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Reviews for Verbena Bar & Bistro

by Catherine M.
6th August 2012

This business is a MenuMania SponsorOne of the Business' Favourite Reviews

We had a lovely meal here recently. Amazing steak – as good as anything I have eaten, even in much more expensive specialty restaurants! They have a great wine list, but I would like to see better size and shaped wine glasses. The desserts were fabulous. Service was impeccable. Have recommended to friends and family….and to anyone reading this who wants a great meal out.

by Sheryl S.
18th June 2013

We had a wonderful meal tonight for our daughters birthday. Every dish was cooked to perfection and even our little grand daughter enjoyed her food. There was plenty of options to choose from, the staff were relaxed and very happy. The service was excellent.
We left a very satisfied and full, family.
Well done.

by Robyn D.
19th May 2013

We enjoyed an excellent meal at Verbena on Saturday 18 May. The food was fresh, beautifully cooked and of an excellent standard. We are so lucky to have this as our local. We took friends from Wellington who enjoy fine dining and we were all impressed with the menu selections, venue, service, ambiance and, of course delicious food. I highly recommend the Salmon Wontons. The Pork Belly and Beef Steak were both excellent mains. Also thank you Verbena for the best dessert we had all had in a long time – the dessert platter for two was amazing!

by Lesley
6th May 2013

It’s often the little things that are so easy to get right. It was the little things that ruined our evening at Verbena. Maybe we should have acknowledged the alarm bells when we found a park right outside or even when we noted there were only two other tables occupied. But we were tired and our kitchen was in a state of renovation ruin. So…..the small tasting glasses that came to the table with our not inexpensive chardonnay. Hello? Admittedly larger glasses appeared after we asked for them but still not worthy of the wine selected. While the food was tasty and the steak cooked to order, the meal took 40+ minutes to arrive and was almost cold. It had to be bolted down. Fellow diner’s fish was fishy. Slow learners that we are, we made the mistake of ordering a dessert to share. Another long wait. In fact I had fallen asleep. And did I mention the menus? A tacky laminated A4 piece of paper printed on both sides that had taken on a bowed effect; something more worthy of a fast food establishment. Fellow disappointed diner and self will not be going back. Pity, we’re locals

by Peter M.
18th March 2013

Hi
Went to Verbena with a few friends a couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday night there was a great trio playing there called the Tornados ..nice place great band 50s and 6os music wonder when they will play there again…will come back if they are…

Comment from Stephen T. of Verbena Bar & Bistro 19/03/2013    Hide »

Hi there, The Tornadoes will be playing this Thursday 21st from…    More »

Hi there, The Tornadoes will be playing this Thursday 21st from about 7.30

by Trish D.
6th November 2012

We moved into this area 3 yrs ago, verbena has become one of my favourite restaurants ever!!!! I have lived in 7 different countries and nobody tops this restaurant !! The ambiance, home made fresh food every time and the best desserts in the world,

It’s my birthday on Friday and am just about to book again for the whole family, )

by Gerry M.
7th September 2012

Moved into the area recently and decided to check this place out as I pass it to and from work everyday.

What a waste of time and money!

Portions were tiny for the price, meat was not seasoned and taste was quite bland for both dishes – my steak and my partner’s pork, vegetables were very tired and looked like an afterthought.

We didn’t bother with dessert as the main had been such a disappointment.

I saw awards on the wall for cooking – I guess the person who won them wasn’t working that night.

At least the wine was nice.

by Todd P.
7th September 2012

I had dinner here with the family and the atmosphere of the bar and restaurant was amazing. The food was of high quality and was enjoyed by all guests. Service was a little slow (food seemed to take a long time) and the waitress seemed a little inexperienced but I am sure that will improve with time. The prices reflected the menu, which had something for everyone. Overall a lovely night out, would highly recommend.

by Nicola M.
6th September 2012

Fantastic night at Verbena restaurant with family. Great food, everyone was happy with their meal, lovely wine, the service was good, polite and friendly, the atmosphere was lovely, I would totally recommend it. It is quite expensive so it depends what you are looking for, but worth the money if you want to spend it!

by Terry
29th June 2012

We got married there 3 years ago this week and had the reception for 45 people with a set menu. Have been back as a couple at least once a year since. Excellent food, friendly service, charming setting. Not the cheapest but very good value. Highly recommend.

by Sally T.
11th April 2012

I really enjoyed my visit here, the service was excellent, very attentive and helpful. We enjoyed some of the tapas in the bar area, all the food was really good, very tasty and the wine selection was great. Will definitely be back

by Victoria
1st September 2011

Lovely atmosphere – humming and we could still hear the conversation easily in our lovely corner booth. Excellent service and heavenly tapas and amaretto creme brûlée. Would come back here in a flash.

by Lizzie D.
8th June 2011

We took our parents in law, visiting from London, to Verbena last weekend. We had been there before and always thought it was fine, but we have changed our opinion from “fine” to “fantastic” – do they have a new chef perhaps??

