We were looking for a place with good New Zealand green mussels and I'd say this place is a gem!! We actually came here twice during our 4 day visit in Auckland. I'd say it's my favorite place in Auckland so far. The mussels, oysters, and seafood hit the spot. We order one kilo lobster & brandy bisque steamed mussels, the large garlic and herb butter grilled mussels, half a dozen of the natural and half of the rockerfeller oysters, and the regular taste of sea platter. All that just for the 3 of us, sadly our eyes were bigger than our stomach. But, the food here did not disappoint. Everything we ordered was so delicious and fresh. The mussels were huge and fresh, the brandy & lobster bisque broth is to die for. But, be aware that there may be some unwanted residue at the very bottom of the broth so avoid that. The garlic and herb butter grilled mussels were good too but it would of been better to order the small portion because the flavor starts to fade compared to the brandy bisque one. The oysters were incredible, especially compared to the ones we had at oyster and chop. The oysters here taste fresh, non-fishy, and decent sized. I did enjoy the natural ones more than the rockerfeller. As for the massive taste of sea platter, it was pretty much a massive sampler platter with endless flavors!! The only complaint I have is the fried calamari and shrimps were a bit salty. But everything else was so tasty and delicious!! Also, they were very generous with the portions and based on the taste and quality of the food, I'd say it was worth every penny. The service here was okay. It was pretty busy both times I ate here, so if you need something, make sure you try to get hold of a waiter. I mean, it's New Zealand and tipping is not usual so I guess there's no motivation to be on top of your waiter game. Just get use to the do it yourself routine because at many places, you will probably be pouring your own water. Other than that, the staff here were friendly and helpful when you asked them for something. Overall, I would recommend this place if you are looking for some delicious, fresh, and high quality seafood. Also, it's a bar so you'll find many drink options of your liking. I will definitely go back if I'm every in Auckland again!! read more

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Do yourself a favor, and order a kg of steamed mussels, and a side of garlic ciabatta. I got the creamy white when and garlic, pick the flavor you love. If you're lucky, you'll find a few with a pregnant pea crab in it. Make sure to eat them, they're a rare treat, intensely flavorful and very delicious. I'm allergic to crab but had them anyway. For people in the same predicament, always bring your antihistamine. Remember that ciabatta? Don't eat them all, even tho this place does it right, soaked in butter and delicious garlic. Make sure to leave some to sop up the saucy goodness at the bottom of the mussel pot. read more

Awful service We left after sitting and being ignored 2nd time They need better staff No reccomefd here's read more

This place is overpriced as hell. Most beers (small ones) start at around $15NZD...which is absolute robbery. The only reason they get two stars instead of one is because of the great location (really, it is in a great spot right off of Queen St) and the fact that they have Hoegaarden Grand Cru, which is my favorite beer of all time. I would save your money and go elsewhere. read more

The Occidental - Nice location, but way overpriced - Belgian Near Me - Auckland, AUK

Pretty large place that can accommodate a group. I had the steamed mussels with blue cheese and the house Sauvignon Blanc. All really good and I'd come back. There is an extensive Belgium beer menu, but I wanted to try the local wines. Good wine selection too. read more

The Occidental - Mussels with blue cheese with a Sauv Blanc - Belgian Near Me - Auckland, AUK

The Occidental is one of the few places in Auckland that I can get cherry beer (this is important because a) it is delicious, and b) I'm not man enough for real beer). I scored a sweet $20 voucher for $40 worth of food from GrabOne, so we made the most of it and enjoyed a Sunday pub lunch. I had the ribs, which were fall-off-the-bone tender, while my friends had the tomato soup, wedges and chicken wings. The soup was delicious, and the wedges and chicken wings were your standard pub fare (good, but all fried food is...). They lose a star for taking a while to get our orders - we ended up having to go up to the bar to ask to be served. But the food arrived quickly and the staff were very friendly. A very reliable pub option in the heart of Auckland city. read more

The Occidental - Belgian Near Me - Auckland, AUK

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This is THE place to come for the Green Lipped Muscles. You can have them prepared many different ways and by the Kilo! I would highly recommend coming with a large party so you can try several different styles. It is advertised as a Belgian Beer Bar, so be prepared for some Belgian Beer snobs. I encountered two from Great Britain that insisted that I didn't know what a "proper" beer was and that we were drinking "women's" beers. What ever Jeeves. The beer selection is amazing, especially if you are into Belgian beers. Cheers! read more

