A group of us came here for a celebratory lunch today as we liked the location/view.

Throughout the whole meal, we had to call the waitress at least three times before she came to our table. She even frowned at us then looked away to serve another table. Upon our request if we could change tables, before our food came out, the waitress coldly refused. Then a while later proceed to let another table move.

One of our side dishes (fried onions) came out with the spoon inside the food. We had to clean the spoon ourselves and asked for some paper towels, which the waitress flung onto our table and we had to clean up. The food was average. We ordered two of the lunch burger options as well as the peking duck, sashimi and several other options. The steak in the burger was overcooked, the sashimi poorly presented (thrown onto the plate) and overall the food was bland. Additionally, halfway through clearing up our table before dessert, she just stopped and we were left to wait.

Eventually, when we pointed out how rude they were being and how we were being constantly ignored, the waitress protested that she was doing her best… though would that explain things such as her frowning at our direction and why the food was being served with the cutlery thrown into the bottom of the food? When someone in our group pointed out she should make more of an effort with her service, she proceeded to verbally attack everyone dining personally and snapped at us about whether we had jobs and what type of jobs they were and walked away. No surprise that we ended up not having dessert here.

The food was definitely nice. I enjoyed my steak, nicely cooked and the sides were also really good – I recommend that you try the parsnips. However our friend had a complaint about his steak being not properly cooked, it got sent back to the chef and never came back?! Nor did he get an apology…I guess what the chef says, goes. We went there on a public holiday and paid their exorbitant 20% service fee, but the staff weren’t friendly, and certainly didn’t deserve the extra pay!
I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant (at least not the Auckland one).

This place was excellent from the minute we walked in the door we were treated like royalty. The food was outstanding and the waiting staff impeccable. My wife and I had one of the nicest experiences to date and after a terrible dining experience at another restaurant this was a breath of fresh air, first class, well done we will certainly be back…

This is not great value to begin with – good food, but expensive. Our waiter messed up our order resulting in our sides arriving after we’d finished our main. We got an apology but no discount on the bill. We won’t be going back.

Went here for Xmas Eve dinner this year and was pleasantly surprised! Staff were all so welcoming and friendly – willing to make a joke and go the extra mile. I am from the hospitality industry so this is high praise haha! The food was delicious – yes it’s expensive, and yes the servings aren’t the biggest, but it is a fine dining restaurant! I left feeling more than satisfied and would happily recommend this place to anyone. Obviously known for the steaks, but the fois gras is delish too, as are all the veges.
FANTASTIC!

Went there for a friends birthday.
Food was OK – nothing spectacular.
For what you got was expensive. If you order a piece of meat – that’s all you get. Extras for sauces, and portions were small.
Waiting staff were pleasant but for the money you pay you’re better off going somewhere else.

Christmas function for a large group.
At $260 a head (food and drink) we expected a bit more. We weren’t served our entrees till after 90 mins, not surprising when the average bottle at the cheap end is between $70-$90 and they wanted us to drink up so to speak. Many meals served to the wrong person with no real apology. Sure it’s Christmas and the place was frantic but 5 star prices deserve at least 4 star service.

Views are excellent no argument there. Probably would have gone 4 stars but the argument with the manager who simply didn’t care and offered no form gracefulness meant we will never be back.

(Review from visiting Aussie) I’ve been to Botswana Butchery in Queenstown more than once & it’s in my top 5 best restaurants of this type in the world (& I travel a lot and eat out often). I finally got a chance to try the new restaurant in Auckland this week & I was delighted! The food was sensational – in particular the slow roasted shoulder of lamb lived up to its reputation. Steaks were outstanding & sides were delectable. The wine list is excellent and wait staff made a great recommendation on the Pinot Noir. I don’t understand the bad reviews on the food for this restaurant as I found it on par with Queenstown. On top of this the service & staff were fantastic and looked after our group of 6 without a hitch. They even kept the bar open for us very late as we were the last to leave after many delightful after-dinner cocktails. We had a fantastic night and I’ll definitely be back!

Great views do not make up for the mediocre food.

Peking duck was beyond crispy, way overcooked. Foie gras was really unappealing in colour and appearance and disappointing in flavour. A side of potato croquettes was very bland, poor even, and the side of canned beetroot with a few pieces of feta plain lazy.

Very disappointed and would not return.

Forget the old reviews – The staff here are really good!!! and the food was amazing!!! It was my partner’s birthday (had not made this known when I made the booking) but she got a candle in her desert and the waiter sang happy Birthday. We were treated to brilliant service and waited for nothing. Recommend for a special occasion!!!! Only thing different to the Queenstown one is the view!!!

$32 for a slab of tuna (sides are extra) so pretty expensive but the service was the best I’ve had in a long time. Love the big armchairs too. What a treat!

