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.

Quality/Quantity - Best Happy Hour deal in town, too bad it…read moredid not apply to the craft beers... Mac Gold - #1 seller at this location. The beer was ice cold, thank you. They also have a full menu, cocktails, and wines; see pictures. Lots of different promotions; see pictures. Atmosphere - Cool colorful food court, good size. Very spacious indoor/outdoor seating. Mostly, if not all locals as they all only sat in the outdoor patio area. Not one person sat in the outside front for people watching??? I was actually worried when I got here that they did not have any customers and was pleasantly surprised when I found and joined all the locals. The men's bathroom had a caribbean vibe; see picture. Kid and dog friendly. Open 7 days a week: Monday 4pm - 10.30pm Tuesday 11.30am - Late Wednesday 11.30am - Late Thursday 11.30am - Late Friday 11.30am - 1am Saturday 11.30am - 1am Sunday 11.30am - 10pm Yelp hours differ and read - 10am to 10pm. Service - Counter service. Price - HH prices $6NZ, $3.60US each. I had a few. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since 1994, see you on my next visit.

Great Tuesday special ! , beer and fries $14 dollars…read more They will switch out the beer for hard cider. They do switch staff a lot due to increase and decrease in seasonal business. Therefore be patient with the staff.

We had a great lunch time dining experience,as always the food is delicious, good portions and…read moregreat service. I always feel special when greeted by Rochelle and his staff. Thank you for a fabulous experience.

Situated right on the Strand by the water, Macau has a perfect location…read more This Asian fusion restaurant proposes nice delicate dishes in a great atmosphere. We started our lunch outside, enjoying the sun and the view on Macau's nice terrace. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans and it started to pour once we had started our mains. The staff was very friendly and moved all our dishes and drinks inside before anything got wet. In the end it wasn't too bad as the restaurant's decor is really cool. I really liked the origami graphic chart used throughout, from the menus to the toilet signs. But most importantly, the food was great! My salt & pepper soft shell crab was served on a nice salad. They were yummy and perfectly cooked. All my friends were also very satisfied with their dishes. If you are in the neighborhood, don't hesitate to stop by, you won't regret it !

My husband and I ate here a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed my meal. We both had the eye fillet…read morewhich was delicious and a side of kale slaw which was so good with its Asian peanut dressing.

From the owner: Restaurateurs Mike Fraser and Lloyd Rooney are bringing the winning combination of flavour and…read morestyle from their four restaurants in Northland to the Mount with their latest restaurant Fire. Our head chef Shane Kearns has designed a menu with a South Pacific influence in keeping with the holiday vibe of the Mount that caters for everyone, including the kids. In keeping with Mike and Lloyds other restaurants, Fire uses fresh local organic produce where possible, freshly caught seafood and regionally farmed meat to ensure their 'gate to plate' philosophy. Grab a spot outdoors and take in the view or be seated inside amongst the lush new interior, designed by Lloyd. We serve local beers and wines and our mixologists' are always ready to create a cocktail to keep you feeling like you're getting away from it all. Book a table today or call by to see if we have room for a walk-in.

There are a lot of restaurant choices in Tauranga. Bamboo's menu looked interesting, so we stopped…read morethere for lunch. We really enjoyed the food; I was surprised the restaurant was not busier on a Sunday afternoon. Food: We enjoyed all the dishes we ordered -Five Spice Roasted Pork Bao, Honey BBQ Chicken Bao, Vegetarian Spring Rolls, Chicken and Mango Salad Service: The employees were friendly but not very attentive. Although the restaurant was not very busy, they did not check on us at all and never refilled the water glasses. Ambiance: Casual, bright space.

Bamboo has only been open for 4 weeks at the time of this review. It draws you in with cool music…read moreplaying, and several outdoor tables in a cool, new setting. We had plans to walk up the whole main ave to check the town out on our first night, but Bamboo looked so much fun that we stopped immediately. Service was super friendly. We had a great server named Maria who chatted with us and gave us tips on the town. She also gave more service than were used to receiving in New Zealand, checking to see if we liked our food after we ordered and making sure we were good. The food was mostly a hit too. We loved the Korean fried chicken wings, and both Bao that we tried. The Bao is only served by the each, but each one is HUGE. Not like the typical small Bao we're used to getting in orders of 3 small sandwiches. The only miss was the Detox Turmeric Soup. The noodles and dumplings were good, but the broth had no flavor. It definitely was missing salt, and some kind of fat. I added a bunch of hot sauce and soy sauce to mine to make it a little more flavorful. Fortunately, everything else was so yummy that I would easily come back and try something else! We saw so many other delicious plates go out and wanted to try everything. The cocktail and wine list was good too. This is a great, hip place that would be perfect for a get together at night with your best mates, cocktails, and bites.

