The Hour Glass — Restaurant in North Island

Me and my partner came in to celebrate our anniversary on a quiet Wednesday. From the hours we were there (6:00-7:30) it was just me and my partner and another couple seated behind us. We had two of the most attentive servers, that were constantly topping up our water and asking us how everything was. The food was excellent as well, however the entire night, two of the I’m assuming owners were having a drink on one of the high tables and it felt as if the entire night me and my partner were walking on eggshells. The close eye they had on us made us awfully uncomfortable, I can understand ensuring a customer is enjoying everything, but I met eyes with them every single time I looked up or away from my partner. Again food and service was excellent however it was the atmosphere that ruined it for us, with about five waitstaff and four patrons dining in the restaurant the owner or manager snapped at all of the waitresses with an outside voice “How about you stop standing around and go fill up waters and talk to your tables” and at this point the servers had done about everything they could’ve, we’d had two servers looking after the two of us the whole night and at this point we’d already had our water glasses brimmed with water and we had ordered food. Food was amazing however I don’t think me or my partner will come back due to the...

I hate to say this as this is usually our fave restaurant and book here for special events but last night the food was not up to its usual excellence. We always have the same meal as love love love this dish. The eye fillet was not evenly cooked as edges were dry and middle cooked correct only. The blue cheese sauce was not as it usually tastes. Trying to identify why and can only describe as, “did they run out of blue as the sauce tasted only of standard cheese”. Fillet was swimming in it as well. The big chips were over cooked. Salad was dry with a splash of feta salsa which clashed with the cheese sauce on main plate. Different chef perhaps? The plus was the two young male waiters who were excellent and I guess well trained in hospitality. Well done guys! It’s hard to mention at the end when you pay or during because you don’t want a totally bummed experience during your meal and as you pay but after discussing with husband as we left we both felt the same and had exact thoughts. Only reviewed in the hope it gets fed back to chef for improvement 😊. Update: In response to your comments re telling wait staff. Understand completely and they did check in but it can also lead to an even more bummed evening . Also Isn’t this what...

Our first outing for our 3 month stay in New Plymouth and what a great experience. We love slow grazing on tapas style food while enjoying a few drinks, and this place ticked all the boxes on a lazy Sunday afternoon The food was excellent (and also great value given the generous serving sizes) but what was even better was the service from the ebullient and effervescent owner/host Jenna. I don't know a lot about Kiwi wines (I am an Aussie) and have not had a lot of great experiences with Kiwi red (not being a pinot fan). But Jenna curated an afternoon of tasting and drinking some excellent Kiwi reds (and some whites to start). And while the official drink list only shows a small number of wines by the glass, Jenna is happy to serve almost any of her huge wine list by the glass (thanks to Coravin). It was like having my own little private wine tasting of some of the best Kiwi wines. The Hawkes Bay reds were particularly good and restored by faith in Kiwi red wine. What a great way to while away a Sunday afternoon. And no doubt, over the next three months, there will be a few more afternoons like the...