Jimmy Jack's Rib Shack — Restaurant in Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community

Finally I had the opportunity to get to know this famous place, sadly at first the welcoming was terrible, but it was the only bad thing, we asked a table for 7 people but at the time there were only 5 of us present, so the man at the entrance denied us a table under what must be the stupidest policy I have ever heard, instead of letting us in to freshen up with a drink while we waited for our friends this person made us wait outside eventhough there were some empty tables inside, just because "incomplete groups can not enter" we had to wait outside "Queued" but there was no one else waiting, no one else came, even so this person went out on another occasion to repeat the same absurd policy, absurd because it prevents customers from start consuming on the restaurant, it is quite silly, especially for what it is " NZ's most famous ribs."

On the contrary, the service inside is incredible, the waitresses are extremely friendly and fun, the food is magnificent and lives up to its reputation, the meat comes off from the bone easily, the sauce is not too sweet or too acid, their menu of Cocktails are tasty as is their beer; They also has the attention with the children of giving them a sheet to play in while they are waiting for the food.

If you dial on the phone a recording tells you that they can't reserve tables but on arrival there were a couple of large tables with a "reserved" sign.

The experience except for the reception was magnificent, a highly recommended place, but do not forget to arrive the whole group at the same time or you will have to...

Got food poisoning. This used to be a great restaurant. I came to Paihia two years back and it was excellent. The ownership most have changed though because this is hands down the worst restaurant I have ever been to.

Do NOT order anything except your standard ribs and fries here if you must go. Table was wet and unwiped when we sat down. We ordered the sizzling prawn platter with fresh vegetables and recieved what was obviously frozen vegetables and a packet sauce. It was borderline inedible for the price. The chicken wings were of incredibly poor quality too. The staff were kind enough to take the prawns off the bill after a complaint, which was appreciated. My daughter ate some of my husband's seafood pasta instead.

I would have been happy to leave it at that without making a bad review but, the next day, both my daughter and my husband had contracted food poisoning, clearly from the seafood pasta. They've been laid up for 2 days with diarrhoea and nausea. It was an awful flight home and they've missed a concert we've had booked for months thanks to the utter lack of food safety. Just dirty and unhygienic. Do NOT eat the seafood here!!! You will get sick. My family is not the only ones in the reviews who have gotten ill...

This place was recommended to me by my brother (who currently lives across the ditch) whos had a ritual of going there with his young son whenever they're back and up in Russell. The staff were very friendly and service was prompt. Luckily it wasn't as busy as I heard it gets and our food arrived smartly and well presented. The calamari rings were the best we've ever tasted! Not smothered in batter like most other places we've been to and a light delicate flavour. The curly fries are the same as I remember from a similar place in Wellington, nice and crunchy and VERY filling. The ribs...oh my lord the ribs. The only problem I had with the ribs was that my eyes were bigger than my stomach. They were tender and succulent and literally fell off the bone. The sauce wasn't too sweet or too sticky but just that right flavour to make the ribs even more tasty! The tiny (and I mean tiny) downer for me was the salad/coleslaw could have used a bit more dressing but that small thing was more than compensated by the rest of the meal. Will definitely be recommending this place to friends and family that visit Paihia and the Bay of Islands and will certainly be making that a regular stop when...