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Reviews for The Riverhead

by Jo-Ann M.
20th May 2013

We came out on a winters Sunday as we had heard and read so much about the tavern.
We came by the Red Boats – which was just a fantastic trip and well worth it!
We got told on the boat to get your orders in early as they do get very busy and the boat leaves at 3pm sharp.
We did not realise you had to book the restaurant – its a pity they don’t tell you that as you book the boat trip…
so upon arrival we got shunted out into the boat shed…after finally getting to the bar was very disappointed with the choice on the menu…. it is very very basic!!
The place was absolutely heaving and on this wet cold day the only option left was to sit outside in the wet paddock. Partner finally found a table up in the outside bar area that at least was firm under foot and had umbrellas open -so we took the kids and went up there.
Chaos then ensued. Because we had ordered our meals in the downstairs bar area – we had now committed the cardinal sin of moving to a new zone.
Meals took over an hour to come. They were very disappointing upon arrival.
Its the little things that stand out- no butter on the burger or even mayonnaise, no tomato sauce on the kids hot dogs, very bland boring food. paper plates for serving.
Not quite what i had been expecting.
The boat trip is well worth it – but don’t have high expectations for the food when you get there.
They would be better off having a fantastic carvery on a Sunday where at least you could get a delicious hot roast dinner – have more time for another drink and even dessert – enjoy the music without having to be pinned to your seat waiting for food. Good luck it is a fantastic venue.

Comment from Paula P. of The Riverhead 20/05/2013    Hide »

Hi Jo-Ann, Thanks for your feedback on your visit to The…    More »

Hi Jo-Ann,
Thanks for your feedback on your visit to The Riverhead yesterday….yes, it was an extraordinary day with hundreds of people arriving in a very short space of time, given the tides. Unfortunately we are not always aware of the numbers arriving by boat and your trip coincided with 30 odd classic boats, two full ferry’s and several other private boats setting up an unexpected pressure for food. It is disappointing to hear that the boats did not advise you to book in our restaurant (if that was the sort of dining you had expected) as this is an obvious requirement given the numbers arriving during the weekends. The Boat House area is also very popular and is a relaxed area, offering free live music with simple, reasonably priced food. It is a large area with several seating options, which is available to people on a first in first served basis. Hopefully you will come again either by boat or by car and arrange to be in the restaurant to have a totally different experience at The Riverhead.

by Lesley
14th May 2013

I cannot rave enough about the friendly staff, the excellent service and the amazing food at The Landing. We went on a very busy Saturday for a family lunch, 10 of us ranging in age from 21 to 90 and everyone totally enjoyed the experience. Satisfied the vegetarians in the group too. Perfect setting for a perfect day! Well done, love you and we’ll be back.

by Prasangi W.
26th March 2013

Great food, pub like atmosphere. Great views of the river and lovely garden area and walk to the river. It’s a great day out to get away from the city.

by Brendon S.
25th March 2013

2 weeks ago 5 of my mates and I came to your tavern via boat. After a fantastic journey up the river, we tied up to the jetty and made our way to the restaurant. Had fantastic seating outside along with fantastic views and lighting. Then followed up by amazing mouth watering food. The waiter and waitress were very laid back which was great. I thought the lighting throughout the whole restaurant was incredible. We then made our way back down the jetty on to the boat and then back home. All of my mates and I were very impressed. Keep up the great job. We will be back. My wife is in the process of organizing a hens brunch in the next two weeks. I’m sure it will be a success!!

by Cath V.
18th February 2013

I’ve been here a couple of times as it’s local and the setting is great overlooking the water and very pretty in summer, the previous times were OK really only good enough to be my last choice in local dining, but it was booked by someone else for a group of 15 of us as a nice finale for a 3 day clinic we had attended with the trainer flying in from Aussie. They would not accommodate all of us at one table saying the largest group they could serve at one time was 12 people, I tried arguing this as we really didn’t care if we were served together, just wanted to sit together as one group, but they would not relent. They were out of maybe 4 – 5 of the mains @ 7ish on a Sunday and they forgot a number of ordered dishes and drinks, 3 of us sitting together ordered a steak each requiring a different finish, 1 rare, 1 med rare and myself med but they all arrived the same about med rare, I think everyone was disappointed with the service and the food appalling that they couldn’t seat us together, I suppose if they had at least informed the person who booked we could have gone elsewhere.

