The Bay Bar and Brasserie — Restaurant in Waikato

Right from the outset we were told there would be at least a 45 minute wait for food. Absolutely no problem we informed them. The waitresses were great, really polite and kept checking if we needed another drink. A number of other tables, who had obviously ordered sometime before us, kept receiving 'updates' on their food arrival time due to the delays. At 1hr I asked when our food might be arriving ... about 8 minutes I was told. No problem we said. At 1hr 25 minutes we finally received our food. During this excessive wait we saw numerous boxes of takeaway pizzas and other dishes leaving the restaurant. It would appear that the establishment is popular, but suffers from an identity crisis ... it wants to be seen as a fine dining experience, but also wishes to be a fastfood takeaway. Its time to prioritise your in-house customers! I had the 'Market Fish with Clams' and my partner had the 'Eye Fillet'. Both meals were delicious taste wise, but that is where it ends. If you order the premier fish dish from a menu for $38 you expect to receive more than just one sliver of Tarakihi (150mm long x 50mm wide at one end) on a bed of a few cubed potatoes and some celery with only 2 detectable clams in a cream sauce. It was no more than a starter in a massive bowl. Frankly pathetic! My choice should have been the basic 'fish and chips' at $26, with twice the amount of fish??? How does that work??? Admittedly, we were told that the table next door had had their basic fish and chips made with the "more expensive fish" because the cheaper fish had run out. Perhaps they had been given half of my fish??? I dont know, and to be honest after waiting 1hr 25 minutes for it to arrive I wasn't in a mood for a debate. The Eye Fillet at $40 was much the same. Sliced in half to present the customers chosen degree of cooking, and no doubt to make it look slightly bigger, it was equally tiny. Again a pathetically small portion. When paying I was asked by the staff if the meals were okay, and I did let them know that the portions were disappointing. They stated they would pass the message on. Lets hope they do, and something positive happens about it .... Look at other reviews that state the same; we can't all be wrong. Plus, if your customers are waiting almost 1.5hrs for their meal to arrive, where has the custom of offering them a complimentary drink for the inconvenience gone? This shows zero customer service and a lack of attention to detail. You either want repeat patrons or you don't; its as simple as that. Sadly this is pretty standard for NZ hospitality establishments. They seem to believe the customers will just keep on coming through the doors no matter how poorly you treat them. There are many positive reviews on here, but our experience was definitely not. I believe this establishment is poor value for money. The staff are lovely, the food is very tasty, but make sure you eat...

Pretty sub par experience last night. The service was less than casual and overall unhelpful, something you'd expect from a low end bar not something claiming to be a brasserie.

The drink selection is what you'd expect from a Mac's Brew Bar so that passes. But the food; the entrees were fine (we got the pork strips and fries). The mains however were another story, convoluted flavours, poorly executed and no balance. The pork main was served with an powdery mash and almost bakery meat pie flavoured jus. The Lamb which sounded lovely on paper came out with badly cooked, flavourless and ultimately microwaved cous cous, an overly peppered orange sauce which completely overpowered the dish and as such lost all orange flavour. A red harrissa which wasn't bad but I assume came directly out of a packet and labneh which tasted of sweetened sour cream and lemon zest lazily folded through. It had none of the flavours a labneh should and did nothing to help the ocean of sauce on the plate.

The lamb itself was dire. Dry but hints of red which implies that it had been previously seared and reheated, draining all of the juices and flavour. Chewy and stringy on the outside and barely warm on the inside. No seasoning and could very well have been microwaved considering the 'bounciness' of the meat.

Maybe it was a bad day for the Bay Bar, but the chefs need to taste what they're serving. I would be ashamed...

After reading mostly good reviews my wife and I decided to give this place a try while staying in the area. At first glance the menu seemed a little pricey but usually with high pricing comes high quality. Unfortunately the prices did not match the quality 😞 For entree we got the mussels ($27) because the oysters were not available and a margarita pizza ($25) The mussels tasted ok but they were not debearded and the sauce lacked any texture, way too watery. For $27 i expected more. The margarita pizza was ok but again lacked any wow factor. For the main i got the Lamb Rump ($43) and she got the Prawn n Chorizo pasta ($34). My lamb was beautifully cooked and paired well with the Jus. The harrisa carrots and mushy peas on their own were ok but did not go very well together with the rest of the dish. Lacked cohesion. The Prawn and chorizo pasta was nice but for $34 lacked any memoriable experience apart from the price, a little bland. The king prawn on top was a nice addition though and visually looked good. All in all if the price wasn't so high it would of been ok but charging those prices you need to meet a mark and unfortunately they didn't. I'd definitely be driving into the township next time. Great service though, very good in that...