We had two parties at Ascension last week for my mother’s 80th birthday; one on Thursday for about 25 friends and one on Saturday for around 30 family members. On Thursday we waited over an hour for the entree to arrive, people were getting fidgetty and my parents were getting a little anxious. On Saturday I mentioned to the waitress what had happened on Thursday and could they please make sure the entree arrived in good time. More than an hour later, my 83 year-old father, who had planned the whole event and was looking forward to it so much, was sitting with his head in his hands saying he felt ashamed that his guests were still waiting for their food. The children were starving. The food, when it arrived, was rather good and the waitresses tried their best but the manager clearly had no idea how to organise and hold a function. Never again.

Eaten here a few times. Had a lovely quick lunch by the fire a couple of weeks ago. It was a really nice atmosphere, very cosy. Service was ok. Had pork belly which was melt-in-the-mouth amazing.

Went to a pre-booked birthday party outside on the patio. It was fab. The setting, the food and the service. Would go again any day!

One of the most overrated Restaurants I have ever eaten at, to start with no seasonings for the Tomato Juice, no Raspberry for the kids drinks and we had to wait twenty minutes until I went to the bar and ordered the drinks myself. When my food arrived my Pasta had human hair in it so I sent it back. I was offered another but why would you? The wine was pleasant but very small servings even though the prices were up there with prices at around $12.50 per glass.

My wife had the duck which at $36 for lunch was very average ( Her first choice was not available ) and well overpriced, we will not return here again.

Myself and my family had lunch at Ascension on the Saturday of Labour week end, although we did not have a booking and the place was packed, we were able to have a table.
We had to wait for it, about 10-15 minutes, during that time we were offered a complimentary wine tasting in Cellar Door, what a great service.
Once at the table, we were greeted by a lovely waitress “Margo” who explained the specials for the day and offered us water.
The full Ascension experience, from the moment we entered to the moment we left was fantastic.
We truly enjoyed food, service and the wines were yummy.

Highly recommend the place

Upon arrival we were greeted by a friendly maitre’d and seated in the almost empty interior of the restaurant – the outside area was buzzing and looked like the place to be for those in the know. Our waitress arrived and immediately started to recite the specials… and then froze in horror with an obvious mindblank! She managed to recover and give the specials accurately, though her mispronunciation of ‘gnocchi’ made us hide slightly pretentious grins. She also made a spot of a faux pas in serving a dessert wine in a chardonnay glass (and in a chardonnay quantity), though hardly a mistake to complain about! New waiters who are a little unsure on their feet is just part of a restaurant deal, but this young lady didn’t have the spark or smile to pull it off, making for some uncomfortable moments.

The food was great, although perhaps not quite as inspiring as at the nearby Tapiana’s. I had the calamari fritter entree – an interesting take on an entree menu mainstay, although a sauce with a little more zing (and quantity) would’ve helped. She had the gnocchi with a blue cheese sauce – wonderfully rich and flavoursome, with light and fluffy gnocchi – a dish that can easily become stodgy. We shared the trio of desserts – the caramel pudding and the lime tart were absolutely amazing, although I thought the white choc mousse wasn’t very exciting (she loved it though).

The portions are small and expensive-ish, but that’s part of the deal in upper-level restaurants. 3 star review reflects the n00b waitress’s performance – would otherwise be four.

Dined at Ascension on Fathers day, 4 of us arrived without booking the place was packed. by saying that, great food and fantastic service, worth it every penny.

Our family drove 80 minutes to meet friends at a venue we thought would make for a great night out. The car park was full as the winery was hosting a wedding. The setting was overlooking the neatly trimmed rows of grapes (picturesque) but our experience was so disappointing I have decided to share my experience in the hope one persons view may make a difference. My lasting memory is waiting for meagre rations and then disbelief, total disbelief. We waited for the breads (thought a glass of wine and some breads in the courtyard would be a pleasant why to start the evening); we waited for the table to be set (albeit we had booked); we waited for the entrees and mains to arrive (“chefs busy doing the wedding”) fortunately the children’s main arrived prior to our entree but their burger was the size of our entrée (the managers response “what do you expect for $8”); our entrée was a surprise too, for the word patties on the menu translated to patty on the plate; we were told they were out of vegetables due to no delivery in a couple of days and then came the disbelief. When we complained about the slow service, meagre rations and no vegetables (albeit mysteriously roast potato, kumara, cold radish and carrot were served) we were told we were the only unhappy diners, ‘Yeah Right’. The manager’s response; I will give you a maximum discount of 25%. We were told 25% was generous and we were the only ones receiving this level of discount when we challenged with it being an OK minimum. We were the only ones again, ‘Yeah Right!’ The total disbelief came when we went to pay, as it was 25% off the full amount of the ‘dishes’. On the menu it clearly states $47 if you have both the entrée and main (we did) but the 25% was taken off the individual price. The manager said it was only a difference of $8. I now need a Speight’s, my friend is embarrassed he even suggested the place and all we want to do is go home. My recommendation unless you are stuck in traffic on the road from Matakana and simply want to ‘stretch your legs’ around a winery keep going and stop at the ice cream shop in Warkworth for Burger and Chips.