Restaurant Review: Satori Lounge

On the menu: Tasty little morsels of Japanese food - gourmet sushi in a variety of forms, sashimi slices of fish or seafood, dumplings and tempura. No kids' menu, but given the tapa style and variety of the dishes, this hardly seemed a problem.
I'll have: Tori roll - chicken teriyaki and avocado; salmon and avocado. Intricately crafted and beautifully presented, simple, fresh and inviting to devour. Perfect for sushi lovers keen to tuck into an old favourite.
She'll have: The mushroom hot roll - mushrooms, spring onions and cream cheese rolled in panko chicken. Served hot enough that the cream cheese oozed with deliciousness but did not overpower the mushroom flavour of the dish. It was easy to see why the waitress said this roll was her favourite.
For the adventurous: Perhaps six pieces of the octopus sashimi at $16 will suffice, or maybe the California tako spicy roll (octopus, avocado and spicy sauce rolled in sesame seeds) for $12.
Carnivores might like to try the prawn, beef or chicken yakitori - skewers with capsicum, onion and teriyaki sauce at $14 to $15.50.
Vegetarians will fare well if they enjoy seafood, as there is plenty on offer, but vegetarian purists might have to do with the vegetable gyoza (dumplings) at $8 for five. However, when we asked for our roll to come without the salmon wrap, staff gladly obliged.
Value for money: Fantastic value for money. Those seemingly small dishes are deceptively filling.
To drink: A good staple wine list with all the favourites. More importantly in this case were the cocktails - which were helpfully matched to go with certain dishes.
The staff were: Relaxed and wonderfully helpful by providing "learner" chopsticks when one of us began to struggle.
We were served by about three different people but our main hostess kept things smooth and streamlined.
The buzz: While the seating is particularly cosy in places, traditional Japanese dividers help break up any cluster while adding to the atmosphere.
A range of seating is also provided, including the traditional low-seated tables.
An in-house DJ helps to liven things up later in the evenings from an inconspicuous booth at the centre of the restaurant.
Not that this seemed to worry any of the clientele walking in the door as we dined. From people in suits to track pants, everyone was catered for in friendly fashion.
The verdict: A wonderful place to dine and really enjoy a slice of something different.
The details:

What: Sushi restaurant and bar
Address: 309 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui
Hours: 11.30am-3.30pm; 5pm till late
Price range: The cheapest thing on the menu is nigiri (balls of rice with fish or seafood on top) at $6, ranging up to $24.50 for the satori furay (tempura seafood) to share between two. Most dishes are about the $13-$14 mark.