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!

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.

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,.

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).

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.

Big open interior with plenty of drink options and additional seating in the loft. Food was okay to…read moregood with fairly quick service. We went on a rainy day but I imagine this would be lovely on a summer night where you could sit on the patio. I would probably go again to try their feijoa cider ( seasonal) and try and experience during the summer

What a great place to try some excellent cider and get lunch. It was very busy during the summer…read moreholiday, so if time is a factor go elsewhere. For us, the wait was worth it, the staff were very friendly and helpful ( made sure we avoided some food allergies) and the views were amazing.

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.

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!

My last meal here in Tauranga New Zealand came on a last minute decision while walking around The…read moreStrand. It was nearing 8pm on a Saturday September 2018 evening and needed to decide where to have dinner. Enter Cornerstone Pub. It was your quintessential neighborhood bar and restaurant. I was glad that the restaurant wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be, especially on a Saturday evening. Not knowing what was open on a Saturday evening and without wheels, I opted to stay very local and popped in here for a meal and some beverages to celebrate 21.1 km run #41 lifetime and 4th country (New Zealand) for half marathon. The pub itself was fairly empty, save for a few tables and bar stools being occupied. I opted to sit in a booth and ended up having a nice meal here. It was a last minute decision that turned out to be a good choice and the beer was good. I ended up having a Heineken since I loved that brand but failed to ask if they had local brews on tap to discover and try out. Maybe next time for sure. The ambiance was nice, stereotypical bar for sure, and they had a rugby game on at the time; so I got to see a real rugby game on television. I first thought it was football (soccer), but realized later on it was not. Silly American. It was a nice place to hang out along the water. The overall experience here at the Cornerstone Pub was decently good, friendly, and quite memorable. Actually Sometimes, it takes a nice pub in Tauranga New Zealand to realize how blessed you are when you're a frequent flier and be able to run distance races just for goals and individual experiences and achievements. That's what happened that evening when I was here at the Cornerstone Pub. Only 6 days into year 39 of life and it just dawned on me that life is definitely beautiful. With that said, Cornerstone Pub is located on The Strand and it's address, 55 The Strand in the heart of Tauranga, New Zealand. They accept major credit cards, which is always a plus. Since the evening air was around 15 degrees Celsius, I opted to be inside. The restaurant pub was clean and definitely decorative. Since this pub is located on The Strand, there are a couple of parking areas that you can use. There are other street parking options also, but you would have to walk on over after parking the vehicle. For myself, I walked here from my hotel, which was a couple of blocks away, so there wasn't any need for a car in Tauranga. There is public transportation in Tauranga, but you'll probably would need to get off on Wharf Street and walk a block towards The Strand. Needless to say that my time here at the Cornerstone Pub was nice. Rugby on the television, beers are flowing, and the food was good. I decided on the lamb burger, which was actually very good. Never had New Zealand lamb before coming to New Zealand to experience it. For now, it was a good tasteful bliss that culminated into a feast for the tastebuds. It came with French fries and I ordered an extra order of onion rings to complete the meal. With a Heineken to finish off the meal, it was sure to be a good meal. I loved every bit of it, especially the onion rings. They are way better than that of the American Burger King type of onion rings. So much more better than that! For the most part though, the culinary experience was good and I had a good time. If you are on holiday here in Tauranga, New Zealand, consider hanging out here at the Cornerstone Pub. The lamb burger is delicious and would like to recommend coming here for a good time in Tauranga after a day of sightseeing. Never had New Zealand lamb before this experience. Should also hit up a steakhouse that serves New Zealand lamb next trip to New Zealand. 4.0 stars for the overall experience. 4.0 stars for the ambiance and service. 4.0 stars for the meal and the beer. Too bad it was on Saturday and the beginning of the end of my trip overseas. Support local! B

"Incredibly rude -- crooked -- please don't waste your time or money here!"…read more Pending review After dinner at a restaurant I stopped in for a quiet drink with friends. I was holding my doggy bag from the restaurant to take home. The security guard/bouncer, a completely obtuse and obnoxious man, said he would "kick me in" if he caught me eating it!? From the outset, I clearly explained that I had no intention of doing this. We bought drinks and the bouncer kept trying to take our glasses away after we'd just bought them, like we wouldn't notice and would then have to buy more! It's a racket, corrupt, and he was incredibly rude. Not to mention putting his fingers inside the glass to remove them but not even asking if we were finished! The girl at the bar didn't even care when I talked to her about it. Please, PLEASE, go elsewhere.