Best Steak sandwich in town well worth a visit The Phoenix…read moreon the Strand Gastropub with an atmosphere!

While road tripping across the north island of NZ we stopped by The Phoenix in Tauranga for lunch…read moreand it didn't disappoint. The Angus burger was terrific and paired well with the golden lager. Nice atmosphere and staff was friendly.

Terrible service. Incredibly rude staff. Disingenuous advertising…read more Avoid at all costs, plenty of other options around.

We were pleasantly surprised by the latest iteration of the bar/restaurant on the corner of…read moreMaunganui Road and Pacific Avenue. We received a voucher as a gift which allowed us two main courses and a breads and spreads appetizer. I'd called the day before to make reservations, but someone double-booked our table. A 50th birthday celebration filled most of the restaurant, so the manager offered us a seat on the bar sofa and two complimentary drinks. We waited 40-45 minutes for our table to open while enjoying drinks and eating our appetizer. Once seated, the manager apologized for the wait and offered another two free drinks, which we gladly accepted. For a restaurant that bills itself as a wine and tapas bar, we were surprised by the quality of the mains. My husband had the oven-braised lamb shanks sitting atop a pillow of creamy smashed potatoes. I tore into the succulent teriyaki salmon with tomato chili jam. Despite the fact I'd filled up on drinks and bread, I couldn't resist finishing every last bite of this salmon. It was hot, tender, moist and oh-so-delicious. The manager stopped by towards the end of our meal for a chat and we told him we'll return. Warm atmosphere, wonderfully-cooked food and gracious service make Ivory a rare find in the serve-em-and-leave-em climate one often finds in New Zealand restaurants.

What a great find! Took a wrong term, drove 50 km in the wrong direction - but was grateful to end…read moreup in Whangamata looking for dinner :) We sat outside on the ample deck - while not a great view - the overall atmosphere was lovely as we sat next to the bar and the staff kept popping out and chatting. My friend and I tried the crumbed squid (appie) and the market fish (salmon) and the soft shell crab for the main course. The squid came with a great puree (avocado?) and we loved the pineapple addition to the soft shell crab! We found the salmon to be a bit dry however. I think I'll definitely come back... for the pretty great seafood and....the goat inspired wine!! (check out the Nanny Goat Pinot Noir - worth the price).

Gorgeous ambiance, right on the river. Service was good. Brought food out promptly. Now the food,…read morewe had a lot. The winning tapa for us was the crudo. We ordered it twice! All the food we had was delicious, seems like you can't go wrong with anything you order. The drinks were also pretty good. I ordered the cocktail passionfruit sour. It was so good! Definitely a great spot for tapas and cocktails/mocktails with a great ambiance.

The food and service is fabulous. Best time to go is in the water weather when you can sit outside…read morein the fresh air and enjoy the river views. Thoroughly recommend,.

Big open interior with plenty of drink options and additional seating in the loft. Food was okay to…read moregood with fairly quick service. We went on a rainy day but I imagine this would be lovely on a summer night where you could sit on the patio. I would probably go again to try their feijoa cider ( seasonal) and try and experience during the summer

What a great place to try some excellent cider and get lunch. It was very busy during the summer…read moreholiday, so if time is a factor go elsewhere. For us, the wait was worth it, the staff were very friendly and helpful ( made sure we avoided some food allergies) and the views were amazing.

Stopped here for lunch. Street parking is crazy so we parked a street away and walked. It wasn't…read morevery busy inside. I ordered the children's spaghetti and meatballs. Husband ordered fish and chips. The food and service were good.

As a burger lover I feel you judge a restaurant on the quality of their burgers. At this restaurant…read moreI had their bacon cheeseburger and while it was very large, it was not memorable. The beef is tasty but, I couldn't taste the bacon and It needs a special sauce. The restaurant needs to work on that. Also if you have this burger ask them to hold the cucumber slices. Cucumber just does not belong on a burger!

Ordered a steak and cheese with blue cheese. I got steakum meat. Blue cheese sauce( no real cheese…read moreon sandwich) came in a cup. 18.50 + 2.00 up charge for fries instead of potato chips. Absolutely horrible. I live here and decided to try it again after a horrible meal years ago. I learned my lesson for sure. By the way the soap dispenser in the women's bathroom wasn't working. Mentioned it to a manager. Not sure if it was fixed. 2/28/2026

We arrived in Tauranga late so we were searching for a late night place to eat. Johney's Dumpling…read moreHouse popped up (which is located right inside The Rising Tide) so we decided to check them out. We dropped in on a Thursday evening (around 8:00pm) and it was busy. The music is super chill (indie pop). Great playlist! They've decorated the place with hipster lighting, hanging plants and wicker chairs. Made for a laid back and chill atmosphere. There's 39 flavours on tap. Huge selection to please everyone (including milkshakes, juices, hard liquor and wine). The menu is split into starters, burgers, vegetarian & vegan, shish kebab and sweet. There's also a separate menu for Johney's Dumpling House; dumplings, siu mai, buns and Asian greens. Short and simple. - Paddle #1 ($12.25 NZD) - we tried all their sours and a cider. Mount Brewing Co. strawberry lime & cider (#9), Deep Creek - boys in blue (#10), Funk Estate - cosmic hustle sour ale (#14), Deep Creek - steam funk strawberry (#21) and Hot Water Brewing - peaches and cream (#27). The sours lacked any flavour or sourness. Tasted more like water juice. The strawberry yoghurt sour ale smelled like jello. All pretty disappointing. The strawberry & lime cider was decent but very light in flavour. - Paddle #2 ($12.25 NZD) - these were all ciders. We tried Zeffer - apple crumble cider (#34), Harringtons Brotherhood - three berry cider (#35), Mount Brewing Co - pear & feijoa cider (#37), Three Wise Birds Summer Fling - apple cider (#38) and Hawkes Bay - ginger fusion (#39). The pear & feijoa cider had a terrible aftertaste and the apple cider wasn't anything special. Our three favourites was the ginger beer (infused with mandarin), three berry cider and apple crumble (tasted like dessert). - Chili oil sauce - this deserves an honourable mention. I think the waitress called this a sweet chili sauce but it was a roasted garlic chili oil flake sauce. Really good and a surprising underlying heat to it. Make sure you get a dipping sauce. - Pork & prawn (steamed) ($12.00 NZD for 10) - NZ pork shoulder and Whiteleg prawn. These were the better of the two dumplings we tried. Thicker wrapping than normal but a generous filling. - Siu mai ($12.00 NZD for 10) - pork, mushroom and corn. Never had siu mai with corn before but these were decent. Definitely filling. - Steamed BBQ pork bun ($3.00 NZD) - this was my least favourite of our dishes. The bun wasn't fluffy and the filling was dinky. - Beer battered fries ($6.00 NZD) - these were light, crispy and perfectly battered. Excellent. - Sweet sesame lamb shish kebab ($12.00 NZD for 3) - served on a bed of 'slaw and garnished with roasted garlic and parsley. The lamb skewers were incredibly tender and well seasoned. The slaw was healthy and roasted garlic chips was a nice addition. The food was good for a brewpub. Stick with the ciders for drinks and you'll be happy.