Bivacco — Restaurant in Waitematā

A let down experience:

I was not greeted upon arrival and there were staff that would rather be chatting to each other than saying hi and how they can help me. After a good few minutes of waiting for someone to notice me (it wasn’t busy at the front desk either), one of the managers finally sat me down. She asked whether I would like sparkling or tap, but never came back to give me tap water which was honestly a let down as water takes less than 20 seconds to do. I had to ask one of the waiters that was walking around to give me water.

Secondly, the waiter in the section wasn’t helpful when I asked how the menu worked. He said the menu was designed for sharing and he recommended some dishes to share. I noticed he pointed to the ones that were also the most expensive but I went along with it because it did sound pretty good. However, he did not warn me that I’d be paying $38 for 5 pieces of pasta (Braised Lamb Agnolotti) for my mains. It was beyond ridiculous as my friend and I had tiny little bites of each piece of pasta that was served cold and bland. $27 for the kingfish crudo was acceptable because it’s kingfish and the cut was thick.

I really wish I was warned that I would be paying $38 for 5 pieces of pasta :/ we did ask if the dishes were big enough to share and the waiter directed us to the dishes he recommended, but did not warn us how little we would be receiving. The kingfish sashimi was good but the pasta was a total let down. If I’m paying $38 for pasta, I would’ve expected a bowl full and not just 5 pieces.

Lastly we ordered the Tiramisu dessert to share. This was fairly priced and yum. I’d say best for value so far with what I ordered.

Overall there are better Italian places to go to eg. Prego in Ponsonby. I’ve received far better service there and better value + flavours for what...

Prefacing this by saying I went in their first two weeks of opening so expect the team were still getting their groove... I will return sometime later in the season and make amendments.

Situated in the old HQ building, Bivacco really has the prime viaduct position on a sunny day and copious outdoor seating. I'd seen rave reviews of the aperativo hour (4-6pm daily) on Instagram so headed along with some friends for drinks and complementary snacks in the sunshine.

We arrived just after 4 to surprisingly plenty of free tables. The host allowed us to take any available table however warned that those outdoors don't come with table service. We opted for a table inside instead to avoid the hassle and waited about 30 minutes to receive menus. We kicked things off with a round of drinks from the aperativo hour menu which is very reasonably priced. The round came quickly and were consumed just as quickly! We attempted to order food next, however, learned the kitchen is closed from 4-5 while they reset from lunch to dinner. We ordered some more drinks and, once 5pm rolled around, placed our order for food. The food came quickly but our drinks ordered seemed to get lost in the system and required chasing from a few different wait staff. Our group received a complementary plate of olives which were tasty and appreciated, however, far from the smorgasbord of mozzarella sticks, calamari, and pizza I had seen others receive.

Based on my experience of the service, food, drinks, and atmosphere I won't be rushing back. There are other spots that I'd pick over Bivacco. But, I'm willing to give it another shot as I simply don't think I'll be able to resist the fantastic location on a...

Went to celebrate friends graduation at Bivaccio for dinner. As we had 20 people we had the set menu for $110pp. The table wasn't ready at 8 pm, so we went to the bar for a drink but was ready in about 5 minutes. Unfortunately, there wasn't space for our number of people, so seating was three tables and the host ended up moving around tables throughout the night to make sure she spent time with everyone. The food started coming out just past 8:30 and from that point came out well timed, wrapping up with dessert by 10pm.

All the dishes were delicious as well as the cocktails. I ordered the seasonal Fejoia and Lemoncello, and the Fejoia Fizz and then their Bermout Bliss. As I didn't have any dietary requirements I found it all enjoyable and was perfectly satisfied by the end of the meal, however the guest I was next to could only eat Halal and mentioned she may need to eat something else when she got home.

The atmosphere is great at the restaurant with several views of the water. Bathrooms are immaculate, clean and comfortable. The wait staff could have been a little more attentive though as I ran out of water halfway through and never got another refill. They only seemed to come around when they had dishes to set out.

This is not my first time at Bivacco but overall I would recommend this restaurant and will most...