Myself and a group of friends eat here regularly. This is a top notch restaurant with excellent food. The staff are very friendly and attentive without being excessive or intrusive. The menu is upgraded regularly and there is always something on special if you want something a bit different. I highly recommend this restaurant.

We had Mother’s Day there with 6 family members, the service was great and the variety for breakfast was amazing, we were there last year as well and they accommodate for all types. We will be back again and will look to come for dinner next time, the atmosphere in the restaurant is great and never seems loud, it is decorated modestly and suits the restaurant.

8 of us had lunch here today. The food quality and presentation, combined with the friendliness and efficiency of the staff, made our visit to Black Sugar Grill one of the most pleasurable experiences we have had in a long time. We eat at many different places but this one is a sure fire winner and we will definitely be returning.
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Dined here last night. It was our first time and we’ll sure be back for many more occasions! The food are all well priced and have generous serving. I was especially surprised with the serving size of their lamb rack – it’s one of my favourite dish and I always get it when available. I usually pay about $40 for it and only get a small portion but Black Sugar Grill’s lamb rack is nearly half the price with double serving size! The staff are all friendly and very attentive. Definitely recommend!

I have been to Black Sugar Grill a few times and the food and service are always excellent.

I booked our gym group in of 22 last week – we had a set menu which had lots of choices on it.

Again the food and service were excellent. We had one member that had some special dietary requirements and they went out of their way to accomodate these.

I was dealing with Shiva online when making the booking and also on the night – he does a great job of ensuring everything is perfect – thanks Shiva!

We have enjoyed several meals at BS and every occasion has been splendid. Nothing to add to previous reviews.

This site annoys me. I don’t need tomsaynany more. I will use Dine smart from now on.

This is was our second visit to Black Sugar Grill. I like the fact parking is provided, its BYO , it has great ambience (you are not cheek by jowl)and the wait staff are very attentive. But the food is the star here. I had a delicious fish dish (as did my husband), and our two friends enjoyed steak and salmon dishes – the servings were very generous and there was no food left on our plates. We went on to dessert as well – feijoa fritters , and rhubarb and apple crumble were rather delicious. A great evening and a place I highly recommend

This is the best Mission Bay eatery. Brien the owner is across it all. Food is fresh and kind of modern bistro. The service is very pleasant and Shiva our regular waiter is a pleasure to chat to. The wine list could be better but it covers the basics. Steaks are always very consistent.

Black Sugar Grill well worth the visit. Great food and brilliant hosts. Will be heading back soon.

I went to Black Sugar a couple of weeks back, and it was really impressive. The food is one of those surprising things where it may look small-ish, but it will most definitely fill you up.

The staff are excellent, the quality of food to match, and the setting is like no other.

I really like the place.

Anyone thinking of going to Black Sugar Grill, should pick up the phone and BOOK NOW… This place is awesome. I have been dining at this restaurant for some years now, and every time I go, i have a delicious meal, fantastic service, only restaurant in my area that is BYO, and the prices are realistic.Credit to the owners for running a great restaurant. You need to book early as this restaurant is in high demand. I have dined over the years for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the high standard is always there. Congratulations Black Sugar Grill… You have the right ingredients for a fantastic enjoyable evening…keep it up..

Have been here before and previously ( 3 months ago)it was good. It seems clear the chef has changed. Last night we ordered the French onion soup. What was delivered can only be described as ‘ grey congealed goop’. The seafood chowder was bland and the steak with 4 types of mushrooms was served with some type of instant packet gravy.
The service was slow, they appeared understaffed….the blond girl that served us appeared to be the only one doing any real work… The rest seemed to be hanging around. $280 for 4 with 2 glasses of wine….much better places to eat for the money.

I had a 91yr old client with me, the staff could not have been more helpful. Food was excellent, have been trying to get back to do the same again, but keep choosing the wrong day, Monday and public holiday, both of which you have been closed

I was one of a group who went to the Grill on a recent Saturday night. The set menu was well designed and we all enjoyed the food, the ambiance and the service. In fact we were pleasantly surprised when our meals came to us even after we changed seats !! For the price I would have appreciated more vegetables on the plate – and a potato that looks like one – not like a pear!

A real pity the lamb failed to make the menu. The desserts came in small tubs but were ample and very tasty. In that area we were glad to find parking above the restaurant and out the back ! A good touch.

All in all a great night out !

