Onslow — Restaurant in Waitematā

We had an excellent lunch yesterday in comfortable, modern and tasteful surroundings with attentive yet unobtrusive staff. The fried bread and the beef cheek were delicious, one of the best I've tasted, as were the large salad and vegetables. Finishing off with Petit Fours and coffee, it was a very pleasant experience for first timers. Looking forward to our next visit.

I must be doing something wrong as I cannot seem to write new reviews based on subsequent visits. Anyhoo, third lunch yesterday with some Law School friends, another great experience. Being a creature of habit, I ordered beef cheeks, green salad and fried bread again. Delicious and to the exact same high stand as our previous two visits. Only a lack of time prevented us from dessert and coffee!

Another triumph from Josh and the Team with dinner last night with some university days friends up from Gisborne. Four courses, effectively, and we all loved every mouthful, plus the gin! Can't go wrong with beef cheek, green salad, fried bread and OFC. Tried the soufflé for the first time too. They had duck, vegetables, the éclair, truffle and mash and the terrine, followed by crepes and another soufflé. Hopefully back again Sunday.

5 December 2022, another great lunch with two work colleagues. Had my usual fried bread, beef cheeks, simple green salad (that fed three of us) followed by not the tiramisu cake and coffees. Portia had the salmon main and the Petit Fours for her dessert. Everyone, including me, declared the lunch excellent yet again. I really like the consistency of the dishes, that what you had last time is of the same high quality as your previous meal there. Waiting staff were excellent too.

22 September 2023, yet another great lunch for four of us at Onslow. We had our usual fried bread, two green salads to share along with the beef, salmon and snapper mains followed by petit fours. We were short of time and so pre-ordered - would recommend that. As usual the lunch was excellent in every respect, maintaining the usual high standards. Well done!

Lunch number five or six I think, 30 May 2024. Perfect yet again. Bella and Kirra had poached snapper, Bella (2) had risotto, Portia had salmon (again!) and I had eye fillet well done. We also had two green salads and potatoes followed by coffee and two plates of petit fours by which stage we were ready for a lie down. Since moving into the building in October 2021, I have had many lunches and dinners at Onslow and not one has been anything other than excellent.

This must be visit number ten by now? Wednesday 30 October 2024. Easily. Took my current and former clerks and our associate to lunch, the six of us. Excellent as always. We had fried bread as usual which was served slightly differently but was again very good. For mains we had snapper, risotto, salmon and I had sirloin. Plus, our usual green salad and potatoes. This was followed by coffee and petit fours. Everyone including one newcomer was as pleased as always with the quality and service we’ve become accustomed too since Onslow opened. Looking forward to our next visit which is 20 November for a retirement dinner.

Lunch on 28 May 2025 for five. Another triumph for Onslow. We had snapper, Caeser salad, and lamb, along with our usual green salad and potatoes with coffee and petit fours. The potatoes and salad are delicious and the snapper I had was excellent. Another great...

I brought my parents to Onslow on Christmas Eve, inspired by a glowing recommendation from a friend who promised an exceptional experience. The evening began with high expectations: the maître d' assured my water would be diligently refilled, and the waitress’s attentiveness set an impeccable tone.

Service As the evening progressed, the seamless start faltered. By the 15-minute mark, as more guests arrived, the service became increasingly disjointed. By the end of our treats and starter, empty dishes lingered on the table for way too long, dessert menus were not provided, and water glasses sat unfilled since the first time it was filled. Orders were not promptly taken, and we watched a guest at a nearby table wait over 30 minutes with an empty plate of oysters in front of them. It was clear the server was working tirelessly, but the strain revealed underlying mismanagement rather than individual failings.

Location Onslow benefits from an excellent location, with abundant parking that’s free after 6 PM on weekdays. The interior design is tasteful, with lighting and seating that perfectly balance comfort and sophistication.

Food The menu delivered what one would anticipate from a fine dining establishment, but with mixed results.

Standouts: The Tuna Carpaccio was a highlight, showcasing fresh, clean flavors. My father adored the Eton Mess, which was light yet indulgent. We were unable to find nice strawberries earlier on the day, yet Onslow had an abundance of them on the Eton Mess; a delightful surprise. Misses: The Éclair, while tasty, left an inconvenient trail of crumbs—better suited as an amuse-bouche to avoid the mess. The brioche accompanying the Chicken Liver Parfait was overly fragile, failing to support the rich parfait. Crostini would be a more appropriate pairing. The Broccolini from the “Spring Greens” dish was disappointingly fibrous, rendering it inedible despite our efforts. Other Notes: The Soufflé rose beautifully, but its overly eggy aroma detracted from the experience. Mom refused to eat this which ended swapping the dessert with me; A nutty scrambled egg. By 7 PM, the kitchen had already run out of the Chocolate Negroni, one of their signature cocktails—an unfortunate oversight for such a celebrated drink. My mother, however, enjoyed the Basilic, which was well-executed. While the salmon trolley and Eton Mess cart initially captivated the room, their lack of theatricality quickly dulled the excitement. A tableside presentation should evoke a sense of occasion—be it carving a Beef Wellington, serving Raclette, or unveiling a Salt-Baked Fish. Unfortunately, Onslow’s carts felt underwhelming in this regard.

Conclusion While there’s no denying the high ratings Onslow has garnered, our experience suggested a venue under strain rather than operating at its celebrated best. I hope this feedback is received constructively, as my intention is not to disparage but to highlight opportunities for growth. Onslow’s mission to celebrate New Zealand’s finest produce is admirable, and I trust these observations might help refine the experience for...

I sent the following by email and got no reply. Really disappointment with our experience here.

My friend and I dined in at Onslow on Friday 9 July to celebrate her birthday and wanted to provide some feedback on our experience.

Our reservation was for 8.15pm. We arrived on time and was greeted at 8.16pm and was advised our table wasn’t ready and to wait five minutes, which we understood, however there was space for us to wait at the bar or the couches outside the restaurant so we waited at the door until we were told to wait at the bar a few minutes later. It was all a bit of a mess but we understood these things happen and waited patiently.

We waited at the bar for about 10 mins and then ordered cocktails as we were still waiting to be seated at our table. We were advised our table was ready at 8.40pm - 25 mins after our initial reservation time. There was no offer for someone to bring our drinks over to the table, so along with carrying our personal items such as coats and handbags we now had to carry our cocktails over too. Not what we expected from Onslow.

Once seated at our table we were offered water, we asked for tap but no water arrived. We ordered all our entrees and mains at 8.50pm and had to then ask our server for the water. At this point we started to write down notes on our experience to provide feedback and write a review.

At 9.20pm we were told the kitchen had not forgotten our order and it was on its way - 30 mins after we ordered!

Our treats arrived at 9.25pm, our glasses were empty and we asked for water but once again nothing was provided. We even thought to maybe go get water ourselves as no one seemed to care about our table but the tables around us got exceptional service.

Server came to clear our table at 9.44 so we then asked for water to be refilled again.

The food was delicious but we had such a terrible experience we left with not great memories. People have since asked how our experience was and we have not recommended Onslow to anyone.

We have left with a sour taste for Onslow and think there are much better restaurants in Auckland we will recommend to others instead.

We visited Onslow with high expectations based on our visit to Rata in Queenstown where we left with raving reviews which we still talk about to this day. We don’t the same way at all about Onslow.

At the end of the night no one asked how our experience was either, as we were willing to let staff know about how we felt therefore, have provided this...