Verdura- Middle Eastern & Mediterranean Fusion — Restaurant in South Island

Where do I start?! This evening my friend had her birthday at this restaurant, with a total of 25 people at our table. We waited for over an hour for our meals. These meals were average and small. I ordered the laham... from the larger appetizer menu. This was $35!!!! I expected so much more. The meal was Luke warm, lamb tasted ok, pide was a very small portion and roast veges were soggy. Overall 2 out 10 stars. I have some photos of the meals below. Everyone was disappointed about their meals, particularly the size. Burgers were ok, nothing special. Angel bay patties are used, no special spices or flavors. One meal was forgotten, his meal come out around 1.5hrs later. This was such a disappointing experience. I really enjoyed the restaurant before it changed hands, Sila. Don't waste your money or time with this place. Paasha next door is much better! I do feel sorry for the poor...

5 stars for the taste and 2 stars for the serving size. We ordered a platter for 4 and a Pizza assuming that would be more than sufficient for the 4 of us including 2 adults and 2 children. Unfortunately, we left with an urge and appetite to eat more not because of the incredible taste but because the serving size was really small. The platter (which actually wasn't a platter but food served in multiple small plates and dishes) claiming to be feeding 4 people was actually meant for 2 individuals with medium appetite. I told the manager (or the staff) at the check out counter that we loved the food, not the serving size. The response was that the cost of everything has increased and that Kiwis don't each much. In other words he wanted to say that you are not kiwis so you...

One of the most dissapointing meals out I've had in a few years. Our group ordered the $180 family platter for 5. It was a selection of meat, dumped on rice with a very basic salad that had iceberg lettuce and not much else, with the salad quantity suitable for 2 people, not 5. The meat was pleasantly tasty, and was well cooked, just a very dissapointing quantity, with no sauces/dips and all the usual fixings you would expect from a $180 platter. Two doors down at Paasha the $90 platter for two gives you more food, a FAR greater variety in the platter, and incredibly nice tasting food. I know where I will be going next time. It also took more than an hour for the food to arrive, in a restaurant that was around half full, was a pretty...