I can see why people keep going back and become regulars. We had a fantastic night all my friends loved it and want to go back. Great food and great service and the restaurant has a fantastic lay out very open. Thanks for a great night see you again soon!

Excellent food and wine, excellent staff and service, very reasonable prices, and it even has a BYOW option – tough to beat! I’ve only ever been for dinner but have done this on numerous occassions and have always been very impressed.

I went there on my birthday with a group of eight, we all had a great experience, friendly attentive staff, fabulous menu and choice of food, Lamb was delicious, deserts to die for especially the licorice buree, I will definitely be back again.

I am now quite the regular at Black Sugar Grill and can honestly say I have never had a bad meal
From the Soup to the Steak to the lovely staff, this is one restaurant you should experience.
Not over the top, just really nice food and staff.
Keep up the great work!

Excellent value for money. It is a very popular place and you need to book way ahead. Service great and highly recommend. Keep going back all the time. The calamari, scallops, lamb and desserts are lovely.

We have dined at Black Sugar a few times now, mainly for lunch. We have been in twice for dinner in the last month or so and we have really enjoyed it. The service is exceptional and the food is amazing, the restaurant has such a comfortable atmosphere. The scallops are awesome and it is always so hard to decide what to eat as there are so many great choices. We live a bit further away from Mission Bay, but it’s always well worth the trip! Thank you Brian and your friendly team for a wonderful evening, we will be back before Christmas, if we can get a table.

After having a brunch there last Sunday that was so good we returned for dinner. Even better! I had the calamari which was beautifully presented and tasty. My fiance had the salmon starter which comes with a little savoury panna cotta. We licked the little glass clean – this should be an option with other dishes it is so good. For mains I went with the fish – melty and soft with a creamy sauce that did not overpower. The mashed potato pear was smooth and perfect to soak up the sauce. I loved mine so much I asked if I could take my fiance’s home as he had a side of fries with his steak. His mushroom sauce was just as delicious as his tender meat. We shared dessert of strawberries in warm pastry. Heaven. Highly recommended. The Christmas staff menu looks excellent and reasonable too.

This is the best eating experience we have had in a long while. We live quite a way from the restaurant but after being encouraged (or nagged!) by friends who eat there at least twice a month we decided to do the drive. Tender scallops and a salmon dish (accompanied by a savory panna cotta that is divine) set us up for perfectly cooked mains. Hubby had the fillet with mushrooms which he pronounced the best and my duck was delicious. We asked for time between courses so we could find room for the brulee and I tried the strawberry dessert. The desserts are reason alone to return. Extremely attentive staff and a bill that did not kill the bank balance – thanks D for the recommendation. Will be back and back and back!

All we can say is Wow. This place is well deserving of all the great reviews and we will be making our Christmas staff lunch bookings knowing we will have a fantastic meal. The combinations on the menu are fantastic and we licked our platters clean. Really too full for dessert but could not resist the chance to check they were as good as the mains. Absolutely perfect creme brulee and my wife loved her strawberry dish. Definitely worth a visit.

keith 29/9/2012
We celebrated a surprise birthday with 28 guests. The service from the outset was impeccable. We also had a person with an illness in our party. It was amazing to see what lengths they went to, to accommodate him. I fully recommend Black Sugar grill for fine dining. The food was excellent and the staff amazing. Thank you Black Sugar Grill for a night we all enjoyed and would definitely love to repeat.

The food, ambience, waiting staff and owner all made for a most enjoyable night. My only niggle was perhaps that it could have been pointed out that one side salad between 2 of us was ample, instead of each of us ordering one and therefore wasting good food.

The special lunch menu of $18 was very good value for money and had a wide selection of choices. The service was excellent. It is the second time we have visited this establishment and we would definitely go again.

This is my first review and I am so glad I am able to report we had a totally fantastic night at Black Sugar. We were a large party celebrating an anniversary and from start to finish we had a great evening. The food was outstanding, the service excellent and the atmosphere fun and welcoming. Thank you Black Sugar staff one and all. To Aucklanders and visitors give it a try. You will not be sorry. Yummy, yummy food.

I have to agree with the minority on this place. I was with large party, booked a week before, by a local. We were poorly cared for.

I speak from 35yrs of experience in the hospitality industry

We arrived on time at 7.00, and nothing happened for us from the start. Nothing was offered except for wine and other alcoholic drinks,and a minimal amount of nibbles and bread ( with dips )- ( and we had to ask )

Nearly two hours after we had arrived, I approached the owners . I had noticed that everyone else, who had arrived subsequent to ourselves, had been served before us; many into their deserts ( while we had nothing )Maybe 10 0r 12 people in all.

