Headquarters — Restaurant in Waitematā

I don't usually write reviews for restaurants I go to, or just reviews in general - as I only do so if I have the effort from being so appalled by a place that I feel a moral obligation and duty to warn others. This restaurant was different however, and is one of the best places I've been to in recent memory.

Initially, I was going to write this review after I first went about 2 weeks ago, but because this restaurant blew me away so much, I can still vividly remember everything I had that night.

Firstly, the problems, albeit, not many. We (I was with a group) waited over 45 minutes to be seated, which was irritating, though I have to acknowledge the fact that the place was very busy that night and the host did pleasantly keep the group entertained and was trying to get us seated. I don't believe the bar area is necessary, with the deafeningly loud music and shouting from half-pissed adults; but again, I'm in the middle for that complaint as I don't know what it would be replaced with as it could entirely effect the intentionally (I believe) casual, not-too-posh-but-still-having-great-standards atmosphere of the restaurant. And finally, the lights outside the place just look cheap and pale in comparison to everything else, very trivial I know, but still a complaint.

Now, when we were seated, we immediately had very good and attentive service. The kids pizza came first, and although a simple margarita pizza, I couldn't resist trying some and it was honestly blew me away (you'll hear this a lot). It was one of the best pizzas I've had in my life, and I really wasn't expecting much considering it was so simple. The dough had perfect texture, ingredients were rich with flavour and was just so simplistically beautiful.

I had my expectations set quite high now in anticipation for my fish. When it arrived I was originally unimpressed with the presentation. I didn't put this in my complaints though, because I truly find it hard to believe that the chef, who produced such fantastic food, would present that dish in a way where it would look like it had almost been dropped, with all the food awkwardly on the edge of the plate; so it was most likely just an accident on the waiters behalf - which I can forgive, as this dish also blew me away.

The sauce blended perfectly with the fish and combined to produce such an impeccable flavour, that it is difficult to describe it's greatness. The finely chopped cauliflower on the side was also fine, but that fish and sauce was the main event, and genuinely excellent. I also tried somebody else's lamb and chicken, and again - it blew me away. The lamb was pristinely cooked and flavoursome, and I definitely didn't except the chicken to be the same. Chicken is so oversaturated when it comes to food, and so many places serve it, you really don't expect much from it after you've had it so much, but this chicken was superb. I'm actually having trouble in describing these dishes in a simplistic way, because I could write an essay (or more of one) if I really wanted to, it was that astounding.

I was planning on staying away from dessert, but after being blown away 4 times, I couldn't resist. At this point, I constantly had to remind myself that there is no way the chef could blow me away a fifth time; but to my utter astonishment, he did it.

Never had I heard of bread & butter pudding, and I really didn't know how bread could possibly be a dessert, although when it came, it was again - perfect. The warmth of it, under the flawlessly smooth cream, the sweetness of the milk, the raspberries, the homemade ice-cream, etc. all completely immaculate. All I can say is, don't skip dessert when you're there.

I came to the place expecting nothing special, but left being bewildered at how I was blown away 5 times by the food. Never to my memory has that every happened, and I even confidently said to my mother afterwards that that food was better than hers (which is very hard to top, trust me). This place will be very hard to forget, and should be at the base of any must-visit restaurant list...

If I could give negative stars, I would. I read the recent reviews online, and they were bad—but I thought I’d give it a try anyway. I really regret that decision because, wow, what a disappointment!

The issues started before we even arrived. I called ahead to ask if we could reserve a table, and they told us to just walk in. But when we got there, they asked why we hadn’t made a reservation. I didn’t have the time or energy to argue. Luckily, we eventually got a seat, but that was just the beginning.

I was excited for the Bluff oysters, but I honestly don’t think they were from Bluff. They didn’t taste right at all. The place was also way too loud—the bartender couldn’t even hear my order.

And the service? Absolutely terrible. The staff looked like they didn’t want to be there, and the bartender was especially dismissive. At one point, he even said, "I don’t understand what you’re saying." Seriously?? Instead of trying to listen, he just brushed me off.

Then there’s the so-called 15% discount for service people. Why even advertise it if: a) Your staff don’t honour it, and b) They don’t even know about it and shame customers for inquiring?!

To top it off, they claim to be dog-friendly, but there was no space for our dog. Luckily, our dog is very patient and well-trained, but it was still disappointing. The only positive? A gentleman staff member who was sympathetic and even apologised about the situation with our dog. I really appreciated that.

After this experience, I can see why the recent reviews were bad. Definitely...

Really poor service - seemed like there was table service for most people except my friend and I. Had to keep going inside, even just to get a menu. Had four rounds and had to queue at the bar for each one, which would have been understandable if it was busy, but it wasn't. The majority of the time was spent just being ignored. It was punishing to have to repeat my order multiple times, as the bartender was quite blatantly paying more attention to others at the bar. Then there was further waiting while, mid-pour, the bartender decided to go out and collect table numbers for food orders. I get that it's a delicate balance to work in hospitality and manage competing workloads, but every single encounter at the bar was long and lacklustre. I felt embarrassed for an older American couple that were waiting an incredibly long time to order, and also had to repeat themselves three times. It wasn't loud or busy or anything - the staff were just slow, disinterested and unfriendly. I actually apologised to the tourists and said that not all bars are like this. I'm not sure whether maybe the staff were hungover or what, but it came across as apathetic and rude. Not a single staff member said hi, or made conversation, or said thank you, out of any of the encounters. The food looked good but we didn't go through the punishment of ordering, and just went elsewhere for the rest of the day. We wouldn't come back here and can't...