The Shakespeare Hotel I Restaurant & Bar I Pub I Micro Brewery

We stumbled upon this place whilst walking around. We came two nights in a row as we liked it so much. The first night was in the restaurant and the second night was in the bar (as the restaurant was closed). The staff are incredibly friendly, the bar was welcoming and had a good buzz about it. And as for the meals - delicious and plentiful. Certainly good value for money and excellent service. Would thoroughly recommend.

What a find! This is an amazing place, A huge friendly welcome by all the staff and as hubby's favourite alcoholic drink is real ales, this was his taste of heaven as the bar had a great variety of brewery ales on tap and within bottles too. During our visit to the bar/pub, we asked if it was OK to wear our t-shirt from back home in Wales/UK. For a charity photo. Staff agreed and our pictures were taken of us enjoying the experience of some great real ales. We highly recommend for those to whom love a great real ale and 5 star 🌟 customer service.

We stayed close by, so can't comment on the accommodation. However we are here 3 nights running for dinner. The manager downstairs was a lovely young lady that was very helpful. We are seniors, and the bar was very noisy. She suggested we order our drinks and meal downstairs, and go upstairs. (The bar upstairs wasn't staffed for another 30 mins). The meals were very good pub grub (so if you are looking for fine dining, this is not the place for you!) The chef was Asian, so there was always a little Asian twist as a side. The chef came to our table the 3 nights we were there, and I asked what the Asian accompaniments were. The 3rd night I went to thank her and she was moved to tears that I would do that. Huge hug from her and also when we said goodbye to the young manager. Well done team!

I can only rate the bar and the meal, as we didn't stay at their accommodation. Although the restaurant was closed, we were able to order at the bar. The bar was very busy, but the staff took our order and brought our drinks promptly to us. We both ordered the chicken parmigiana and were very happy with it. The serving size was more than enough, and we felt the wait really wasn't that long at all, especially considering how busy they were. I'd be happy to return again the next time I'm in Auckland.

I’m actually posting this because of the beer and the location. This is a microbrewery and again, it’s a good one. Great beer, historic building, central location. There is no excuse. They have great food as well, so I’m told.

Can't review the hotel as we were only there for dinner and drinks. Pro: excellent beer on tap! Cons: everything else. Ordered fish and chips (the special that night) and a burger. Despite there only being a dozen people there, it took 35 minutes for the food. Once it finally arrived, huge disappointment. Burger was huge but had little to make it special. Crazy amount of spring mix on there for some reason (seriously, one normal piece of crunchy lettuce would work!) Had to eat with a fork to avoid the soggy bun. The fish and chips, my partner said: "some of the worst I've ever had". But yay for the beer.

The location can’t be beat. Steps from the cathedral, a block from the SkyTower, right on the Main Street and just a few blocks from the harbour. However check in ( at least in the off season) was at the restaurant m, when it is open. They only have a few rooms so understandable they don’t have extra staff. I had to cart my luggage around until the restaurant opened. There is no elevator

We went for dinner and restaurant was closed. It was busy so not ideal eating in the bar with the table/chair format and the pool table. Not the biggest space but we were there and hungry so chose to order. Anyway getting to the food - it was awful. I feel like i ended up in a different place after reading the reviews but was definitely The Shakespeare. I ordered the lamb burger and kumara fries. The three other people I was with ordered the chicken parmigiana, and x2 potato wedges, paying extra for bacon and cheese. The lamb burger was extra dry, overcooked/burnt and tasteless. The kumara fries were burnt and inedible. I asked if I could get a replacement to be told that was how kumara fries are. Hmmm no they are not, I make them all the time and eat them when out. They ended up giving me a $5 cash refund for the fries as I'm assuming they didn't know how not to burn fries. Or understand how to cook good kumara fries. The chicken parmigiana was burnt and dry to the point you couldn't cut it with a knife. Salad was ok. Chips were good apparently. The wedges - overcooked (hard to believe I know, given they are potatoes!). The extra paid for the cheese and bacon was a waste of money as barely any of either. Lots of food left on the plates so hopefully that was a sign to the chef..... Really disappointing meal and would never return. Should have asked for a refund for all meals. Gross!