Those two owners ( both at the restaurant ) knew they had done the wrong thing, as soon as they saw me coming. Talk about squirm, and wriggle, and lie. Excuses were made, meals promised, but you could see them sweat, while I made my point. I didnt raise my voice, but I did tell them they should be ashamed of what they had done to our two tables

No explanations, no communication, no apology, just cynical exploitation.

My partner and I left and went to Newmarket where we ate, instead.

It has taken me a while to place this. The owners will remeber me, and my criticism. I have not had the time to review it earlier.
I am not vindictive, but this place was just so bad, I just felt that all the reviews saying how great it was, needed some sort of balance.. Most praise it, including our local friend, who booked us in. But believe me, this is not a place to dine with any confidence….especially if it’s going to be the first time.
Leave it to the locals

The service is very average. The front line staff are poorly informed on both the wine and the menu. They are reluctant to engage properly, and add nothing to the experience
These are the plain facts.

Thanks for ruining a lovely evening Black Sugar Grill.

A very enjoyable evening the food was great, the selection on the menu suited everyones taste & the service was excellent. To cap off a great night the bill was a pleasant surprise very good value for money. We will definitely be returning.

Beautiful meals and A++ service!! Their eggs bene is one of the best I’ve tried and I’ve tried ALOT in my time!! We are always gauranteed a wonderful dining experience at Black Sugar Grill. Highly recommend to everyone

My colleagues/friends try to go at least monthly for a catch-up lunch. We have always found the service and food excellent, and the staff welcoming and helpful. Their special lunch menu has a good range of meals to select from, and never fails in presentation or quality.

Great meal. Service excellent. Great value for money.Plenty of choice in the menu. Have been several times before and never disappointed. Pays to book.

Sally

We were a large group of 15 doing the $18.00 lunch menu for a birthday, the service was excellent even though the restaurant was full, they went the extra mile for the person whos birthday it was, the food was delicious and great value for money. We will definitely be back.

Went for Brunch on an impulse as we got a park outside. It far exceeded our expectations. Great food and value. Will be returning with others to share the experience.

I thought the food was very average and expensive for what it was. I spent $300.00 for four people (we took our own wine) and feel we could have had a great meal at one of Auckland’s nicer restaurants for this cost but the BYO option was great. The staff were nice and friendly, the restaurant was warm and cozy but the food was nothing special so not being a local to the area I would choose to not go back.

Yes, having dined at Black Sugar many times it was my pleasure to introduce a group of 14 others to the restaurant. As usual the food, service, value for money was excellent. However, after an encounter with one of the owners about parking on the rooftop, I am very reluctant to go there again. I suggest the staff could politely ask diners once seated “has anyone parked on the roof today? And if so please register your car with one of our staff”. Not hard and certainly not experiencing the rude encounter we had-spoiling our day. Hence my rating is not an indication of food and service but overall feeling.

All we can say is wow! After dining the night before at one of Auckland’s more expensive restaurants we were blown away by how fabulous this restaurant is at such reasonable prices. The food is divine with portions that are filling. That is if you can bear to dig into the food as it is so beautifully presented. My husband could not stop raving about the steak and my fish was melt in the mouth delicious. We squeezed in desserts because we wanted to see if they matched the rest of the food. They did and the pannacotta was the best I have had in a long while. Fun, friendly service that showed attention to detail topped off a great night out. We will be back.

Walked into this restaurant upon reading all the reviews on here. I was not dissappointed. Something really juts clicks at this establishment. Calamari starter was great, had interesting flavour and look just perfectly cooked- and it was. Chicken for my main and it was a LARGE portion. My partner and I are sick of having most of the plate staring at us when we order a meal- not here. A great plate of well cooked, tasty food with just that little bit of something special about it. All washed down with a couple of Peronis and the night couldnt get any better.

I would strongly reccommend this great restaurant to anyone and everyone. My colleagues at work have been told to visit!

Our school regularly uses this restaurant for our staff functions and celebrations. The menu has a variety of interesting choices and the food is always delicious. A few weeks ago we took overseas visitors there for dinner and the service and food were both excellent. Everyone left the restaurant having enjoyed a great evening out. If you are looking for good food, beautifully served at reasonable prices then you can’t do better. Thank you from the teachers at Michael Park.

