Restaurant Finder

Reviews for The Beach House Restaurant

by Jim L.
26th March 2013

What a day! What an occasion!
Total wedding for two 70 year olds (incurable romantics), party of 27.
First, very sincere thank you to all the young staff. (what a change to find pleasant, courteous, efficient teenagers, restores ones faith in the future)
We only had finger food but the chefs did us proud, totally adequate for the occasion (we even got to take some home in doggy bags because we could not get thru all the food)
Why did we choose “The Beachhouse” on the Parade?
Daughter and hubby had a Tuesday night meal there couple of weeks ago. rang me
“Dad, no question, book “The Beachhouse”
My new wife and myself will be forever gratefull for the efforts of all involved

by Cherie M.
4th March 2013

We have dined here several times but will not be returning. Last Friday we had lunch and chose the steak. At $48 you would expect absolute perfection. What we received was a fab piece of eye fillet with a small selection of vegetables (two tiny carrots, small turnip and beetroot and some over irrelevant garnishes.) The butternut puree consisted of two tablespoons! When you are charging these absolute horrendous prices you also do not expect paper napkins.
Used to love this place but you know the saying…”Will only be ripped off once.”

by Gaye B.
3rd March 2013

Great spot, all we had was coffee but it was good and you couldn’t have asked for a nicer barista and welcoming customer service. All the food going to tables looked great and we will definitely go there for a meal.

by Marie G.
3rd March 2013

My husband and I have eaten here three times. The food is nice, although somewhat overstated and extremely overpriced. It’s not what I would consider fine dining. They do not like to accommodate your needs and have a take it or leave it attitude. The restaurant is cramped and the service you get here is poor and does not match the prices they charge. The owner’s wife is extremely rude and condescending and totally ruined what might have been a pleasant experience on two of three visits. We will not be going back again unless it changes ownership.

by Nadine S.
7th December 2012

We had dinner here last night for our wedding anniversary and we could not fault the meal or service. For our entree we shared the oysters and calamari – both were beautifully fresh and the best we’ve had. For our mains I had the duck and my husband had the Venison – both cooked perfectly and were melt in your mouth. The portions were all of a good size. The restaurant was very busy with a couple of large tables but we were well looked after. We will definitely return!!

by Cruz R.
25th November 2012

Been here a couple of times.. Once with a group of friends and another time with hubby. Had a good experience both times. Our orders were excellently presented albeit the portions rather small for the price. The mussels starters we had were mouth-wateringly yum, my seafood marinara was delish. Hubby’s steak was overdone which was annoying since the dinner was supposed to be a treat from me to him. I would suggest dining here on their quiet evenings as there is simply no room! You’ve got to squeeze past other patrons to be seated. Also the extra large plates are lovely for food presentation but does nothing than to point out how cramped you are at your table! May I suggest spacing out the tables to the proprietor? It may set your profits back by having less patrons at any one seating but they will be much happier ones! Trust me!

by Juku
30th October 2012

I highly recommend that you treat yourself to a meal there – ideally when it’s light so you can enjoy the view and go for a nice walk on the beach afterwards. The food was delicious and well presented, the waiters extremely friendly and attentive, the atmosphere very exquisite, and the view stunning.

by Andrew
23rd October 2012

Booked well in advance for 10 people.
Arrived at 7pm, only one person ordered an entree.
Had to chase our Mains and they finally started arriving at 9.15 (although not all at the same time).
Managers dismissive excuse was “we’re short in the kitchen” as though we just had to lump it.
Fully booked on a Saturday night and no backup chef = poor.
2 of us ordered Pork Belly – very disappointing, no crackling just floppy skin.
No real apology for poor experience.
When we complained we were told there is nothing they can do, you will have to write to the owner.
In summary:
Over-priced, poor service, arrogant attitude to customers, only interested in getting your money rather than giving you a memorable experience.
Avoid and go elsewhere !!

by Diiya M.
7th October 2012

I read the reviews and was worried and I was relieved to discover that I needn’t have. We had a great night and the food was great, one point though..king prawns shouldn’t be shrimp sized. But aside from that not a worry at all. Nice staff and great fast service. I feel bad for the folks that have had a bad experience and there are no excuses for that but maybe give it another chance as some establishments take the critiques on board and improve because this place was full and that’s a good sign that things are good. Loved my steak.

