Corner38 | Bar & Bistro — Restaurant in Howick

Went here for dinner on a Sunday night. I came because of the 'good' food reviews but the food we had was a little underwhelming to say the least. And for the prices like wow. The prices did not match the portions that came out. They have smaller share plates & bigger share plates so you would think they would be portioned appropriately. That was not the case. We ordered the small share $25 sticky fried chicken. Delicious but 1 person could have eaten that 'share' plate. Ordered the smoked duck Vietnamese summer rolls. Disappointing for $23, the sauce served with tasted like store bought bbq sauce. Had the Fried squid for $23. Delicious but had like 6 pieces of squid. Had the $22 sticky ribs. Enjoyed that, about 3 pieces on the plate. Most disappointing dish/es was the $40 shaky beef which is a larger share plate that consisted of about 8 pieces of beef & was served in a larger bowl but the food was only filled a little under half way. And the $27 smoked pulled duck was so bland, same sauce as the summer rolls. Others on our table ordered the ceviche coconut & lime dish & enjoyed that. truffle fries were enjoyed also & the mussels were ok one of our friends mentioned. For dessert we tried the black rice pudding. Enjoyed it but is the rice suppose to be kinda half cooked? Better if cooked all the way through if going for that pudding effect. Husband enjoyed his creme brulee. $18 for 3 small rice bowls. For my husband, son & I we ordered 3 small share plates, 2 bigger share plates, 2 desserts, 3 rice & 2 cappuccinos. Total was $250. Crazy expensive & food was average. Maybe work on the so called share portions for future patrons. We've eaten nx door at Goode brothers & spent a lil over half of what we spent here & we had leftovers to take home. Lovely service by the young ladies who served us but will not return. Pics of cappuccinos, summer rolls, shaky beef & black...

Wouldn't recommend going to eat at the new restaurant ZEKE at Botany Town Centre. The service was poor, the staff talked down their drinks menu when we asked for the Vietnamese Espresso Martini (saying they wouldn't be nice as they hadn't made many of them)... we still ordered them. Only half a glass of chilled prosecco, they were going to open a warm bottle to add to my order... so we canned that and went for a bottle of bubbles... that our party opened and got the glasses sorted by pointing to what we needed behind the bar - just to get a quick drink. Water for the table came out only once requested, despite glasses being put down. The table had to choose vietnamese or brazilian - we couldn't have a combo. The price was astronomical at $75pp for the Brazilian for what we got! We continously had to ask for the next meat as there was only 2-3 slices per person. The entree bread, salami, olives platter was very minimal (1 slice each of salami and olive) the pesto and sour cream was ok flavour though. Basic green iceburg salad leaves with radish slices... then the meats (beef, lamb, prawn, sausage, chicken, salmon)... and roasted potato... and then the desert platter was basically New World cut up sponge rolls with mock cream and small brownie slice and a raspberry slice - all supermarket bought and put on a platter with some strawberry sauce dots and choc sauce swirls. I do not know how this business will survive - good concept and the interior looks nice, but seriously needs a jolly good hospitality manager in there. Then on check out simple mathematics to divide the bill was painful. Not a good experince... maybe the vietnamese would have been a better option? I'll leave that up for you to decide - eyes wide open!

The BEST part of the evening was spending time with awesome friends and the pre/post drinks at the other local pubs...

I came here a few years ago when the restaurant was a Vietnamese/Brazilian Bbq fusion restaurant. It was great then also, but the revamp and a more streamlined menu really plays in Corner 38's favour.

As a group of 4 we ordered: Oysters Seared Scallops Mussel pot Sashimi platters Pork ribs Pork belly Pulled duck pancakes Garlic bread Loaded fries Passionfruit Spritzers

Every seafood dish was SUPER FRESH! From the oysters to the sashimi, to the seared scallops and mussel pot, We would happily come again just for these dishes. The sashimi scallops were especially tender and sweet and the salmon was fatty and rich. The accompaniments were nice, although I'd make a suggestion of serving with Ponzu instead of the Soy & Wasabi combo.

The pork belly dish was fabulous! The pork was tender and melt in your mouth! The ribs were also fall off the bone perfection. And although its hard to mess up garlic bread, Corner 38's is definitely beyond my top 3 most favourites! Also, the mocktails are sensational! I highly recommend them.

We wished to have had room for dessert but a next time is for sure on the cards! A massive thank you to the staff and duty manager Steven who were attentive, kind and personable. We ordered so much food that we needed an extra table and that was no problem for them.

The skewers, the shaking beef, the papaya salad and the desserts will be next and neither of us can wait!

Until then team, keep doing what you're doing. Props to the chef, the food was...