Seriously? I can’t understand all the good reviews. This is the yardstick for bad restaurants in Auckland. The setup is cold, the service is average and the food is disappointing. The restaurants tries to be classy but fails miserably. There is the occasional nice touch but overall you get the impression that the staff are completely out of their depth and in no way can justify the menu descriptions or the prices charged. A fried pear shaped potato with every meal? How is that supposed to work? The meat was badly cooked and the ingredients were badly matched. If you want a good meal in mission bay, just go to “the attic” which is consistently excellent.

Lovely place, great food with friendly, attentive service without being intrusive. Reasonable prices and the $18 lunch menu including a glass of wine is great value.
Have thoroughly enjoyed both lunch and dinner here and will definately return on our next visit from Sydney.

Will return again (and again)! Our party of six had different starters and mains so we could try a range. All were so delicious it was hard to share. Make sure you leave room for the most delicious deserts. Topped with great service and reasonable prices which made a great evening out.

Excellent food and a nice relaxed ambience. Will be becoming a regular.

Great place to eat. Have eaten there on a couple of occasions. Once in a group of 16+ – they handled it very well and we expected the orders to take a little longer to arrive than normal, and again in a group of 5. Meals are great! Will be going back.

Followed these guys from New Lynn where we and our friends always enjoyed excellent dining . Consistently good service– always excellent , Black Sugar is a superb location and things have just got better. Highly recommended. Wouldn’t miss our Sunday breakfasts.Cherie, Brian and Errol and all staff a big thankyou.

R & S

The service at this place is very good. Both front man and waitress made dining there a pleasure which is why I gave an extra star. The surroundings were better than average and a nice ambience.
One of the things I particularly liked was that the music wasn’t loud so we could have a conversation without straining which often happens in eating places. The meals were a generous portion and presented well. My partner enjoyed the pork dish.
I had the veal dish which was really bland and tasteless. It also had the appearance of being reheated and the frying of the meat seemed to taste stale. I was disappointed as everything else at BS Grill was very good.

Hello Brian, Errol,Auntie and co.I am so looking forward to visiting your restaurant next weekend.From other reviews it obviously sounds like quite a lovely restaurant.So see you shortly. Love. Sue K.

A great restaurant and food been back three times in the month. Lunches are great value at $18 and the staff are so polite and a pleasure to talk to.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch which was amazing value. My dad loved his “Minute steak”, and I found my salmon dish to be succulent and tasty.
Great presentation, with a cute potato croquette in the shape of a pear served on the side! The only suggested improvement I can think of is that the croquette would have been even better if it was piping hot, but it had cooled a little by the time I tucked into it.

But what an enjoyable meal we had.
The main also came with a salad, plus we tucked into some delicious soft toasted garlic bread as an appetiser.
Totally Yum.

I couldn’t work out how they can do the whole lunch deal for only $18 each, and it included the garlic bread and wine/beer!

Service was spot on, the environment was comfortable, and dining as we did on a Wednesday, parking was close & plentiful.

Its great to see this restaurant return to BYO. We used to enjoy eating there when it was operating under its former name until they removed the BYO option. We will certainly be returning now to enjoy this eatery again, looking forward to it.

We have now been back to this BYO many times and it is consistently excellent in terms of quality of food, selection and service. It is right up there with Sails etc.

And being BYO it does not cost you an arm and a leg.

Is well worth the ride out for townies but for us locals it is excellent.

Excellent! The mochaccinos are the best in Auckland. The food is always fresh and tasty. Have been for breakfast, meals average $15-great value. Can’t wait to go for dinner- meals about $22-$28 and sound divine. Crab Ravioli with scallops, Crispy Pork Belly, Eye fillet…..Rhubarb Brulee a must have.

Went to Black Sugar Grill with the family for breakfast. Very family friendly. The staff really made our baby feel special. There was ample room for strollers and baby capsules.

I had a Turkish egg dish. It’s great to go to a restaurant that just doesn’t do the normal breakfast options. My wife had scrambled eggs with salmon. Both meals were brilliant.

After being away for a while it was wonderful to return to Black Sugar for a celebration dinner with my family. We were warmly welcomed and quickly settled with drinks and given good information on the menu and wine list. It was quite an adventure for the family to choose as the menu has so many tempting options. I sadly have special diet needs and my requests for variations to the menu were no problem and they went out of their way to look after me. The food was just as sublime as we remembered and the dessert menu makes it impossible to decline! The staff had just the right tone of service and good conversation. A reasonable bill means we can afford to return soon. Highly recommended.