by Rochelle
23rd August 2012

Wanted to go somewhere special for Hubby’s birthday but was a bit concerned after reading the below reviews. Spoke to someone that had recently been and they said it was fine. So went along Tuesday night, it was fairly busy but I had booked that day. We were seated at the end of the restaurant which seemed to have most of the couple seating which is good instead of being plonked down in the middle among big groups which I hate. Our waitress was lovely, very friendly and professional. Had Garlic Bread to start, Calamari for entree YUM and the Rack of lamb for main and hubby got the Eye Fillet, both cooked to perfection. Also got side order of fries, so all up that was plenty and left us feeling comfortably full. The reviewer below said it was no longer BYO, this is not correct. If you are using online vouchers it is not BYO, it is very plain to see on door. We used our Entertainment card so were fine to bring in a bottle of wine and got $35.00 off the bill so was a reasonably price night for the excellent service and food that we received.

by Sandy R.
13th August 2012

Although the food is ‘nice’ it is extremely overpriced. Most of the group we were with needed the extra vegetables which were ordered to feel like they had eaten. Sadly these overcooked and the dish they came out in was very small.

We were in a large group and had been there a few times before and we usually come away with the same thoughts that is was overpriced for what you were given.

Three people at the table ordered affogato, only to find two out of the three tipped over due the the way they served them. One of the diners managed to wear most of it – not sure it they were charged but due to the stupidity of the less than adequate balancing act I for one would not pay for the replacement.

We were squashed in and shoulder to shoulder with the diner seated next to you, made it almost impossible to eat. They advertise that they are BYO but displayed a sign on the front door which cancelled this out which is unfortunate and adds to their prices.

Reluctant to go there again even they they have the perfect setting for the restaurant.

by Natalie H.
14th July 2012

Below par food especially for the prices. We ordered our Red meat med rare, it was poorly cooked. Not sealed on the outside, soggy, bloody and tough.

Entrees and mains were bland, unimaginative and lacking in flavor.

The waitress interrupted excessively and was extremely pushy with drinks, constantly suggesting more wine.

So disappointing when there are so many decent restaurants around. What’s with the tacky potato chips they put on all the plates and badly cooked vege side, drowned in butter. Inedible.

The waitress tried to clear my plate while I still had a fork in my hand.

Complete rip off.

by Lois K.
4th July 2012

Again, superb!!!! The shared seafood meal surpasses any in Auckland. Lamb, chicken, prawn mains cooked to perfection, all presented beautifully. Attentive staff. One thing that could be looked into, a shade cloth that blocks out the glare of the sun but not the view as when we went there wasn’t a cloud in the sky & the glare from the sun if facing the water was brutal. Noticed most dinners sitting next to the windows/clear plastic were wearing sunnies or hats.

by Leila
17th April 2012

Went there for dinner last night it was a Monday so pretty quiet. There were five of us (one being an overseas guest). As the waitress poured my red wine it landed on the tablecloth – she said nothing but merely placed the bread over it to cover it up. We were not told of any specials or unavailable dishes so after spending time choosing a main only to be told it was not available was frustrating. Every meal seemed to feature the shaved kumara chips – what is with that? I ordered the rack of lamb with roasted vegetables & a potato rosti. What I got was two small lamb cutlets lying on a halved roasted potato with a salad lumped to the side. When I questioned the waiter he assured me it was what I ordered. Only after repeated questioning and comparing it to the menu did he take it back to the kitchen. I overheard the chef telling him it would be 15 minutes. He did not come back and tell me that but muttered something else. The correct meal came out in under 15 minutes and looked as it should – presentation great but lacking in flavour. Whilst the waiter was filling up my husband’s red wine he managed to pour some into his glass of water but did nothing about it, he also managed to pour the jus from his venison main course onto his lap when placing the too large black rectangular plate in front of him. The plates were too big for the very small table setting – I had my arm pressed up against the wall all night with no elbow room for eating. The meal came to $386 (only one bottle of wine) and when my husband told the maitre d that his waiting staff had let themselves down tonight, he was met with lots of defensive comments, i.e. plates hard to handle, (shouldn’t they change their selection of plates?)

It is such a shame that this restaurant has one of the best views in Auckland, has nicely presented food but doesn’t follow through on the service. I’ve eaten here many times, and cannot bite my tongue any longer as it is getting worse!

by CASA
15th April 2012

We went to The Beach House for breakfast.

