Bonita - Dining Room & Bar — Restaurant in Ōrākei

Wow I’ve had the worst experience ever at this restaurant, if I could give 0 stars I would. The lady who served our table was lovely, but the woman greeting us at the front became extremely defensive when we provided constructive feedback after our meal, I was so upset I left the restaurant in tears as she was extremely rude to me and my partner. We had dinner here and noticed the portions sizes were really small for the price, so after paying for our bill I politely in a gentle and calm manner provided feedback that the portion size of 1 of the main dishes was a bit disappointing as I still felt hungry, especially after spending a good amount here. But instead of taking this feedback on board and passing it on to the chef or owner, she got really angry and said: “I don’t like the way you’re saying that right now and I'm done talking to you. Everything is expensive, if you can’t dine out then don’t!” Which was totally uncalled for and we were so shocked at her reaction. She kept yelling over and over: “you’re speaking to me so aggressively right now!” I politely and respectfully reiterated that we just wanted to provide honest and constructive feedback and it’s not meant to be an ill intent and just hoped that they could take that feedback on board. But she got extremely defensive and upset again and said “you’re being so rude right now!" (We were really confused by this comment as she was the one raising her voice and being extremely defensive) "I don’t like the way you’re speaking and you’re so aggressive right now, and if you can’t dine out then don’t, we have to pay staff and everything costs!”, and then she slammed the door right in our faces. We were so shaken and upset from being treated like this, and so shocked from this I walked away trembling and in tears.. All we did was to provide constructive feedback in a respectful manner. WOW just wow…! If you visit this restaurant be ready to be treated appallingly by this woman if you provide any constructive feedback because she will tell you you’re rude and aggressive and don’t dine out if you can’t afford it, which is absolutely demeaning and insulting. I am so shaken by how she spoke to me and my partner and especially how she shut the door in our faces, just because she couldn’t handle a bit of constructive criticism. We’re also not the first ones to comment on their portion sizes (there are other reviews saying that too). I literally drove home shaking and crying as I’ve never been treated this way by any business as a paying customer, let alone anyone. And never have I been told by a business: If you can't afford to eat out then don't! I hope the owner knows this is not okay and this is absolutely not how you treat customers, especially when we remained calm and respectful despite her insulting us. We’re still in so much shock and can’t believe we were treated this way by this business especially having the door slammed in our faces like that… we are left absolutely speechless and we’re not sure what we did to deserve this kind of treatment from this person. Overpriced food aside, no one should treat another person like this, and I’m so sad that what was meant to be a lovely night out with my partner celebrating recovering from a serious illness has turned into a nightmare getting insulted and having the doors slammed in our faces. To this person, if you can't handle constructive feedback, how are you able to grow as a person and learn to better yourself and your business? Everyone takes feedback regularly from peers and employers and it is part of normal life, to blow up in our faces like that and saying hurtful things to us is so unprofessional and...

The restaurant is a new opening in Ellerslie. We came by quite early and didn't have a booking but was able to get a table. We did have to move tables for dessert as the table had been booked and we were lucky enough to have an empty table to move to. The menu is interesting with Korean and Spanish-inspired dishes. I was expecting more of a fusion component with the menu items. We grabbed a few things to share. The kimchi croqueta was nice but it didn't have a strong kimchi flavour but it was a nice fusion dish. The tomato and strawberry dish was interesting and tasty. The tartare felt more like a yukhoe based on the flavour rather than a tartare. The prawn crackers were a little different to the standard tartare. The mandoo was nice with the tomato sauce, again a nice fusion dish. We grabbed the chicken with raspberry mole for the main and it was nice but I did find the mole to be on the salty side. The chicken was nicely cooked but the salty mole made it not as enjoyable to eat without rice. We grabbed all three desserts to try, the pineapple tart, the red bean milhojas, and the matcha semifreddo. This fusion of flavours and dishes was what I was expecting from the mains. The tart base of the pineapple tart was amazing and tasted similar to the Malaysian pineapple tart. I quite liked the red bean milhojas with the pastry and cream. The matcha semifreddo was nice but the berry sorbet made the dish a bit acidic. The place was quite nice and really interesting flavours. I can't wait to see what else they can come up with when they refine their menu since they...

If you are looking for a dining experience, it's not at Bonita you'll find it. Very average food, microscopic portions (the fish is the most ridiculous dish I have ever been served, it's a 27$ sashimi in a plate with some kimchi under to make it look bigger and a spicy sauce, no cooking here!). Nothing in my plate that I couldn't cook. Meat undercooked when asked medium rare to well done, it arrived bloody in the table... Sent back to the kitchen, never came back unless asked for it (what are they thinking about in the kitchen, hello!!?) The chef needs to go back to the cooking fundamentals and learn how to make proper tapas before doing a fusion with them and another cuisine. Croquetas were hidious... Every little bar in Madrid does them better! Tomato and strawberry, seriously? ... Goodness me! Only a kid would dare doing that to a tomato! (Such a childish way of cooking and eating). Did the cook (there is no chef here! ) eats what he cooks? I prefer not to talk about the prices... Ridiculous and absolutely not justified.

Ambiance and deco are just like basic standard, no attention to detail, not an effort for a little bit of sophistication, furniture is meh! Waitresses need to re-evaluate their careers, they are not made for this job.

In short, pretentious and useless... First time in my life (and I am 57) I had to go to buy some food after been at the restaurant

Never ever again!

I am not a troll nor an influencer (whatever!) but I am...