Kura, Auckland Central

By JENNIFER YEE for canvas

Wedged between the martial arts place and the Japanese grocery shop is an unpainted wooden doorway which leads you to Kura, sake bar and restaurant. Girls in heels, beware the steep descent.

This basement location just above the Town Hall, once a nightclub, has been transformed in a Queenstown comes to Auckland sort of way, with an open fire, exposed stonework and a rustic wooden counter running the length of the U-shaped bar. The place seats about 60, with three large communal tables. By 8pm expect all the tables to be taken and the punters to keep rolling down the stairs.

My first joy at Kura came in the form of our polite Japanese waitress, who spoke English. Ordering is a slick operation and dishes are served swiftly unless you signal you'd like to breathe between courses.

We drank warm Nanawarai Seven Laughs ha!ha!ha! sake with green tea chasers. David and I are already planning a rendezvous so we can continue our sake education. Read the sake menu carefully, as each Japanese label is eloquently translated — Heavenly Dog, The Moon after Rain, Devil Killer. We ate cool, crunchy French beans with peanut mayonnaise and chef's selection of sashimi and sushi, which were fresh and simply presented. Next, bowls of delicate deep-fried tofu in soy and mirin broth (agadashi tofu) came with meltingly soft, grilled Asian eggplant, mushroom and grated radish.

We were lucky to be with fellow offal lovers Rob and Chris, so we ordered a serve of the grilled beef tongue. It turned out slightly chewy, which is typical, rather than what we would've preferred — slowly simmered, peeled, sliced and then pan-fried until golden. The tempura prawns served on a wooden platter were light and crispy. Golden grilled teriyaki chicken was moist, tender and delicious.

The hit of the night was the seafood salad with toasted sesame dressing for $14, "by far the best salad I've had in ages", exclaimed Chris. We chorused agreement like a Five Go Mad In Dorset rerun. Delivered as a crisp, crunchy,

aromatic plate of tossed salad leaves, it had fine strands of daikon accented with pink grapefruit, fresh cooked shelled prawns and sashimi. I wish I'd thought of this first.

A Japanese take on steak & veg followed. Grilled marinated beef scotch fillet arrived well flavoured, medium-rare except for the end pieces, with carrot and potato, pumpkin, broccoli and potato salad. The rice (sushi style, short grain) was not hot enough, somewhat gluggy and arrived too late in the meal.

We chose all three desserts to finish. The green tea brulee with seasonal fruit was very good, although the

tea-based custard was a tad thicker than you'd expect and strawberries and peach in mid-winter are not seasonal, but that's just me being picky. My black sesame icecream and sago coconut pudding was excellent.

Our green tea icecream, devoid of advertised sticky rice (shiratama), came layered in a parfait glass with cornflakes, dairy whip and kiwifruit, which sent our table into belly laughs, but even this was declared a textural sensation.

Next time, we're looking forward to trying the steamed soybeans (edamame), ground Japanese yam potato paste with spicy fish roe, slow cooked pork belly and the Kura versions of udon noodles and donburi rice dishes.

The toilets are basic but clean. Service is efficient and good humoured. It pays to book on weekend nights.

WHERE: Kura Japanese Sake Bar, Basement, 315 Queen St, ph/fax (09) 379-5656

OUR MEAL: $174.50 for 4; starters & salads $5.50-$18; sushi & sashimi $5-$30; mains $10-$19; desserts $6-$8.

OUR WINES BY THE GLASS: (Sake, beer & spirits): sake $7-$16/180ml; beers from $7 a can; Japanese spirits, whisky and Cognac $7-$15 for doubles.

* Read more about what's happening in the world of food, wine, party places and entertainment in canvas magazine, part of your Weekend Herald print edition.