I 100% love everything about this restaurant. 10/10. A+. E (if you're going by NCEA grading). Whatever. It was perfect.
First of all, the food is amazing. This is the second time I've been here and I ordered the exact same thing as last time because it was to die for the first time round and didn't dissappoint the second time either. I had the pork belly, and holy crap. It is hands down the best pork belly I have ever had. The aioli, let me tell you about the aioli. Everyone who dined with me the first (and second) time I was there, was mind blown. The aioli is another thing that is without a doubt the best I have ever had. And the chips were crisp. Everyone at my table enjoyed their food.
The quality of the food and the drinks, and the speed at which our orders arrived was all top notch. The restaurant is just as beautiful a space as the last time we dined there. Service was the thing that most impressed me. I guess that was the one thing I was really looking out for. With our previous experience, we loved everything except the service I guess. But that was 100% made right this time. Julian, our server looked after us and was super friendly. I was a little nosy and noticed how he tended to other tables and it was just as good as the way he treated us, so I feel totally comfortable praising the service and our server because it/he was so consistently tentative and polite and great.
Our drinks were perfect and arrived very quickly. The calamari was great again, I would like to point out I don't eat seafood- because I hate it, not because I'm allergic, but that calamari was really freaking good. I've tried some terribad calamari in my time, and yeah, no, this was really really good. Again, the best.
I don't really know what else to say. I love it. I don't care if it's unusual for people to give restaurants a 100% rating, but there nothing I found wrong with the place. The bathrooms are really nice. There is loads of parking. The food is great. The service was awesome, our server was professional and friendly and helpful and polite. Potentially one of the best service experiences I've experienced.
I would definitely consider this a place for venue hire, it's not too large where the place looks empty but it's not too cramp where no one can fit. Both times I dined there, there were a lot of people but it didn't feel over crowded. I want to try the outside part of the restaurant when it warms up more, which is slowly is.
I love it. And I'll be back. read more