The Occidental - Oops, forgot the before picture! - Belgian Near Me - Auckland, AUK

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Every time that I'm in Auckland I stop in the Occidental and have a crisp Belgium beer and a bowl of their fantastic mussels. I try to mix it up, but I always find myself drawn to the blue cheese mussels..Yumtastic!! The staff is also very friendly, making me feel right at home. I'm sure that the next time I'm in back in Auckland this will be one of my first stops. read more

Party of two = $65. Small mussel platter (special), seafood chowder, fries and three drinks. Food was great, platter was bigger than I expected - about 14 small mussels with Parmesan cheese and basil pesto grilled. Yum. Only minor let down was the waiter who didn't place our drinks order. When he asked after serving mains if there was anything else we would like, I answered that our drinks order we placed on arrival would be great! That aside, great atmosphere, got a table straight away (without booking), food was really good and so filling we couldn't fit in the apple crumble dessert we were going to order. read more

The Occidental was very kind to feed us our late dinner last night; tough out here to find food at 11pm. Everyone was very satisfied. We placed our beer order first. The boys enjoyed the house lager and my girlfriend and I had awesome (if expensive) imported beers. When we ordered food one of us made it known we couldn't handle too much cream and the waiter was intelligent enough to ask about butter as well. HOW AMAZING! Normally waiters are clueless about such things. Gold star for service. Because we were the last meal out of the kitchen the chef had a bit of fun and made our dishes a little bigger than usual resulting in a huge vol-au-vent. Delicious. Be sure to stop in here for a hearty pub meal, some good Belgian beer, and kind waiters. read more

It was a long time ago since I last dined here so I was looking forward to enjoy nice Belgian beer. Half kilo steamed mussels ($18.5), Chicken croquette ($14.9) and Belgian sausages ($21.50) came at the same time. Wow, it was a lot for two mains and an entree. Sausages were tender, onion gravy was little runny but tasty, croquettes were crispy but soft inside. All food went well with our Belgian beers. Although Occidental is famous for their mussels which I am not a fan of, but this place is worth going for their other dishes and lovely beers. read more

The Occidental - Sausage, chicken croquette and steamed mussels. - Belgian Near Me - Auckland, AUK

Average drinking hole in Vulcan Lane. Ribs night special at $17 with a beer thrown in is a fairly good deal, not that I drank the beer. Paid extra for a cocktail, afternoon passion being the drink of choice this evening. read more

The Occidental - Saucy ribs - Belgian Near Me - Auckland, AUK

Great service. Muscles were so good. Fish & chips were a hit and went so well a cold Stella. read more

The Occidental - Fish & Chips - Belgian Near Me - Auckland, AUK

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I was skeptical at first. Pub food probably won't be good, right? wrong. Pretty damn good and flavorful. So much that we ate here twice. The lobster bisque mussels were excellent, and quite large compared to the ones you typically get in the U.S. Also tried the lamb shoulder, which wasn't gamey at all. In fact it tasted like mild flavored roast beef. Also the Taste of the sea platter was really good: 6 mussels in curry sauce, shrimp, 2 oysters, smoked salmon and 6 mussels topped with tomato sauce and cheese. We may just come here a 3rd time before heading back home to chicago. read more

The Occidental - Taste of the sea platter is a must - Belgian Near Me - Auckland, AUK

This place has the biggest sausages I have ever seen! Seriously the sausages are huge and delicious, when I put one in my mouth I nearly cried tears of joy, pleasure and satisfaction. I love the Occidental, the lovely girls that serve you. On one occasion the girl thay served us had blonde hair and blue eyes, perfect for a Belgium restaurant. Apart from the sausages the Occidental has the most amazing beers ever. Instead of shoving a menu with fancy drinks that you don't know about, they provide information about the beer. This information is handy, as it helps one choose what they want from a huge variety. read more

Oh yeah! Grab a date, take a buddy, or just enjoy the people. Wonderful place to have a drink and watch the busy world, wizz by. The staff was welcoming and friendly. Will have to visit again on my FOURTH time to New Zealand! read more

Hours are wrong. Went in at 2:15am on a Saturday night and was turned away because it was after last call. "If I serve you I will have to serve everyone". Well...yes. You are suppose to be open for another hour. Guess he was in a rush to get home early. Been there before and it was enjoyable, but bummed when places close early for no reason. read more

