Review Title: Extremely Disappointing Family Dining Experience at Wholly Smoked Rotorua Our family of four (two adults and two children) booked a 5:30pm table at Wholly Smoked Rotorua expecting a relaxed evening of barbecue-style dining and smoked meats. Unfortunately, what we experienced was one of the worst restaurant visits we have had in Rotorua. We were seated promptly and given menus, but after placing both our drink and food orders we sat waiting for over an hour with no service, no updates, and no meals arriving. When we finally asked, the waitress told us our food would be "five minutes away." After the long delay, meals eventually came out - but one was completely wrong. A steak that was ordered medium came out well-done and was taken back to the kitchen to be "remade," with another promise of "five minutes." We waited an additional twenty minutes, during which time our children were exhausted and still hungry. By 7pm - ninety minutes after arriving - one child had not been served at all. When the replacement meal finally came out, we had already asked for the bill and decided to leave. To make matters worse, the EFTPOS machine failed three times, making even paying a frustrating ordeal. Despite the positive online reviews we had read before visiting, our experience at Wholly Smoked Rotorua was extremely poor. Slow service, incorrect meals, excessive delays, and disorganisation completely ruined what should have been a simple family dinner. For a restaurant that markets itself around quality smoked meats and family-friendly dining, this was a letdown in every respect. Rotorua has many excellent restaurants, cafes, and takeaways that actually deliver on good service and value - sadly, Wholly Smoked Rotorua is not one of them. If you are looking for barbecue, smoked meats, or a family-friendly restaurant in Rotorua, I would strongly recommend trying elsewhere. One star - very disappointing and not recommended. read more

They offer a wonderful menu for lunch at exceptionally reasonable prices. I enjoyed a steak with chips and a small salad. The steak was cooked perfectly and they substituted garlic butter for creamy mushroom sauce, it was fantastic. The chips were perfect. Would not hesitate to go back for another meal. read more

Omgsh, that's all i can say..... My partner and i went to NZ for a holiday, and we found this amazing place in a little ally called Eat Street. I have to say hands down the best food we have ever had !!!!!! My partner got the ribs, and i think he melted in his seat. The meat just was ro tener and moist, and the house sauce was amazing !!!!, and i got the eye fillet with Mash, and it was mouth watering amazing!!! but to start, we got this amazing prawn salad, and omg, it was ro die for.... my partner and i were sharing our meals it was so dam good !! The service 10/10 the waitress and waiter were so welcoming and made us feel at home. We went back to eat street the next night thought we would tey some where different, turned out where we went was the worst dood ever so he left out bearly toughed food and went 3 doors down back to wholly smoked where they welcomed us back with opend arms and the same amazing service... we got the prawns to go.. but we will be back on our next trip. All we can say is thank you ! read more

Wholly Smoked - You can tell we enjoy this bad boy !!!! - Smokehouse Near Me - Rotorua, BOP

I was so disappointed by this meal. I ordered the fish and risotto with water to drink. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that both the fish and risotto could be ordered without the cilantro. My waiter even made sure that I knew the risotto had parsley, rather than cilantro, when it was served. The fish was cooked in aluminum foil and was in a bath of oil. The fish had very little seasoning and was rather bland. Unfortunately, the risotto wasn't any better. I make a better risotto at home. The risotto more resembled rice, as the risotto wasn't sticky or creamy at all. It was also flavorless. I did like the modern interior of the restaurant with the leather seating and white pillows. Wouldn't return here, especially given the amount of nearby restaurants. read more

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Good dinner after a long day 5 stars Lamb Chops and bruschetta were delicious. Good service, great atmosphere down at Eat Streat. Heaters were great as it was cold outside, but it wasn't overbearingly hot. Wine was good as well and wasn't over priced. read more

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We ate here for dinner one night after walking around Eat Street. The menu looked good and the specials looked even better. I ordered the lamb chops in a teriyaki glaze and my wife had fish with risotto. When our food came, my lamb chops looked great. They came with a small potato and a side salad. As good as the lamb looked, I was quite disappointed by it. At least 50% of my lamb chops were bone or fat (mostly fat). In all, I was able to get just 2-3 bites out of each lamb chop. Sadly, the highlight of my meal was the salad. My wife's fish looked good but she said it was nothing special. I would not eat here again, especially given all the other nearby options. read more

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Honestly underrated in my opinion. Both dishes we had were amazing. Would definitely recommend. read more

Wholly Smoked - Lamb chops where cooked to perfection. A+++ - Smokehouse Near Me - Rotorua, BOP

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Excellent service and fantastic food. Had the prawn and lemongrass soup on this chilly day . Then Cherity smoked venison burger was outstanding. Finished our meal off with an apple Rhubarb Crisp read more

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Worst experience ever. Served cold food and overcooked!!!. No Customer Service at all. I wish I had checked the reviews first before bringing my fam and our overseas guests over. Very very disappointing. I normally don't do reviews but this time, I had to, for the sake of other diners. read more

I read the other 3 reviews after I ate here and was surprised since I found the food quite good. We started with prawns which were very good. They had been basted with a slightly sweet & spicy sauce. I had the lamb chops which were pretty meaty & very tasty. My companion had the Lamb Rump which was also quite good. The staff were very friendly & attentive. Definitely recommend. read more

Great drink and food specials and the food was good. Drinks were a little weak. Good vibes and the food itself didn't disappoint would return. Staff was friendly. read more

What I like to call a non-repeater. It was just OK. Nothing special and the food was a bit bland. (Surf and turf & the fish special) Everything read good but it didn't deliver. $5 house wine was fine and we had a very refreshing mocktail too. I read the reviews while seated at the restaurant and decided there weren't enough to make a judgement however the few reviews are seemingly accurate. The service was a bit slow/laid back too. Still the place filled up and we even tried dessert. The rhubarb & apple crumble was a disappointment and not really shareable. read more

I wish I had read the reviews before I ate here. It's not bad, just not exciting at all. I had the fish like another person on here did and it was bland. I unfortunately could have done far better at home in my own kitchen and I'm not too great at cooking fish. Despite the lack of flavor, the fish was indeed cooked very well. My husband had a steak which he quite liked, so it wasn't a total waste. I didn't enjoy the risotto that came with my fish as it was somewhat sour. read more

Very disappointed by this meal. I wish I had read the reviews before I decided to eat here. First of all, we ordered Beers from the Happy Hour special for 5 dollars, and asked which ones were included. We order some and didn't realize until the bill came that they gave us a bigger size, which was 10 dollars instead of the 5 dollar happy hour one. We asked them about it and they claimed we didn't communicate clearly what size we wanted, even though we just asked about the happy hour special before we ordered them. The Fish and Risotto was terrible, overcooked and bland, but also with an overwhelming citrus flavor. There are plenty of great restaurants in Eat Streat Rotatua, don't waste your time here. read more

Really disappointed - wish I read the reviews before picking this place. I saw the venison rack on the menu and sat down and ordered it, with a few drinks and appetizers. Venison was dry and bland; didn't even finish it. Ended up leaving and eating somewhere else. Cider was good though! Service was lack luster. Lots of other places near here - would not recommend this place unfortunately read more

Ate here for dinner and the food was delicious. The local fish dinner was excellent cooked to perfection and large enough to split. The seasonal vegetables I highly recommend and again is enough to split. The bruschetta was again great and had a complex flavor profile. The only downfall is the small selection of tap beers. read more