Ambrosia Bar and Restaurant Titirangi — Restaurant in Waitākere Ranges

Food was alright, good sized portion and tasty. I only have a problem with the customer service. Most of the staff was very friendly and accommodating, but one of them made me feel a bit unwelcomed. If you have a coupon, you need to let them know before ordering food.

We wanted to redeem a coupon after the meal and was told, in a manner that I felt was a bit condescending, that we should have told them before ordering. Thankfully, they did allow us to redeem the coupon. Afterward I suggested to the staff that in the future perhaps they could ask the customers whether they have any coupon before taking order, and was met with a rather defensive tone of "We don't have to as it's not part of the terms and conditions".

Yes, it's not part of the terms and conditions, but is there a need to be defensive and make the customers feel unwelcomed? The suggestion was made out of good will, to help the restaurant and any customer with a coupon have a smoother experience. I've been to other places where the staff politely asked if we have a coupon or not before we ordered.

I do hope that the restaurant will take the criticism from this review and use that to improve their service. Because to be honest, everything was good up until that point, which in turn soured the rest of the time...

We found this nice restaurant in the centre of Titirangi village. I was impressed with the layout when I walked in, it had such a vibrant feeling, especially with the outdoor area. The waiter had a lovely smile, with warm greetings. We ordered the buffalo wings, seafood bouillabaisse, and Moroccan & apricot braised hind lamb shank. The food arrived really fast, and we were very surprised with the portion! They were huge! The layout was pleasant to look, and I especially like their pretty plate. Buffalo wing tasted well marinated, and just enough heat to open up my appetite. The seafood bouillabaisse had some big prawns, and almost a full crab! This was again a surprise, as I did not expect this kind of food material and quality with this price range! The tomato based soup was infused with balanced mixture of spices, and it tasted lovely. My partner ordered the "single" sized lamb shank at a price of $22, and it came again huge!!! I was wondering if a double size could feed both of us! The lamb was well cooked, and extremely tender. The sauce was thick and rich, and goes perfectly with the potato mesh. We had a great time and the food is well-worth the money! We would definitely come back again! Thanks for the awesome experience...

As a 20yr Veteran of Hospo at the very highest level - I’ll say the following: Poor engagement as I entered, if your coming in a little later in the evening…avoid… The Manager likes to go home on his schedule, not the diners. I spent 10 minutes trying to decipher an overly complex menu, with no water offered. The young waitress politely informed me as I had just begun my starters, that the Kitchen was closing shortly, fair enough…but having The Manager come out and bark at me the same thing not more than 2 minutes later was little rough. I cancelled my glass of Aromatic to accompany my Main as I was feeling rushed. The Food: Both Starters, while looking good on paper turned out to be deep fried. The Warm “mild” Beef Salad was little more, than a basic and insipid beef stew with zero spice and a carrot garnish that reminded me of Cob & Co.… There was no explosion of wonderful Thai flavours in any of the meals, I’m glad I cancelled the wine as the food would not have done it justice. No response needed, I hope this can be taken constructively. Streamline the Menu, teach the staff about the Menu, and encourage them to engage with...