Cavern Club Bar — Restaurant in North Island

Do not go here if you value your safety I am part of the Meetup group who meet at this bar regularly. The group is made up mostly of people around 60 years old. At one of our meetings at this bar, my friend (a foreigner) was attacked without provocation by strangers inside this bar. He was struck on the head with an object, left in shock, and possibly concussed.

The bar staff did nothing to help. The manager did not check if my friend was okay, did not call for medical help, and did not call the police. The police were eventually called by a bystander at the victim’s request. When they arrived, my friend was shaken, intoxicated and unable to speak clearly. Instead of helping, the bar manager told police the victim himself was the aggressor, Later, when my friend followed up with police, he was told the case was closed because the bar could not provide CCTV footage. The owner confirmed that there are no functioning cameras at the venue, which is alarming for any establishment serving alcohol.

When the victim requested a meeting with the owner, it was refused. Instead, the owner sent a message that he would meet us at the next Meetup event at the bar. On the day the owner avoided us and sent the bar manager to issue a barring notice against the victim. The manager insulted him, accused him of being aggressive and “hitting on young women”, and physically shut the door on him (attached video). When I tried to defend my friend, the manager threatened to bar me as well.

This entire incident was handled in a deeply unprofessional way. While at the event I found out that attackers were known to the bar manager.

The bar manager totally failed in his duty and continued to serve us and the attackers despite the fact that all of us — including myself and the victim — were clearly intoxicated. The bar manager failed in his duty of care, protected the attackers, and failed to provide truthful information to the police.

Not having working CCTV in a bar may not be illegal, but it is irresponsible and demonstrates a lack of care for both customers and staff safety. The owner’s refusal to engage, coupled with his history of running down multiple businesses in the past, suggests the same fate awaits this one.

This is a very poorly managed and unsafe bar. I strongly advise others to stay away.

Response to Owner's reply:

It seems the owner has a silver bullet for all his negative reviews — to label them as fake. He appears so accustomed to friendly or paid reviews that any genuine feedback is immediately dismissed. Unfortunately, he has failed to address the key issues I raised and has instead chosen to lump together and discredit all recent negative reviews.

According to the official police report, there were only two witnesses. The report clearly states that the owner was not present, and that none of the bar staff witnessed the attack, as they arrived only after it had occurred. The so-called “witnesses” mentioned by the owner appear to have written what they were instructed to record in the incident book, otherwise their names would have appeared in the police file. This selective record-keeping seems designed to prepare for the upcoming Licensing Authority investigation and the legal case now underway.

The owner’s mention of a “slapping incident by a female” is also entirely fabricated. The person who attacked the victim was a transgender individual, and the police report contains no reference whatsoever to any slapping incident. Moreover, the owner’s recent responses to other reviews about this incident contradicts his own earlier version of the events, further exposing inconsistencies in his account.

If the owner truly cares about running a responsible establishment, a simple and constructive approach would be to reassure patrons by confirming that the bar now has functioning CCTV and that all bar staff have undergone fresh training. That would have been the mature and professional response, instead of lame excuses...

This is possibly the worst bar we have come across during our entire tour of Australia and New Zealand. The place is dark, dingy, and feels unsafe. Many of the positive reviews below appear to be fake – likely written by tour guides who bring tourists (like us) here in exchange for free drinks from the owner. The bathrooms are located right next to the dance floor, creating an unhygienic and uncomfortable atmosphere. The bar manager’s attitude towards foreigners and people of colour was noticeably different. My wife questioned him after seeing him serve alcohol to an already intoxicated young woman, but he showed little understanding of his responsibilities. There was also a young woman working behind the bar who appeared visibly unhappy, seemingly treated more as an object of attraction, than as an employee. The owner himself was equally unpleasant, loudly defending his manager instead of addressing the issues. When asked about CCTV coverage, he admitted the cameras were fake and confirmed there is no real security in the bar – making this a perfect environment for antisocial behavior. Overall, this bar is unsafe, unprofessional, and highly questionable in its practices. We strongly recommend avoiding Cavern Club and Bar.

Reply to response from the owner:

Your reply avoids addressing the serious issues raised in my review and instead attempts to discredit me personally.

Your reply says more about the way this bar is run than my review ever could. By bringing up a “Meetup group” yourself, you’ve confirmed that incidents like this are not uncommon. I encourage others who have been affected to share their own experiences here.

Claiming to know exactly who I am while calling my review “fake” only mirrors the pattern of suspiciously positive reviews from tour guides and affiliates that you have. If you are confident my profile is false, then your complaint to Google will succeed. If not, readers will know the truth.

Until then, my review stands as an honest account of what I witnessed.

I also invite you to be in touch if ever in Yorkshire, UK and I will show you how good...

Giving a 1 star at this moment is a bonus for your club and it's only because this is lowest rating avaiIable....I am lodging a complaint in regards to the situation that occurred on Saturday 8th Dec 2018 at 10.33pm. The bouncer on duty this evening took my daughters drivers licence, and stated that it was fake – this was based on the fact that he could not see the ‘hologram’ on the card. She obviously said it wasn’t and he said it is and withheld the drivers licence. When she asked to have her licence back he said no, and did not offer to tell her how she could get it back – only continued to state that it was fake. I understand that staff must be diligent regarding the use of fake identification, but I’m sure that ‘rudeness’ and ‘arrogance’ to a customer is not part of the service you expect from your staff. Extremely upset she called me, I came down and approached your staff member and asked what the issue is – he explained why he took the licence, I asked him to show me what he meant by supplying my own. I did mention that I would not have known that until the card had expired – his response was ‘that’s not my problem’, and continued to do so when I asked how this is the first time she has had her licence taken from her in all the time she has held this licence – his response ‘still not my problem’. I then asked for the card to be given to me, and he said ‘no’ and walked away from me, so I asked what would I need to do to get the licence back – his reply ‘I’m giving it to the Police, get it back from them’ – so I called the Police to come to the venue. When the Police arrived and I had confirmed my call to them and explained the situation, they approached your staff member, was handed the card, and checked the licence. The officers confirmed the card was not fake and handed the licence to my daughter – then spoke with your staff member and explained their findings, acknowledging that the licence was in...