Bowler Wynyard Quarter — Restaurant in Waitematā

(Almost a month ago I wrote this) Came here for breakfast....nice eggs, salmon was tasty and of great quality. But that's all.....toast was charred almost burnt, rubbery and inedible. What is it with sourdough toast that's impossible to cut with a knife and so chewy....the butter on the plate looked homemade and delicious but couldn't be enjoyed with toast that resembled a jandal. Service and welcome from barista was arrogant, void of warmth and personality. The waiter who brought my food on the other hand was nice. All in all I won't be in a hurry to come back here. If you like pretentious staff and inedible toast I highly recommend Williams eatery.

01.05.2019 So they write back on the above post and ask to send them an email asking for further info based on my review. So I send them the following email on the 12.04.2019 and to-date no acknowledgement whatsoever. What's the point asking? Is the Barista the owner or related to the owner?

Hi there,

Thanks for replying to my comment I made on Google regarding my breakfast experience at your restaurant. It was disappointing....dont get me wrong the food was of very high quality and despite the inedible toast the other elements were delicious.....but good food isn't enjoyable when you receive poor service. On the morning of 5/4 I came in for breakfast. (around 7am) I was greeted by the Batista, but was curious as to why I wasn't offered a menu....i was at the table next to the counter looking at what looked like a menu but it was drinks only....he asked "what I was after?" which I replied some eggs......i then asked if there were sides which he went through....all the while I was wondering why I simply wasn't offered a table and a menu?

Once I ordered and paid for my food and a latte to come out after my meal, I went to find a seat. I had a flat phone and asked if there was a seat near a power point to charge my device. He bluntly said "no, we didn't put any plugs in"....i would think that someone customer focused would perhaps offer to charge my device at an available plug in the restaurant, but this wasn't the case. After feeling unwelcome I decided to sit outside, with a flat phone. There were no heralds to read unfortunately either.

Once my food/water arrived from another staff member, who was nice, i discovered toast that was cold, rubbery and over charred from the grill. It detracted from the delicious butter eggs and salmon on the plate. It wasn't enjoyable. I sat for a while hoping my coffee would come out.....in the end I decided to go inside to ask for it, before I got a chance to ask, I could see that the barista was making it. Just before he was about to pour the milk into the glass I asked him to make it takeaway. He sighed like it was such a hassle, his body language was inappropriate and he grabbed a takeaway cup with haste, banged the cup on the counter poured the espresso from the glass into the takeaway cup slammed a lid on it and said "there you go" I was really taken back by his attitude....was it rude of me to ask for the coffee to go?

I reflected on how I felt I had been treated by him from the moment I walked into the restaurant.....I didn't feel welcome, I felt like a burden. Not exactly what I was expecting from your restaurant. Not sure if my treatment was reflective of me not been a suit, but it left a lot to be desired. Had the service been warm I would have forgiven the bad cold toast. The simplest element on the dish to prepare I might add.

All in all I left Williams eatery feeling unwelcome and hungry. Wasn't exactly the best way to start the day.

I can appreciate that service staff sometimes have reasons as to why they behave a certain way, but as a first time customer his interactions with me left a bad impression of...

Can’t comment on the food as yet as we only had a hot cross bun with our coffee. Lovely Sunny spot in the heart of the new tank farm district and excellent fit out. We had booked for brunch, so it was a surprise to find that our table was around the corner in the shade instead of having one in a prime spot - felt like a bit of an afterthought, to be honest.

Coffee orders weren’t taken straight away, though that may have been because we told them we were being joined by friends but I usually find coffee being brought immediately in cafes, so a bit strange. Hot cross buns ordered rather than a proper breakfast, as our friends ended up not being able to make it, but delivered un-toasted, and we weren’t asked. Wife happy with this, but I like mine toasted - when it was, the bun was heated and not split before toasting (maybe I'm being picky, but...). Our coffee still hadn’t been delivered by this time, so a bit disjointed all around, unfortunately. Will try again, however.

Right , returned for number 2 visit on a terrible day of horizontal rain, so no outside seating. Changed the rating to 4 though I'd rather give 3.5 but can't on this system.

The food was good, although my scrambled eggs were overcooked. Next time I'll specify creamy. My wife's avocado on toast was 'delicious'. The menu is fairly limited for brunch options. The coffee was good enough and the inside space is very noisy with lots of hard surfaces - not great if your hearing isn't. Overall, on the right day, this is an excellent choice but a bit of noise dampening inside and the kitchen paying more attention to the dishes would...

Unfriendly and unwelcoming customer service right from when we entered the door. We visited on a windy and rainy day yet we were asked to sit outside. We insisted to sit inside after seeing a few empty tables (at least one of the tables had no reserved sign) but told there were no empty tables and we had to wait. After waiting for 20+ minutes we got given the exact table we saw was empty right from the start, and the table was not even clean. (Not to mention the one of the ladies asked us to move out of the way and stand by the side door when we were trying to move around to avoid the wind that was coming in from the side door - maybe because we were in the way? But again could have asked nicely we would have been more then happy to move)

Here comes the worst part. When I asked for an “al-mond” matcha, the lady asked me to repeat the first word I said, so I went on and said an almond matcha. She went oh you mean “a-lmond”.

We are small eaters and ordered more than enough for 2 people. We asked for a takeaway container for our unfinished chips and cookie, the same lady who took our coffee order looked unimpressed like we should have finished everything. This is our first time here, and am taking away my own unfinished food that I paid for, so not sure where this is coming from.

Good coffee, food very average. Only recommend if you’re a big eater otherwise don’t order too much.

Thanks....