This place is the best. We only live down the road but can never go past our local, Clevedon Cafe…read more The girls change up the menu regularly which is unusual for any restaurant. But don't fear, they feature similar meals and ingredients just with a different idea. Their charcoal bao buns, yummmm, and their sweet bao buns on their brunch menu are out if this world. We have never had a bad meal there. The staff are always friendly and helpful.

Fantastic food. I've eaten here at least three times and have always been thoroughly satisfied with…read moremy meals. They are good sized servings, delicious and well presented. The cafe is kid-friendly and has at least a couple of high chairs for its littler patrons. There aren't a lot of vegetarian options but the eggs benedict mushroom dish was superb. Really tasty. Out of the desserts, the cheesecake is great but very rich! I would recommend sharing a portion. There are a number of other delicious sounding options. They have breakfast, lunch and dinner menus and a couple of kids' options as well. Catering and arranging functions here are also options.

The Marvel Grill is my go-to place for special occasion. In my experience with this restaurant, I…read morefind I have to go big or go home- there's always so much I want to try here! Marvel Grill has everything you want- supreme location smack bang in the city but very close to the water, A-grade service and its beautiful to look at; the decor of this place is spacious, comfy and sophisticated. The semi-outdoor area provides more dining space and a nice view onto the viaduct. What sets apart this place from others is their attention to detail. They have a great range of skillets to start you with and those alone show a great combination of ingredients and flavours that really compliment each other. The best I've tried so far has to be the maple chilli glazed pork belly with an apple slaw, which is a sign of thing to come, especially when it comes to Marvel Grill and meat. I'll never forget the first time I tried Marvel Mixed Grill; a large hot skillet filled with four types of meat. While I had to have my boyfriend finish my meal for me, it was a great experience. The meat was cooked perfectly (I'm a medium rare girl) and we definitely got our money's worth. For exceptional side dishes, I recommend the iceberg wedge, blue cheese dressing, walnuts & bacon salad and the scalloped potatoes- both delicious! I could talk about Marvel Grill for hours- I love this place. If you feel like splurging on a meal that has been cooked to perfection with the utmost care and the best ingredients available, you can't go past it!

Nineteen Eighty One is a great local restaurant in Manukau, right opposite the Westfield Shopping…read moreCentre. It's a fairly new establishment in the area, but it's become a regular hangout for a few beers and very good food. You definitely feel the '80's vibe when you're there, and its always nice to see a little appreciation for that era. Their pizzas are delicious, particularly 'Rangi's Hangi' and 'Larry the Lamb'. They do a very nice caesar salad and my favourite main has to be the crispy chicken burger with aioli and melted brie- one of the best restaurant burgers I've had. They've got a good range of ciders and do a few cocktails to quench your thirst. They also serve most of their drinks in 600mL milk bottles, which is a really cool touch. I'd have to say that Nineteen Eighty One is best known for their fortnightly Wednesday quiz nights. The place gets packed and its always a good laugh- there's even a prize for the team that comes second to last.

This was our first visit at 1981. The waitress was very friendly and informed us of the "Specials"…read more I asked if I could non alcoholic version of one of their cocktail's, she said no problem. We had the garlic cob for Entree. For Mains, My wife chose the Steak & Kidney pie with mash. I had the sundried tomato and feta cheese stuffed chicken fillet. My wife said it was the best pie she had ever eaten. I really enjoyed the stuffed chicken too. The decor brought back lots of memories.

Excellent service and food!…read more This 24hr restaurant meets everyones needs from just a snack to fine dining. Staff friendly and helpful. Tables well set out and we were able to choose our tables both times we ate here. Tables on the side even have their own TV screen for singles which is fun.. Dinner was delicious and well presented. On our dinner before home they even presented us with a birthday cake!

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,.

Great service and always followed up on our needs. Food was amazing and there was a lot of it. Good…read moreatmosphere with the vibe and the Coke bottle was the extra on top. The food at home was still great tasting. Will be visiting again.

I had my 21st Birthday here sometime ago and it was a nice space for the amount of people I had…read more(approx. 30-50 people) I also came on a different occasion for dinner with friends and the quality of food was great as well.

This Vineyard takes you to somewhere in Europe, maybe Italy, Spain or France with its European…read morestyle building. I had thought this place might be a bit posh, but its not really, its very relaxing and casual. The food is very delicious and lots of lovely places to sit with different views of the vineyard, they also have a child's play area which is great for us with little ones. And of course what we came here for, the wine, I loved the Ascension Methode Traditionnelle, now I don't know all that wine talk but it has some lovely flavours and was just delicious on a summer's day. This is also a beautiful location for a wedding with the vineyards at the back, you could really get some stunning photos that you would cherish for ever (and maybe say you got married in Europe).

Have been here a couple of times for a work functions. The staff were very efficient and helpful…read more Food was very good and the wine was flowing of course. Took a wine tour including the vines was very informative and loved trying the various samples. Would love to visit during one of the concerts.

