Tīni Bar & Eatery — Restaurant in Banks Peninsula Community

10th Dec 2018 - This is a cafe and bar that is located at the end of Rue Jolie and close to the edge of French Bay. This site is only accessible from Rue Jolie or via a footpath from Rue Lavaud.

The menu is very straightforward and is not overwhelming (which is a good thing) with choices but rather nicely balanced. The drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) are also available.

I ordered a blue cod fish and chips, plus a ginger beer from the bar. There's no table service. I waited for about 10 minutes (which was ok, reasonable wait time) before my meal arrived. There were two battered fish fillets, a scoop of chips, and green salad topped with sun-dried tomatoes and sliced olives. The fillets were good; not dry or burnt (unlike some cafes/ restaurants that use dirty oil), and the coating was not thick (which is a good thing) but crispy and crunchy. Just like any other fish and chips, there's nothing spectacular about it.

Overall, the food was good.

Good portion sizes.

This is a child-friendly restaurant.

This is a licensed (🍻🍸🍷🍾🍹🍺) eatery and not a BYO. The dining area is also a covered area (with retractable/ louvre roof).

There is parking 🅿 nearby.

They accept cash and EFTPOS including credit card payments (Paywave payments are not available, for those who want to know).

Would I go back? Yes 😀. Well worth a try and you will not be disappointed. Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. It was tasty 😋. Ambience: ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Relax and cosy. Price: ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Reasonable pricing. Customer service: ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Friendly staff. The only conversation that I had with the staff was during my order.

Jun 2015 - On a good day (sunny and hot), this is a fantastic area to enjoy food and drinks. However, if it is windy and/or raining, this will be a nightmare. Also, be prepared to be "eaten" by sand flies... You need an insect repellent spray!

Overall, the pizza was very creamy and yummy. Fried chips and lattes were very ordinary. The letdown was their soup... Too watery, not enough thickness.

Would I go back? Possibly on a good day and armed with insect...

Came in this afternoon for a drink and a bowl of fries. There was one other table already there with food and drinks on the way. We were greeted promptly and menus were given along with water. That was the quickest part of our afternoon.

After sitting for quite some time one of the girls came over and asked if we would like a drink. The drink took over 10minutes to arrive we then proceeded to order fries. 10 minutes later another table arrived, ordered drinks and fries also. This is where confusion set in. The staff did not know where food was going, the table who arrived after us got all their order before ours. When our fries finally arrived, we had been there for 45 minutes.

I can sympathise with a chaotic day in a cafe but this was not busy in the slightest. Both my parter and I have worked in hospitality most of our working life. We expect a higher standard of communication between the staff and more clarity on training with the system.

All staff need more training and this is clear signs of poor management. I do not blame the service staff fully, but they should know better.

Some of the staff were clearly overwhelmed and became visibly upset, one had leave for a short period.

When it come to us paying, we dealt with the young girl who served us and she couldn't find our order. I believe we were waiting around to pay for about 15 minutes. The owner needs...

Location is great, hence the two stars. We were seated and then ignored for 15 minutes, but no worries, it says on the menu you're short staffed like many places in NZ. The lower quality of service can be forgiven, your staff were clearly new and learning on the job (I felt sorry for them, I've managed FOH and they didn't seem to have enough training). They were trying their hardest and I appreciate that it's difficult when starting out without much help. The best thing we had on the menu was the fries, which were crispy and salty. Pretty easy to get right. The tacos we had were poorly put together, didn't taste great and our "japa-terranean" ones were missing the salsa which was rectified when we pointed it out. Didn't get any flavours from Japan in there though. The fish tacos were again quite basic, pretty much a fried fillet of gurnard and salsa in a Tio Pablo wrap. It's not hard to get something that tastes nicer if your customer is paying $19 for two. Why not add some slaw or at least use enough of each ingredient that you can actually taste it. We felt ripped off, and the only saving grace here is the location. It's a shame because I remember having a nice pizza here a few years ago, and had a better experience. I would recommend coming here for a drink with a view, but I cannot say the same for the food...