Pickles Perch — Restaurant in North Island

I am so glad we came and tried Pickles Perch, the food was phenomenal, the mocktails were tasty, and the service was friendly and attentive!

We visited using First Table, I wouldn't have visited otherwise - goes to show that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover!

The location for Google Maps is the Hotel's front entrance, but the easiest way to find Pickles Perch is at the corner of Waterloo Road and Bloomfield Terrace.

There is one big sign out the front that says Pickles Perch - but you might be confused when viewing menus online because all the menus say 'The Angus Bistro'🤷🏽‍♀️

We had the duck liver pâté as a shared entrée to begin, it was lovely, I just wish there was more toasted bread to spread it on!

Each of us ordered different mains (Lamb leg, Pork Belly, and the Steak) and we can confidently say we each ordered the best dish on the menu! The mains were the perfect size and the flavours were fantastic - compliments to the chefs! I wish I had more room in my belly to try the dessert options.

The atmosphere is a relaxed vibe and the restaurant was surprisingly busy - there are lovely big booths bathed in filtered light, and even though it's situated on a busy corner you can't hear the road noise at all.

There's free parking in the hotel's carpark - just remember to validate your parking before sitting down.

We'll definitely be returning! The staff were very attentive, friendly, and always...

I came into Pickles Perch on the 5th May to get a coffee and decided to have a cooked breakfast as well. I found the $25 for it - and was very explicit that I wanted my sunny side eggs runny. I indicated to the front of house staff that if the eggs came to me over cooked I would be returning them to the kitchen. So, plate came out - while the head chef came out for a daily coffee. I signaled to a front of house staff that the eggs were overcooked and should be returned to kitchen. In front of my eyes this situation occurred no apologies just a comment from the head chef this is runny. Now if this was runny, then I'm Dolly Parton . It's sad to see for a head chef there is no care about what is being plated. Try to meet customers expectations as long as they are reasonable. I think a runny egg is reasonable. And the customer is always right. Don't stop caring about what you are doing as the customers are the people keeping the business going. I think this is fair, a person's bad experience has impacts as they don't return and complain to their friends. At least I tell the business to allow them to fix issues for continuous improvements purposes.

Ps - the eggs were finally recooked and were perfect if only it was done properly the first time then this review would not have...

My photos are insta-worthy and don’t reflect the reality (refer the photo section). This was on the whole a disappointing meal – especially the mojito! A mojito is traditionally served with a sprig of mint and a twist of lime in a tall or fat glass. What I got was akin to toothpaste water in a tiny half champagne flute with no adornment other than a tiny umbrella. While it did act as a refreshing palette cleanser, it bore no resemblance to a mojito whatsoever. I felt like I had re-brushed my teeth each time I took a sip. I grazed with the baked brie – not bad, not great either - a whole cake of brie swimming in it’s own fat, with honey & walnuts. Interesting. My main was the 300g scotch – it was cooked properly but very charred, which tasted more like a dirty grill, and not worth $40 as it was so thin. The accompanying potato chunks were a bit fat sodden. By the time we got home I had intermittent stomach pains. Dessert was the chiffon – rubbery & tasteless. Hubby had the pork belly which needed a steak knife to cut; the warm apple which was a bowl of sugar; and what was allegedly thousand island sauce with the squid was chipotle. We weren’t expecting greatness, but it is unlikely we will...