The Surfer's Mistress — Restaurant in Wellington

Awful experience, no plans to go back..very good other places in area. I never leave reviews, but try to talk to the manager, owner if possible.

Reserved a table saying special occasion. Friend flew in from Akl, chose this restaurant over all others to celebrate her birthday. Ordered prawn meal, was shrimp - big difference, of course, was advised prawns shrink a lot when cooked! LOL They came on pasta, no spoon & was unremarkable. Tried 4 times to wave down anyone, long wait, got a soup spoon finally. Watched as every other table ( not full) got multiple visits & service by a server...was like we were invisible - forget special occassion! No dessert order, no coffee, no limencello order offered as we had planned. Finally when place was almost empty; waved down waiter & said very disappointed & why...he went away. Nothing, waited... Asked to speak to the (Italian) owner. He came over, defiant, rude,defensive & he said "What do you want me to do!?" 3 times he said - a lot of people want to be left alone. Wow.. So, I asked to speak to the other owner & he said he was the only owner. We were very unhappy, upset by now. When I tried to put $100 on one of my cards( only owed $103) this owner refused twice to take the payment. The waiter had to say he cant refuse...by this time I was embarrassed to have brought my friend to this place at all & left before I really lost my composure! She paid - we were overcharged $31 ! Other guest's wine, beer, juice,etc was put on our bill! Came in the next day for refund/receipt. I was asked if we had had rose wine, I said "no, I know exactly what we had..I can tell you" He then turned right to the waiter & asked if we'd had rose... so insulting, really. I said you can check your camera...(unreal to be insulted all over again) Then he asked "Did you have beer?" I laughed & said, I know what we had exactly. He said did you have juice? No. No apology ever offered by the Italian, "sole" owner & I told him he had really upset me. ( us). Nothing. I was questioned why we hadn't said anything about being overcharged...not our fault. Not offered GST breakdown or even a verbal confirmation (as is usual ) of what we had anyway that night. I was given $31 cash back for overcharge amount.

My job used to be training staff in customer service for the hospitality industry in NZ. Fortunately, the majority of other places understand how to take good care of their customers & know this experience was rather unacceptable. Our mistake was choosing to celebrate at this restaurant, expecting food & service as it was when first opened.

Meanwhile have heard many negative remarks by several others, all said they think all...

My favourite Italian restaurant on the Kapiti coast. Owners Stefano and Jason are always pleasant. Their old-school hospitality shines - striking that perfect balance between engagement, service, and letting you enjoy your company & food. This philosophy been instilled in their young but enthusiastic wait staff. Serve times can get stretched when they're very busy, but it's not excessive. You'll likely be having a lovely time anyway and believe me, it's worth the wait if there happens to be one.

Stefano is Italian, so you can rest assured the food has been vetted by authentically knowing eyes and taste buds.

The food is impeccable. If you wanted to, you could treat yourself to a traditional full-course meal - from antipasto to primo e secondo with contorno to match, and finish off with some dolce (which is typically "sweet as bro"). There is a solid array in every category and from experience, they're all amazing. There specials are typically interesting last night my friend Janina had a pan fried tarakihi in a cream sauce that was to die for. So you can either torture yourself with making the trying to make the right selections, or bring some friends and go nuts. You'll be stuffed, but very satisfied.

Just note on the aperitivo and digestivo - all the classics are they as you'd expect. I am a firm fan of the negroni though - made by skilled hands by someone who know exactly what they're doing.

Gorgeous food and fantastic service are one thing. Ambience is always a second tier consideration for me, but I will comment in this case. The aesthetic is so eclectic - the massive monochrome photo-mural on the wall of golden-age women eating pasta on Lake Como, the glittery disco ball in the front foyer, the tiny Lego landmark miniature, the muted but classy dining furniture - many of the elements would seem to clash on paper, but someone with a flair and feel for design has curated them is such an artful way, it all just seems to work together perfectly. Add all this to a kitschy soundtrack rotating between traditional Italian and loungy bossa nova, the atmosphere is warm and intimate - perfect for an evening with friends.

There are a handful of dining gems in Paraparaumu, The Surfer's MIstress being a shining example. Lets hope the...

We were very excited to be going here after booking weeks ahead for a weekend away. So gutted that the good menu did not match the quality of the food. The owner/manager was very apologetic and gracious about it. The staff could probably do with a branded t-shirt which would be more professional. An olive each to start was nice. My 1 arancini ball (you can order 2) was smaller than wait staff described & ok, but a little dry. Main of prawn linguini was also just ok. Pasta pretty good (handmade) but a lack of sauce made it mediocre. Unfortunately this was the best part...husband ordered the entree & main specials. Pork (usually veal) Tonnato was simply nothing we have experienced in NZ or Italy. The minimal sauce was not creamy, tasteless & the pork was like sliced supermarket pork. Foccacia served with it was stale. Main of a risotto (must have been pork?) was virtually inedible. My husband has never not been able to eat a restaurant dinner but left this. Not tasty and it was mushy, in appearance & to eat & resembled a can of dog food. I'm sorry to be posting this and if had read reviews of such bad food we would not book here. As i said, the owner was totally gracious & apologetic so contrary to other reviews this part seems to have improved. We insisted on paying for the full meal as understand businesses are stressed right now but the owner refused to charge us for the 2 bad meals. I really hope you guys can improve your food...