I dined on Monday 9th July with a visitor from London. Lovely building and the service was nice and friendly but the dinner itself was disappointing. Sirlion for my guest was rather fatty so deemed ok, but hardly something for an overseas guest to rave about. I had the fillet with anchovy butter, which based on the taste, the anchovys’ must have been on school holidays. The sides of duck fat fries weren’t much better and the steamed vegetables were over steemed. I visited the toilets before I left which quite frankly were little better than a public toilet, rather than a high end restaurant, and pretty much a disgrace. All in all, pretty poor. After having dined in the Queenstown Botswana Butchery a few times and always raving about the place, the Auckland one is no comparison.

Went there on a Monday evening where there were plenty of people inside and the atmosphere was very nice. A lovely old building on the side of the pier so the location was very good. The service was friendly and easy to be found and also was really easy going which I like. Our mains were disappointing to say the least. My wife had the duck which I think was meant to be an Asian style duck but was lacking in any kind of taste. I had the pork dish which again had no real kick. The sides were fine. The dessert we shared were doughnuts which was delicious. Wont go back for awhile as there is a lot more places to try out.

What a shocking experience. Expensive and poorly trained staff. The somellier (wine waiter) was “in a meeting” when we asked to speak about wines over $150. Unavailable to see customers. Everything is extra from sauce to sides. The steak was ok but the deserts were terrible. At least our friends were good company. What a disappointment. Stay away. $600 for 4 people. The French Cafe is cheaper and a 5 star restaurant. Rating Bostwana Butchery Auckland 1 star is being generous.

Botswana Auckland has been on my list of restaurants to try after a great experience in Queenstown 3 years ago. The dining room was beautiful and although a large space, we felt had a very intimate atmosphere. Our drink orders were taken quickly and our waiter was very knowledgeable about the wines and what would match well with what. However it took another 20+ minutes for our food orders to be taken, I did try and catch the wait staffs eyes and looked longingly at others dishes that were brought past but to no avail. However once ordered our entrées come out quickly and were delicious, I had the Sashimi and it was excellent, my husband had the Peking Duck which was divine our friends both enjoyed their meals the Oysters and the Salmon tartare.We all had the eye fillet that was cooked to perfection, and shared various sauces including Béarnaise and Horseradish and Green peppercorn. Personally my favourite was the Horseradish we all felt the béarnaise lacked some flavour.
The sides were divine – the Onion Rings and Duck Fat Potatoes were the best we have tried (Inc ones at another top notch Auckland eatery).
After being very full already we shared a Banana Crème Brulee which was delicious and topped off a very enjoyable evening.
Although the wait staff were slow on taking our food orders to begin with they were very attentive and friendly for the remainder of the evening.
I would definitely recommend Botswana and plan to come back soon. It is a pricier dining option however the portions are large and cooked very well.

Not a destination for good food and great service.
Nice new fit-out but everything else is totally underwhelming.
Sashimi not fresh by at least 3 days.
Ahi tuna worse than average.
Pork a total non delivery on menu description
Service not of a standard expected for prices charged, no management level apparent
Poor comments from me regarding food quality not dealt with well but still charged at full price
Will not return or recommend

After dining at Botswana Butchery in Auckland various times in the last month I have to say that I am very confused about all the negative reviews that have been going around. My dining experience at Botswana has been fantastic every time.
The Cadrona lamb is simply delicious and the service is always exceptional.
The bar is also amazing! I love everything about Botswana.
I dine out 5 nights a week so am an experienced diner…

Having been recommended after friends dined in Queenstown, I was extremely apprehensive about booking this restaurant due to the poor reviews (overall). However I called the restaurant and actually spoke to the Executive Chef, who assured me that all the issues around waiting staff had been resolved. As it was a special birthday with my family and we were travelling from out of town, I wanted everything to be almost perfect!
Well…..the food was exquisite, from starters through to mains and dessert, although the general consensus was that the prices from “The Block” were pretty expensive with all the additional add ons. The major issue that let the whole evening down was our waitress. We didn’t think that she was actually trained as a waitress she was so bad! No personality, not friendly, and over the period of over two hours she didn’t once ask if our meals were alright and if we needed anything else. You guys really need to look at your staff training. Auckland water front is so competitive, and I for one will NOT be returning to this restaurant, even though the food was really good.

My partner and I dinned at Botswana Butchery on a Friday night. We booked an early table (1830) so the restaurant was still reasonably quiet when we arrived.

The key to the evening was the upstairs table that had an excellent view out to the ferry loading area.

Service was excellent. One of the waiters gave some very accurate advice on both the meal and wine.

We had entrees (French Onion and some Chicken disk (forget the name)) and both were excellent. Our mains were also delicious – although steaks is their forte the menu is comprehensive and will suit most tastes.

Personally I had the Scotch Fillet (not on the bone) with a wine jus. Perfectly cooked.

All round an outstanding experience and we have already recommended Botswana to a number of our friends.

