ZERO Japanese Ramen Sake Bar sits at 56 Clyde Road in Browns Bay, Auckland, run by owner-chef Joji. Joji brings a decade of culinary experience in Japan and another decade in New Zealand, having served as head chef at award-winning restaurants including Kazuya, Pier Queenstown, and Captains restaurant, before opening ZERO with his family.
Joji's mission at ZERO is to move beyond sushi and introduce a broader view of Japanese cuisine — particularly ramen and the culture and lifestyle around it — crafted using the finest New Zealand ingredients. ZERO is fully licensed, with no BYO, and serves lunch and dinner most days of the week, closed Tuesdays.
The menu runs from tonkotsu and paitan ramen through to Zero Style tapas, donburi rice bowls, small plates and a dedicated kids menu, with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options available throughout.
ZERO Japanese Ramen Sake Bar, on Clyde Road in Browns Bay, is built around a chef's personal mission: to show Auckland that Japanese food is about far more than sushi.
ZERO is owned and run by chef Joji, who spent a decade cooking in Japan before another decade in New Zealand's kitchens. Along the way he served as head chef at award-winning restaurants including Kazuya, Pier Queenstown and Captains restaurant. That background feeds directly into ZERO, which he opened alongside his family after immersing himself in New Zealand's growing food culture.
Joji is direct about what ZERO is trying to do: when people think of Japanese cuisine, sushi usually comes to mind first. ZERO exists to broaden that picture, shining a light on ramen and the culture and lifestyle that surrounds it. The goal is to introduce authentic Japanese cooking, built with the finest New Zealand ingredients, to a Kiwi audience.
Ramen is where ZERO's menu is deepest. Tonkotsu, a pork bone broth, and paitan, a chicken bone broth, both come in Zero Special, Chashu, Egg or Classic styles, finished with aburi pork chashu, flavoured egg, spring onion, bamboo shoot, woodear mushroom, pickled ginger, spinach and nori seaweed, seasoned soy (shoyu) or salt (sio) style. Beyond those two broths sits a wider spread: tantan men in a spicy, sweet sesame base with pork mince and home-made chilli paste, a seafood ramen loaded with prawn, squid, clams and mussels, a yuzu sio ramen, a miso ramen, a vegan ramen and a shoyu ramen, among others.
Alongside the ramen, ZERO runs a full Zero Style Tapas menu — gyoza, karaage chicken, beef tataki eye fillet, aburi salmon, assorted sashimi, agedashi tofu, karaage squid tentacles and more, built for sharing alongside sake or a drink from the bar. There's also a Zero Donburi selection of rice bowls, including aburi chashu don, karaage don, wagyu slice don and sashimi don, plus a small plates menu with edamame, spicy pickled cucumber, takowasa and cream cheese avocado, and simple sides like rice and extra noodles, including a gluten-free noodle option.
ZERO runs a dedicated kids menu, with a shoyu ramen, vegetarian ramen, karaage don, a tempura don and kids ice cream in vanilla, chocolate or matcha green tea flavours — making it a workable option for a family dinner out, not just a date-night ramen stop.
ZERO serves lunch Monday, and Wednesday through Sunday, with dinner and bar service running most evenings and a dedicated bar and late-night menu from 9pm. The restaurant is closed Tuesdays. It's fully licensed, with no BYO, and last orders are taken 30 minutes before closing. ZERO also opens on public holidays with no surcharge.
Bookings can be made through an online form, by phone on 09 2000 692, or by email at [email protected] for reservations, with a separate email for general enquiries. Same-day bookings are best made by phone rather than through the online form.
Between the depth of the ramen menu, the sake-bar tapas, and a kitchen led by a chef with two decades of Japanese and New Zealand experience, ZERO reads as a spot built for lingering — a bowl of tonkotsu or paitan to start, a few tapas plates to share, and a drink from the bar to go with it.