The Hook — Restaurant in North Island

Updated review - 2022

Still delicious food. I have been here a couple of times in the last couple of months and had the same thing both times - Tuscan Salmon.

The sauce is outstanding, it has a beautiful balance of flavours, creamy, salty and a little bit spicy too. It is the perfect accompaniment to the salmon and the mash.

The first time I had this dish, it was SWIMMING in sauce, which I LOVED because the sauce is so delicious and I didn't want a single mouthful of food without the sauce.

The second time, there was much less sauce, which was a little disappointing after the first time being so plentiful in sauce. I'm not complaining, the dish was still delicious but it just wasn't quite as good as it was the first time.

I understand it though, perhaps some people are not as passionate about sauce as I am so they might not like their food swimming in it but I do.

Still a great restaurant with great food. Still highly recommended.

2020 review -

Delicious food, great service. We have actually been here twice this week, once for lunch and then because it was so delicious, we came again for dinner a few nights later! Dinner was just as good as lunch!

I have had the whole flounder (lunch) and the salmon (dinner) and my friend has had the nutty fish (lunch) and the pork 3 ways (dinner). My friend also had a shrimp cocktail as an entrée and said it was one of the best he has ever had and would have been happy to keep ordering them all night until he was full! I also had the deconstructed banoffee pie and the tiramisu.

I have never had a whole fish before but the whole flounder was delicious. The soy based sauce that came with it was a great complement to the dish. The potato salad that came with it was wonderful. I was a little unsure about the salmon as it came with squid ink sauce but the salmon was cooked perfectly and the squid ink sauce was not as strange as I expected (I'm still not entirely sure I liked it but that's just a matter of taste). The mashed potato was creamy and delicious. The tiramisu was so deliciously light and fluffy, I have had tiramisu in Italy that was not as good as this tiramisu! The banoffee pie was deliciously sweet and even though I don't like bananas, it tasted good. The texture was very liquidy, which I felt was an odd choice but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

The service at lunch time was a little slower than I would have liked. I waited a good 10 minutes for a drink and when it came, the mojito was much sweeter than I would have liked. However, the good food made up for that and then when we came back, the staff at dinner were so attentive and regularly asked if everything was okay. They were quick with the drinks, quick with the food and quick to ask if we needed more drinks. The staff are really lovely and friendly.

We eat out often and it can be difficult to find good food, especially consistently good food. I definitely recommend this restaurant and we will be back. It's our...

Previously, about a year ago we had been to the hook and honestly was the best experience, staff were so happy and kind and the meals were 10/10. Tonight we went for valentines day and they had a valentines set menu which was fine but we weren't aware but still we thought oh well we'll get what's on the menu. Also want to add that when we arrived they put us on a table that didn't have any menu's so we waited 15mins for a menu, when we got the menu we were given 5mins to decide what we wanted. We waited about 30mins for entrees, then waited about 45mins for mains and then a further 30mins for dessert. Overall I would give the food itself 7/10 but customer service 1/10 In all that time the waitress would dump the food in front of us and then we'd have to ask for a knife and fork or spoon each time. I'm not sure why they didn't already have the tables set? I feel like by not already having the table set or bringing a knife and fork with the meal they're just making an extra job for themselves. Staff just seemed so uninterested and seemed like they rather not be there at all. I get that hospitality can be stressful etc but there are actually people that enjoy their job and it shows, but at the hook it seemed like everyone there just didn't want anything to do with customers. Also we asked at the beginning for water and were given glasses but no water and then asked again and got water 50mins into being there. We spent almost 2 hours there just waiting on food, it was busy but not a full restaurant and not anywhere near as busy as some restaurants I've been to in petone. We left feeling dissapointed as we had such a good experience last year. I'm willing to give them another go another time when it's not valentines day and not a public holiday and not a weekend night just to see if the experience...

Came here for date night this week. Asked for a private table specifically when booking was made, offered one in an awkward nook literally 2 feet away from a table of four. Requested for a different table and was told we were free to choose any table out back. We didn’t really mind doing this, but maybe check the notes on bookings made online? Customers would love you for it, and sometimes people put allergies they might have there as well, which is extremely important. Service was lukewarm, people seemed tired. We asked for the jalapeño poppers and fries as sides, arrived as entrees.

The stuffed squid was nice, flounder was good as well however a bit expensive for what you get. The pork trio however, was not satisfying at all. The pork belly tasted a -bit- too strongly of five spice, but had a nice crackle and a good portion of fat in it. The pork fillet, in direct contradiction to what it said on the menu, was tough and hard to eat. I couldn’t finish all of it, and I love pork! The jus did not complement the dish at all. The slaw was bitter and lacked taste. The veggies did not play into the strengths of the dish (2 steamed carrots and 2 broccolis). Weirdly enough, I enjoyed the pancetta the most. The feijoa jam was good.

I truly want to give this place another chance, because it wasn’t terrible. I hope this review is viewed as constructive criticism more than anything else as I would love to see this...