Beast & Butterflies Auckland — Restaurant in Waitematā

It was my first time visiting Beast and Butterflies. My friend and I had eggplant, scallop ravioli, and eye fillet carpaccio as starters. The eggplant was amazing—cooked well, making the texture soft and tasty without being too salty. It paired perfectly with the spring onions. I usually prefer scallops to be cooked as they are, but using them as a whole filling in the ravioli made the texture more interesting. A bit of chili in the sauce boosted my appetite. Out of the three, the eye fillet carpaccio was my favourite. I'm usually not a big fan of carpaccio (or cured meats), but the thin slices of beef weren't too salty. The fried cubes of bread, thin slices of cheese, and a bit of veggies that came with the meat made the taste more interesting and delicious. I enjoyed it with my glass of Chaffey Bros Dufte Punkt Ries, which I picked from the list of interesting whites. The waitress who served me mentioned she hadn't served this drink to anyone yet, so she couldn't comment on how it would taste, but I highly recommend it. Its acidity is just right (less strong than Sauvignon Blanc), giving a refreshing finish.

I had scampi linguine as my main. It was a safe option, to be honest, and it was as good as I expected. What impressed me more was my friend's main—the market fish (tarakihi for the day) that came with other seafood such as prawns and mussels. In my recent visits to two other fine dining restaurants, I tried fish dishes and didn't like them, so I played it safe this time. However, when I tried my friend's dish, I regretted not ordering it. It wasn't too fishy, and even the mussels were well-handled and cooked just right. The fish had a crispy skin on one side, adding a delightful texture. The sauce added even more flavour, and I later realized it was made of scampi bisque after checking the menu again.

I didn't plan to have desserts, but the delicious food and the comfortable vibes provided by our kind waitress, Dianna, made us want to stay a bit longer. We picked churros and crème brûlée. The churros weren't too oily and came with vanilla ice cream. Again, it's always a safe option. I personally liked the crème brûlée more that came with sorbet and fresh berries, making the flavour more interesting. It was a nice way to finish the meal.

I had a wonderful dining experience at Beast and Butterflies. There wasn't a single dish I regretted ordering. This is a place I would definitely...

One of our BEST DINE OUT EXPERIENCES IN 2022 A+++++++++++ recommended

Andy was fabulous and absolutely amazing services. It was our first time dined with our best friend’s marriage pre dinner. We arrival prior the bride and groom’s, Andy was really friendly invited us seated and served with drinks. He actually originally from my neighborhood country after introduced each other. He absolutely have a good work ethic and enthusiasm to comforting people to stay-in for long whole night for foods, drinks and chatting. Andy you made our night even more special and wonderful ever expected. Foods definitely freshly, scrumptious, divine and cooked with our expectation. The ribeye, roasted duck, fish, prawns pad Thai, grilled broccolini are recommended. Thank you and complimentary to the chefs…. Boon, young and energetic bartender’s, very well skilled, good sense of humour, loved his tremendous enthusiasm, he shakes me a special way of cocktail with perfectly strong and delicious full mouth of flavours which I can’t describe just in few words. I’m end up had 4 kind of scrumptious drinks in our special moments celebration. Admired your shakes…Well done Boon and thank you for being so kind to made me all the drinks which I did not even needs to ordering from menu or describe much. It was really fantastic throughout the night at the bar. Looking forward to see you guys again soon after our trip. Wish you, Boon and rest of the others have wonderful time in this Xmas and new years holiday seasons without lockdowns restrictions again. Keep it ups guys

Warmest...

Highly recommended. Conveniently located in the Viaduct Harbour and close to the National Maritime Museum. Beautiful experience from stepping into the foyer to receiving the car keys back. Lovely friendly service, warm and welcoming. I rate Beast and Butterflies a 5 for excellent service and food. Rainer looked very well after us, good-humoured and cheerful. We got a few starters to share which was delicious, Tuna Ceviche excellent, and so were the Cauliflower Popcorn, Korean chicken, and Bang Bang chicken salad. In hindsight we could have continued having the starters, they were scrumptious! Mains we had variety of dishes, and all agreed it was delicious. Wok fire prawns, Roasted duck, Beef short rib, King prawn pad thai, Fried rice and Aged sirloin. The salad served with the mains were crisp and very fresh. Dessert was 50-50 chocolate mouse and crème brûlée, equally delectable. The Irish coffees were rated “second best in the world” by the jetsetters! Hats off to the chefs, they did their profession proud, beautiful plates of deliciousness, served by a joyful Rainer and team. Portions are generous and having starters and mains, we could have shared the desserts. We celebrated a birthday, and the chefs prepared a special birthday dessert which was highly appreciated, cherry on the cake for a most enjoyable evening! One aspect that needs attention is the bar service but understand staff/visa issues are a real challenge in the post-pandemic climate. Thank you Beast and Butterflies at the...