Akarana Eatery — Restaurant in Ōrākei

My partner and I recently held our engagement party at Akarana Eatery. We booked here after enjoying a lunch earlier in the year. The staff who attended our function were brilliant and did an amazing job. Unfortunately that’s where the positives end.

We had originally booked a room for 60 downstairs overlooking the grass, which was perfect for the size of our party and for our younger guests to run around. We were informed less than a month prior to our event that another party had booked the downstairs restaurant and we would no longer be comfortable where we had paid for, and were moved to a room upstairs. We were told this room was nicer but it was very corporate, outdated and too large for our guest list. Given our party was in December, we did not receive enough notice to book an alternative venue.

When we booked, we were shown the eatery menu and told we could choose food from there. After paying our deposit, we found out that the eatery menu was not available and we needed to choose from a catering menu. The prices started at $28+ GST per head for three canapés. We ended up tripling our food budget to ensure our guests wouldn’t leave hungry. Even then, some of our guests with dietary requirements weren’t catered to on the night. It took the event coordinator multiple attempts to invoice us correctly, she initially tried to stack two packages we hadn’t ordered together and add staffing costs that were not in our contract, overcharging us by more than 1.5 k.

The food that was served on the night couldn’t have been more disappointing. I can’t see how it could have been prepared in the same kitchen. The burgers we ordered were served cold (think slimy meat and unmelted cheese). The fritters we ordered had the texture of pancakes (not crunchy at all), and the other canapés were bland. The venue also supplied dessert on the night, despite us organising a cake and paying cakage. A lot of the food was wasted in the end as our guests didn’t want to eat it. We chose the venue because we enjoyed the food, the price we paid (about $80 per head PLUS drinks) was indicative of a quality that simply wasn’t there.

You only (hopefully) get engaged once, Akarana ruined our party with deceptive business practices and terrible food. They made a joyful occasion incredibly stressful. I would absolutely not recommend for any events...

Thought we would call in for an early dinner on a beautiful sunny afternoon. What a lovely location. simply stunning. Walked in and the young lady behind the bar said to take a seat and someone would bring us menus. There were probably 4 other couples there and some groups on the lawn. Not too busy and plenty of staff. 10 mins later no menus and staff walking through then disappearing out the back, , so I got up and found some menus from the centre station. Read those for a while and still no one approached so I ordered at the bar. Food arrived in fast time. . I ordered the salmon which was tasty but was literally the width of two fingers. TINY!!! for $30 you expect something bigger than a finger. My wife ordered the sirloin steak $36 and it was luke warm when served but she said it was tasty. The demiglaze on the side was cold so that was untouched, sides of cauliflower were luke warm. Coffee you guessed it Luke warm. Nothing was hot or close to it. Sat there for 50 mins with plates on our table after we had finished. Staff walking around serving others, One staff member walked past us 5 times and no contact. So we had dessert at another restaurant. One that values the custom. So disappointing as its a great location but staff need a rev up big time and chef needs to be more generous and learn how to serve hot food. When i commented as I paid I just got a blank stare, no apology, no feedback, nothing. The guy just stared at me. won't be back until you guys can do what you say you can on...

the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, our stomachs were growling, and our gas at home is not working so my husband and i decided to make our way to the sunny shores of the hyundai marine centre for a beachy breakfast at akarana eatery. i ordered the caesar salad And the bacon and egg bap while hubby ordered chicken nibbles and fries. our waitress (shay or sharon i think?) was utterly fabulous and brought our dishes and drinks forth with swiftness and ease. i simply must recommend the bacon and egg bap; utterly divine, it tasted like the yolk was fresh out of the chicken! fries were the perfect blend of crunchiness and somewhat still soft… the perfect fry one may say. caesar salad oozed flavour, utterly relishing! i found myself savouring every last bite. our coffees were utterly sublime, sipping them while enjoying a beautiful radiant view of the water and rangitoro island was just the highlight of our week. shoutout to shay and barista liam for making our meal here that much more enjoyable with their fabulous and percipient service- we’ll be sure to bring the kids next time- fabulous views and...