Kanda

This newly opened Japanese restaurant hidden under Auckland’s CBD (a second branch of Kanda, the first one located at East Auckland) is spacious and slightly expensive (for comparison, Daikoku sells 5pcs of takoyaki/​octopus balls for $ 6 while Kanda sells 6pcs of takoyaki/​octopus balls for $ 9) but well worth it. Their food is affordable (ranging from $ 9 to $ 21, see the menu photo for more information)
I first found out about Kanda from two people that were showing people their menu on Queen Street and I was really interested, so I decided to check the place out a few weeks later. Turns out, Kanda is located on the basement of The Strand shopping arcade arcade, and to get there you can enter from their stairs (which has a great décor by the way) on the Elliot Street end of The Strand shopping arcade.
I was greeted by a very warm and friendly woman who patiently attended my sister, grandmother and I — including our questions, even going to the kitchen to double check her answers for some even if we didn’t ask her to! The restaurant itself is well decorated and very spacious — much more that it’s nearby neighbors such as Daikoku, which has been established for longer and is nearly always crammed with people when it’s dinner. They offered a lunch and dinner menu and an all you can eat choice (which seemed very tempting and I am more than willing to test and review soon)
Yes, it is slightly more expensive for their snacks but they prepare and garnish them well — I ordered two Takoyakis for a test-​run and they decorated it complete with extra seaweed cuttings on top (yay!) and to top things off, for this month only (their first month) they also have a free drink promotion.
This hidden gem in the city is definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for well prepared Japanese food in the city with a spacious/​well decorated and clean restaurant, even if it means paying a few extra dollars for snacks that other restaurants (then again, their food is affordable so you can splurge on snacks, perhaps?)