Caretaker — Restaurant in Waitematā

honestly, have been here before and absolutely loved it, have since recommended this bar to multiple of my friends. I returned with some of my colleagues, out celebrating my coworker and friends late 21st birthday and had some of the worst service I've ever received. first our friend was from France who had never been to a speakeasy bar so we were very excited to show them a classy joint with great service and got exactly the opposite. Immediately after being greeted we were told our party of 7 had to be seated at two separate tables directly next to each other and when we asked if we could push tables together (which would not have obstructed any walkways etc) we were told no without any explanation. Rather than arguing we sat down and waited until a larger table opened up. The first round of drinks we didn't have to wait too long, however our friends on the table next to us probably waited an extra 10-15 minutes for their drinks despite ordering at the same time. After we finished our drinks had to wait another 20-25 to order a second round. A larger table then opened up and one of our friends got up to ask if we could move there so we could all converse with each other more freely. After moving we all got our second round, drank and then proceeded to wait 45 minutes to order another round. All of the tables around us were served and we had even grouped the empty drinks in the middle to show we were ready for another round. After reaching the 45 minute mark we got up and went to pay. Having spent over $300 already we would have thought our group would have been given a little more attention. When we went up to pay we again had to wait until our friend said to one of the waiters standing at the bar waiting for drinks to be made (that hadn't all even been shaken yet) if we could pay. He proceeded to say "We're really busy, but I guess I can." We understand busy hospo venues (our whole group works in hospitality as bartenders and waitstaff) but as a venue that fits 40 people max and on a Monday at 9pm the attitude we received and the clear refusal to serve our table put a real dampener on our night out. We saw both the waiters standing at the bar doing nothing, even shaking a bottle of one of the bar ingredients on the other side of the bar when we were waiting to be served. Really disappointed, and aligns with some of the rumors we had heard about staff changing and the service become really lackluster. Super...

Following a recommendation to track down Caretaker from a hospo insider, we arrived on a Saturday night to find a wait to get in. Seeing this as a good sign, we endured a good half-hour wait in the rowdy upstairs bar, before the hipster on the door finally called us in. When we descended, we found there were plenty of tables to be had, the longer wait time either a sign of inefficiency from the doorman or boutique preciousness for the bar’s capacity.

However the ambience was lovely and immediately had us spellbound. Low lighting, waitresses dressed in keeping with the 50s chic vibe, we were transported to another world in a relaxed setting.

The concept for service was intriguing; they have no cocktail or drinks list but instead will build you a cocktail / deliver from their repertoire something you will enjoy based on what flavors appeal to you or what you can tell them you are looking for. Very fun but if you have an allergy to pretentiousness this would not be the venue for you. However we easily went along with it and without fault our drinks hit the mark on every score, really well made and delivered on the promise of expert mixology.

A bum note with the cheese platter we ordered; really not good enough value on the board for the price. While the three cheeses themselves were present in expected quantity, the accompaniments were stingy and lacking, there really should have been some kind of cured meat element on to make the plate worthy of the rest of the experience we were having.

For a basement venue the sound management was good, conversation flowed easily. A very cool hang out for those in the...

This was my third attempt at trying to get in this place as it's always been too busy. Went on a Wed night, wasn't busy at all, greeted and told to sit anywhere we like as it was quiet. Didn't get acknowledged by wait staff until 10 mins after being there. Wait staff didn't realise we were new people at the table even though the empty glasses were bunched and moved to the edge of the table. Eventually we moved the glasses to another table and finally got noticed. Wait staff had no clue we hadn't been served and she didn't seem happy that we'd sat at that table. There aren't many tables so shouldn't be that hard to recognise the people you've served if you're paying attention to them. Other tables given water as soon as they arrived and got drinks well before us. Asked about what we like and don't like but was very vague. Took over 35 mins to get drinks served then i still had to ask for water. I said I wanted a tall glass and initially got served a martini glass. Husband asked for something dry yet it was quite sweet, tasted awful and looked like dishwater. No one came back to check how the drinks were so returned one to the bar and got under breath sarcastic comments and lady wasn't happy about it. She never returned to our table to check on us. Felt very unwelcome. Very small cocktails for the price esp when you remove the ice. Had much better cocktails and experiences in other bars. Disappointing after...