After my visit here, I'd take a flying XXXX before I headed back to the Flying Moa! I was expecting something pretty good from this Mt Wellington outpost of the New Zealand Pub Co. After all, their fellow pub the Zookeeper's Son is pretty much my local in Royal Oak. But I was sadly disappointed.
The set up is great - nice decor, outdoor tables on busy Lunn Ave & the big spaces that Friday lunchtime workmates & weekend brunching families alike can enjoy. The staff all seemed friendly & chatty enough. But this is a foodie website, and the food is what let them down.
For starters, the menu seemed pretty winter-y. Lots of steak, chips, mash & big hearty-sounding meals dominated. On a sunny Friday lunchtime, this definitely wasn't our style. Secondly, my vegetarian friend struggled to find anything that appealed. She eats seafood, and some of the sizzling stone plate options such as the Seafood Skewers sounded OK, but putting them in the "entree" section hints at small portions. She opted for the fish & chips in the end, which was nice, but at over $17 definitely not a cheap option.
My choice of a pulled pork sandwich served with slaw & pickles sounded good on paper. The friendly waitress asked if I'd like a side of fries or something else with it. Here's the part where I sound cheap. It was a Friday lunch out of the office. Normally I'd grab something from a food court for around $10, but we'd decided to enjoy the ambience here so I was happy to spend a bit more. With drinks already ordered, I didn't think an additional $6+ was warranted for fries when my sandwich was already $14.50. Oh, how I wish I'd ordered the fries now!!!
When the food arrived, the fish & chips looked good; a relatively small lunch size platter with a nice garden salad on the side. A nicely balanced meal. My dish, however, neither looked good nor was well balanced! I had a tiny triangle of foccaccia bread deserted in the middle of a full-sized plate, looking very lonely. I think I must have stared at the plate looking a bit shocked for a few seconds. What was inside the sandwich was tasty enough, but the meagre portion was definitely not worth the price. And I was still hungry afterwards. I don't remember ever having to order extra sides at the Zookeeper's Son, and I've certainly never been left hungry from their pub-sized portions. Maybe Mt Wellingtonians have smaller appetites and larger wallets!
All up, lunch cost me around $20, and I probably would have been more satisfied with a $3 McDonalds Combo. Despite being the closest pub to work, I definitely won't be returning here in a hurry. What a disappointment. read more