Hello Beasty — Restaurant in Waitematā

It was a cool evening in mid November. My good friend and I had just arrived in Auckland and had 1 night on a Thursday night prior to exploring the rest of the country. In looking up places to eat we stumbled upon an Asian Fusion and a NZ flair and we were there! We showed up with no reservation naturally, and as we walked in our experience started off with a beautiful Kiwi with gorgeous eyes asking us how many we'll be. 2 we said, a 30 minute wait there is. No worries, we walked around the water, neat area with some expensive boats in the area. As we came back we anxiously waited outside for our table and the local angel came and grabbed us outside, sat us down at the kitchen and asked if that would be alright. It was more than alright as you could see all of the meals being prepared, the 4-5 chefs firing on all cylinders, quick but methodical. The server then comes up to us, a Kiwi accent sneaking through her French accent, welcomes us to the restaurant and provides a few recommendations, none better than the Lamb shoulder, we'll get to that... My buddy orders a Gin drink as those do well with Asian Fusion and we decide on the Dumplings Calamari and Buffalo Cauliflower for appetizers with the Lamb as our Entree. Part of why we chose the appetizers is we saw them being brought out, but it was not long that we saw a Noodle dish with minced meat prepared in front of us and changed out our Calamari for the Noodle dish (a second Entree), knowing we would indulge a bit based on the smell and preparation of the dishes. Our first course arrives...

The Buffalo Cauliflower fittingly came first, not as much sauce as most places drown the Cauliflower, and a sweet and tangy flavor was a nice light way to start the evening. With a low ceiling type of food, it peaked the scale. Next came the dumplings. You're already confused because they come upside down with a hardened crust in the most delectable Chili sauce. We split the 8 dumplings evenly as we began to realize this place was special. I kindly called over our waitress and ordered my own Gin drink as this developed. I made sure to save the Chili Sauce in a small bowl on the side because it had a real quality kick and to be honest was drinkable. While I felt smart doing so, I noticed one of the chefs sipping another sauce, orange this one was, licking spoons with this sauce before putting them in the sink, finding any way he could to get a taste. 'I wonder what that comes with, if only we had seen that we would have ordered that' - unclear what he was putting on top of the sauce as it was a bit too far away... Fear not, as it came with the Lamb! The lamb came and as my good friend put his knife into the lamb to cut a piece off multiple pieces fell off because it was the highest quality, perfectly cooked lamb you have ever seen. Important to try meat by itself prior to dousing it in sauce, we give it a taste as fireworks go off... Un-Be-Lievable. And then comes the sauce... When people say 'you could drink that,' this is what they are talking about. There's a reason a chef who makes the same 15 dishes over and over prioritizes this sauce. I can only tell you in so many words how good this Lamb in the coconut milk based sauce was, you simply have to try it. The meal continues with the noodle dish being a 12/10, us both getting a second Gin drink because it was helping cleanse the pallet as we went. We even got a dessert at the end after gorging ourselves and even that blew expectations. Of course it did! Hello Beasty will go down as one of the best meals of my life from the ambiance to the taste of the food to the memories there-in. I've never wanted to burp so bad for the rest of the night to just get a taste of the food from earlier, no joke. Living in the states it is unlikely I'll be back, but writing this review so others can have their once in a life-time...

Mixed Experience. We chose the $90pp set menu for two and it was…. A little bit disappointing? Service was inconsistent. At times, dishes arrived before we had finished the previous course, while at other moments we sat waiting for odd gaps of time. So the time between each meal was inconsistent and left you unsure what to expect or how to pace yourself. The man who served us was fine and hospitable, but the woman who also handled some of our dishes seemed rushed and less attentive, placing plates down sloppily, hitting our chopsticks and existing dishes, and quickly rushing off. Idk, maybe it was just one of those days for her. One server (unsure who) even approached to clear a plate while I was still mid-mouthful, which felt rushed and uncomfortable. Food-wise, there were definite highs, but also a few letdowns: • The sashimi platter was minimal and the presentation sad and boring. With just three slices per sashimi option (3 types total), it was unclear how two people were meant to share each option evenly. For a sharing-style restaurant in design, this seemed like an odd and imbalanced choice, especially when both guests are paying the full $90 each. The sashimi cuts themselves did not taste as fresh as they could be, which was also mildly disappointing. • I loved the Tuna Tartare we chose to add on, (not part of the original set menu arrangement) it was delicious and something I would choose to order again. • The salad that accompanied the chicken was dull and uninspired. Ours was just iceberg lettuce, sesame seeds, and a sauce. It felt like a missed opportunity, and a bit boring when you’re paying for the more expensive choice of the set menus. If it were a palette cleanser, it didn’t cleanse mine, just left a dull mark against the meal. • The chicken itself was great, however. juicy, flavourful, and with a great char. The presentation, was again, mildly lacking however. • The slow-cooked lamb was my personal favourite, even for someone like myself who isn’t usually a lamb fan. I enjoyed it a lot and would get it again. • The doughnuts were a nice ending, fluffy and not overly sweet. Just how I’d hoped.

