Vondel — Restaurant in Devonport-Takapuna

Food is OK for the price. Kind of an upmarket burger restaurant with a few other dishes and all day brunch items. Owner is a bit of whiner though, just recently I saw him complaining in the NZ Herald about immigration NZ. However his issues seemed more to do with him and his workers rather than any failing on immigration NZ's part. One worker lied on his application and was denied entry to the country, another worker just decided to move to a different part of the country, and the last worker's visa was denied because the owner didn't try hard enough to recruit a local. He claimed a manager needed 8+ years experience, so none of the locals with less experience were suitable. Sheesh this place is hardly a Michelin star restaurant. Seems like the owner just doesn't want to hire local workers. I think I will give this place a miss in future, I hate businesses that don't support...

Came in to check the place out with my partner on a rainy Sunday morning. We were greeted with a warm welcome from the owner/operator of the business who also works the coffee machine and floor.

Between us we had three of the soft shell tacos; Adobo Chicken, Halloumi & Aubergine, and a pulled Pork. Albeit slightly under-seasoned it wasn't so that it was bland, each had their own distinct character and clean flavour (which is refreshing for Devonport restaurants, by god).

A drinks menu sporting alcohol at the front and teas/coffees at the rear was filled with interesting and local options. Together we had a particularly strong lemon and ginger brew and a Madagascan Rooibus with vanilla.

Overall it's a pretty solid establishment and I'm looking forward to coming back to check out the dinner menu as soon...

Great tasting food, lots of veggie options including fully vegan dishes. I didn't try the beverages but they have beer on tap. I had the kimchi pancake and boyfriend had the vegan chicken burger (he's not vegan and he had a side of bacon, which was rather sad looking and a very small portion). The burger was really good and the buns were delicious. The kimchi pancake was good, but in the menu sunfed chicken is listed as an ingredient, so I assumed the portion would be decent but it's only crumbs that are sprinkled on top. Was disappointed about that, but otherwise it was tasty. I'd go back but would order differently. Kurtis the dog is really sweet and they're pet...