Had a dinner special at Besos Latinos for $28!! It included a glass of spectacular Argentine wine, a beef dish, salad and an appetizer. What a great deal for dinner and to top it off it was truly delicious; lots of flavor yet simple. Finished the meal off with a mouthwatering Flan (Mexican Custard with Caramel dessert).
Very authentic food from the heart and the decor is spot on-really takes you back on a journey to Latin America.
Can’t wait to go back and try their lunch specials.

Finally some proper South American food in Auckland!

Gracias por todo!
Muchos besos!

Had a great time there last night…went with a group of 8 and shared a wide range of dishes which were all exceptional….fresh, vibrant and diverse. Really enjoyed the staff who were attentive, relaxed and really keen to make sure we had a good time.

The venue itself is superb – feels really authentic.

Hadn’t been to Elliot Stables before, but will definately be back.

Shockingly bad value, utterly substandard quality. $18 for a small plate of beans, a few corn chips, a tiny amount of salsa, guacamole, sour cream, a few bits of meat at least one of which was a chunk of gristle, and grated carrot to give it some colour is not up to standard. Places like this are the reason Mexican food has such a bad name in NZ.

Not moderate price range at all, $34 mains, and expensive underwhelming starter platters. Food was nice, but not at that price.

We went to Besos Latinos last night to celebrate my birthday, I had seen photos of it online the place matches every pic we saw, it is beautiful made me feel as if I was in Mexico! How ever, the service was shocking!! We were seated imedietly but waited 20 minutes before we were even asked what we would line to drink! And this was only beacuse we had asked for a waiter ! Drinks took another 20min and the food took an extra hour ! Beacuse according to are waitress they were busy ! Still not good enough ! Startes were over over priced and extremely small ! Salsa was tasteless I would get a better one from a store! We ordered the pandeja paisa a Colombian dish a d coming from a Colombian backround letme just say, did no justicie ! Their platter are small and you have to order a minimum of 2 people , but really is only for one person , bit Hey How Will they make money if they dont convince you it’s for 2 people big dissapointment!!! We were offered water at the end of our meal but no water glasses ! Service was horrible!!!! Manager didn’t seem worried about it, we would get better service in McDonalds ! Food was average and experience was extremely dissapointing ! The only thing in their favor is the decor and atmosphere ! I will never go back there and will make sure know one I know will spend their money there !

I had my 29th b day on Friday night in Besos Latinos and we LOVED IT !!!! such a great ambient.

The service was great it wasn’t extra pro but they tried their best witch was really nice to see.The waiters are young people that need more training but smile on their face and great communication made all of that less relevant .Restaurant manager was doing a great job as she made her self visible but didn’t hover over her team ( sometimes managers tend to hover over the team and then make them even more nervous causing them to make entire service tense experience )

There was a live music during the whole dinner .
It was really nice surprise to see whole restaurant singing happy b day song at the end of the night and I even get to blow the candles on my cake .Honestly I ve been out for my b day in nice restaurants but this was the first time i felt it was really special as the band played and staff all came out making it very personal !

food was amazing I am not sure what the other reviews were all about but I think most of these people have never eaten in ethic restaurants and don’t really now what to expect .This is the place in Auckland were you enter and you feel like you are in somewhere in Latin America everything is authentic even the staff ,it is not fine dinning ( as that is not Latin cuisine in first place ) it is true mix of tastes while keeping it simple.Portions are measured just fine ,we had 4 guys and 4 girls and we were all full at the end of the night( we had Mexican platters and nachos )

Great job team Besos Latinos you got your self 8 ppl that will come back for more and at least 20 others that will come after we recommend you to our friends and family !!!!

And thank you for making my b day experience great !!! despite the fact it was Friday 13 th . Besos

Service was a bit slow, had to remind waiters of drinks ordered a couple times, but the food was great!!!

If you are looking for a great Latino American restaurant with atmosphere to match,then Besos Latinos is “The Place” where you should go.
As soon as we entered the restaurant our table was suitably set for the birthday celebration along with sombrero’s for each of our guest to participate in the joyous occasion.
Cecilia our waitress welcomed us with the traditional greetings “Buenos Dias” and attended our requests all evening , always with a beautiful smile.
The Argentinean empanadas and also Argentinean red wines and beers! suitably fitting with the atmosphere of the night.
I would recommend anyone wanting to be taken on this journey to “The Latin Americas” should go have the experience because you won’t regret it.. from the very beginning till you leave you will be enchanted by the dancing on a Thursday, music, atmosphere, traditional food, wine & beer and the customer service.
Well done Louis & Cecilia on your achievement’s in making this experience to life in New Zealand! I will be back soon
Gracias!Chau! Kathryn Lovelidge

