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I’m writing to share a deeply disappointing experience I had at your restaurant, which unfortunately left a lasting negative impression—both on me and my colleagues.
I made an online booking for a business lunch and tried multiple times to call to add another guest—no one answered. This was quite inconvenient, so I visited the restaurant the day before to make the change in person. When I spoke to the woman at the front and told her I wanted to add another person to my reservation, her response was dismissive. When I asked if she needed my name, she replied, “You’re probably the only reservation for lunch,” in a tone that was condescending and careless.
On the day of the lunch, one of our guests cancelled last-minute, which I only learned upon arriving. As we had a tight schedule and needed to finish by 1:15 PM (booking was for 12 PM), I let the waiter know immediately that we would like to order quickly to stay on time.
Later, the same woman from the previous day approached our table. When my colleague asked her how long the food would take and if she was aware of our timing, she said she didn’t know. I explained that I had already informed the waiter, but again, she completely ignored me—no acknowledgment, no eye contact—just dismissive and rude.
She then asked if the sixth person was still coming. I responded that they wouldn’t be joining us, having only just found out. Her sarcastic remark—“Thanks for letting us know”—was completely uncalled for. Her cold demeanor, complete lack of hospitality, and dismissive attitude made the entire experience uncomfortable. At no point did she smile, check in on how things were going, or show any signs of professionalism or basic customer service.
We ordered a bottle of champagne, and after a long delay, only the glasses arrived—when asked about the bottle, the waiter had no idea what we were talking about. For a high-end establishment, the service was disorganised, slow, and lacking in attention.
To make matters worse, when I went to pay, the same woman processed the payment without even asking how our meal or experience was—something that’s standard at most restaurants. There was no “thank you,” no “hope you enjoyed your lunch,” no courtesy whatsoever. She simply handed over the bill with a cold, indifferent attitude.
We’ve dined at many restaurants across Auckland, and I can confidently say this was the worst service I’ve ever experienced—especially disappointing coming from a supposedly premium venue. Many of my colleagues had asked me to share my thoughts afterward as they were considering taking their clients there. After hearing about my experience, they’ve all decided not to go.
As a representative of a major organisation with hundreds of staff in Auckland, client lunches and dinners are a regular part of our operations. On average, we spend between $10,000 to $15,000 per month on client entertainment. Unfortunately, after this experience, Origin will not be considered for any future events.
I will also be sharing this experience as an online review, as I believe it’s important to call out unacceptable service. The behavior of this particular staff member was unprofessional, dismissive, and verging on discriminatory. She made us feel unwelcome and undervalued, which is something no guest should ever experience.
I sincerely hope you take this feedback seriously and address the lack of basic hospitality we...
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👍🏼 Like my review! What a lovely dinner at Origine Bistro by Ben Bayly in Level 2 of Commercial Bay, Auckland Central Business District in New Zealand 🇳🇿. We came to this place since it was a sister restaurant to another restaurant recommended by our dear friend. At the end, we chose the $99 NZD per person "Taste of Summer" set menu (see below) with a $19.50 NZD supplement of "Crispy prawn-filled courgette flower, tarragon, scampi mayonnaise, espelette pepper". The most considerate thing the server did for us is that we had a friend who was allergic to crab and shrimp and the chef did an amazing job accommodating our friend's taste buds. The bartender was amazing choosing a delicious Sauvignon Blanc (we are wine snobs) in which we asked for the name of the winery for our next trek down in New Zealand. Another highlight was a really good Old Fashioned cocktail which was deeply flavorful on all parts of the tongue. Although the waiter was helpful and good, please be mindful that it can get really slow (even to get our check) when the place is extremely busy ... so make sure to enjoy your meal as early as possible. Our highlight was getting a window table where we were able to witness a Princess Cruise departing from the dock beautifully as residents wave it goodbye. Oh, last and not the least, it was so cool to see a celebrity chef that our friend recognize visiting the venue before doing a video recording interview upstairs. All in all, we would highly recommend this restaurant as one of your fancy dinner choices ... and if we had the money, we would love to come back again and again when the menu changes!
Here's the set menu and our comments:
First of all we were impressed by the interior design of the dining room and the showcase of the vertical ceiling lights. Amazing! We enjoyed looking at them more than the harbour view at night.
We were also impressed by the starters and entrees. I had the oysters special (forgot the name, was told they were from Invercargill but not the Bluff oysters) and Venison Tartare. My partner had the Salmon Glavlax from Big Glory Bay and Venison Terrine. All four dishes were exquisite. Halfway through and we loved it
Surprised the Poisson du Jour featured Swordfish as we know it’s a predator fish and high in mercury. We try to avoid eating Swordfish but I guess consuming it once in awhile is fine.
Sorry to say we weren’t blown away by the mains. The Duck Confit looked amazing. The skin was crispy but it wasn’t the perfect kind,.The duck meat was not at all tough but neither was it so tender that it melted in your mouth. It was also kind of salty and I can only think that I’ve had much better duck confit somewhere else. Probably a 7 for this dish.
Unfortunately my partner’s Sirloin was worse. The plating certainly looked appetising but the crust of the sirloin has gone chewy and the meat although still tender it was completely cold. So was the pinot noir reduction it was not even lukewarm. It tasted more like a gravy but not very tasty.
It seemed the dishes, including the duck have been left out too long to get cold, perhaps they have been waiting for the fries to get cooked? The flavour of the sirloin was just bland. The best tasting bit on the plate was the amazing mustard. Oh did I say the mustard that came with the terrine was even more amazing!? The fries were divine by the way but… The staff offered to reheat the sirloin and our experience was already ruined! How could a restaurant of this level made mistakes like this?
The Broccoli in the Legumes du Jardin were undercooked as they were both difficult to be cut separated and hard to chew, but the Green beans, Brussels Sprouts and Onions were perfectly tasty.
I was also impressed by the Parfait with Feijoa. It has the perfect balance of sweetness and tanginess but less so by the Petite Fours. Coffee was fine but I can’t say I like them.
The service was excellent and the staff was relaxed but still very professional unlike the other restaurant we visited just two days ago.
We thought Origine was going to be special but it was just another disappointing...
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