Foxglove Bar & Kitchen — Restaurant in North Island

Went in on a Tuesday night, dressed up with 2 pals in a flamboyant way for a fun evening dinner. We didn't have a booking and were greeted by a sweet server; however a guy, who I think was the owner or duty manager or something, shooed her away and took over, giving us some weird, hostile vibes while he very thoroughly ID'ed us (we are all in our 20s) and made some weird comments. It felt like he didn't want to serve us and was looking for an excuse to turn us away, but our IDs checked out so he reluctantly seated us. Server staff were very helpful but didn't bring water till after our first alcoholic drink when we specifically asked for it. One of the server staff I felt so bad for, she seemed pretty green, couldn't remember things about the menu and got stressed about it (I don't hold it against her though, she was clearly trying). Bathroom was messy and no toilet paper in my stall. Food was really good though, had the WOAP burger which was a super unique experience and drinks were yummy and really well priced. Also worth noting they had dry aged meet hanging in cabinets as decor which made my vegetarian friends feel gross and the single vegetarian main was sold out so they had an alternative that wasn't on the menu.

TL;DR, food was good, drinks were cheap, guy running the shift had bad vibes and set a weird tone to the experience, server staff were sweet but a little all over the place, bathroom needed to be cleaned, not very...

My husband and I arranged to meet up with friends we had not seen for many years at Foxglove, we had been there a couple of times and on each occasion we were impressed with both service and food. However last night (Saturday) we made the mistake of ordering the $72 dollar antipasto platter (for four) - When we ordered we asked for a side of gluten free bread for one of our party. What arrived was a very overpriced platter with several slices of ordinary white bread with crusts removed and cut diagonally. There were additionally, on another plate two half slices of plain brown bread. On complaining to the staff at the bar we were appeased with two more half slices of bread. Oh and a few of those dry walnut crackers that nobody likes because they are dry and gritty. We were appalled and should have taken it further with the management. I wasn't involved in paying the bill, but this managed to spoil what could otherwise have been a very special night. What makes matters worse, I recommended this platter as my husband and I had previously had the smaller cheese platter ($32) and were blown away at how good it was, let me tell you the bread was the best thing about it! Never again and wouldn't recommend to anyone. But this really was a disappointment, and we will...

I absolutely love fine dining North American steakhouses, from the classy and opulent decor, great service and the finest steaks around. The Wolf restaurant within Foxglove doesn't disappoint- imho it is better than Chicago Cut or Keens in NYC which are two of my all time favorites - and right here in downtown Wellington... I took my teenage children for a meal after a unanimous decision that the "Indulge Me" WOAP burger looked pretty promising on a cold Sunday night - unfortunately the restaurant had run out of the Brezelmania cronut bun which together with a dry-aged Wagyu patty and melted cheese, sauces and pickes really set this burger apart from the rest of WOAP in terms of taste and visual looks, and the resultant burger that arrived in a regular hamburger bun format without the expected confit garlic aioli looked a bit sad and paled into an underwhelming result - tasty I have to admit but disappointing for the family's expectations, and for the same price I might add. To offset that though, the red wine served was divine, everything else was OK, service was attentive, polite and upmarket, and I will be back for a fine steak meal in a classy and opulent chop house environment which is what this restaurant...