The food was amazing and service excellent. All the atmosphere in the restaurant is very good.All the best for the owner and chef

Wondering where to celebrate my friend B-day around the city I found the unimaginable! Inside of the well know Elliott Stables is a fantastic hide space where is set a Latin restaurant.
As a 1st impression you can really feel the Latin style. My friends and I decide to explore more and try a different option this time. We’ve been sitting beside a rustic fountain at the center of the floor the place is quite big, colorful and I believe is a casual cool concept, service was great, we try a Mexican Platter for 4 (19p/p) and then we all try different Latin dishes from Argentina, Cuba and Chile, I choose a tender and tasty Cuban style prawns that were amazing! We sip a big glasses of Margaritas and finish the night with a impressive Happy B-day in Spanish sung by the staff. Highly recommended if you are looking for a great and different experience. * no easy to park you have to look options at sky cinema or Victoria car park.

JUst fabulous! If you are looking for authentic (not tex mex) southern american food then this is it. The restaurant is in the back corner of the Elliott Stables and the service is pleasant and not too fussy
The food is created with the real passion that only comes from a committed professional; chef.
Well done. i hope you are as successful as your food is good. AAA

This is one of the best places to eat. i enjoyed the food, service and the decor of the place. They need a 5 star rating. Luis and his entire team take care of you from start to finish. i will recommend this place to anybody who wants to try different food.

*Romantic settings. It was a beautiful restaurant.
*Live Latin music was fantastic (Friday night only, apparently) *The best Margarita Ive ever had in my life! *food tasted great

*Serving size is too small!! Over priced. They should either put down the price for the size or make them bigger. We had 3 prawns sitting on some rice for $34. We would love to go back there for Margarita and some nibbles.

We came here with a group of friends last month and tried the menu that offered a little taste of every country in South America. Service was great – we found the staff to be both friendly and helpful. However, I felt that the food was pretty much average. I’ve only been to Mexico, so I can only speak with limited knowledge here. To me, the dishes had the same ‘base flavour’ – so despite it being Cuban or Argentina or whatever, it didn’t matter to me as they tasted the same. Perhaps I’m a bit of a Philistine when it comes to food appreciation, but this is my experience.
The quantity was so-so, I’ve observed that they reduced the price of the menu that offers a taste of every country. So I think price-wise, you shouldn’t be judging your experience based on quantity but taste.
Despite the food being an average experience, the impeccable friendly service made up for it – so that’s always a crowd pleaser.

I find a bit unfair that a lot of obviously friends of the owner gather here to write good reviews to level up the average rating of the restaurant. However I am going to write my own critique to give people an idea of what to expect from this restaurant.
I am going to start by presentation, my experience started with very nice and friendly staff ready to take the order as soon as I sat down. First thing I noticed was that the place is very nice, it is comfortable and very authentic. They had hired a live duet that sung authentic latin music while i was there. The menu came, I started doubting the experience when I saw the fact that the menu had very poor presentation, however I told myself it is not important since It is all about the food. I ordered the entrees, ( I must say that I’ve been to Mexico, Argentina, Guatemala and Chile and tried all of these dishes before) I ordered the chilean tamales, and the empanadas. The first thing I noticed when they came was presentation, they were very beautiful and look delicious, however I couldn’t believe my eyes on the size. I basically paid 12 dollars for almost a supermarket sized bite. The empanadas were not what i expected since I have tried empandas in Mexico and argentina and they are totally different from each other and they never specified this on the menu. I must say I got really scared since everything was so tiny that I stood up paid and went to eat at another place. I had 2 drinks and two bite size samples for 50 dolars. With all the regret I must say it is not very pleasant to pay so much for simple food one can achieve at home for an eight of the price.

It is a nice and exclusive latin american corner.

I went to Besos Latinos with my brother last night and my first impression was that it felt I was in a colonial street somewhere in latin america. The environment was amazing. Good music, friendly staff and colourful decorations.
Then… we sat down and ordered. The service was efficient and the food was great! good serving size, fresh ingredients and very nice wine selection.
The restaurant must be advertised more, because it is really good..!

We had a great night here before a show. Lovely atmosphere, great service and lovely Malbec and Pisco Sours! Only two of the food items were disappointing.
For $16 the Queso Asado al Sésamo is a rip off with very tiny pieces of haloumi being served on a small salad.
Also having been to Bolivia there is nothing really Bolivian about that salad.
The rest of the food was great! I’d just suggest the entrees are too expensive for what you get.

