Semplice — Restaurant in Ōrākei

On the occasions we have visited, we have found that the barista consistently does not prioritise takeaway orders by who orders the takeaway first. You also have to ask for menus and water if you sit outside - and you will still have to go up and make your order at the counter despite being a table of 4.

The food and drinks are great here so despite poor service on past occasions, I wanted to give it another go. I ordered 1 coffee and 1 iced chocolate and waited 10 minutes. A woman then came in and ordered her coffee and hot pastry. She was out the door with her order within 4 minutes whilst the barista was still finishing my order.

When I finally got my order after waiting 15 mins on a quieter morning, I told both him and the European guy (who i believe is the manager) that it was unacceptable that her order was completed before mine given the length of time i was waiting and that I will not be returning to Semplice. They both simply stared and didn't say a word.

My partner made a complaint to both the barista and manager on a separate occasion in the past and also got not response or acknowledgement of the issues faced.

The manager needs to step up and take some responsibility. He also needs to learn to respond to customers when these issues come up - it is the poor/lack of response to them and a lack of action that unfortunately means we will not be returning to or...

Positives - delicious food, excellent service Negatives - very expensive, small portions, limited menu

I can't fault the food but dinner here is really expensive for what you get. We had two pasta dishes, two desserts, 1 salad, 1 beer, 1 sparking water = $144. And I left hungry because the portion sizes were so small. And this is a lot to charge for a neighbourhood restaurant. Yes, St Heliers is an upscale neighbourhood, but this is still a local, and without even a sea view.

My mushroom raviolo was superb, seriously yummy. But two raviolos, sauce and mushrooms on top, is a small plate, not a main. Add an extra raviolo to that plate, I would have been happier. My partner's carbonara was more filling, but still on the small side for a plate of pasta. Salad was okay, but just some lettuce and other bits are not worth $18. My tiramasu was also really heavenly. But small. Maybe there are heartier dishes available but the menu is quite limited.

The interior is very pedestrian, always has been, and the new owners have not done much with it. I would go back because the food really is quite good, true classic Italian. And the servers were just wonderful. But next time, I'll order the bread and the porchetta so I'll leave full and feel I got my...

My friends and I went for brunch the other day. The restaurant space was beautiful although all the lights were off and there seemed to be no aircon or windows open which made it very hot.

The coffee took a long time to come and at the time we arrived (9am) it wasn’t very busy so I felt this shouldn’t have been the case. We had to ask constantly for more water as it was very very hot. Attention to detail like making sure tables have water in summer is something that should go without saying but I’m sure the staff can work on this. It’s the little things like that, that make cafe and restaurant experiences all the more enjoyable.

Other than that, the food was outstanding, coffee was great and the staff were friendly....