Ombra — Restaurant in North Island

Ombra Cuba Street: A Mixed Bag of Flavors and Experiences

Ombra on Cuba Street boasts an enviable location with easy parking, and upon entering, the warm and inviting ambiance sets a promising tone for the evening. The decor strikes a balance between casual and welcoming, making it a comfortable space for any occasion.

However, our anniversary dinner on August 8th was a bit of a rollercoaster. The initial greeting felt abrupt, with the hostess informing us of our table's time limit before we even had a chance to settle in. While understandable during busy periods, a touch more finesse in the delivery would have been appreciated.

The service throughout the meal was... adequate. While the staff made an effort to be friendly, it felt somewhat forced and lacked the genuine warmth one hopes for on a special occasion.

The food itself presented a mixed bag. The standout dishes were undoubtedly the Polpette (venison meatballs) and Pesce e carne (lamb loin chops) – both impeccably cooked and bursting with flavor. Sadly, their petite portions left us wanting more. The pizza, while tasty, was surprisingly small, and the pasta dishes were pleasant but unmemorable.

Overall, Ombra offers a decent dining experience with some truly delicious highlights. However, the lackluster service, coupled with the relatively high prices and small portions, left us feeling slightly underwhelmed. If you're seeking a special occasion spot, Ombra might fall a bit short.

Ratings:

Location: 5/5 Ambience: 4/5 Staff: 2/5 Flavors: 3.5/5 Value for money: 2.5/5

Tip: If you do decide to dine at Ombra, be sure to request that all your dishes be brought out together to avoid a staggered and potentially...

I can feel my Italian grandmother rolling around in her grave with how bad the duck risotto was. I'm not sure if the chef was just focused on something else or what because it was not busy at all when I came in. But the risotto was severely undercooked. The rice was not chewy it was crunchy. Obviously rice that had been grabbed from the cooler and then not allowed enough time to properly absorb any liquids. It was terrible. Absolutely terrible. I ate a couple bites and then just could not stomach anymore even though I was hungry. Additionally, the wine in the dish was too strong. It just really needed more time to cook.

The potatoes and octopus were excellent. The octopus was tender and flavorful. As were the potatoes and the sauce they came with. The servers were fairly polite if a little bit rushed because they have reservations in 70 mins. But they were perfectly fine seating me with the knowledge that I would need to leave within an hour or so. It didn't take me that long to finish my meal because I did not like it and it just honestly turned my stomach after a few bites.

But at this price point I absolutely cannot recommend this restaurant. I don't know if they just saw a foreigner so they didn't bother to give it their all or what happened but honestly this was a terrible meal. The actual worst I have had while visiting New Zealand. Honestly the worst I've had in any restaurant in over a year, it was...

We had lunch here on Sunday, December 4th, 2022. Wow. wow. it was very good. The food is excellent. The service was very good too. But the food was extremely good, innovative, tasty, well presented and the menu had lots of choice apart from the usual pizza and pasta choices for Italian restaurants. I ordered a Panzanella and my companion ordered a Charred Cabbage from the Vegetable and Salad selection, and then we ordered Beef Meatballs and Venison Meatballs to go with that. Look I can only say the Panzanella and Charred Cabbage dishes were outstandingly unique, innovative and so bloody delicious. They went very well with the meatball dishes. Lots of taste, and lots of different elements to each plate. I am not easily impressed because most places we go are good-ish or average. So this place is way above what I usually experience.. In my experience Italian restaurants are usually (with obvious exceptions) pizza and pasta places, they usually disappoint. I had heard that Ombra, (or had I read it somewhere,) based their food on the local Venice regional cuisine. Not that I would know what that was, but the offering at Ombra was more in line with dining at a regional italian local restaurant. Superb. Very good. We will go again. I even tipped. I had to ask if we could add a tip, and of course we could. But I did not tip because of the service, which was ver;y very good,. It...