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,.

This restaurant was gross and green, honestly I thought all of its business had died down. I was…read moresurprised to see it was still operating as I thought it had died, in conclusion I do not think it has any friends in the restaurant business.

delicious brisket gnocchi (although it was more of a pot roast than brisket), lots of flavor…read morethroughout + also the fish and chips were very flavorful!! quick and kind service with cute assistant who might have been the young daughter of the manager? super sweet good ambiance at lunch overall veryyyyy good

Went here tonight for a date night with my husband. We made reservations a week (which I actually…read morenever imagined might be necessary) and arrived about 30 minutes before our booking time. However, even for a non-specific Wednesday night, the dining area was nearly full at 7:00 pm. We had a drink at The Keg Room (both establishments are connected) before heading over to The Eatery for our dinner. The ambiance is casual, comfortable but nice. The Keg Room has dark walls, metal kegs lining one wall, multiple TV screens showing sports. There are high stool seats, lower leather seating and a couple of booths inside. There is limited outdoor seating as well. When we went, there was a combo of adult groups and also people there with children. The Eatery is slightly fancier, but still appropriate to wear casual attire. There are black beaded chandeliers, a gas fireplace and a couple of iron shelves filled with wood logs. There appeared to be a sectioned of area that could be used for a private party. We had a bottle of wine and I was happy with the wine selections. There were plenty of NZ wines but also a good selections of Italian wines. We had the Quota 29 primitivo. We weren't disappointed. We started with spicy Italian pork sausages. These were very tasty, not *too* spicy and served with cooked onions, tomatoes and kalamata olives. It was really great. We also shared one of the side salads to start - arugula/rocket, pears and candied walnuts. It was nicely dressed, light and delicious. I had the suprema pizza for my main - it had arugula/rocket, pine nuts and prosciutto. What I really loved is that the crust was not too thin/crispy but not so think that it was like a grease sponge. It was very reminiscent of pizzas that I had while traveling in Italy. I wasn't sure what I'd think about the pine nuts, but they ended up being a nice touch. The pizza was fairly sizable, and I ended up eating about half and taking the rest home. My husband had the Maltagliati, all'amatriciana (spicy, hand-pulled pasta with bacon). He asked for it to be "extra spicy," and they did spice it up. I tasted it and it was on the verge of too spicy for me, but that is just how he likes it. We finished with tiramisu, which was very nice, but I'm not sure that it was really stand-out compared to others. All in all, we had a great evening and felt the drive from the CBD was well worth it (all 15 minutes). It is rather unassuming from the outside, nestled inside a strip mall type of setting. There is plenty of parking. We will definitely go back.

Little pricey for what alacarte menu but portions are big and tasty food. Chips are good.read more

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.

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).

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.

We were staying in Tauranga and looking to try some delicious local seafood when we read the…read morereviews for this place and were sold. We arrived pretty late after a long drive and were excited to find it open and able to promptly seat us. The inside is pretty small and intimate and has romantic lighting and a cozy collection of tables and chairs. The turquoise statement walls bring in a subtle ocean theme along with the giant picture of an angler fish on the wall..that's one intimidating fish face! Our server was very friendly and helpful at pointing out the gluten free options on their menu. I had the pasta marinara with seafood which came out beautifully plated and tasted delicious. The husband enjoyed a nice crispy beer battered snapper and fries. We'd heard they have a great dessert menu but were honestly too full to try anything. Delicious eats and a fun relaxing vibe to the atmosphere!

At first, I was a little thrown off by the name.. because we were looking for an up-scale…read morerestaurant to have a date night! But after looking at the menu, we were convinced it would be delicious. We sat and ordered a bottle of wine, the muscles in butter wine sauce and the seafood chowder! The meals were absolutely delicious! By far- the best mussels I have ever had, before we even finished them we were wanting a second order of them! The seafood chowder was delicious as well! But if I were to go back, I'd ordered the mussels first. Staff was great and the location was perfect!

In Hamilton for 2 nights. Enjoyed this spot twice . One of…read morethe few bars we could belly up to as many in NZ seem to have no stools. Great cocktails and beer selection. Friendly, engaging staff.

This is a serious contender for best bar in Hamilton. I came here Saturday night with my husband…read moreand a couple friends. Why, why have I not been here before now?! I used to live just up the block! My husband had already been here and, somehow, did not bring me in immediately. This is one of those places where I had a "love at first sight" moment. Even on a fairly crowded night, the vibe in this place is super-cool. It's small, almost uncomfortably so, but in spite of that (because of that?) it has a great intimate feel. The cocktails are pricey, but different and skillfully prepared. There is a good selection of whiskey (my whiskey-loving friend tells me). There was a DJ artfully spinning a weird, awesome, "did-he-just-do-that?" selection of tunes. The decor is comfortable/cool, with walls of exposed bricks and "I never want to get up" comfy couches. The back walls are lined with loads of books and one portion of the ceiling is covered with records. They appear to have some bites to eat, but admittedly, we were just there for drinks. It's a little tricky to find, set back from Victoria Street down a side alley. But, it's SO worth finding.