Ethereal Restaurant — Restaurant in Papakura

Food service is incredibly slow. Came in for lunch (3 people), ordered a seafood platter, dirty martini, pan fried fish, chowder, s&p squid, and some other drinks. Got the order in at around 12:10 and asked they bring everything as soon as ready/together. Photos show the platter came at 12:23, and now I still sitting here at exactly 1pm waiting for both the chowder and pan fried fish. The oysters were dry and the platter was oily. Martini was alright, some elements tasted good but overall the meal felt heavy and oil forward.

So apparently the wait was because they don’t do takeout and we’re looking for boxes but you can see into the kitchen - it’s open concept, and clearly the dishes just weren’t done.

Overall lunch may not be the way to go here. My parents had an enjoyable time here a while ago after opening for dinner. Mine was lackluster in comparison. The oysters were the most disappointing as I had heard New Zealand oysters are real good. The ones I just had were dry and not freshly prepared. If you want your food delivered in a timely manner or a less greasy dinner I would try elsewhere.

Service and attitude was kinda crappy but alright considering servers in NZ don’t typically get tip. Take the drive into city. Far...

After a disappointing experience during a previous visit, I shared my honest feedback via Google review. I wasn’t expecting a response so I was pleasantly surprised when Mervyn reached out with a thoughtful and professional reply.

His genuine commitment to addressing concerns and improving guest experience was clear and appreciated.

We were kindly invited to return and just last night we dined again to celebrate my husband’s birthday.

The food was fresh, well-prepared, and beautifully presented. We enjoyed it better than before. The birthday dessert with the “Happy Birthday” written on the plate added a nice personal touch to our celebration.

Would like to commend the lady who was serving us (sorry I forgot her name) giving us extra smiles everytime and was very attentive and made the evening even better. Also Arthur for taking the time to speak with us, really appreciate it.

Even though the restaurant is just two minutes from our home, we’re looking forward to checking in at the hotel next time for a staycation and to fully experience what they offer, including the pool and buffet breakfast.

This visit has really improved my impression of the place and I’m glad we gave it another chance.

Thanks to...

We came here on the recommendation of a well known foodie who gushed about the place, and with Mark Southern at the helm, it's sure to be fantastic. Ultimately though, our experience was good, but not exceptional, let down by a few minor things that potentially another day they might not experience. We try and be understanding during these times as a lot of kitchens are short staffed etc. Service was very good, other than our mains taking a bit longer than we would have liked. The food was good, with the potential to be excellent, let down by a few little things that took the shine off it, like our steak being undercooked (which they promptly fixed), our steamed vegetables (whilst nicely cooked) sitting in a pool of water, which made them a bit soggy, and just a few little other misses. I can see what they want to achieve, and I am sure they will get there, and we would be keen to return in a few months to see how it's progressing. It shows a lot of promise. Don't get me wrong, it was a very pleasant meal. The kids meals were generous and not the standard kids stuff,...