Amano — Restaurant in Waitematā

I took my spousemouse here for his birthday, and I'm very glad I did. The staff were very friendly without being overly familiar, the food [and portion sizes!] was most impressive, the value was a pleasant surprise, and the atmosphere was sultry without being over-the-top. We had the burrata to start with, which was loooovely, and though an extra slice of bread would have been better [3 slices between 2 hungry people means there's a danger of fisticuffs!], the fresh basil and bright tomatoes were such a lovely addition. My partner has the slow-cooked lamb and I had the monkfish, we also had a side of potatoes and another of zucchini. I would absolutely recommend all of these dishes, if they're still on the menu by the time you visit. The potato side could do with a little more dressing with oil/butter/something umami-ish, but goooooodness, we felt VERY well-fed by the end of our time here. The lovely lady who served us was charming and cheeky in a delightful way, and the rustic-meets-industrial restaurant interior had us commenting on things we'd incorporate in a home should we win the lottery and suddenly afford to build one.

Dessert [the upscale white chocolate raspberry magnum] was cute,l and tasty, and served with a chocolate Happy Birthday scrawl, which was exactly the subtle acknowledgement my partner prefers.

The music isn't too loud or intrusive, and while it's slightly intimate confines between you and the next table, it's not elbow-shoving territory. Bizarrely, an elderly American couple were seated next to us and they were the only not-excellent component I can think of from our visit. They bickered, viciously, all evening - whining at each other like...well, like a cantankerous old couple, and my partner and I solemnly vowed to never get to that point in our partnership. I feel for the two wait staff who served them - the spindly old husband was overly loud and critical of the time between courses, even with the information that the staff were waiting for him to finish his "god-forsaken focaccia". The wife, a tiny, waifish little thing, just took all of her husband's very American volume and attitude without blinking, which infuriated me almost as much as it seemed to him. Honestly, I think I'm more bothered that I didn't step in and tell him to jam it and her to grow a spine [sure, a bit late in their lives for it, but WOW]!

...Sorry, a bit off track, there! I'd say just that your proximity to others means that sometimes, you hear a cute couple celebrating an event, or a miserly one threatening to end a marriage because they can't choose a wine!

All in all, I really, truly loved coming here, and am especially glad I did to celebrate a birthday. I'm already planning to bring my family and my in-laws here next time they visit, and I look forward to...

Auckland’s iconic restaurant serving modern Italian-inspired New Zealand food.

Food is solidly good though perhaps not spectacular. Details by dishes below:

Seared swordfish – cold dish of lightly seared swordfish with acidic refreshing accompaniments. This was a hit and miss on our table. I personally quite like the dish for its freshness which provides a good balance to the other dishes we ordered. But other people felt like it was too mild / boring. Crayfish pasta – chunky pieces of crayfish filled ravioli with savory sauce. I quite like this dish though I would like the pasta slightly more cooked and the sauce to seep in a bit more into the crayfish (now fees a bit separated). Nonetheless a solid dish. Oyster Fritter – an interesting take on oyster by deep-frying with egg. A yummy fun dish Grilled eggplant – a side dish – eggplant grilled perfectly and seasoned with olive oil. A nice side though perhaps a bit oily. Seared Lamb Chop – very well-cooked though could have used a bit more fragrant and tenderness. The accompanying yogurt sauce provides a refreshing accompaniment. Overall, a successful dish. -Budino (dessert) – raspberry provides a good twist to this classically chocolate dessert. Good but probably not as good as the food.

Solid wine, beer and cocktail selection. Good spot for all occasions – dates, meetups with friends, family gatherings

Venue is converted from an old warehouse but is glamorously renovated into a cool modern coffee shop + bar + restaurant with signature bouquets of dry flower from the ceiling.

Moderate pricing...

We decided to come to Amano to celebrate Mother’s Day as it was my mums favourite restaurant - so we normally choose this restaurant to celebrate occasions. However, with our last experience, we felt dismissed with an issue that should have been taken seriously.

One of the items we ordered was the Cos Lettuce. After basically finishing the plate, with only a couple lettuce leaves left, we found a live SLUG sliding around on one of the last lettuce leaves. We were absolutely disgusted and with how highly regarded Amano is, this was completely unacceptable. After flagging down a waiter to have it taken back, a manger came back to our table and stated “ I see we found some extra protein on the salad, goes to show how fresh our produce is” ??? - we felt this was a completely fickle and dismissive response. They argued they wanted to make light of the situation, but finding a bug that carries diseases on your salad needs to be taken seriously. If ingested, you can get very sick and hospitalised. We also didn’t know how much of the salad the slug touched and contaminated, or if there was one that was missed! They made us feel as though cleanliness and basic food safety was an option there.

The $15 salad was taken off the bill, but after we spent $400 for the rest of the meal - we felt more action should have been taken. To collect, rinse, dry and plate the salad is not hard. The Slug was a considerable size so we were very confused as to how this was missed. Safe to say we won’t be returning, and hopfully others won’t find disease carrying bugs on...