Fodor's Expert Review Izakai Bar and Eatery

The Bayfair Shopping Centre may seem an unlikely place to find one of the area's most innovative restaurants, but this is well worth seeking out. Izakai combines Māori ingredients and cooking styles with Japanese cuisine, so you'll find hāngi-style pork belly and watercress with ramen (noodles); smoked kahawai with cabbage fritter, Tokoyaki sauce, and pickled red onion; and creamed paua (local shellfish) and prawn gyoza (dumplings). The centerpiece of the restaurant is a long curved bar, but you can also sit at high tables near the window or in a more intimate booth-like setting.