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Polished, modern buffet restaurant featuring a wide selection of global specialties & desserts.

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Polished, modern buffet restaurant featuring a wide selection of global specialties & desserts.

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We came by for a Christmas Lunch for work. I had come by before and the kitchen looked similar but it was also a bit different. The eight different kitchens have their own themes. There is a salad bar, a sushi and sashimi bar, an Italian area, a grill, an Asian dumpling area, a seafood kitchen, an Indian kitchen, an American style grill and a dessert station. The Italian area was a bit disappointing, 2 different pastas. From memory, they did have a pasta bar where they can make a custom sauce for you but it might have been only for dinner instead of lunch. The best of the lot was the grill. The meat was cooked to order and to your desired wellness. They also had nice veges like spice roasted cauliflower and grilled asparagus. I wasn't a fan of the American grill sine everything was overcooked and none of the meats, apart from the ones in the fridge, were labelled. It would've been nice to know if the meat I had was that or venison. The other kitchens were alright. I was a bit sad that they ran out of the sago pudding at the dessert station. They did replace it with another cake but I was only able to see people get it as it was all out when I went for dessert. I quite liked the edge pieces of the mudcake though. the service was quite good as the plates were generally cleared once you got back for your next round. It did get a bit slack over time though. It was a nice buffet. It is quite expensive but really enjoyable as a work function.

Benedict UyBenedict Uy
20
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Great place for a date night. We picked Eight restaurant for it's seafood variety. However it was missing kina!!!! If only it had Kina 😥Having said this eight far exceeds any other restaurant when it comes to seafood selection in my experience of buffet. Yes I'm NZ Maori🤙. In the pic you will see paua on the little white saucer nothing to write home about only because the taste of the paua is over powered by what seems to be sauerkraut??? The meat selection was amazeballs I was particularly intrigued by the Kangaroo and Alpaca on the menu needless to say I had to sample and I was rather impressed by the Alpaca which if I wasn't so full I would of had a second helping. There was an extensive Indaian menu with freshly cooked Naan looked impressive however not my cuppa tea. I did however enjoy the sushi and sashimi selection. Those who have a cheese fetish will love what's available. This is only some of the mains. The dessert selection is delicious and has a selection to satisfy any sweet tooth. I'm happy if I get a creme brulee. Seating and ambience was relaxed. The staff are attentive and an asset to the Cordis. Highly recommend if you want great buffet experience for $98 each person on a week night. I think darer on weekend Hint: Best to walk or uber there. Parking by valet is $45NZD.

Amanda LiainaAmanda Liaina
10
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We arrived at the restaurant on 16.01.2022 for my mothers birthday. We were warmly greeted by a Polynesian lady in the reception area of the Eight Restaurant. While another Asian Lady wearing a similar suit of uniform with glasses rudely interrupted our conversation, authoritative tone that we need to wear a mask inside the restaurant. At the same time, in the buffet area (guest can only remove their face mask when they are about to eat). We didn't appreciate how this was communicated to us from her tone and gesture towards us. The Asian lady with glasses who was a supervisor was condescending how she talked to us and dared even to look at us all head to toe. For a restaurant supervisor, we expected her to be more accomodating not to leave a sour taste from the beginning of our visit. The Polynesian lady couldn't help but diffuse the utterly initial ruined experience by escorting us to our table and apologising for their colleague's behaviour. I questioned the restaurant policy if it is mandatory to wear masks how come half of the guests in the buffet area were not wearing masks. We were advised that they will conduct a reminder to the guests to wear a face mask when not at the table to eat. The restaurant has a fantastic 5-star layout. It was such a mind-blowing experience to enter the buffet area; it was such a spectacular view to have a mini travel adventure to each food station. I enjoyed the American, Indian and seafood stations that truly embellish some of my travel experience. We loved the food experience; all the food was delicious, fresh and genuinely well thought out. Our leading Food and Beverage Specialist, Jason was professional; he was on top of the service with the help of Nicky. Both Jason and Nicky truly changed our initial negative experience to something memorable for my mothers and our family to remember. They both provided such a humble, genuine and five-star experience that this was evident when they checked up on us and had a real conversation about how our day and dining were going. It is pretty rare to have Food and Beverage specialists converse or share stories with guests. These days almost my past restaurant fine dining experience has constantly observed and experienced with waiter/waitress just serving food to guests looking like robots forgetting that food is consumption and experience is a scar that can be looked at later on. Jason and Nicky truly represent Eight Restaurant. I believe they genuinely announce that the place is a 5 Star Buffet not just for food but a memorable moment to hold on to. Food and Beverage flavours, flare and execution rate 5/5 Reception Staff 2/5 Food and Beverage Service 4/5 Overall rating would have been 4 stars but due to the initial negative approach. I give 3.

