The Grove Restaurant - Auckland CBD

My partner and I were totally blown away. They are located in the busy central business district, but once you step inside, you forget the hustle and bustle outside, where you can find comfort, relaxation and professional service.

OVERRATED AND PRETENTIOUS!!! Our 40th Wedding Anniversary. Hubby books restaurant well in advance (and tells manager of importance of date) and we get put in the worst seats in the place, right by the kitchen. Can't hear ourselves think let alone talk. Ask to be moved and get put next to toilets. Look down the rest of restaurant at lovely area but no, the management put us there - obviously we aren't 'influencers'. (more about that later) Service very poor. We get a menu thrust at us, with choice between 4 or 7 courses, but no suggestion of the wine matching. With no offer of wine matching, instead we had cocktails. These cocktails were by far the highlight of the evening, which is a sad indictment already. Asked about any allergies - I say no mussels or oysters please to waiter. And guess what??? Yes, they bought oysters for our little starting treat! Ignorant and arrogant to say the least. Across the aisle from us is a drunk man, getting served even more alcohol, getting louder and more obnoxious. He knocks his drink onto the floor and it splashes all the way across to us. My feet and shoes covered in alcohol. Waiter rushes to clean up floor and man, but never once did I get handed a towel and damp cloth to wipe myself. Instead had to visit ladies and wash down. Came out and we both noticed the liquid all around our table and just shook our heads. You may ask why we didn't complain by that stage or before? Well we didn't want to ruin our special night and thought 'well worst things have happened'. This was our biggest mistake - we are too nice! We arrived at 7:30 and got served our last 'dish' (7 courses) at 10:40. Each course was interesting to say the least, but so small and either overly flavoured or overcooked, that we got to the stage of being scared what was next. There was Crab - 2 teaspoons of mushed crab, next Venison - little chewy pieces of meat, followed by Potato. Yes 1 jersey benne spud! One boiled spud. Then the fish - a 2.5cm round, 2.5 cm high piece of the most tasteless, rubbery slab of fish I've ever experienced. By this stage we just wanted the agony over. We knew it would be a waste of time complaining because we watched the 'influencers' being fawned over, with photos of themselves with every course. There was primping, posing, false smiles and camera flashes BUT they seldom did more than nibble each course. The rubber fish was followed by the beef, a finger size piece of sirloin (so much for the wagyu). Then a corn dish served in the smallest bowl possible and indescribable, followed by figs. No coffee offered or port or sherry. Nothing. So, yes we are in our early 60's. But we have eaten at some of the 'best' restaurants in the world - for the experience, the food, the tastes, the pleasure of new things. We left feeling ripped off, under awed and embarrassed that this restaurant somehow had managed to be supposedly No1 in NZ. Amazing what can happen when you feed 'influencers' for free and continue serving very drunk rich people (according to the drunk himself!). But for the average person or tourist, please consider elsewhere - PLEASE.

Had a great experience for lunch today. Service was top notch. Food came in timely manner. Best of all, food was amazing. Irish friends said the roast potatoes were some of the best. I'd say the sticky date pudding was the best. Guess you can decide for yourself

This is only the second time I have visited the restaurant due to the well-deserved prices for the degustation. The food is excellent, the decor rustic, the views largely missable. The intention is to visit seasonally when the menu changes. Unfortunately, this time, we had to stop at the 4th course as we were too full, our fault not the venue. We will return in Autumn ? ❤️

We had a 5 course degustation and the food was amazing. There were so many unexpected snacks that made the experience even better. The waiters we had all were great and did a thoroughly good job explaining everything to us.

We had an incredible night here and enjoyed the seven course degustation it was truly amazing. The taste pallets were well balanced the staff fantastic overall and incredibly enjoyable experience. I put it up there with the Michelin restaurants we have dined in Europe. A++++

Came here for our anniversary after a long lockdown. Great to see a nice vibe in this restaurant, and almost 70% around 7.45pm on a Tuesday. We picked the 6-course degustation menu and I must say, it was more like 10 courses because of the delicious hors d'oeuvres etc. Every dish was amazing, lots of flavour and well balanced which is fantastic because this restaurant dropped off our favourite list a few years back, and now it’s back on our top 10! The portion may seem small but we were full and very satisfied at the end. The service is very good as always.

We celebrated our 37th wedding Anniversary at the Grove. The service was simply outstanding. Food was extremely tasty and delicious. Lot of surprises specially a beautiful gesture to give us a special card and complimentary sweets. Memorable experience. Thanks heaps grove for making our day a special one.