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.

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!

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,.

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!

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.