We were originally booked at The French Cafe for the Friday night but our daughter was unwell so we had to cancel and Verbena was our “Plan B” on the Saturday.

We came away feeling that it should have been our first choice all along – a few drinks in the cosy and welcoming bar, through to the restaurant where we had scallops and squid for entree – all perfectly cooked, the scallops were sweet and tender – then the mains were duck / lamb / beef – absolutely no complaints on any of it.

And the desserts were to die for … chocolate pudding was my personal favourite, closely followed by the apple and feijoa crumble with a cute pot of custard on the side.

The service was a little inexperienced, however so charming it didn’t matter at all.

My parents in law eat at some extremely good restaurants in London and they believe you could take Verbena and put it alongside a large proportion of these … thoroughly recommend the place!

by Amelia
28th September 2010

My partner and I went there for a meal recently. A bottle of wine, an entree to share, a couple of mains AND deserts.

We were 100% pleased with everything. The service was prompt and friendly. The atmosphere was warm and the food was delicious. Thumbs up on the decor as well!

I have just heard from a friend she is having her wedding here. I’m planning on getting married in January and this is definately top of my list as a venue.

by Rebecca W.
27th September 2010

This is one of my top five all-time favourite restaurants. Impeccable service, great atmosphere and mouth-watering menu.

As a vegetarian, I was well-catered for and had more selection than many restaurants.

I would highly reccommend this restaurant to anyone!

by Dan Cutler
15th February 2009

My wife and I have been visiting Verbena since it opened a few years ago. We have never been disappointed with the quality of food or the service. Stephen always meets us at the door and is such a friendly face to see each time as he shows us our table. Last night, we went to Verbena to celebrate Valentines Day and, as has always been the case, everything was wonderful. We were shown to our favorite table near the window to watch the sunset (which was the only bland thing of the evening!). The set menu may put some people off, but we found the choices to be excellent and much to our liking. My wife loved the Roasted Capsicum & Tomato Soup while I enjoyed the Pea & Ham Soup. Both were creamy and easy to consume. After that, my wife was delighted by the light taste of the Pan-fried Squid over Fricelli Pasta while I found the Pork Belly Terrine to be a surprisingly light tasty treat. For the 3rd course, my wife found the Fillet of Hapuku fish lightly spiced and easy to eat while I loved every slice of my Chargrilled Medallion of Beef Fillet. The only mistake I made was to order this tender steak too well cooked. It would have been even better had I ordered the steak medium rare instead of medium cooked. My mistake that I will not make again. Even cooked at medium, it was so easy to carve and eat and the Sweet Potato puree was a perfect compliment. For our dessert, we shared the Valentines Dessert Tasting Plater for Two. I won’t bother to list all that was on the platter – you’ll just have to try it for yourself! We slowly savored the dessert while my wife had a great coffee and I enjoyed their Earl Grey tea. We have visited many places in and around Auckland and we continue to call Verbena ‘Our Local’ – for good reason. We both highly recommend you giving it a try. It may not be on the ‘beaten path’ of Auckland’s usual night life, but it’s very much worth the effort to eat there.

by Vicki
28th August 2008

Ok, we didn’t actually sit down and have a meal, but enjoyed some great tapas on the couches over a couple of glasses of very good wine. The decor is great and the food was very good, if a little on the expensive side.

by Brenda
11th October 2007

My Fiance and I found Verbena Restaurant fantastic! In fact, we have been recommending it to all our friends. We are dying to go back – but want to save a little money up first so when we do go, there will be NO holding back!

My Fiance took me there as a surprise for our anniversary. He did the same as the guy below, and read up on reviews. I thought it was a little poky place with no character – I was very wrong.

Having been in the hospitality industry myself, I can be quite picky. The waiting staff were attentive, polite and knowledgeable. Available when we needed something but able to slip into the background when we wanted privacy.

We started with wine, we followed the advice of the waitress, white for me and red for my fiance. We were brought a starter of Ciabata and a dip made from oil and Pomegranate syrup. Then on to the entrees – it was difficult to choose as there were many I would have liked to try but was limited to the size of my stomach! We shared a Warm Lamb Salad ($15), which disappeared in less than 5 minutes!

Mains time – I LOVE duck and order it whenever we go out. I can’t even remember what the duck breast came with but the meal was very well presented and the duck was cooked to perfection! My Fiance had the steak something – which was cooked to his liking and we even had enough to feed each other some of our meals

We ended our meal on a glass of port, we like to try new things and my fiance hadn’t had port before. This was another recommendation of the waitress.

The night cost about $115 for both of us. Overall a wonderful and romantic night.

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