Absolutely amazing doesn't cut it. I've been to Michelin star restaurants all over the world. The…read morefood here is superior. The cocktails are sublime. I would, and will, fly back from America just to eat here again. By far the best lamb and duck we have ever eaten. Bloody well done.

We went here for our last "splurge" date night after a 2 week stay in New Zealand. Scallops and…read morefresh Bluff oysters were great starters. For our mains we got the Hawkes Bay lamb and 600g Bone-in steak. Sides were "fancy" potatoes and green beans. Food was excellent as they were all fresh, delicious and garnished with exotic ingredients. The only caveat for me was the service. There were times throughout the evening where I felt our servers forgot about us. Our main server didn't check up on us and even ask us how we were doing or if our steak was cooked correctly. The clincher was when they dropped the check- I immediately put my credit card in their check presenter indicating we were ready to go but the waiter again disappeared and it didn't get processed until another waitress came by to service the table next to us and noticed it that she picked it up nearly twenty-five minutes later! The food alone was good enough for me to recommend One Tree Grill to others who don't mind paying a little more for the great grub you'll get here. I just hope you get better service than we did.

We chose the 8 course experience and thoroughly enjoyed it…read more We snagged a last minute reservation based on online reviews and an in person confirmation from a couple that I met on a tour. I will warn you, the experience isn't cheap, but if you're a foodie and you enjoy food experiences go ahead and take the plunge. The total experience takes about 3 hours as you are being presented with individual courses and a palate cleanse. We didn't opt for the wine pairing but I'm told it's a great choice. I thoroughly enjoy food but rarely venture outside of my comfort zone when it comes to consuming certain animals but I did and was quite surprised. I'd definitely say add this experience on your list if visiting New Zealand.

One of my favorite places in Auckland for a fine dining experience. The dishes were great as was…read morethe service and wine pairing. In particular, the dishes were beautifully presented and not heavy, which was key for a tasting menu. For anyone looking for a high-end meal in Auckland, this would be my first recommendation.

Wheels crunching up the gravel, the Tasting Shed looked sophisticated in black. Dining tables that…read morespilled out into the outdoor area are wrapped by the wind + rain proof outdoor gazebo. Everything about it oozed warm comfort and rustic charm. You wouldn't hear the quiet clinking of cutlery on plates and humble conversation here. It was a strict "no-tablecloths" restaurant. And these beautiful wooden tables probably take 5 times more work to maintain. My after-work brain probably took more time than necessary to figure out what the bobbles meant on the Savory to Sweet scale on the menu. With 25 items on the menu (including dessert), it was difficult to nail down what to order. We were advised to order 4 to 5 dishes because they were all entree sizes. Watermelon - smoked olive, goats cheese, baby ganoush This was one surprising combination. I've always been one to systematically eat my way through my plate because I didn't like mixing things together. Give me a fruit and cheese platter, I'd eat each individually. But this is something you'd want to pile a bit of each onto your fork. The watermelon and goats cheese blend beautifully into a creamy smoothie in your mouth. Rich and cooling at the same time - it's a weird sensation. Venison - carpaccio, mushrooms, beets, juniper, walnuts This is a great well-thought out dish with plenty to leave you taste testing, tilting your head and thinking. It was called the Venison dish, and with so much going on, the venison was the solid foundation to bring out the flavours of each ingredient. The sweet tang and slick texture of the mushrooms was paired with the crunch of the walnut and hokey-pokey chunks. We had fun melting the walnut powder on our tongues and poking at the different elements on the dish. The hokey pokey was not your average golden syrup variety but was made with beetroot juice - so even with this explosion of textures, everything blends together. After a mini degustation, one shared sweet dessert was enough! The rosewater was not an understatement - the scent was clear, and sweet, followed by an even sweeter strawberry parfait. It had a subtle summer breeze to this dish and the strawberry parfait an excellent substitute for your average ice cream. The saffron leaves a distinct after taste and cures the dish from being too sweet. With the popularity of restaurants that let you put elbows on tables, tablecloths are stripped away to make way for our laid-back Kiwi culture. If you're looking for a sweet candle-lit dinner, there's other fine-dining restaurants in Auckland CBD. But I'm loving this fusion of casual and fine at The Tasting Shed. The service doesn't make you feel like you're a VIP but more like your host that invited you to their house for dinner. So if you're looking for an excuse out of the city, make this your first stop!

Great tasting summer brunch/lunch place. Beautifully decorated with soft lighting and wooden…read morefurniture. Option to eat indoors or outdoors. Kitchen closed at 1500 to 1700 for dinner prep although small plates are served during that time. European cuisine with heavy Asian influence, think daikon, kimchi, even asam laksa (the Asian snob in me couldn't bring myself to order this). We had the market ceviche (good but we prefer this with a bit more punch), kimchi Mac & cheese (odd pairing which I enjoyed) and the Lamb Shoulder (fantastic!)