Very over priced for what you get, we were expecting gourmet for the price we paid.

The fish fillets for breakfast were over cooked and very old tasting possibly even reheated, they were trialing a new poached egg system they came out very under cooked, asked the waitress to take them back however she swayed me to keep them and try there new system which were not to my liking so I didn’t eat them. My husband had the big breakfast again the eggs were under done, no butter for his toast. Coffee was very weak, further coffee’s with double shots they were more like the strength of a normal coffee.

The waitress was too in your face and didn’t listen. I would never go back to The Beach House there is a lot nicer places for the price you pay in the surrounding areas.

by John
12th February 2012

Great location, good menu but really fails to deliver (dinner or breakfast). Expensive for what you get. For breakfast try the cafe around the corner. Nice place for a drink.

by Diane C.
27th January 2012

Singularly worst meal I have ever had!!

Very busy restaurant, lovely summer evening, seemed promising from NZ Herald review, good menu. However, ordered special of breaded snapper – Rubbery, tasteless, re-heated garbage! Expensive, overrated and not worth spending your hard earned money here. Waited for ages on main course arriving after finishing starters. Seem to be a major meltdown happening in kitchen. Avoid!

by Donna B.
19th December 2011

We attended the beach house on the 17th as well. We weren’t members of the 2 large groups. The table was booked for the 4 of us and the restaurant phoned prior to arrival to check that we were still coming. They were extremely busy but we found the service to be exceptional. The lovely young waitress monitored us regularly (we were very slow orders and eaters this night as we had a lot of catching up to do) and she took this in her stride maintaining a warm, professional manner. We all had scallops as an entree these were nicely cooked and presented. My husband and i ordered the seafood platter which cost $96.00. This was for 2 but our friends had to assist us in finishing it! It was mag-nif-i-cent. Like little piglets we gave our tummies a 15 minute break and soldiered on through desserts. Large portions of tiramisu arrived at our table promptly along with sorrento gelato (which my hubby RAVED about). It was a wonderful evening and I consider the corkage cist of $7.50 extremely reasonable as we often pay $70+ for our favorite wines which we can pick up for $30 on special. Only gripe would be that there is only one toilet. Really like this restaurant, looking forward to our next visit. Lovely atmosphere, attentive staff.

by Heather
18th December 2011

Staff Christmas function held there this evening Sat 17th booked ages ago…for about 30 people.
Pre drinks 6.30 dinner approx 7.30 dinner actually served 10.20pm……our senior staff members went home before food was actually served. Two other large tables at restaurant as well this evening….Our waiter was brilliant. I’m sure the kitchen staff was as well. Just not for huge numbers. Food when it did arrive finally was good. Possibly would have been great had it arrived at 9pm. Owners shouldn’t book the numbers when clearly they are not set up to handle such numbers. Based on this evenings experience wouldn’t recommend at all.

by Lesley M.
5th December 2011

I walked in to book for 6 people and asked for window seating, the waitress booked us in and as I was there noticed no one else booked in. When we arrived we were shown our table asked why no window seat sorry that has been booked earlier. Ok we thought we were here to enjoy a nice meal, not too worry. We waited for service none came, had asked for drinks that took at least 10 minutes, No bucket for our wine had to pour it ourselves. Finally ordered from the menu which was the dinner menu no lunch menu. All the orders were dreadful no one was impressed, meat over cooked, expensive, bad service never again. Word of mouth can be good advertising or bad I would not recommend ever!!!!!!

by Kaiwaan
27th November 2011

Courteous on the phone and in person. Very good dining service.
I had a rack of lamb and duck breast – one of the best I have had.
Presentation was outstanding and attention to detail very high too.

by RM Y.
5th November 2011

Friday night and a beautiful location. Waiting staff were faultless -Emily in particular. Food arrived in timely manner and was delicious and even my fussy friend really enjoyed her Hapuka. Prices are spendy but BYO, even @ 8.50 a bottle, is cheaper than buying wine there.
An enjoyable night for a special occasion.

by Chris B.
9th October 2011

My wife and I eat at this pleasant restaurant last night,our online booking allowed us to be seated as soon as we got there.
The atmosphere was low key with ambient music playing we sat in a section to one side which is curtain off with black netting providing a semi-private area.

