Carmen Jones — Restaurant in Waitematā

Started off well with a jug of sangria and the potato bombas which were delicious! Then ordered the Istanbul - I think - street pizza - which was very disappointing - pita bread with mince and chopped tomatoes on top - not flavoursome at all and an odd combination to taste. In fairness it was as described on the menu but the flavours did not mix well and it was very underwhelming. Things did not improve as we then ordered the Hot Dawg Fries - these arrived absolutely smothered in ketchup and mayo and a very strong mustard - despite asking for the mustard on the side - we decided to make the best of it only to find the chips were barely cooked through and certainly not crunchy at all. We barely ate a quarter of the bowl. The quesadilla we finished with was cheesy and a good size but again the flavour combination was not pleasant. Left feeling disappointed especially considering the great start. Only good thing was we had a voucher for 25%off but without this the food was extremely overpriced for its quality. Will not be returning - a pity as other reviews were very positive but not a great dinner...

As a Spanish person I found this place completely disappointing. None of the items on the menu are Spanish or a even a Mid-East fusion as they claim to be. Adding chorizo sausages to the menu doesn't make it Spanish. I even tried the chorizo and the flavour wasn't like the Spanish one, this one tasted like it had aniseed? Weird. Also we tried the Baba Ganoush which is a Middle East classic and what we got was a kind of a dip that tasted heaps like tahini. Nothing like Baba Ganoush. The food they serve is average, the kind of food you can cook yourself at home and probably a bit better. The decoration it's also super offensive in my opinion. A torero, a Spanish flag and lots of pics of people that is not Spanish but they speak Spanish (like Frida Khalo, who is Mexican), I also remember a photo of a guy with a pizza? Isn't that Italian? Very random. It certainly looks like the owner is someone from here that's...

We parked a minute away on the same road and had a sunny afternoon stroll into the delightful Carmen Jones and were greeted by the very smily, and friendly waitress who seated us by the window. We ordered everything we could eat but I wish we could’ve ordered half the menu it was just delicious! A lovely recommendation by our waitress to try the Barcelona Bombas, which were such a highlight we wish we got two plates! Perhaps an idea for next time. We were so happy with our yummy food, sangrias to cheers, soft and slow music to relish our ears and kind service from everyone there that by the end of the evening we couldn’t fit dessert in so we will be back soon Carmen Jones. Thanks for a beautiful...