Basalt — Restaurant in Howick

We were in for the Friday Bottomless Cheeseburger special. Ali was assigned to take care of us which was cool but she mislead us by saying the Espresso Martini was included when we asked clearly, what drinks we could order from. It was our first time trying an Espresso Martini so she said she could make an exception to change to bubbles if we didn’t like it, which was the case. Yet, we were charged extra for them in the end because it was ‘the nights special’. And even after questioning it at the counter (she had gone by then) there was no budge.

I usually wouldn’t bother with a review if I felt like I’d rate it 3 stars or less, but tonight, instead of walking away with another subpar episode, one person shone through and changed our minds so we were compelled to wave her down again and grab her name.

Grace. Her hospitality was genuine and really made a difference to our dining experience. The burgers and bubbles were great! But the service was a little less than mediocre, regardless of the full house of punters. We feel she went out of her way to see that we were okay between the orders/ long waits even though she was busy with her section. She alone is worth the extra 2 stars so that Basalt wasn’t a complete write off for us.

Thank you Grace,...

Diya - Compliments to an Awesome Hostess

I am from Melbourne, and have been to Basalt Howick on a few occasions when visiting Auckland; it's always an absolute pleasure. It's extremely comfortable, has a very relaxed atmosphere, with a great selection of meals and drinks.

The Basalt Howick team members (both front-line/ customer facing and custodian/ maintenance) consistently deliver excellent Customer Service. They are all extremely professional in their approach, as well as very efficient in attending to any requests. I've seen your team members take a genuine interest in ensuring that the guests are comfortable, and they are always polite; even where the guests themselves were not as polite. Although these behaviours are consistent across your team, I have especially witnessed it with Diya who was our recent hostess.

I believe that Diya and the wider team's consistent positive customer service skills and genuine enthusiasm for what they do is a great asset to your organisation, and should be recognised/ rewarded.

I'd appreciate if this feedback is shared with Diya and your team members please; and all the best to them in your organisation. I look forward to visiting Basalt Howick again when I'm next...

Service was great, very friendly staff.

Food was tasteless and burnt.

Ribs - $19.80 I think. Had no meat on it. Was just cornflakes on bones.

Cheese/beefburger - $26. Almost tasteless. The only taste in this burger was the taste of burnt meat and burnt plastic bacon.

My partners sister found a long hair in their cornfla- I mean ribs. Legitimately unacceptable. Hygiene should be a priority.

It appears that their dishwasher hasn't been working for the last month or so. The last two times we've been there, the glasses from the bar have been filthy. The first time there was an insect leg in one glass and this time there was some kind of small paper or something still stuck in it(?) It was also covered it smudges.

It feels like they've upscaled the pricing on their menu to help with COVID, however they've lowered the quality of everything except the service, which is the only reason they're even deserving of 1 star.

10/10 service, 0/10...