Very busy at 6.30 on a Wednesday, we tried to book but they told us they only had one table free…read moreand they kept that for walk-ins - so we moved out asses pronto and got over there to claim it! Really good choice of seafood dishes; we had the market fish (red snapper) in a ginger and garlic sauce, just delicious, melt in the mouth stuff. They were a bit short on dairy-free desserts, but we had the sticky toffee and date without the ice cream, which managed to fill in those few small holes that remained. We're booking again for the weekend! Three times we've eaten here. Definitely our favourite place in Auckland.

On our second-to-last day of roaming around Auckland and discussing the costs of owning a home in…read morehistorical or modern redeveloped areas with our New Zealand friends, Geoffrey and Margaret, they brought us to stroll around Wynyard Quarter, a waterfront area located on Auckland's Waitematā Harbor. They showed us the modern architecture, focused on sustainability, public spaces, restaurants and bars, and vibrant marina living in this redeveloped harbor area, which had quickly become a destination for tourists and locals. From the Jellicoe Harbor Breakwater built in 2020 to calm the waters for race boats and supporting yachts since Auckland's Waitematā Harbor hosted the 36th America's Cup, we could clearly see the cruise port from where we disembarked and the city center. Geoffrey and Margaret insisted on showing us the waterfront and promised to take us to a seafood restaurant. We mentioned that we love eating seafood, but were "preserving" our stomachs for casual, comfort, or unfussy food because we had been eating gourmet cuisines over the past 17 days while in Australia and during our cruise. We were thankful that they understood our request and dropped us off at our hotel to freshen up for dinner while Margaret made the reservation for an early dinner. We returned to the Wynyard Quarter's waterfront to Swashbucklers seafood restaurant, where we immediately felt comfortable with the vivaciousness of the hostess and server. We started our meal with icy-cold Peroni beers while sharing the tasty steamed mussels and garlic bread. Our server mentioned their fresh catch of the day was a snapper, which I adore, so I ordered it while my husband, Geoff, and Marg ordered the Fish & Chips, which we were told was a signature dish to Swashbucklers. All the food was flavorful and well-prepared. We were mostly impressed with the quality, quantity, and flavor of the steamed mussels. My husband gushed about the crispy, light-battered fish and the excellently textured chips. I enjoyed the tender pan-fried snapper with garlic butter, and complemented the fish with a slice of garlic bread. We'd love to return for the camaraderie, flavors, and flavors at Swashbucklers. 4.4 stars

Still great fish and chips!! Ordered the snapper, garlic butter chips, salad for $18 and a thick…read moremilkshake for $6 with no regrets. They do charge for tartar sauce and ketchup separately and fish portions seem smaller than the pre-pandemic days, but the prices didn't raise too much. Will always drop by whenever I'm on this side of NZ.

Wow, great fish and chip shop, great prices, friendly people, and quite a bit of seating. Great…read moreYelp find! Best battered fish we've had on the North Island so far.

After our first day of bicycle touring in New Zealand from Auckland to Huntly, we arrived on Main…read moreStreet tired, thirsty and VERY HUNGRY! After walking up and down Main Street, eyeing the restaurants and deli shops as if they were prey to a pack of wolves, there was only one shop which stood out from the rest of the crowd. The fresh seafood on ice, fish & chips, and smoked fish of the day drew me in. There's seating indoors and outside. This is a fish market, don't come here for ambiance or a romantic dinner for 2... or 3... or 4. The decor is the meal, laid out fresh on the counters by the purveyors of this fine seafood establishment. The owner and staff are very helpful, answering questions from customers who are either ordering to eat in or to be freshly packed for home. Taking a seat on the curbside table, we started on the smoked fish of the day. The white flesh of the smoked fish has a firm texture, stronger flavors and medium to high oil content. The anticipation was over when the family size platter of Fish and Chips arrived. The no-frills little chippy shop serves up chunky pieces of moist white fish against a crispy batter. The batter here is better than most chippy shops we've had in New Zealand, generally underwhelming and greasy. The mountainful of chips are crisp and firm. The fried battered oysters and scallops are a good complement to the fish and chips. The family size fish and chips platter was affordably priced. The standout of the meal was the Kina. If you're always on the lookout for the ultimate uni/sea urchin experience on your travels, don't pass up a chance to try the New Zealand version of the spiny shelled creature. Kina has been a part of the local Maori diet for hundreds of years. Having ordered one from the counter as my "dessert" and brought out to our table, an elderly Maori passing by gave a recommendation to eat the dark seedy liquid around the roe. The owner had recommended against the idea, explaining most Kiwis find the taste of the dark liquid too bitter. After separately a few pieces of the roe from the dark liquid inside the half opened Kina shell, the roe was fresh, had a soft texture, and slightly bitter compared to Japanese sea urchins. I tried a small taste of the dark liquid with a roe, and as warned it was indeed very bitter, enough to scrunch up your face. Try the Kina roe on its own. The five star rating for this shop was mainly due to our hungry stomachs after a day of cycling, the affordable and generous portions, the friendly staff, and the Kina experience.

Rainy day called for comfort food. Restaurant was empty in our arrival, but slowly filling up as…read morethe meal progressed, thus making me feel better about not being the only crazy ones to eat Chinese food in NZ. Family operated restaurant, a literal child brought some of our food out. Food was good, relatively speaking. Veggies were super fresh. My tummy was happy.

