Rothko Restaurant — Restaurant in Rodney

I usually only write reviews if I have a positive experience and I feel especially bad writing a negative one given the difficulty the hospitality industry is facing with COVID. However, I felt incredibly let down by the service here and felt it necessary to give some feedback as there is a lot of potential at Rothko.

Positives: The restaurant is set in a beautiful location. The espresso martinis (which weren't even on the cocktail menu, we had to order ourselves) were FANTASTIC! Kudos to the bartender. The food was delicious but it's a shame that the kitchen staff work so hard only to be let down by the front of house.

Negatives: The service. Where do I begin? Our server (and the rest of the FOH staff we encountered) were not familiar with the menu. Our server could not work his ipad to put our order in and was practically holding it in front of our face to show us the options like he wanted us to work it for him. You would also think in a restaurant set in a vineyard that the staff would attempt to up-sell or make local wine recommendations however, this was not the case. After our server placed our order, he basically absconded all responsibility of our table and didn't offer us anything else or even check on us. Other staff walked past our table and despite making eye contact with us and us saying "excuse me" to try and order more food, they walked off. The food runner did not explain the food as it came out and after placing our plates in the middle of the table, returned later and just plopped a steak knife upside down, next to my partner's cutlery and walked off. I would be more forgiving if the restaurant was packed but it wasn't and we spent 200+ dollars on our meals as it was my partner's birthday dinner. Moreover, my partner and I could overhear tables around us complaining of the service and experiencing similar problems. I felt compelled to write this review as there is SO MUCH POTENTIAL, it's...

We decided to go to Rothkos for a special lunch on the final day of our annual holiday. We liked the prospect of a top meal and then a stroll in the garden. It's a beautiful place; peaceful, beautifully landscaped and well designed. We rolled up in our mobility van, got a table with plenty of room for the wheelchair and gave our order to the attentive staff. That's when things deteriorated. We go out to eat often and the fact that my husband needs his food processed has NEVER been a problem. Until today. He ordered fish but the chef felt that by processing the meal it would not meet his refined standards of presentation. My husband often has fish and all the kitchens seem ok with processing the food and presenting him with delicious and creative options. As I said we have never had this reaction in NZ before. The staff seemed to be surprised but accepted that a good meal is not possible for people like us. You advertise the importance of recognizing that diversity is important and helps our world in many ways, but when it comes to the really important stuff of life you simply don't get it. This experience indicates that you cannot take the elderly, the infirm, the very young or anyone who does not fit your version of suitable people to this restaurant. Brenden the chef doesn't want people like us in his restaurant. I ordered steak. $55 for the steak and a gigantic dinner plate of New World mixed leaves with no dressing or any other additions. My husband had tomato soup He ask for his soup in a mug but we were told that their mugs didnt look right. So I trotted out to the van and got one and afterwards washed it out in the car park. So it wasn't very pleasant, we fought off the flies, ate our weird meal and left. We dont complain about the treatment we get very often but this was especially awful. We do not recommend Rothkos unless you are fully able bodied and dont mind a bit of...

No longer a family friendly restaurant.

We had been to Rothko many times before and we would have given Rothko 4/5 stars. Unfortunately, we turned up last week with a group of 9 which included children to show off the area to our Singapore visitors. We’ve had a great experience in the past going with adults and children and while the adults enjoy an amazing culinary experience, the children get to play on the lawn and they also had a kids menu options which kept everyone happy.

When we turned up, we quickly realised that this new menu would not work for our group. There was no kid friendly options; when we told the manager he seemed annoyed with us because “it’s on the website”. Then another staff member who worked in the gallery came out; I gave her feedback and she said “well there’s a food truck with salmon poke bowls and fries; what more could you want?” Anyone with children under 6 would know that’s not what the kids want.

While my kids are no strangers to Asian cuisine; it would be really nice to see simple kid friendly options on the menu that still fit in with the overall vibe of the restaurant.

It’s sorely disappointing as we are regular seasonal visitors who love a good “goody” experience. As a once very family friendly establishment; they clearly are no longer catering to a lunch vibe that includes...