Comment from Paula P. of The Riverhead 20/02/2013    Hide »

Stephen & I own The Riverhead and apologies for the delay in…    More »

Stephen & I own The Riverhead and apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I totally understand why you feel upset by your experience on Sunday night. It’s disappointing that the staff didn’t use their discretion regarding the table/s the restaurant didn’t have another large group to deal with at the same time. Given that it was important for you to interact with your mentor this should have been given a priority. It is important to us that our staff are customer focused and listen to your needs, working around & explaining any other issues should they occur. They also should have explained that due to an extremely busy week, (we went through ½ a ton of meat and over 80kgs of ribs in one day) they had in fact run out of a few of the dishes, which if you were happy with the service & staff and had been seated together then you probably would have understood. All I can do is apologise once again and thank you for letting us know about the steaks, as these are all issues that we want to aim to get right everytime. My apologies once again….

by Peter H.
22nd January 2013

We went here for lunch after betting that The Riverhead has become a lot closer to the Auckland CBD in the thirty years we’ve been away. It has. This is a restaurant in a wonderful setting on a polysyllabic tidal river at the top end of the Waitemata harbour. It could be rated higher if the food was any good, but it’s a curate’s egg – some of it is excellent, but a lot of it isn’t. The size of the menu gives it away: there are far, far too many dishes on it for them to be cooked and delivered to a high standard. My lamb rump was OK and presented well, and the accompanying spinach very good; but the scalloped potatoes were a microwaved disaster.

Service was slow at times, and rapid service was usually the harbinger of nuked food. Table staff didn’t seem to be happy in their work.

This could be an excellent restaurant. It’s attractive, but the food needs work. All that being said, we’ll go back – it is a “find” as a place to take visitors.

by Sally T.
21st January 2013

Having been to The Riverhead a few times and eaten well, I was looking forward to my recent visit.
I opted for the halloumi salad which was disappointing – very basic, just three strips of halloumi placed onto three slices of tomato, then onto a few lettuce leaves and some dressing, very bland and at $15 made me feel quite sad. Sorry it could have been made heaps better.

by Linda G.
21st January 2013

A beautiful experience on the North Shore.
It’s taken us a while to find a restaurant with a combination of tasty food, great atmosphere and efficient service. The Riverhead has it all. Their extremely welcoming staff and talented chefs made our night out a true pleasure. They have an awesome menu, with many of our favourites listed. We had a thoroughly wonderful family night out in comfortable surroundings and will definitely be regular visitors in the future.

by Gladys F.
19th January 2013

Disgusted at our treatment

I have given The Landing rave reviews in the past and, on that basis, we decided to celebrate my wife and eldest son’s birthdays at the Landing on 13 January 2013.

My daughter made the booking and was told that they could not book the “outside” tables in case it rained and that they only booked the number of seats that could be accommodated inside the restaurant. She was told that “if you get here early I’m sure we can get you a table on the deck”.

My son arrived early at 11:30 AM and got a great table that would accommodate the expected party of six. Unfortunately three of the party had had to cancel due to illness on the day, so the three of us placed our orders for drinks, starters and mains with our very pleasant waiter.

The drinks arrived and we were thinking to order another bottle when the mains and starters arrived at the same time carried by three waiters.

It seemed a little strange to receive mains and starters at the same time.

We decided to eat the starters and mains together. The pizza and the steak were good, but the fish was dark and dry. When we finished, our waiter cleared the plates away.

The waiter offered us the Dessert menu, but we declined at that time having just finished our starters and mains.

Imagine our surprise when a blonde lady, clutching her spectacles, arrived at our table and, in a loud voice, told us that we had to move inside as she had a booking for our table at 1:00 PM ! (Remember – we had been told that they could NOT book the “outside tables.) When we pointed this out to the blonde lady, she, again in her strident voice, told us that she couldn’t have three people occupying an eight-seat table.

We were humiliated and embarrassed at this rude and abusive treatment, especially as we had been refused the opportunity to “BOOK” the table ourselves.

We advised the person at the cash-desk of this humiliation and embarrassment, but this lady tried to say that she had put the wrong BOOKING on the table. (This is on a table that cannot be BOOKED ??)

I had been recommending The Landing to my friends and acquaintances as THE PLACE to go, but I will advise them to be cautious as it seems that on the whim of the blonde lady you could be told to move off your table. I will give the Landing a miss for a while.

by Rachel B.
30th October 2012

I have been to The Riverhead twice now and the atmosphere, service and food has been great.

