Fortuna Buffet Restaurant — Restaurant in Waitematā

This is the worst review I hope to post, though I'd be guilty of supporting substandard effort. I wasn't compelled to give a star either 🥱 It is no longer a restaurant you want to visit for a special family quality dinner, standards have completely dropped 😒 I didn't need a reservation this time, so if that's a bonus, I'd still recommend your favorite takeaway dinner. Smell, Visual appeal, course combinations, texture and flavors are my buzz at a dinner outing. Of course, at a buffet restaurant you dress these yourself, so it's a semi chef/customer experience. Arrival: People waited too long for a seat at an almost empty restaurant.The front desk seemed more concerned with customers who'd left than those arriving. The manager behaved like security not concierge 😑 The dinner cost $67.50 pp (so I was excited, price had increased considerably since my last visit for a birthday) Visual: It's missing ambience, the tables were bare and food court looking, I studied each station to ponder my courses, immediately I wasn't pleased 🤢 certain foods appeared dry and mismatched by description 🤔 salads had none of the seasonal fruits and blends and looked out of a packet boring. Smell: there were smells of 'off' meat in the Bain Marie's (not sure which, so pictured). Bland actually has a Smell too, it's a nothingness 🤷‍♀️ Course combinations: Seafood, Soup station, Cheese, fruit and nut selections (Entrée) is really as far as I went personally. My husband and best friend had dishes remaining on their plates, so this otherwise confirmed my suspicions. I tasted them to 1. Not waste food and 2. Not behave like a snob. I shouldn't have because thereafter I was irritable and complaining. Thanks to an intimate relationship with Bourbon and coke from their bar, I left speechless and my husband wasn't embarrassed by me at the end of the night. I do give thanks for staff slapping a cupcake on a plate with chocolate sauce birthday wishes for my husband (at request). A message to the chef/s - An empty guest plate is the best compliment, Get out to more family picnics, small cafés and restaurants to experience flavors, thaw your frozens and turn down the temperature of your fridge for your daily goods, marinades and sauces do not disguise rotting products and finally, less is more when done with confidence and love. No, I'm not a chef, I'm a marae cook and there's never food left on my plates. Let me know when you feel your restaurant matches price. I'm always open to being...

I visited the Fortuna buffet restaurant on my first night in Auckland, and it was a decision I quickly regretted.

Upon entering, I waited a few minutes while two groups ahead of me were informed that payment was required upfront, and that I needed to write my full name down on a piece of paper before being allowed in. This process was unnecessarily tedious.

After the wait, a staff member took me on a tour of the food selections and then seated me at a table in the center by the window. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for me to realize that this spot was cold, as the September nights in Auckland can chill your food quickly.

The food itself was, frankly, disappointing. The only items I found worthwhile were the cooked shrimp and baked mussels. The lamb shank and beef chili had flavors that were distinctly off-putting. I absolutely do not recommend trying the chicken and corn soup; it was lackluster at best, and the focaccia was surprisingly tasteless.

The dessert buffet was another letdown. I struggled to finish the Oreo cookie cheesecake, which barely resembled a cheesecake, and the brownie tasted like it was two days old. Most of the desserts had vibrant appearances but delivered terrible flavors.

One notable detail is that the gentleman who appeared to be the manager walked through the dining hall, greeting every customer. I sat there waited on him and eagerly to provide my feedback. However, he deliberately avoided my table, greeting three tables right next to mine. I remember his name started with ‘All.’

Given the subpar quality of the food and the lack of attentive service, I cannot recommend this restaurant to anyone unless you are starved or have a...

I went here for dinner with my husband this evening and we were highly disappointed unfortunately. The restaurant was cold and bright so it wasn't very inviting or relaxing. There were lots of people crowding the entrance, yet the restaurant wasn't very busy. We paid $77 per person and an additional fee for my husband's soft drinks which were on tap. The food selection seemed good so I was excited at first, but every time we went to get a selection of food we were let down. The seafood was very hit and miss, my husband said the raw fish was delicious, the prawns weren't good at all, the oysters didn't smell fresh so we didn't eat them, the pork ribs were dry, the lamb shanks were over cooked, the salads were fresh, the satay chicken wasn't nice. There were plenty of other options that we tried and didn't like so we gave up on the mains and went for dessert. The dessert consisted of lots of slices including strawberry cheesecake, tiramisu, cookies & cream slice, choc fudge all the main favourites but none of them were good and tasted like old cafe slices rather than restaurant quality. The vanilla soft serve was good, my husband also tried the chocolate soft serve but said the consistency was a bit wierd. The fruit salad was tinned peach halves with green melon and pineapple so that was a bit disappointing considering how many fruits are in season right now. I would recommend going elsewhere especially if like us, you don't get to go out often. Spend a little extra and go to a...