ISO Raglan • Bistro • Cocktail Lounge — Restaurant in Waikato

Ice, Ice, Isobar. The Favourite Husband was left at home. Let that be a lesson to all naughty husbands everywhere. So, a girls weekend, in Ragadise. Having been to Raggers multiple times, Isobar remained one of only two restaurants not yet explored. We booked online and chose the lounge for our table. On arrival we were actually seated in the back. By the door to the outdoor area. During a storm. Fun times. To be fair, it didn’t really matter as it was entertaining to watch the outside fire rage out of control warming nobody in particular due to the aforementioned storm. We started with cocktails. A French Martini, a Tropical Surf and a virgin Pina Colada. These were delightful but not life changing. I had previously had the best Bloody Mary of my life, ever, in the world, here; maybe I should have had another of those. I highly recommend them. Three mains were ordered and we were impressed with what was served. The tuna steak was exceptionally good. Perfectly seared, beautifully presented and generous. The mushroom and ricotta ravioli small plate came as a main which again was a good sized portion. It was lacking a sauce and a little oily, but the flavours were there. Our other dish was the special; spaghetti bolognaise and truffle and Parmesan. The flavour was nice, the meat was a bit lumpy, the truffle was a kind of cream sauce which seemed unnecessary. But it was ok. The additional gin and tonic tasted strange, like soda water instead of tonic but we were assured it was tonic. The staff were all super friendly. Love the wood burner in the front restaurant. It was a nice vibe. It was busy, and vibrant and cosy on a wet and windy night. Will absolutely be coming back. And if he behaves, I may even bring the Favourite...

Went in here just after Xmas 2024 to celebrate my wife’s 40th birthday - and still talking about it to this day…

Right from the get go we experienced a very high set of standards and professionalism… we were greeted at the door by what we think was the owner/operator (if he wasn’t he should be one as he clearly knew what he was doing)… who did really well to read my wife’s body language as she was drawn to the lounge area to the left of venue when you walked in… showed to us the seats we were allocated to though offered us the option to seat us in the lounge area which was a great hit with my better half (well played!). We could tell this was shaping up to be a great experience already.

The service carried on by a young lady who was spot on with attention to details… not too in your face and not lacking either… just the right amount of service and very pleasant.

The drinks menu had plenty of wow factor… pity for me I was driving because the cocktail list looked great. I had a good ol’ Corona while the wife had a really well presented and delicious cocktail… I have worked over 20 years in the alcoholic beverage industry and can tell whoever made this really knows their stuff.

The menu had heaps of wow factor and came out to us in more than reasonable time, was absolutely delicious and reasonably priced too.

All in all, we had a fantastic experience and didn’t feel as though we paid the earth for it… we’ll be back...

My First Experience with Racial Discrimination in New Zealand!!! We found this restaurant on Google, and it had good reviews and a nice environment. However, after dining there, I deeply regretted stepping into this place. The experience I had here left me feeling hurt. The main issue was the attitude of two restaurant staff members, a male and a female server. Female Server: We arrived earlier than the customers at the next table, but she served them first. She checked in with the customers at the next table, asking how their meal was, but she never greeted us or asked how we were doing. When clearing the dishes, she simply took them away without a word. When we asked for a takeaway box, we had to wait at least 10 minutes—it seemed like she had forgotten about us. Later, as she passed by our table, she said she would bring it, but she didn’t do so immediately, and we had to wait again. Male Server: My sleeve got dirty, so I called him over and asked for some napkins. He told me to wait a moment while he served the customers at the table next to us. However, after finishing, he completely ignored me and walked past without bringing any napkins. He treated the white customers with a big smile, happily taking photos for them. This experience was truly disappointing...