We were greeted and seated and shortly after given the specials , all night our waitress was attentive to our needs.

My Half a duck marinated in orange & five spice confit and served with bok choy; mandarin puree, goat cheese mash and port wine jus. and my wife’s Herb crusted rack of lamb with char-grilled vegetable stack on potato rosti, smoked bacon jus and beau blanc sauce, was delivered to the table fifteen minutes after the entree plates were cleared. Presentation of both meals was top quality.
Staff were polite attentive and capable, extremely good night.

by danielle
10th September 2011

We went to the Beach House on a Friday night. We were seated and the waitress asked if we wanted water, then went off. About 5mins later we got our water, and placed our drinks order. We still had not even been given the menu.After about 10mins we got our drinks and the waiter told us the specials, so I said “ok that’s great but can we have menus?”. Finally we got our menus,it took a further 20mins to flag someone down to take our order. We got our main after 15-20mins or so, we had the chicken breast it was amazing,really delicious. Our plates were cleared and I asked for the desert menu,that came,as soon as it was handed to me I ordered (i wasn’t going to wait any longer). It took about 15-20minutes and I questioned the waitress where our desert was, she checked and it soon followed. We had the chocolate cake,it was rock solid and had obviously been frozen or refrigerated, they could have simply microwaved it and it would have made a world of difference. Finally we left after 1 and a half hours or so. $88 for 2 drinks, 2 mains and 1 desert, not worth the horrific service. The main was the best part, too bad for the service letting it down.

by Rachel
22nd August 2011

Good food…but $18 for a 200ml of bubbles..I think not!!! BTW GBS sells theirs for $9.50..someone telling me fibs. Sorry Beach House for a real local restaurant, it’s somewhere we won’t be going again. :0(

by Elaine
18th August 2011

We went to the Beach House Restaurant recently. Whilst the food was good, $8.50 for each bottle for corkage is extortionist

by Suzanne T.
8th June 2011

I have been to The Beach House at least four times in the last couple of years for dinner on a weekend night. It is always busy so bookings are essential. This is a fine dining restaurant, the atmosphere is fantastic, great views, the staff are always very friendly and the food is to die for. Extremely well presented. We eat out regularly and without a doubt this is our favourite choice of fine dining in the area

by Noe
14th April 2011

We went to the The Beach House tonight with a group of four for a special birthday dinner, and we had a lovely experience. The restaurant is a bit on the expensive side, but we thought it was worth it for what we got. Firstly, the view of the sea was absolutely gorgeous. The place was very neat and cosy, and the waiters friendly. Our mains were beautifully presented, and they all tasted very nice – the fish, roasted duck and king prawns. Overall, we had a lovely experience and I would be more than happy to recommend this restaurant.

by Keith M.
1st December 2010

Went with our dinner group (18) Long wait whilst the few casual diners were served first (this is normal with European restaurants) Food finally came well presented but small portions . not worth the price
$7.50 corkage.

by Natalie B.
11th September 2010

Had lamb cutlet starter. Main course venison. The venison had a very hard crust which reminded me of the end of beef two days later – very tough. Asked for medium rare but most well done. The main problem was so much on the plate in terms of garnish. Too much of a very rich sauce which was same sauce for starter and main. It all looked very mushy and messy after a few mouthfuls. I noticed that at least five plates were going back full of uneaten food. Less is more! It puts diners off if overfaced. We did not enjoy our meal at all. Very disappointed and not sure if want to go back!

by Sharon B.
23rd July 2010

Went recently during a power blackout. They had gone out and bought 100′s of small candles to cover the window sills, and tables. Fantastic effort. The services was fantastic, the food amazing, beautifully presented and cooked superbly.
The also know how to cook a blue steak – well done, we will be back.

by Sue C.
7th June 2010

We went to the Beach House last night and hadn’t been for quite a while and after reading some of the bad reports, we thought maybe it had changed hands and gone down hill, but it was as good as ever no complaints at all. It was a lovely evening, lovely food, great presentation and really good service from the waitresses, lovely cosy atmosphere, we had a lovely evening so go beach house! we will be back

by Christine
15th February 2010

Don’t go to the beach house restaurant!!!
I booked it for Valentines day. After I arrived they announced to us that our meal was a set menu and it would cost $180! Usually we would have paid what.. $35 for a steak, some bread and dips, a dessert. There is no way we would need to spend that much. They insisted that everyone had been phoned and told of this set up but we hadn’t. So we walked out and went to Basalt instead which was fabulous.