Liana B.Liana B.
150
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With all the raging reviews of the buffet and its cost, honestly I expected a little better... There's no buffet currently, it's what they call a "buffet to table" experience, essentially meaning a set selection of foods brought to your table and not needing to get up and get food. I totally understood this, but really expected the food to be better than it was. Had bread and butter to start off with - seemed appropriate. But the bread was cold, stiff and a bit dry also. I realised that multiple tables that didn't have anyone there for up to 30 minutes (or so) had a bowl of bread already sitting at the table. It would've been nice to be served some warm bread so that the butter could melt into it. I was very much looking forward to oysters, but these were very small and had lots of shell pieces/sand/grit in them. I understand they were fresh, but if they're going to be that small to serve, why bother serving them at all? The mussels didn't really come with any seasoning of their own, just had to use the leftover lemon slices to season the cooked mussels. At least the prawn and cocktail sauce paired nicely. The salads and maki rolls were just average - the rolls didn't have a lot of flavour to them. The mains were also a bit of a let down! My favourite of the mains was the butter chicken, hard to go wrong with a butter chicken right? The baby grilled octopus were really lackluster, "seasoned" with lemon oil but honestly there was nothing much to it, just a chewy texture and not much flavour. Even their tagliatelle was underseasoned and very plain tasting. Desserts were much better, but definitely for those who have a pretty extreme sweet tooth. Probably the most enjoyable aspect of this totally underwhelming experience was how aesthetically pleasing to the eye the venue is, as well as the bathrooms. The service was very friendly. I'm not sure I'll try this again, maybe if the buffet experience opens back up.

Jina HongJina Hong
150
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Can't believe I haven't reviewed this place yet! I've been here many times over the years and consider it to be the best buffet in the CBD. Friends and I were here for Christmas lunch last weekend and we were stuffed to capacity but we of course made room for dessert. The highlight for me was the doughnut. In terms of starters, the beetroot air baguette was tasty but the beetroot flavour was not strong enough for me. Some sort of goat cheese tart with fresh beetroot would be a winner in my book. The chicken, slaw and maki platter were also delicious. In terms of mains, the beef (that truffle mash was fire), butter chicken and ham were the highlights for me although the duck fat potatoes (which are always my favourite from the buffet) were a little water logged on this day. Despite, this Eight is great and I'll always go back. The next visit will need to wait at least a few months because I'm still digesting! Had the Christmas lunch with the team here and it was a great experience as always. Dessert was the highlight for me but there was the usual Christmas trimmings: ham, turkey, etc. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the underdone pasta and potatoe salad. The pork curry was flavourful.

Rachel SpencerRachel Spencer
70
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I wanted to actually write a letter to say Thankyou but loved the idea of everyone seeing this publicly. I want to thank you to you all. My friend and I dined here on Friday evening and it was simply stunning. Fillipe from the moment you greeted us at the front door you had the most beautiful manner, I felt truely like we mattered right from the first interaction. We then got guided to the restaurant, shown around the options and then taken back to our table. The food was elegant, well presented and a lot of it. You won’t be disappointed they had options for everyone. The waitresses on that evening were friendly, welcoming and had lovely table service, honestly you should be thrilled to have this high level of staff onboard, NZ could learn a lot from this. After we had our fill we moved across to another bar, we talked gin and had a cocktail! It was one of the most memorable evenings I’ve had in a while. It was so nice to see hospitality at this level and I can’t wait to tell everyone I know to come here too, they need to experience this! I’ll be back, to me it was worth every single dollar! Thankyou! Stacey - Dunedin

Stacey KennedyStacey Kennedy
50
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Overview

4.1(743 reviews)$$$

Phone

+64 9 300 2924

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Website

eightrestaurant.co.nz

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Deep Dive

A deep dive into Eight at Cordis, Auckland