You can tell when restaurant is good. You go on what should be a slow day (National holiday) and it's still very busy. No expectation going in except Auckland food is expensive. Wife and I shared the From the Sea Platter. Delicious, fresh, abundant and satisfying. The wheat beer they had on tap was excellent as well. Wife wanted some oysters. The down side was the price of the Oysters was prohibitive. $50 for a dozen. We said No to that! read more

Very fun tavern, great mussels and beer or wine. We scored a nice table for four outside on a beautiful Friday night. The place was crowded. One reason I didn't give 5 stars, it took 40 minutes to get our waiter back to us to pay our bill, it never happened. We had to hold up the credit card by the bar and had it run off by the bartender. Really? We shouldn't have to leave our table to pay. I am sure many people have just walked away from the bill, when you have to beg to pay. read more

Had the mussels. Lots of flavors of sauce to choose from. Came with fries as well. Very filling. Good value for the price. It's a bar atmosphere so very casual dining. Lots of beer to choose from if your a lover of beer. Even have one beer for over 100 dollars for 330 ml. read more

The Occidental - Beer - Belgian Near Me - Auckland, AUK

The Occidental was one of the few places open on Christmas Day, so bonus points for that. We had green lipped mussels in Thai coconut curry sauce, which were very good and impressively large (maybe normal for green lipped mussels but the first time we've seen them). The Occidental also carries a nice wide range of Belgian beers. read more

Best bar in Auckland. The fellas there really hooked us up on Good Friday with some great oysters. Food is great. Beer is cold. Atmosphere is fantastic. Just wanted to give a sincere thank you and shout out to the fantastic guys at the bar who tolerated our American baseball. Thanks for letting us truly enjoy our last day of a long trip. We had lost hope until we found you. :-P read more

Great beer and atmosphere. Didn't eat but the mussels look fabulous. Service was ok. Very crowded

Lived and loved in Brussels years ago. This is a great down under twist with the giant green mussels found off the shores on NZ. Had both traditional and lobster style, skip the lame lobster and stay traditional. Great Belgian beer varieties was able to enjoy Palm, De Konnick and other fav's. read more

I love to go here on Monday for the specials on mussels. $15 sampler platter when you buy a beer. It is popular, so there is a wait. But, you can wait at the bar and enjoy delicious Belgian beers, so that's not a problem. Good food, friendly service, lively atmosphere. read more

If you order food that is badly cooked. They still make you pay for it. My wife and I ordered the baked mussels which we had the day prior. They put an excessive amount of cheese (that tasted off) on top. When we both ate one and didn't like it the manager told us we still have to pay for it even. When I asked if I could have it remade he said I would have to pay for that. No customer service. Avoid. read more

The blue cheese green lipped mussels here are some of the best mussels I've had anywhere! I also really enjoyed the Wither Hills Sav that they have on tap. read more

We are French and used to taste really good beers, that includes belgian beers. We were glad we found this place because we could drink awesome belgian beers. We did not eat there but maybe next time. read more

I"m a big fan of mussels, so when I stumbled on this place by accident on my first trip to Auckland, and saw the Monday Mussel Mania, I figured I'd give it a try. For $15 NZ, you get a kilo of the biggest mussels I have ever seen on the Monday night special, which leaves even the frugal with enough leftover cash to not feel guilty about the extensive beer list. Also, the mayo that came with the side of frites (b/c a kilo of mussels is not enough food obviously) was fantastic. I may not need to eat again for 3 days..... read more

what is not to like? great selection of beers. oasis off queen street when Christmas shopping. Good place to drink and eat. I like the place and the vibe. For me it is more of a drinking spot. read more

Horrible, horrible! Bartender with nose ring was rude and cocky!!! All we wanted was a couple of beers and something to eat. It was like pulling teeth. Why? But when young women walked in he dropped everything to attend to them. As well nats in the corner of bar made it unappetizing eating my raw hamburger meat. Never again! I really like this place my first couple of times, but true colors came through read more

Great service. I enjoyed the beer selection and pub atmosphere. I totally used yelp to find this place or I would have passed it by.

This place is amazing!! Food is delicious, try the soup, it is blissful! Fantastic beer... Totally unexpected to have such a nice seafood deal at a Belgian beer cafe. Wow, definitely recommend! read more

Ok but it is pub food. Seems like the one in Sydney has better food, but it is a restaurant. I wish they had more beers on tap. I don't eat mussels so I missed out . They are famous for that read more