The Church Bistro — Restaurant in North Island

Really nice building and service, however was really let down by the food.

I think the chefs and management need to do a quick Google search for ‘Beetroot Ravioli’ because it will show pasta coloured red with Beetroot, the one at this restaurant was slices of beetroot with filling… quite disappointing as it not clarified in the menu at all… edible but really not what I wanted (probably should have sent it back, but what are you meant to say, ‘hey why isn’t this pasta??’) (funny because they did warn us beef tartar was raw, which we knew lol)

The rest of the food was sub par for the price. Steak was fine, but fish and brisket are not very good and mash potatoes were cold on the plate and unappetising, the carrot under cooked…

Other things like the polenta chips and arancini being clearly pre-made and from frozen, the corn chips cheese flavour from the supermarket… and all the sauces being pesto and marinated capsicums are not a good paring. Overall too many different components on a plate not well done and not complimentary.

What can I say I’m used to quality and price from Auckland. Standards out here are just lower… it’s a shame because all the components are there with a slight revamping of the menu they might actually...

Food = 10/10 beautiful Cuisine, cooked to perfection & chef gave a complimentary meal

Service = 10/10 A Class, friendly waitresses, very prompt & helpful, they go over & beyond especially for children

Experience = 0/10 Unfortunately the Maître De or owner (an older European female) came into Close contact with my 4 year old as my child doesn’t talk to strangers so she placed her face right in front of my child to get a reaction from her, also she stood near our table gave us such an unwelcome vibe, we paid the bill up front just to help her relax, she then questioned if we were driving home while under the influence of alcohol, we did not hear her question the other patrons. My husband and I dont dine out at a restaurant often and we have not consumed alcohol in half a decade and we decided to include wine recommended by the restaurant to celebrate a promising year for our family business. It really ruined a great experience as the rest of the staff had beautiful personalities, it is such a pity we were judged, possibly because we are Maori and a younger married couple. Please do better as ur staff do an amazing job representing the company it is a pity an experience was tarnished because of...

Came here 5 years ago and still can’t forget how delicious the experience was. Easily one of the best fine dining meals I’ve ever had, such a unique and memorable flavour profile throughout the dishes.

The polenta fries with that sauce (whatever it is!) were incredibly tasty. The rump steak was cooked perfectly, I couldn’t quite pinpoint the herb used, but it was packed with flavour, possibly marinated. The brisket was absolutely delicious, with just the right amount of fatty bits, again, not sure what flavours were in there, but they were amazing.

If I had to nitpick, I’d suggest pairing the brisket with broccolini instead of broccoli or other veggies. As for the rice ball, maybe something like mashed or roast potatoes would be a better fit. Just a thought. Dessert wasn’t anything special, but honestly, the rest of the meal more than made up for it.

Overall: 5/5 experience, 5/5 meal. Will absolutely be back whenever I’m in the...