About one year ago, a new restaurant with a colorful facade opened up in the vicinity of Symonds Street. Surrounded by takeaways and busy junctions, it is located along a street nobody would consider “high-class”.

After entering the curtained entrance, and walking through a narrow corridor, visitors are welcomed into a wide, estate-like room aptly decorated with a confluence of Eastern and Western designs. With their black sofas and dining tables, diners feel as if they have entered another world. Although the interior is by no means bland, neither is it too loud, and many a patron has expressed admiration at the remarkably well-designed interior.

Appearances can be deceiving as well. Although the name of the place, as well as the all-Japanese staff brings to mind images of a Japanese restaurant, this is not the place to order traditional Japanese cuisine. Neither is it the place you visit to enjoy standard French or Italian fare.

Instead customers are treated to a mix of classical Italian tomato dishes, spicy Indian food, New Zealand duck and wine, and French sauces. Chopsticks are provided and the courses are served at a pace that allows customers to truly savor all the flavors. The menu also changes every 2 months or so.
Despite the mix between East and West, the food cannot be categorized as purely Fusion Cuisine. Instead, the people at Kazuya prefer to describe it as Original Creative Cuisine. All in all, it combines New Zealand’s fresh ingredients and refreshing wine into Euro cuisine created with Japanese attention to detail.

Although it may appear that one needs to order a lot of food to truly appreciate the concept, Kazuya actually aims to deliver the complete experience to each guest, whether he be ordering for one or for many.

What really sets Kazuya apart, though, is their dedication to attending to  customer’s needs and their impeccable spirit of service.

Each member of the staff specializes in his/her individual duties and responsibilities. This includes the chef himself, his wife and business partner, Akiko, and the wine sommelier, Mojo. However, they work together beautifully to deliver to each guest the entire experience.

Kazuya’s chef has an innate talent for bringing out what is pleasurable in the concept, preparation and taste of food. With the perfectionism so characteristic in many Japanese, he has honed his skills with years of training and experience working with Italian Cuisine in Tokyo.

Given the staff’s desire to please and attention to detail, though, it is best to allow some time for preparation. For a party of 4 people, 30 minutes would probably be sufficient to allow them to prepare the food in such a way that the individual flavors are blended together perfectly, to make sure that the food and wine is served at just the right temperature, and to make sure that the sequence and timing of each course is just right to allow you to enjoy the dining experience to the highest level.

That praise about Kazuya has been spreading through websites, various media, and word of mouth is no surprise. It is probably the perfect place to take a newfound acquaintance, an old friend, or a loved one.