I recently went with a large group of friends on a Saturday night for my birthday. The service was excellent and our meals had arrived within 15 minutes of them being ordered. not only that but they were amazing and well worth the money. everyone was raving about how awesome their meals were. I thought this was fantastic especially considering they were packed when we arrived and we had expected our meals to take ages.

Highly recommended. We will definitely be back.

Thank you so much ‘The Riverhead’ !

by mab
24th October 2012

Superb location and attractive redesign of the indoor/outdoor spaces. We only come here for lunch (about 10 times or so in the last year) and our experiences have been positive. In particular the food quality has, in our experience, improved considerably in the last few months. Only niggle is – why not more local wines by the glass on the menu?

Highly recommend this place.

Comment from Paula P. of The Riverhead 25/10/2012    Hide »

Hi there, We absolutely agree and are working on increasing the…    More »

Hi there,
We absolutely agree and are working on increasing the local content on our wine list…it would be a shame not to, given that we are smack bang in the middle of excellent wine country. Hopefully next time you are here you will see our new wine list and our new summer menu which we hope to have out in the next couple to three weeks….thanks for the feedback regards Paula

by Chris M.
16th September 2012

As a first time visitor, loved the place and staff were great but breakfast this morning was really disappointing. Bubble & Squeak was oily, mushy and tasteless. Mushrooms cold and also tasteless and bacon and sausages oily.

We wont be put off and will try a lunch or dinner someday.

Comment from Paula P. of The Riverhead 4/10/2012    Hide »

Stephen and I are totally committed to providing a rich…    More »

Stephen and I are totally committed to providing a rich experience, value for money and seriously good food. Believe it or not, whilst it is heartbreaking that you had this experience with your brunch your feedback actually helps us to focus on the areas that need improving.We certainly hope to see you again and we will be striving to ensure that your next dining experience with us is superb.
We’ll look forward to seeing you then….Paula

by Edward E.
2nd September 2012

Our group recently had dinner at The Riverhead. The fish of the day was dry. They forgot to bring out my dessert. We have dined at the Riverhead over a dozen times now and really it feels like it is heading to a “more bums on seats = more revenue” approach which is a shame for such a unique location. The meals are priced the same as one would expect to pay in the city but unique location and venue will only last so long against quality and service

by Yvette M.
8th July 2012

We’ve tried the Riverhead about 5 times because it is in such a beautiful location but we’ve been dissatisfied with our meals every time.
Breakfast was better than lunch or dinner but not really up to scratch for the prices.
Would have a drink there but it’s a no for the food unfortunately.

Comment from Paula P. of The Riverhead 10/07/2012    Hide »

Hi Yvette, I’m disappointed to hear that you have been less than…    More »

Hi Yvette,
I’m disappointed to hear that you have been less than enthralled with our meals when you have dined with us. We have put a lot of thought into our menu, trying to deliver on the promise of good hearty pub fare whilst offering some other higher end meals for the more discerning. Of course our menu will continue to develop as time goes on with new menus in summer and winter. However during the weekend we are forced to reduce the food options due to the large number of people who make The Riverhead their weekend destination. In case you have only been here in the weekend, this is the link to our comprehensive menu used during the week and every night http://www.theriverhea…. Our committment to continually improve what we offer, our service and the overall experience at The Riverhead is paramount and will continue to develop. We look forward to seeing you again…..

by Rebecca J.
4th May 2012

We have dined at The Riverhead severl times lately and think you have done a great job with the refurbishment. The food is great with a nice selection – The pulled pork sandwich is awesome.
The staff seem friendly and we love the snuggly blankets for outside. Best of luck and we will be back!!

by Peter B.
27th April 2012

We booked via email on Monday for an Anzac afternoon lunch, and I had to ring 24 hours later to see if my booking had been received and confirmed. With this sort of service we should have stayed home. Service was slow with both taking our drinks orders and, food orders. After well over 1 hour of being at our table we were advised that they had “lost” our order but several seconds later advised “we have found it”. After waiting another 30 minutes it arrived – we were underwhelmed – the pizza’s lacked any flavour and tasted like cardboard, and the chefs pie resembled more like soup in pastry.
Both alcohol and food prices are on a level with the viaduct but the service and quality/presentation of the food was well below what one expects from an eating establishment nowadays.
In summary – over-priced and average food.