We did end up ordering the extra tuna tartare on the side at the start, anticipating that the portions might be light, and they were. Even for a tasting menu, it felt less substantial than others we’ve had at a similar price point. I can see it doing amazing with some slight tweaks or restructuring of the set menu option, but atm I’d probably much rather recommend other local tasting menus to people The atmosphere was lively, with nearly every table full even on a Monday night which was surprising. It’s a vibrant, sociable setting, great if you’re coming with a group or for a shared meal, but perhaps a bit too noisy if you’re hoping for something quieter or more intimate due to the large group nature of the restaurant. The restaurant itself was clean, aesthetic, with sociable seating options, and the bathrooms were nice too (if that matters to you) Overall, there were some enjoyable elements, but the experience lacked and devalued itself in key areas. It wouldn’t be my first pick for a return visit.

Atmosphere and interior 4/5 Service 2-2.5/5 Value for money 2/5 Food presentation 2.5/5 Taste...

We were hoping our last meal in Auckland this trip was a special one because just about every other review indicated this would be so. Alas unfortunately our experience was the opposite.

The place was certainly loud and buzzy, some gentleman even shouted on top of his lung the whole time but none of his dining companions told him how loud he was! 😳 Anyhow, the staff were lovely. They tried to talk to us but we could hardly hear them.

We found the food here were all pretty fuzzy, every dish comes with all kinds of sauces and condiments, unfortunately they were mostly heavy handed, superfluous and a cover up to the dish instead of letting the fresh ingredients shine.

For example our first dish Beasty sashimi selection, the sashimi were of high quality but the add-on sauces and chillies distracted from the fresh taste of the fish, The ultimate reason why we wanted sashimi is the taste of the freshest fish, not all the sauces and bits that comes with it. The Japanese knows this.

The snacks did not impressed either. Sichuan tuna tartare was a new take of Vietnamese crackers, the seasoning of tuna and avocado mixture was way off, certainly need to be saltier with the crackers as they were just lost in the bite but I did like the touch of Sichuan Chilli Oil.

Cucumber did not have the perfect balance of sweet and tanginess of its original Chinese version. It tasted kind of dull with the miso muddle the taste. Not quite that appetising by comparison.

The KFC Korean Fried Cauliflower is a new take on Yangnyeom chicken, interesting but not a very successful one. I like cauliflower but I would certainly prefer the chicken version, they like to tell you cauliflower could taste like chicken but it really doesn’t! I thought we were having all small dishes but this was a huge blob of cauliflower and super filling. I guess good for a big group but not for two persons. It’s kind of one note after eating such a huge amount.

We thought the Prawn and crab toast would be interesting but beef, crab and prawns being piled on deep fried bread, covered in heavy sweet sauce and mayo was a bit hard to like, this really feel like a cheap pub grub. The flavour was completely lost. If this is what the chef was trying to recreate he has certainly succeeded.

The only saving grace was the Pasture-fed Eye Fillet Kushiyaki. The beef was plump and juicy, extremely flavourful. It did come with three condiments but luckily no sauce was poured all over the skewers! Only the Karashi mustard was worthy of accompanying the beef though, the black pepper shallots was pretty dried and bland, the wasabi chimichurri just did nothing for me.

Our dessert Torched poached pear + rhubarb sounded very interesting but it was covered in crumbled frozen raspberries. More crumbs than you’ll ever need and tasted very dry with so many dried elements. Crumbs, desiccated raspberry powder, coconut flakes… the delicate flavour of the pear and rhubarb ice cream were completely lost.

Those who liked the food here probably liked their booze too much too it’s a shame...