Osteria Mount Maunganui — Restaurant in North Island

Oooo, I love writing a 5 star review. It brings me joy and warm fuzzies and I think “damn I hope these kids get to see this. And I hope their bosses do. And their bosses bosses. And they buy them margaritas and feed them cheese.” We were excited to have a mid week dinner out. We’ve been to Osteria before and it’s been good. There’s a nice vibe about the place which I can’t quite put my finger on; which is a compliment. Whatever they’re doing, they’re doing it naturally. We were warmly and enthusiastically greeted. This is a BIG WIN in my book. Nobody wants to walk in to a restaurant and be met with apathy. The waitress we had was a delight. I had channelled my inner pleb and asked for ice in my wine. Terribly uncouth, but I’m paying for it so it’s my right. She wasn’t put out in the slightest. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to eat. Coming to an Italian restaurant when you don’t eat pizza or pasta is odd some would say. But Osteria has enough to offer reasonable alternatives. The first time we came there was a stunning veal saltimbocca but sadly this hadn’t been on the menu for some time. I opted for a platter and asked for them to go easy on the bread. (I’m a difficult customer) and the Favourite Husband took a trip in to retro land with the prawn cocktail. The prawn cocktail was tasty and basic, there was no trying to drag it in to the 2020’s and that’s ok. My platter was lovely. I had envisioned myself languishing over it, seductively nibbling on an olive, whilst sipping my wine for an hour. But I eat like a pig who’s been starved for a week. So there was nothing seductive or lingering about it. I inhaled that sucker. I’d have liked to see a hard cheese thrown on there and maybe some crackers or nuts but it was good. The Favourite Husband outdid himself with a steak that, in his words, was “right up there with the best I’ve ever had” with emphasis on the “ever.” Which was slightly rude as I cook him steaks … It was good value, good food, good vibes and good...

So the food here looked really great on the menu- and proved mostly so. However, some 101 tips on how to extract an extra dollar out of a customer to achieve acceptable service would be handy.

I booked in advance, phoning in and dealt with a giggling staff member. Got a 1945 hrs booking

Turned up 15 minutes early, and were sat at the table which was ready- and waited at least 20 minutes to place a drinks order. Seemed to be heaps of staff (4 in the kitchen) 1 behind the bar and 5 on the floor, but nobody was running front of house. It took another 20 minutes to receive the drinks order.

Eventually we ordered our meal- 40+ minutes on arrival. Once it arrived we can report in….

So the T bone was excellent with broccoli and mash on side Bolognaise v good- no complaints Spaghetti Gamberi(prawns) v good- generous portion of prawns which were delicious Spaghetti Carbonara- hmmmmm, apparently ok Caesar salad- required more garlic and anchovies to give it a genuine Caesar flavour.

Opted out of dessert- couldn’t be bothered waiting…. Again!

I know Hospo is having a tough time, and we get it- but at least have someone front of house that has been trained and can politely manage their customers and organise staff. To give credit, they are trying and were mostly polite, just seemed to lack maturity.

Here’s a simple hint to help out- pitch in and help each other…when you have full hands going away from the kitchen- glance around and maybe collect empty glasses or plate’s (and possibly even take another drinks order$$$) to then have full hands on the return trip. That’s my 101 tip.

Looking forward to a return trip, fingers crossed for...

Jan 2024 We came back, and I'm incredibly pleased to report. The place was awesome. The food was fantastic, and service was very on point. And they have a vegetarian menu, with the option to make some vegan.

3 years ago We arrived, and the front of house gestured over where our table was, we were not seated or offered a menu.

The menus finally arrived when someone came to take our drink order and realized we were using phones to check out the menu. Perhaps we should have left then.

A table of 5 that arrived after us, where served, feed and departed before we even got our mains. When we followed up multiple times on our order, we were told it was coming soon.

The pizza bread was not pizza bread it was a mini loaf and took an hour to arrive.

We then waited a further hour for our overcooked pizza. It was so over cooked that you couldn't fold it without it breaking and flying bits of burnt pizza across the table. The mushroom pasta was lacking flavor and mushrooms, the spaghetti bolognese was overcooked, dry, and lacking flavor.

The waitress was nowhere to be found to report the unsatisfactory food, and short of returning it to the pass, Gordon Ramsay style we let the front of house know on departure and was promptly ignored.

For the price, you expect fantastic service and prefectly cooked food. Take $5 of each meal and reduce the drinks menu by 25%, and that will match the service and food quality. We did not experience the service expected...