Images courtesy of Tanuki Japanese Resturant
About the restaurant
Three decades deep and still Auckland's most beloved cave dweller, Tanuki has been serving up izakaya-style Japanese dining in the Aotea Arts Precinct since 1994. Expect colourful share plates, sushi and sashimi built for grazing, backed by a sake list running past twenty varieties and a reputation as the city's go-to for a pre-show feed near the Civic. Beneath the main room sits Tanuki's Cave, an underground yakitori and kushiage bar with an intimate, Tokyo-after-dark energy all its own. Together they make for one of the CBD's most enduring double acts, equal parts nostalgia and genuine craft.