone, anyway to take it back.

Wanted our desserts. Did not get it, sigh, as it took too long to come and we had a prior engagement. By that stage, we had been at the restaurant for over 2 hours. They did apologise to us for not being able to cater for our desserts but apart from that did nothing else. Should have perhaps given us a small discount for something we did not receive. Charged us the full amount anyway.

It really should be a one star experience but given that the chefs (at least) seem to be trying and were pleasant enough and the food was alright, an additional star was given. There are a number of great Japanese restaurants in Auckland and they really need to pick up on the service (perhaps hire wait staff) to address the issues. Maybe we came on a bad day and normal days are not busy. Judging by our experience yesterday, the restaurant should remain that way, it certainly isn’t set up to cater for a full house.

I’ve never actually posted on a review site even though i do check them out but i felt compelled to make this my first post. Karin is by far our favourite japanese restaurant. We know our japanese being of the nationality and there’s nothing we have found in the area except for maybe Ebisu that comes close to the quality and price (although Ebisu is a bit more pricey). The owner definitely is Japanese, Mimbu san often comes over to chat. Fav dishes is the Karin bento box – very very good value for lunch. Last reviewer was correct is hard to find a truly authentic Japanese experience these days but definitely recommend Karin – the wife and i are regulars!

I really like this Japanese restaurant. The “Karin Bento” is a favourite with our family. The price is reasonable. Their green tea shaved ice is a favourite too!

This is me and my hubby’s favourite restaurant, well was! we love the while menu, they pricing is not too bad, well the last few times before, we haven’t been back in a while, as i was told by my Japanese friend that this is not Japanese owned anymore, this was so sad hearing this! we loved the service before, we would have the same waitress who always knew what we wanted. and with no onions! the last 2 times we went she was not there, and the sushi chief had changed. i believe it is now Chinese owned. the meals changed slightly they became smaller and the price raised a bit! a real shame.