Grace L.
Yelp
For being one of the top restaurants in New Zealand, I had pretty high expectations. The first amuse-bouche was probably the best and the rest of the plates got repetitive. I normally enjoy a good sorbet, but being provided 4 separate dishes of sorbet got me a little tired of sorbet. One dish had cucumber sorbet, another passion fruit sorbet, Parmesan cheese sorbet and a feijoa sorbet. There was also a lot of plates with the same elements such as a touch of mousse and a fried leaf. One had cabbage, one had two Brussels sprout leaves, another had a dried seaweed sheet, another was fried kale. Again, very repetitive. Our 9 course meal took about 3 hours.
The service was also something that could be severely improved. We kept waiting for the check to arrive, I even asked our waiter for the check, but it never came. In the end, we got up and paid at the register. I've never had to do such a thing at a fine dining restaurant! And I guess it's not uncommon because after we got up, another table got up and paid at the register right after us. Also, I had to ask for a copy of the menu on my way out. Isn't this something that would have been provided at the beginning of the meal or at least offered at the end? I'm amazed I had to ask if such a thing even existed.
On the plus side, each plate was artfully plates, the restaurant was nicely decorated and had a great view of the Sky Tower. We were lucky to be seated at the window so our spot was more private. Otherwise, some of the tables are very close to each other. Lastly, the cost is much cheaper than some of the other fine dining around the world so I guess the missing details is reflective of the price.
As beautiful as this restaurant is, I probably won't go back on my next trip to New Zealand. If I do, I'll go with a 6 course tasting next time so the plates don't feel as repetitive.