What a good place, I loved the decoration, music and excellent service, not to mention the food, they serve the best ceviche in town and the arracheras are fantastic. This is probably the only place in NZ that cooks the tortillas just when you order them. My wife order the latin american culinary tour, highly recomended, very tasty and affordable. I am definitely coming back!!

I went with my husband on a Friday night. The restaurant is in a hidden corner and it’s a bit hard to find. However it is a beautiful place with nice settings. We ordered the ceviche and pato taco for starters. The pato taco was really yummy. For mains, we ordered the fish and the prawn. My fish was cooked nicely with delicious rice. The prawn dish was a bit dear for it’s presentation. Overall, I liked the presentation of all dishes. They were clean and creative. It is not a cheap place to eat though.

I would struggle to give this restaurant even one star but I had to to put this review in. I was very surprised to see such positive reviews on here at all!

I had the unfortunate experience recently of being part of a large group that dined at this restaurant – I have never felt compelled to write a review but the evening was so bad I felt I had to warn other diners.

Once we were seated at 7.30pm, it took well over half an hour to even get some water to the table or be even given menus, then over another half an hour to get any drinks ordered or our food orders to be taken. Other diners came in while we were waiting and were seated and fed and had left before we were even allowed to order our meals!! There were no table nibbles available to order during the wait, breads, corn chips or anything like that would have at least filled some time in but no, and when it took another hour or so to serve entrees alone, you can imagine we had a pretty hungry frustrated (and somewhat bored!) lot of people. When we finally got the mains after literally hours of sitting there, the food was less than ok so was very disappointing. I had the fish and it was half cold and didn’t taste very fresh so I was nervous about eating it despite being starving at this point.

We were the only customers in the restaurant by 9.30pm and we still hadn’t eaten and were still getting no service. Needless to say when we finally ate it was about 10.30pm and noone was interested in sticking round to order dessert! All in all an absolutely appalling night, would have to be the worst experience I’ve had dining in Auckland, AWFUL service, dubious food, lacking menu and I would never ever return to this restaurant and I doubt the other 20 or so people I was with would either, ruined what was meant to be a great evening out. Very disappointing.

With such great reviews on here I expected more than we got on Friday night. We had a Grab One voucher which entitled us to a $50 spend and were really looking forward to something a bit different. As per the norm with these vouchers we mentioned it when booking and then again when we arrived. We were seated in what I would describe as a very nice space – great ambience, with a pretty lighting and a central fountain. The music was a good level for conversation and added to the atmosphere, and the service was smiling and attentive. Menus were fetched along with a Special Deal which gave one a selection of entrees, mains and a salad with a glass of wine for $35. It was pointed out to us that if we were to order it however it would be $45 because we were using a voucher. My husband ordered the empanadas for his entree which clearly stated on the menu consisted of 2. When they came out there was 1. We watched a nearby table receive their’s – and they got 2. Clearly they were not using a voucher! As mains we ordered the two steak dishes on the menu. My husband had Alambre de Arrachera – Traditional marinated Flank Steak Grilled with, bacon, peppers, onion, field mushrooms and Kapiti Edam Cheese. It was priced at $34 on the menu. When it came it was a very small serving of what was mostly rice, with a tiny amount of steak finely chopped through it and the salad which was extra. He thought it tasted ok but was left really feeling hungry as it was such a small serving. I had the Arrachera Norteña y papa horno – Mexican grilled flank Steak marinated with oregano, thyme, garlic and salt served with oven stuffed potato, artisanal handmade corn tortilla and Charro Beans which was $32 on the menu. The meat was very tasty but again not much of it – although more than my husband got for sure! The accompaniment was some chopped panfried potato – not the stuffed potato on the menu and the beans & corn chips were a tiny dish on the side – about 4 chips and a smattering of mild flavoured beans in a light tomato sauce. We ended with desserts as we were still quite hungry and these were fine but I suspect bought in. All in all, I feel that it represented terrible value for money – and there were deliberate attempts to “level the score” regarding our use of the voucher – hence the lack of one empanada and the tiny amount of steak. This is crazy! Establishments offer these vouchers to tempt diners into their restaurants – clearly something that has really taken off in the city – it’s just like spending money on advertising – and then to deliver substandard fare and tell you you have to pay a premium because you have a voucher is ridiculous. They have a chance to impress and gain a regular client but instead, as in this case, only succeed in assuring we won’t be back. So silly. We have been to other restaurants that have really wowed us with their service and food when using a voucher – restaurants new to us – and we are now regulars. THAT’S how the vouchers work – the restaurant takes a hit the first time – gets you through their door and IMPRESSES so much you tell all your friends and you return again and again! Not really rocket science.

