Rata - Rata 43 Ballarat Street

The food was brilliant, love the clam and cheese roll. However, the poor service almost destroyed everything. Joe served us and she didn't smile at all. I thought may be it's just her nature but when she served other tables, she squatted at the table and smiled all the way. I asked her recommendation on the menu and special of the day, she said that everything is on the menu and left with no word. I booked the table here because of the good experience from Onslow. Now I wonder whether I will come back to Rata again.

This place really stands out into a whole new level! They nail a lot to impress and leave very little disappointments. The services and waiting staffs are professional, friendly and humorous. Although we didn’t like everything on our table, the meal was genuinely pleasant and impressive. We started with two snacks, the smoked eel and the paua, aka abalone, the eel was interesting and innovative enough, yet still had a trace of that gaminess and fishiness that I don’t like; the abalone, on the other hand, is really in a higher league, it was flavorful with great mouthfeel and texture, precisely cooked, and nicely presented. After the snacks came our starters, which was the raw venison tartar, and the scallop, I can feel the bold venison has some real merit, the meat tasted fresh, tender and with a hint of complex vinegary marinate, it would be a true great dish if it wasn’t unfortunately overwhelmed by its excessive mayo. The scallop however was extraordinary. Both of our mains are fantastic, the sole was fresh and tender, and went perfectly well with the hash brown underneath and the flavorful sauce. The beef was particularly exquisite, I could really taste the time and efforts invested into perfecting this beauty, the oyster blade and the short rib are vastly different in flavor but also equally delightful. The absolute highlight of this meal, however, would have to crown to the truffle oyster mushrooms with potato dumplings, this was so addictive and unstoppable, packed with umami and flagrance, perfectly seasoned and cooked, I can come back to this place just for it. We also wrapped up our meal with two desserts, the salted caramel, with was surprisingly simple but nice, and the one with sake, which had some great flavor profiles but a little too complicated and even confusing when everything combined. In the end, we are happy to find our new fav restaurant in NZ, even it’s not perfect, it really exceeded many of our expectations. I can totally see it snapping at least one, even possibly two, Michelin star if Michelin Guide were to show enough interest in this part of the world.?

Great food, great service, great soundtrack. Been in New Zealand 4 years now and this place is by far the best restaurant I have eaten at… possible best in NZ.

Wonderful food and service. It is excellent, as good as anything in Wellington.

Fantastic staff, lovely ambiance. Food wise, "snacks" were fine and even exciting Rest of the menu was promising, but in the end delivered decent food lacking a "wow" factor. Attached photos are of the two items from the "snack" section we tried, and are strongly recommend.

It is said that this is a Michelin star restaurant, the experience is average, two people sitting on the sofa position really feel very crowded, do not dare to talk, the guests next door will hear very clearly, and also in the beet tuna dish to eat out a hair, but also in the beetroot tuna dish.

We decided to have a crack at this place as some friends recommended. The food did not live up to our expectations. The octopus was great! I returned one other fish dish as it was overly salty. Overpriced for the value. The welcoming hostesse was very warm and took the time to chat and made us feel at home. However the service staff was quite blunt, uninterested and did not seem happy to be there. Portions were small for mains. The dessert had unusual flavor combinations, I was quite pleased by that. This place has massive potential, they need to invest time building their team and mindset.

The best Lamb shank ever. It costs $100 but very tasty and melt in your mouth. Every dishes has very well mix ingredients and modern techniques. Yes they are small portions and pricey but worth the experience and money.