Caluzzi Cabaret — Restaurant in Waitematā

Show was fantastic but booking experience was very stressful. I booked for 25 people in January for a date in March to celebrate my birthday. With omicron looming I made sure to ask for all the disclaimers around if I caught covid or if my guests did. Was told that if I caught it and had to isolate I could change the date and if it was was of my guests that we could get a bar tab credit as long as we could show proof of their positive test. I agreed to these terms and transferred $2500 for my booking 2 weeks before my booking date.

Of course… I get covid a 4 days before the booking and email asking if I could change the date. I’m told that I can’t and I could transfer my own ticket for another date but not the whole booking (Lol but this event is literally for my birthday?). After sending through screenshots of the initial email thread i’m allowed to shift my date. A few weeks before this new date I’m sent an email asking for the rest of my deposit to be paid which was weird because I already paid it. Went back to them and showed a screenshot of my bank statement showing the payment and all seems good... Unfortunately, the day before the new date 2 of my guests test positive for covid. I tell my guests all good, I can refund them the money as their tickets will just become a bar tab, as I was informed when I initially made the booking. But actually, no not all good, because after emailing Caluzzi that there will be 2 less guests I’m told that the final number should have been communicated 5 days before the date. Me being confused, informs Caluzzi that I wasn’t aware of this disclaimer, I’m then sent a screenshot of the “new” disclaimer on their email signature from a previous email they sent to me when there was the payment mix up, mind you this new disclaimer was added well post me confirming the new date.

I should have made more of a fuss at the time because this disclaimer was not communicated to me when I made the booking initially, but honestly I was still exhausted from kicking up a fuss the first time when I had covid and was told I couldn’t shift the date. I also had been looking forward to this event for such a long time I just wanted to enjoy my night the next day.

We’re all trying our best here to support the entertainment and hospitality industry during this tough time.. with the cost of living crisis we’re experiencing right now as well a $99 ticket is a lot of money to a lot of people. I really love drag and am absolutely shattered to have such a negative experience with Caluzzi. Still giving you 3 stars because yeah the performance was fantastic and I support the queens. But maybe look to improve your...

A Really Great Night Out, but...

Caluzzi is a super fun, night out absolutely. The performance/shows are very well done, well thought out and definitely a lot of work goes into that. You one hundred percent can see that. The queens are absolutely lovely and the entrainment factor is always plus plus.

This is about the 4th time I've been to caluzzi in the last couple years. And as much as I love the atmosphere and the show it's really losing its appeal.

The venue is well thought out for the performance and the space well utilized. But it is crammed in. A table of eight was a pretty cozy tight squeeze with not much room to comfortably eat. (Which I understand you come for the show, but...) The menu selection has one chicken, one beef and one vege option. Great! Though now for the second time I've been the filo has always run out when it is served and the bowl of veges, though yum is pretty underwhelming and with a small salad on the side. Kind of just pulls the mood down. I think especially when you pay about $100 to eat and have a show, I sort of feel let down on the food portion. Though if you're a chicken or beef person, portion sizes are great and the food looks pretty tasty for sure.

I completely understand the appeal and the experience and I love being able to support. I know you'll usually always have a great night for sure. But you kind of almost need to eat out first and then come to the show, especially if you're vegetarian/vegan.

Overall it is 100% a great night out and if you want entertainment you will get it in the bucket loads. If you want food and a bit of a spacious dining experience you're probably going to be a little disappointed. But the shows and the talent sure make up for a lot. I'd still say go for the experience and the fun for sure! It's simply superb and def worth at least going once for absolute definite!

I just feel to get more repeat visitors, yes the shows change regularly... but you start to second guess it a little when you can get a good dinning experience and then try make it to drag wars or even sometimes watching the shows in the...

Was highly disappointed with our experience! We arrived and ordered drinks. They took over 30min to be brought to the table and were significantly watered down. My Jamesons and lemonade came clear with no signs of alcohol in it, the cocktails tasted like watered down apple juice, you could see the shots had water in them as the colour was so diluted. We spoke to bar manager who pretty much told us tough, but he had to add about 2-3 more shots of watered down jamesons to my drink before you could see the color of the alcohol in the sprite.

The garlic bread and pumpkin soup was really yum.

The MC spoke to the crowd and we danced to the YMCA, they had a member from each table go up and dance. That was pretty much all they did from 7:00-9:30 when we received dinner.

The staff couldn't tell us what the meal consisted of, just that we needed to blindly pick beef, chicken or veg.

The steaks were all served well done, when we told the staff we ordered medium rear, she told us there was no more steaks left and to just eat it, she ended up bringing out another that was sitting out the back and was also well done, we asked for one to be cooked medium rare or a refund for the meal, we were told there were no refunds, she got upset and told us off for being rude!

The show finally started at 10:15 and lasted 20min. We were moved from our seats to down a corridor behind the bar where we could bearly see anything. The Costumes were beautiful, they all looked amazing. The show consisted of 4 dances, some better than others but nothing fantastic.

It took almost 45min to get through the que to pay the bill at the end of the night. We were so excited to come to caluzzis, but we're sadly disappointed. Sorry to have to give such...