Comment from Paula P. of The Riverhead 27/04/2012    Hide »

To all the people who ventured out to The Riverhead on the…    More »

To all the people who ventured out to The Riverhead on the stunningly sunny and warm ANZAC day, Stephen and I would like to thank for being so understanding of the wait for food which occurred mainly between the hours of 1pm and 2pm. This was in fact the first midweek ANZAC day that we have been in operation and we certainly didn’t expect the volume of people that turned up. Being a destinational tavern we are aware that turning people away is very disappointing for them after making the trip and we tried to accommodate as many as possible. However many were still turned away at the door. We did however explain to guests once it was obvious that there was going to be a delay for food what to expect before they were seated. Our records showed that we processed just on1300 meals over the day which put our kitchen teams under extreme pressure, despite our recent kitchen extensions.
The majority of people where relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere of the outside decks, but we are very aware that there was a long wait for some of the most popular dishes due to the sheer volume.
For the next fine Public Holiday we will limit the available seats in the restaurant and put on our usual Sunday Cook Shack option (BBQ Burgers, Chips & Salads) opening the Boat House to help alleviate the pressure.
We would also like to thank our amazing staff who dealt with the volume and the pressure so well.
We unreservedly apologise to those who booked and got caught up in the delay…and we also would like to apologise for not getting around everyone to explain the difficulty we were having.
We accept that we will be continually looking at quality improvement to ensure that every aspect of The Riverhead meets the expectation of those who chose to visit us.

by Erica
23rd April 2012

After being told about the Riverhead by friends, my partner and I visited the Tavern for the first time on a Saturday lunchtime. From the time we walked in the front door to the time we left we were impressed with the atmosphere and the friendly staff. Eating a nice meal on the outside deck while enjoying the water and rural views is an extremely pleasant and relaxing experience.

by Debbi T.
20th April 2012

Had lunch here and was so impressed. We started with breads and dips and then all 5 of us had a different main. All presented so beautifully and all delicious. Meals were a really good size – was disappointed I couldnt fit dessert in !!There were a good selection of those. Overall – food amazing, service amazing and the location is outright stunning. Just wished I lived in Auckland so I could go back.

by gogirl1956
3rd April 2012

I am really disappointed with The Riverhead. We eat out often and were hoping for a local where we could get a reasonably priced meal, reasonably priced drinks, great service and a place we wanted to visit regularly. (Like a couple of times a week) But this didn’t happen. The meals are expensive for what they are, the staff are inconsistent and badly trained, the place seems really disorganised and the drinks are Auckland City prices in the middle of nowhere. I think they have tried to take Hallertau on but don’t measure up and we don’t need two. What we need is a great family restaurant where we can take the children.

by Mel M.
6th February 2012

We visited The Landing on Saturday night to celebrate my Mother’s 60th birthday. After hearing so many great comments about this place we thought it would be perfect. My parents had been here just before Xmas and said it was fabulous. I had also looked at the reviews on this page and was confident we had made a good decision.

We ended up extremely disappointed with how our evening turned out. My partner’s beer on tap tasted a little weird so he ordered a cider, he had to wait well over 20 minutes for it, despite asking 3 times. When it arrived it was a pear cider – not what he wanted, but after waiting so long he decided to drink it. We had to ask twice for the bottle of red wine which was then plonked unceremoniously down on the table. We did tell the waitress not to pour it, but we did not expect it to hit the table with a thud. The entrees were good – although the sauce on the prawn cocktail was in the bottom of the glass, meaning you had to eat prawns and lettuce before you got to the sauce. The kumara chips were absolutely cremated and black. My partner and sister’s calamari and Dad’s mussels were good as was my ostrich. However the mains were terrible – my father’s fish came with broccoli instead of salad as our waitress had told us, my mother’s lamb was a little overcooked, my partner’s burger was very plain. My sister’s vegetarian lasagne was 10 minutes later than the other mains. The worst however was my fillet steak – I asked for it medium and at $36 you would expect that it would come as I asked. It was cooked completely through and didn’t even look like fillet. I returned it and was then brought another meal well over 20 minutes later– by this stage the others had finished their mains. The second on was exactly the same. At that point we’d had enough. The chef obviously has no idea how to cook a steak and to repeat the same mistake again is ridiculous. Not only customer service, but what a waste of ingredients! I am certainly hoping for their sake as a business they do something about the chef and the waitress.
Although I will say the restaurant was apologetic and generously did not charge us for our food but money aside my mother’s special birthday dinner was ruined. We will be having another dinner out – just definitely not there! The best thing about the whole evening was the amazing view and great hand basins in the ladies toilets!