I went there for the first time last night. It was amazing, the atmosphere, the outlay of the restaurant, the staff….

The food was amazing….the service 5 stars….The staff were amazing.

Thank you for the great evening.

Besos Latinos is “The Latin-American Restaurant in Auckland”. I have worked along side with Chef Luis Cabrera and I can say He is an enthusiastic chef in pursuit of excellence when designing a dish. you don’t need to worry about food when Luis is in charge of the kitchen. I am 100% sure he is going to overtake your expectations!!
This restaurant got the warm atmosphere similar to the one you can get in Latin America, and for me this is the touch and difference from Other Latin restaurants.
Service is very friendly and almost personalized, always with a smile and good service attitude.

Thanks for the lovely food and service.
this restaurant is 100% recommendable.

Saludos!!

Gaston.

Besos Latinos is a true Latin restaurant, owned by Latin American people that want to share our culture.
I just got to NZ three days ago after a long trip from Mexico, and some Filipino friends told me about this place and took me to the restaurant. I would never have found it by myself… It’s a bit hidden, but once you know about it you’ll feel like never going anywhere else.
The food is great, the price is reasonable and the staff is very friendly.
My comments:
The restaurant seems a bit exclusive and expensive, which is great, but during lunch times there should be some “student meals” with affordable Price’s. This might attract students that like southamerican culture. I will definitely come here if it had student meals at lunch time, and if I had a date, this will be the perfect place to spend my money at dinner time.
The food can easily be compared with the great food made in southamerica…! in my case, I’m Mexican, I know about Mexican food!!
I’d say next time you eat on a southamerican restaurant outside latinamerca, compare it with Besos Latinos, if it’s as good as Besos then you could say it’s southamerican food. If it wasn’t as good as Besos Latinos then it was “tex-mex”… which is cheap and just OK food.
Overall, an excellent restaurant with possibilities to be even better.

I took my mum to Besos Latinos for her birthday. We are both Mexican immigrants in NZ and have been waiting for 5 years to find an authentic Latin flavour at a a restaurant. Moreover, the quality was excellent; not your usual Californian version of Latin food, the one that makes us think of take-aways and cheap meals. This is a restaurant that is here to show NZ that Latin food can be an all-rounded experience. That it can be gourmet food. My mum and I ordered a dish from the Mexican selection and another from the Cuban selection- and we got more than value for money! Even though we were full and extremely happy with our meal, we found the strength to squeeze in some dessert: flan. A Mexican custard dish that had us filled with nostalgia for our country. Thank you, Besos Latinos, not only for giving us a piece of home, but for doing so with style.

We thought the food was EXCELLENT! We had a wonderful evening. Friendly and efficient staff, hot cocktails and delicious food. The atmosphere was lovely and the Latin dancing set the mood. A wonderful Valentines – thank you so much!!

WOW ! what a fantastic place. The decor is superb and the food even better. Cant quite remember the name of the meal i had, but basically it was mexican style beef and it was awesome. With a couple of glasses of some superb Argentinian wine, an outstanding ceviche, the night was a winner. Fantastic hostess in Ceci, and Chef Luis make for a friendly, relaxed place to sample some authentic South American cuisine. (i’ll be enjoying that bottle of wine shortly!) Two Thumbs Up !

I was recommended to try this restaurant because I was looking for an authentic Latin American restaurant in Auckland. Besos Latinos did not disappoint. They have an interesting menu with authentic dishes and the decor fits perfectly as well. The staff were friendly, enthusiastic and helpful.

just a fantastic place where to go! the food and service is amazing and the atmosphere great…
expect me to be coming back soon!!

thanks so much for a great evening.

My partner and I were looking for a real latinoamerican place where we could enjoy the same food we have at home, yes we are latinoamericans and we are from Argentina!!!
As soon as we entered the restaurant Cecilia welcomed us with a big smile and these two beautiful words “Buenos Dias” we sat down and started to read the menu and wine list… they had all we needed..homemade Argentinean empanadas and also Argentinean wines and beers! We also had taco pato and Arrachera nortena both Mexican plates and it was delicious! For dessert we had flan which is like a cream caramel and for whoever know what Dulce de leche is… believe it they have it!
As a latinoamerican person I hardly recommend you to come and try it because you won’t regret it.. from the very beginning till you leave you will be enchanted by the music, decoration, food and customer service!
Hope you like it! Gracias chicos y volvere!!! Chau!!!