Take a quick ferry ride from downtown Auckland to find this tiny Japanese restaurant with big personality.
I was recommended this place by a friendly Devonportian who insisted I visit at once.
“It’s a six-seater restaurant with the best Japanese food I’ve ever eaten!” he said.
“Just six
seats?” I asked.
“Well, maybe eight,” he conceded.
Reader, this restaurant has around 30 seats. And though my friend had warned me to book at least a week in advance to ensure they could fit me in, there was only one other couple there the night we visited. I ordered a glass of Sapporo and prayed his judgment was better when it came to food.
Danryu in Devonport. Photo / Babiche Martens
Thirty seats or not, this is a small operation, with a single chef in the kitchen and his wife taking care of the service. There is a minor language barrier to overcome but nothing that will slow you down much. Once you’ve pointed to this and that on the menu and chosen your drinks, the experience is very smooth.
The chef, Satoru “Sasee” Sawaki, is a character. A Tokyo native, he worked at Queen St’s famous Kura before launching Danryu in 2021. He is colourful and energetic, with a bleach-blond haircut like the one Michael Flatley wore in Lord of the Dance. As I would discover, he has an approach to knifework and presentation that might be unrivalled in the city. His creations are total show-stoppers and almost as fun as eating them is watching him hopping from foot to foot a few metres away, waiting for your reaction.
Danryu’s chef Satoru “Sasee” Sawaki. Photo / Babiche Martens
We struggled to pick some dishes, after my friend tried to order omakase (“I’ll leave it up to you”) and they didn’t really catch his drift. The four of us studied the menu together awkwardly before settling on some classics – salmon nigiri, sashimi, tempura and three little snacks which, based on the menu insert, appear to be seasonal and ever changing.
Sashimi platter from Danryu in Devonport. Photo / Babiche Martens
The sashimi arrived first – small portions of raw fish placed around a structure that looked like it belonged at the Auckland Art Fair. Many species were represented, each cut and contorted in a different way according to their weight and texture. Salmon, tuna and trevally were all good but the most exciting was a piece of snapper which had been sliced like a laser and tiny pieces of nori placed inside to create a fern effect. The bottom tray was scattered with gold that turned out to be a Japanese citrus fruit, turned into a gel and then shattered into hundreds of shining pieces. They were subtly tangy, an interesting replacement for pickled ginger between mouthfuls.
I had no idea what to expect from the “tempura flounder”, that flat, wide fish being presumably a little difficult to deep fry in the traditional stove-top pot. But he had filleted the flounder and cut it into surprisingly thick fingers of fish, before taking the frame, rolling it up, battering it and frying it in the hot oil. Those bones were largely decorative but the pieces of fillet were like the best fish and chips you’ve ever eaten, perhaps with a heavier batter than you’d expect with tempura but served, traditionally, with a bowl of dashi broth for dipping.
Salmon nigiri from Danryu in Devonport. Photo / Babiche Martens
Salmon nigiri was surprising again. I was expecting (craving, even) the familiar blanket of coral-coloured fish draped over a nugget of snow-white sushi rice but here the salmon was partially cooked and the clump of rice was so small you couldn’t see it. It was designed to go down in one mouthful and was a lovely if unfamiliar combination – a tiny morsel of rice stained with seaweed paste under a nice fatty slice of salmon and a pickled piece of rare imported daikon on top.
We were still hungry after all of this, so ordered a scotch steak (the mains are a little limited so you’re better to go hard on the appetisers). Chef Sassee clearly couldn’t resist a bit more theatre and the meat arrived shaking beef style, sizzling on the skillet. We wondered if this might risk it becoming overcooked but the inside was perfectly pink and the only thing that tasted a touch scorched was the soy-miso sauce it was glazed in.
Danryu seats about 30 people. Photo / Babiche Martens
Like its owner, the room is full of personality. If you’re celebrating a special occasion, you will be seated beneath a sparkly banner that says “Happy Anniversary”, permanently hung in a nook near the kitchen. As you head to the bathrooms, it becomes clear the restaurant is part of an open-plan arcade but Danryu does a good job of making the space work and even has seats outside in the sun – a good place for beer and sushi before heading to what looks like a ripping quiz night on the Devonport Wharf. As a quiz-tragic I couldn’t resist ducking in to eavesdrop and I had great difficulty dragging myself away from the Pot Luck round to leap aboard the 8.15pm ferry home. Danryu is a quick and easy trip from the city – and more than special enough to justify the journey.
Address: 10 Victoria Rd, Devonport
Contact: 09 445 6108, Japandaisuki.co.nz/restaurant/danryu, Instagram.com/danryu_japanese_seafood
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 5pm-9.30pm
From the menu: oysters (6) $35, ohitashi (appetisers) $18, salmon nigiri $32, sashimi $45, tempura flounder $48, uma yaki scotch $43
Score: 0-7 Steer clear. 8-12 Disappointing, give it a miss. 13-15 Good, give it a go. 16-18 Great, plan a visit. 19-20 Outstanding, don’t delay.
According to dining out editor Jesse Mulligan.