Walked in due to the price posted outside - at NZ$13 for my meal and coffee, this was the best…read morebreakfast deal in Rotorua. Eggs are made to order, home fries are certainly from frozen, but the speedy service, quantity of food, and low price made up for it! It's breakfast, so it's pretty much the same everywhere. If you are expecting organic or farm-to-table, you probably want to keep walking. Bonus: could get an American style coffee which can be a bit of a challenge. Located close to town center. One catch was that my credit card didn't work and I was requested to pay in cash. Sounds like there is sometimes an issue with out-of-country credit cards. The five stars are because this is exactly what was advertised - decent food at a low price.

In Hamilton for 2 nights. Enjoyed this spot twice . One of…read morethe few bars we could belly up to as many in NZ seem to have no stools. Great cocktails and beer selection. Friendly, engaging staff.

This is a serious contender for best bar in Hamilton. I came here Saturday night with my husband…read moreand a couple friends. Why, why have I not been here before now?! I used to live just up the block! My husband had already been here and, somehow, did not bring me in immediately. This is one of those places where I had a "love at first sight" moment. Even on a fairly crowded night, the vibe in this place is super-cool. It's small, almost uncomfortably so, but in spite of that (because of that?) it has a great intimate feel. The cocktails are pricey, but different and skillfully prepared. There is a good selection of whiskey (my whiskey-loving friend tells me). There was a DJ artfully spinning a weird, awesome, "did-he-just-do-that?" selection of tunes. The decor is comfortable/cool, with walls of exposed bricks and "I never want to get up" comfy couches. The back walls are lined with loads of books and one portion of the ceiling is covered with records. They appear to have some bites to eat, but admittedly, we were just there for drinks. It's a little tricky to find, set back from Victoria Street down a side alley. But, it's SO worth finding.

Terrible staff. Not hygienic. Dirty tables…read more Bad food. They let you wait for 20 minutes without ordering Drunken customers making a lot of noice. do not go to this place. waste of money!'n

We went for a second time to give this place a second chance after a disappointing first visit…read more I got the lamb, asked for medium rare, it arrived well done. Three small pieces of lamb the size of a fish finger, two tiny carrots and I think maybe parsnip. Everything was over salted and any flavours were taken over by salt. $45 for that pleasure! Thank goodness we ordered fries to top us up! Wine list was over priced, not even a NZ Pinot Noir for under $100. Wine list seemed to highlight more Australian wines than NZ, not great for a NZ tourist destination. To add salt to the wound (excuse the pun) at 8.45pm while we were sitting enjoying the last of our Australian wine, the lights were turned on full as an indication it was time for us to leave. Needless to say this place won't be given a third chance by us. We will stick to our go to over the road, Marina Bay, that place never disappoints.

The best Irish Cottage Pie: tender chunks of lamb in subtly seasoned herb sauce and topped with…read moremash (mashed potatoes) and sharp cheese. Came piping hot and stayed hot then warm throughout the meal. One pint Kilkenny meal! Friendly, attentive service. Typical Irish bar vibe. The Beer and Guinness pie has a spicier sauce and beef not lamb. Both are great. I would order both again and it will be a tough decision as to which to order. Enjoy!

We'd spotted Hennessy's Irish Bar the day before and saw that they would be showing the Super Bowl…read more We decided to drop in on the way back from doing some morning activities and caught half the game. We came around 2:30pm on a Monday and it was busy. It's a typical Irish pub. They have a lunch special ($12.50 NZD) with 9 options. Sadly, they'd already run out of the lasagna & salad. The main menu is split into starters, light meals & snacks, gourmet burgers & sandwiches, mains, salads, vegetarian meals, kids meals and desserts. - Clam chowder ($12.50 NZD) - B wasn't feeling well so she opted for a soup. She said the clam chowder broth was sweeter than normal but had a good amount of seafood in it. - Ham, cheese & tomato toasted sandwich ($12.50 NZD) - served with fries. Fries were boring and barely crispy. My dad got his sandwich without cheese. It looked minuscule. - BLT Baguette ($12.50 NZD) - served with chicken schnitzel. The bacon was more like a slab of dry ham; took out half of it. It was decent but nothing more than that. I could have ate another. Food wise, go elsewhere. Best to come here for just drinks and to catch whatever sport you fancy watching.