by Sam A.
31st January 2010

We decided to go to the Beach house as we were in the area. It was just when they opened. Upon arrival they lady wasn’t very impressed that we hadn’t booked. But after trying to make us feel terrible they decided to give us a table that they don’t normally give to a table of two without a booking. We ordered a bottle of wine and the waiter scoffed that it was the 2nd cheapest bottle of wine and then questioned us on our wine knoweledge. He informed us that he had tasted better….. So we wait and wait to get asked for our order. It was a very busy night there but we got the feeling that we were being punished for not booking. About 1 1/2 hours later, just as we were going to leave we were finally asked for our order. The food was ok and i guess the service made it not as good as it probably was. After spending a couple of hundred dollars we were treated the worst at any restaurant. But the toilets were very nice!

by Amanda C.
21st December 2009

Good and fresh food. Excellent service , very attentive .
Had raw fish in coconut cream , nicely done , not “over-cooked” by the lime juice.
Main is good , and finish off with creme bulee . yum !

by chris
3rd October 2009

As soon as we walked in the waiter asked what beer I would like. I wasn’t even seated and this to me seemed very pushy. We were then seated and 2 friends did not show up so the staff removed the end table resulting in the 6 of us squashed into a table for 4 which made us very cramped. We were in the middle of conversation and there was no excuse me from the staff, the table was whisked away. I ordered the snapper fillets and after 1.5 hours they turned up and were very small and the chips were shocking and could be better made at the Cascade Rd takeaways for $2. We all were very disappointed and left without ordering dessert and went home still hungry

by HB
13th April 2009

The Beach House Restaurant is definitely a fine dining experience. Where the staff are attentive and extremely pleasant to deal with, the food is to die for and the atmosphere is cosy with amazing views. I went there 9/04/09, the staff were extremely busy due to the popularity of this restaurant but managed very well. the food arrived within a reasonable time period and was sensational. Overall, its one of my few favourite restaurants and its defiantly worth an experience!

by Amanda
6th April 2009

We went there for brunch on Sunday. They were busy and don’t know how to handle a busy restaurant. We ordered Smoked salmon eggs benedict & mixed grill with poached eggs and 2 Latte’s in a bowl. We got served water in a reasonable time…while waiting for our coffee which would have taken about 20 mins we saw 2 other tables complain about their coffees. We then had someone come over and asked if we had ordered coffee… we said yes 2 lattes in a bowl. these came as 2 latte in a glass so we sent them back. Also as we were waiting for so long I kept an eye on the food servery counter I could see my breakfast waiting on the counter while the sausages were being cooked – the sausages were the only things on either plates that were warm. The eggs were not runny as they had been waiting far too long and then upon eating my partner and I which had separate dishes but both had poached eggs ended up with the crunch of egg shell in our hard and cold poached eggs. We have been there once before which was ok but after this experience we won’t be going back. While paying our waitress apologised for the wait, I proceeded to tell her that it was also cold and we had egg shell in our eggs she said sorry – total for this experience was $44 never to return – priceless! A table of 4 that had arrived before us still had not receive any of their meals before we left the restaurant.

by Jacqui
16th March 2009

Have been twice now and first time (mid 2008) food & service was beautiful, second time (March 2009) was disappointing. Prices were too high for food quantity and quality. Calamari lost its flavour because it was overpowered by the salty peppery coating. Main meals veges and chips, were a few in far between, and I have tasted better snapper especially for $25-$30. Dessert was supposed to be a Chocolate Mousse on Chocolate sponge with 2 types of ice cream on top. What we received was totally different – a vanilla sponge, with chocolate ICE CREAM and 2 more ice creams. No mousse in sight. We sent it back, and told them about it and they were polite but we were still charged for it. One good thing, was our table next to the window had a gorgeous view. Waitress was lovely however I wouldn’t call it fine dining.

by Charmaine Smith
1st September 2008

Beautiful restaurant – delicious meals (and beautifully presented), helpful staff, meals came within reasonable time. Very cute and romantic place for a meal!

Write Review