Ariake, Auckland central

Ariake's sous chef Akio Takeuchi and deep-fried whole flounder. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

Herald rating: * * * * 1/2 

Ariake has been around downtown Auckland since 1980, though it started life a few blocks up Albert St, behind what is now the Stamford Plaza, before moving to the Quay St corner vacated by the late and unlamented Viaggio three years back.

Owned by the New Zealand arm of a Japanese company that caters Air New Zealand inflight meals, it claims to be one of the first restaurants to offer Kiwis traditional Japanese cuisine "with demure waitresses dressed in kimonos and the service attentive and respectful".

Inside the functional retail, aluminium joineried space, Ariake plays tricks.

Warm wood, frosted windows and discreet partitions make the room seem smaller than it is, hide that it's on one of the city's busier corners.

It is tranquil as a Japanese garden.

The menu is that faintly bewildering telephone book of tastes, textures, tinctures and flavours that you find in most Asian eateries. I got to 59 and stopped, unsure whether to count sub-categories: sashimi, sushi, teriyaki, yakitori ... shall I go on? Okay, tempura, miso, suki yaki, shabu shabu, each simply and clearly explained, viz: "Sashimi Mori - assortment of sliced raw fish served with soy sauce and wasabi".

Several set menus make decisions easier.

By way of contrast, a friend ate at Tetsuya in Sydney last week, one of the world's top 10 restaurants, and the only one with a Japanese-oriented menu. Okay, so that's contemporary and not traditional but Chef offers only his 10-course degustation. At A$175 ($194) a punter, clearly a case of less is more. 

The Valley Girl flung herself into Ariake's menu like a Ponsonby resident hitting the real estate section on a Saturday morning. Her mussels, hot and spicy, stir-fried in garlic, would have been devoured with relish except there were none on the platter.

I manoeuvred flakes of gorgeously salty, oily, lemony, grilled mackerel fillet from plate to mouth with chopsticks: I have long maintained that there are no left-handed Japanese or Chinese, otherwise they wouldn't have devised this particular form of torture.

She wanted whole fish but, not familiar with the breed, was worried about gurnard and asked my professional opinion.

"I'd give it a lash," I proffered. It arrived, with smile, eyes and assorted appendages preserved in batter, looking like one of those giant copper weta that you see in downtown souvenir-store windows for Japanese tourists to take home.

She looked askance but ate a-plenty, and voraciously.

On my side a whole flounder ("whole" as in grin, fin, skin, with tofu on the side, which I nibbled and once again wondered what the fuss is about), swam in a pool of near unbearably sweet ponzu vinaigrette, cut with the small dish of steamed rice. It was ... yes, it was divine. And wonder of wonders, cooked so delicately that I could eat it with chopsticks.

We'd not done wine, sake or beer, preferring the kimonoed waitress to refresh our earthen mugs of green tea, the warm and aromatic infusion far kinder to the oceanic flavours. But we needed something more.

"I can't come here without trying sushi," said the Valley Girl, eyeing the soberly dressed and psychopathically slashing chefs at the open kitchen benches. So she did, purely to compare Quay St with Queen St, and was largely impressed, though a California roll might have benefited from a lighter hand on the mayo. More traditional, I adored wasabi ice-cream, gritty and punchy.

The maitre d' approached, discreetly, deferentially.

"Excuse me, sir," he murmured, "the kitchen is closing now. Will there be anything more?"

Ah, no. Good heavens, it was 9.30. This is Auckland, not Tokyo. Not quite.

Address: Cnr Albert & Quay Sts, Downtown
Ph: (09) 379 2377
Open: 7 days, noon-2pm, 6pm-10pm
Owners: Tsutomu Nomaguchi, Sakae Shimada, TFK International (NZ) Ltd
From the menu: Gyu Negi Yaki (grilled sliced beef and spring onion with original sauce) $23, Chirashi Sushi (slices of raw, marinated seafood on vinegared rice) $25
Vegetarian: Yes, ma'am
Wine: Yes, but go for sake, beer, green tea
Bottom line: An upmarket haven of tranquillity, elegance, style ... and so is the traditionally cooked and presented food 

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