by Premi
14th January 2012

Our social club had a great night at the Riverhead pub before Xmas. Everyone of our group had wonder full time. So in January I took my family for brunch. It was Great we had good breakfast. No one cooks eggs like the dad in our house but the chef at Riverhead. It was cooked just like my family likes it soft and runny. The coffee was the best I’ve had so far in Auckland. We had a cafe girl with us and she was totally satisfied and happy. The staff friendly and service was good as well as value for money. We will be back when the weather allows us to have a summer.

by Robyn S.
6th January 2012

What a fantastic place The Riverhead is! We have just had another fantastic experience there – great atmosphere, friendly and helpful staff, food to die for and what has to be one of the most picturesque places to dine. Each time we have been there the experience has wonderfully consistent. Loving it more each time – we will be back!

by Diana R.
4th January 2012

Dreadful. Which was such a shame as we had heard good things about the place.

We took a family member for lunch as a treat and were embarrassed. From trying to get water for the table, salt and pepper to paying our bill – we felt invisible. The waiting staff seemed confused about which tables they were working.

The three of us all ordered the same main – fish of the day(hapuka) and they were all dry and one plate had enough sauce for three meals, the other two had hardly any.

A lovely venue with such promise but we will not risk it a second time.

Comment from Paula P. of The Riverhead 7/01/2012    Hide »

Hi Diana, I’m Paula. Stephen, my husband and I own The…    More »

Hi Diana,
I’m Paula. Stephen, my husband and I own The Riverhead.
It’s always upsetting to get unfavourable feedback about The Riverhead after putting in so much time and effort to make a difference here, but I do appreciate the time and effort you have gone to give us feedback.
It’s only through feedback, whether the sweet kind or the ’brick bat’ kind that we can grow, see things from another perspective and improve our service.
There is absolutely no excuse for you to have come to The Riverhead and feel invisible…after all it is one of our key points to try to make people feel at ease here, give them a relaxed but wonderful ’home grown’ experience along with superb food in these amazing surroundings.
This is our first Year of operation, our first Christmas and New Year period and we were advised that we should expect to be busy up to Christmas Day and then may as well close the doors after that until the end of January. This fortunately has not been the case with our average day being quadrupled and staff given annual leave. We have been taken by surprise by the sheer volume of people coming to The Riverhead and have been severely under staffed. This is not an excuse as much an explanation. We are on a pretty steep learning curve.
As for the Fish of the Day, we have spoken about this with the Chef.
We do hope that you will give The Riverhead another try. Unfortunately things do occasionally go wrong and we unreservedly apologise for this but the overall feedback has been very positive which is very reassuring. We’d love to see you back and give us another try.
Thanks again for taking the time to pass on the feedback
regards
Paula

by Michelle S.
14th November 2011

Had a lovely dinner there. Pork belly entree was on the small size for the price of it but made up for by the size of the seafood chowder entree. Mains reasonably priced, atmosphere great & the attendant was very good (she even took our order sooner so that we could get in front of the big group about to order). Would recommend. View over the river mouth is amazing.

by Stewart M.
8th November 2011

I have just been blown away by this place. The river view is so relaxing I could sit there all day. I have tried the entire menu on my visits and every one has been perfect. My favorite is the steak on kumara mash a close second would be the crispy fish and chips. The staff are friendly and attentive and there is a neat ambiance which is why I keep going back. We sometimes do brunches on Sundays followed by perfect coffee. Yum looking forward to going back soon.

by Thomas F.
8th November 2011

We went recently for diner after a busy day and found the staff super-friendly and the atmosphere warm and relaxing. Loved out door area.The meals were delicious and service was great. Will definitely visit again soon.

by Chad M.
22nd October 2011

Dined last night. Packed restaurant, surprising as rugby was on……. server attentive but not intrusive, a little stressed but forgiven as very busy. Food fantastic. Myself having lamb shank with mash awesome, beautiful french style braising falling off the bone and heavenly tasting. Amazing venue, especially the outdoor decked area. Very impressed although dubious at first due to other reviews. Obviously taken all feedback on board and moving in the right direction! Great job guys, will be back to check out live music on the 30th, will bring a crew to show you off, can’t wait.

by Jo R.
29th August 2011

We’ve tried The Riverhead a couple of times. We have young kids and to be honest, the food has taken way too long and they get really restless. Would be great if things could speed up a little on the service front – we waited over 20 minutes for our first drink to arrive and there were three people behind the bar!

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