My last meal here in Tauranga New Zealand came on a last minute decision while walking around The…read moreStrand. It was nearing 8pm on a Saturday September 2018 evening and needed to decide where to have dinner. Enter Cornerstone Pub. It was your quintessential neighborhood bar and restaurant. I was glad that the restaurant wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be, especially on a Saturday evening. Not knowing what was open on a Saturday evening and without wheels, I opted to stay very local and popped in here for a meal and some beverages to celebrate 21.1 km run #41 lifetime and 4th country (New Zealand) for half marathon. The pub itself was fairly empty, save for a few tables and bar stools being occupied. I opted to sit in a booth and ended up having a nice meal here. It was a last minute decision that turned out to be a good choice and the beer was good. I ended up having a Heineken since I loved that brand but failed to ask if they had local brews on tap to discover and try out. Maybe next time for sure. The ambiance was nice, stereotypical bar for sure, and they had a rugby game on at the time; so I got to see a real rugby game on television. I first thought it was football (soccer), but realized later on it was not. Silly American. It was a nice place to hang out along the water. The overall experience here at the Cornerstone Pub was decently good, friendly, and quite memorable. Actually Sometimes, it takes a nice pub in Tauranga New Zealand to realize how blessed you are when you're a frequent flier and be able to run distance races just for goals and individual experiences and achievements. That's what happened that evening when I was here at the Cornerstone Pub. Only 6 days into year 39 of life and it just dawned on me that life is definitely beautiful. With that said, Cornerstone Pub is located on The Strand and it's address, 55 The Strand in the heart of Tauranga, New Zealand. They accept major credit cards, which is always a plus. Since the evening air was around 15 degrees Celsius, I opted to be inside. The restaurant pub was clean and definitely decorative. Since this pub is located on The Strand, there are a couple of parking areas that you can use. There are other street parking options also, but you would have to walk on over after parking the vehicle. For myself, I walked here from my hotel, which was a couple of blocks away, so there wasn't any need for a car in Tauranga. There is public transportation in Tauranga, but you'll probably would need to get off on Wharf Street and walk a block towards The Strand. Needless to say that my time here at the Cornerstone Pub was nice. Rugby on the television, beers are flowing, and the food was good. I decided on the lamb burger, which was actually very good. Never had New Zealand lamb before coming to New Zealand to experience it. For now, it was a good tasteful bliss that culminated into a feast for the tastebuds. It came with French fries and I ordered an extra order of onion rings to complete the meal. With a Heineken to finish off the meal, it was sure to be a good meal. I loved every bit of it, especially the onion rings. They are way better than that of the American Burger King type of onion rings. So much more better than that! For the most part though, the culinary experience was good and I had a good time. If you are on holiday here in Tauranga, New Zealand, consider hanging out here at the Cornerstone Pub. The lamb burger is delicious and would like to recommend coming here for a good time in Tauranga after a day of sightseeing. Never had New Zealand lamb before this experience. Should also hit up a steakhouse that serves New Zealand lamb next trip to New Zealand. 4.0 stars for the overall experience. 4.0 stars for the ambiance and service. 4.0 stars for the meal and the beer. Too bad it was on Saturday and the beginning of the end of my trip overseas. Support local! B

"Incredibly rude -- crooked -- please don't waste your time or money here!"…read more Pending review After dinner at a restaurant I stopped in for a quiet drink with friends. I was holding my doggy bag from the restaurant to take home. The security guard/bouncer, a completely obtuse and obnoxious man, said he would "kick me in" if he caught me eating it!? From the outset, I clearly explained that I had no intention of doing this. We bought drinks and the bouncer kept trying to take our glasses away after we'd just bought them, like we wouldn't notice and would then have to buy more! It's a racket, corrupt, and he was incredibly rude. Not to mention putting his fingers inside the glass to remove them but not even asking if we were finished! The girl at the bar didn't even care when I talked to her about it. Please, PLEASE, go elsewhere.

Best Steak sandwich in town well worth a visit The Phoenix…read moreon the Strand Gastropub with an atmosphere!

While road tripping across the north island of NZ we stopped by The Phoenix in Tauranga for lunch…read moreand it didn't disappoint. The Angus burger was terrific and paired well with the golden lager. Nice atmosphere and staff was friendly.

Excellent kiwi service. Very friendly and knows the menu really well. Casual place with great food…read more The battered oysters were amazingly crunchy and fresh. The mussels were too bad. Had better elsewhere. But they were juicy and large. The steak was cooked beautifully with the works, veggies, mash, fried eggs, onion rings and creamy mushrooms. A fantastic shared plate meal!

Delicious food! I had a chicken burger with a side of curly fries. The curly fries were probably…read morethe best fries I've ever had and The burger was very good as well. Great food but the missing star is for the service. The people are very friendly be we waited 40mins- an hour for our meal to come. But really recommend it to people around this area!