I was visiting New Zealand with my Mom and just rolled into Rotorua, extremely hungry…read more.. practically starving. I was recommended Eat Street for a variety of restaurants, so I check it out. There was a good selection of restaurants there, and definitely lots of happy hour choices, but nothing intrigued us. My Mom was after veggies, so I Yelped for Chinese food. There was only a few selections (only a handful of people use Yelp here). The one we chose was closed for a month for family holiday. Luckily, while I was driving to check out another spot, I came across an entire street of Chinese restaurants (Amohau St, Rotorua). There was 3 to be exact and we wandered into each one to have a peek at their menu. We chose to eat at Golden BBQ Seafood Restaurant and I'm super gad we did! The restaurant was well lit and spacious. The staff were friendly and helpful. The dishes were a good sized proportion. We ordered 2 dishes with a bowl of rice and were super stuffed after. 1. Four Season Green Beans w/ Beef & Mushrooms 2. House Special Deep Fried Tofu w/ Green Onions Everything was DELICIOUS!! Being Cantonese myself, I must say, they had their flavors on point! Bravo. It's rare to find good traditional Chinese food when on vacation. Overall, we were very happy with it dinner experience here :).

Just checked in the hotel and came here before it got too late. The Depot had good reviews on Yelp…read moreso I tried it. It's about 15-20 min walk from the warf. It was busy so I was seated outside. They had overhead heat lamps so I was comfortable without a jacket one (this is in June). The menu is geared for sharing dishes so ordering for one is a challenge. I had the local Lagar on tap, 1 of each of the 2 oysters offered, and the NZ green-lipped mussels with chiriso. They also gave me a complementary pita triangles with hummus. Overall, everything was delicious. I could have gone for more oysters, but didn't want to overdo it. The mussel dish had 7 good size mussels so I was satisfied without feeling stuffed. Glad I came to the Depot.

My friends and I went there for my last day in Auckland. We went around lunch time and we were able…read moreto get seated very quick. The ambiance was still so chill and not as packed because it was early afternoon, which was nice. The staff again were super friendly and answered any questions we had. Sadly, we didn't get the fish sliders because they were sold out! But we did get some of the same dishes I had ordered before but got oysters as well. The oysters were fresh and tasty, especially with their vinegar sauce. My friends also loved the charred eggplant and a couple of them don't really eat eggplant. The crispy potatoes were so good! The truffle wasn't too overpowering and they were perfectly crisp. The steak was super tender and juicy and the wedge salad helps cut the fat and compliments the steak as well. Can't wait to come back to Depot. Already miss it so much!

This was a short drive from the town centre, but worth the effort. It's right at the end of the…read moreroad by an old concrete silo. I tried the local caught Tarakihi Fish burger and my wife had Steak sammy. Both dishes were a full plateful. I had 4 big pieces of fish on my plate, and was quite stuffed by them alone with the burger bun and chips that accompanied them. My wife also said the same about her meal. It's a shame for such large portions and we could not finish such a lovely meal. I loved the wooden and nautical decor both inside and out. The staff were very friendly and helpful. It's such a shame about it's location, being out on it's own, but that is also the attraction, far enough from the crowd to be worth the effort.

The food and service was good. However, I was deeply disturbed by the "shims" toilet sign. There…read morewere two toilets, one marked "Her" and one marked "Him". A third door had a sign that I assumed was a joke about gender neutral toilets. But when you opened the door titled "shims" it was a sink and basically a utility closet! This joke was disgusting and as a visitor/tourist I am a bit disappointed with how this sign reflects the rest of the town. Maybe I am missing a "kiwi-ism" and it means something else...but I think it is a poorly made joke. I would not recommend this place as family appropriate.

I had been to this restaurant in Orewa 8 years back and still looks the same with all ship anchors,…read morepictures and a massive steering wheel which greets all diners. The staff are very friendly and the new owner Wendy was really nice. It is located in Orewa town centre with heaps of parking nearby. The wine list is extensive and not too expensive. For mains we settled for fish of the day which was a fresh snapper and spicy chicken, sides were salad and fries,

The seafood soup was so plentiful I couldn't finish it. The wait staff was friendly and helpful…read more It was fun to watch the rugby game on the tvs as we enjoyed our meal. The fireplace was cozy and inviting. Thank you.

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!

Delicious, fresh oysters. Fun, fast service for take away (near or far). Lovely place that is easy…read moreto miss, so drive slow and enter carefully-they're busy! Lovely place on your way to and from the lovely beaches nearby.

A very easy to miss spot if you aren't actively looking for it while heading into or out of the…read moreTawharanui Marine Reserve for tourists. We were lucky our snorkelling instructor whispered into our ears about this place because it was so worth it. The small shop sells fresh shucked oysters out of their oyster farm. They were so fresh and tasted of that clean and pristine NZD waters. We decided on a dozen oysters as a snack for the two of us before heading into Matakana proper to find a more substantial lunch. They have bigger plates should you be more greedy. Hehe. They have more than enough different garnishes for your oysters from spicy, sweet, salty, and other. We settled into the little table underneath a few of the trees on the lot and just delighted in slurping up each oyster. The oysters were medium sized and really sweet. We really recommend stopping by here in you are in the area. It's a gem.

Exceptional fish and chips. The batter is thin and crisp and…read morethe fish is fresh. Chips are well cooked and not greasy. In addition the place has a seafood menu for sit down, down stairs and upstairs. Well worth visiting when you are in Mission Bay.

I was walking to the Urban Sanctuary along the bay so I looked for good restaurants in the area…read more This restaurant had great reviews and a high overall ranking. The dining tables were filthy and the whole time I was there they were not cleaned. I had the grilled snapper which wasn't bad but didn't overcome being served on disgusting, dirty tables and the topper was there are no bathrooms since the upstairs dining area is closed.