Disappointing. The best I can say was: the seats were comfortable and the sides were good (Although, note, creamed spinach is NOT wilted spinach with cream, read a recipe book). Very average service, very ordinary steaks, and staff with a lot of negative, sulky attitude. Come on guys, look at your prices, they may fall for this in Queenstown, but Auckland expects more. Before I came, I heard you described as “Invercargill food with Sydney prices”, I’m afraid I can’t disagree. Try harder.

Despite the poor reviews which I read before making the reservation, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Arrived on time but the table wasn’t ready, aware of the bad reviews for service I was primed for action. As we were not short on time I was happy enough to be directed to the bar. The fit out must have cost a fortune and it was money well spent. The bar area is great and we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves while waiting to be seated.

After a couple of drinks, which took longer than they should to get out, we were offered another table but chose to wait for our table to become available (it was in a better spot). After 45 minutes it became available. Which given the fact the head of house told us they were in the process of paying 15 minutes after we arrived seemed a little fanciful. But we weren’t in a hurry so weren’t bothered.

The food was all spot on, from the steak to the duck to the liver and the kidneys. We were a group of four and while some dishes rose about others the food couldn’t be faulted.

The service with our French waiter was good. All in all a very pleasant evening. A little pricey, but hey it’s a great location and the fit out must have cost a small fortune. Despite some poor reviews on this site the place was busy.

Worth a visit to make up your own mind.

I have lived all over the world and I have spent way too much money in Resturants…

The VIEW from Botoswana is the best in Auckland for people watching.

The interior design is rich and makes you feel like you are in a very speical place.

The food is the best I have eaten in forever.

I am a regular. At first the biggest let down was the service however it has improved a 100% in the past week or two.

I have opened countless businesses over the years, with every business I opened there were always teething problems.

What I love about Botswana is that management are mainly South Islanders.

People from the South and yes I’m a bit bias as I was born in Invercargill tend to be in my opinon lovely kind hearted folks who will take the shirts off their backs if need be to help you.

For this reason I have hung in there and am seeing the rose of the resturant world come into full bloom..

For this reason alone I rate them a 10..

We ate here last night, and to be honest after all the bad reviews, wasn’t sure what to expect.
We were told the wait would be a half hour, so had a drink in the bar, and about 10 mins later we were told there was a table as someone hadn’t turned up, great!
The barman was very helpful on recommending wine.
The service was good, although the french waiters English wasn’t great.
All and all great night, the food was superb, only gripe, a little pricey, even for the viaduct.

We took our Australian clients to the Botswana Butchery in the first week of opening and while not one to normally write reviews feel compelled to do so as they certainly don’t deserve the beat up they are getting. The food was delicious; our Australians especially enjoyed the white bait entree and melt-in-the-mouth steak and I loved the tuna with the gorgeous lemon dressing. The ambience is amazing and the staff very friendly and helpful.

There were a couple of blips in the service which were very quickly acknowedged with free drinks when an apology would have been more than sufficient. It seems to me they are a victim of their own success as everybody I speak to seems to be trying them out rather than going to their usual haunts. But as a professional operation I can only assume they will be getting a handle on this very soon.

Unfortunately the complete experience was terrible.

Our greeting was cold.

Our waitress was very uninformed (throughout the entire evening).

The wine suggestions were very uninformed also.

Where we were seated in the middle of the restaurant, I was against a pillar with electrical sockets beside me, meaning I couldn’t quite sit square to the table and our guest opposite me was in the corridor and bumped EVERY time other diners or wait staff passed.

The food was soooooo very disappointing… then to top it all off, the woman whom we paid was incredibly rude.

I enjoyed a lovely afternoon at the Botswana Butchery with a friend recently – it was a beautiful crisp day and we were warmed by the sun with views to the harbour, which made for a lovely backdrop to our dining experience.
I looked for guidance with the menu, as my knowledge of meat is pretty limited. I was well looked after by the service staff who explained the different dishes to me and their recommendations were spot on for my wine and food choices! It was just delicious – I am still thinking about the Wagyu beef – and the banana creme brulee was nearly a religious experience.
It was a really special afternoon for me – I was with a dear friend, my youngest daughter had just started school and the friendly service staff made for a memorable occasion.
10 out of 10 – or as the ratings on this site go, 5 out of 5! I would love to go back and will attempt to save more room for dessert

Took my family and by comparison had eaten at Jervois Steak House the week before. By comparison service was charming, efficient and attentive. A whole lot more down to earth that aforementioned which can tend to be pretty snooty.
Prices for meals are absolutely comparable to prices paid throughout the city – steaks are being sold this way in at least three places I can think of where side dishes are additional.
Food was delicious and well prepared exactly to our requirements. Venison was amazing.

I’ve eaten here twice since it opened, and I am kind of surprised by the vehemency of these negative reviews.

Overall I had a great time here, the food was on both occasions – delicious. I had a fantastically juicy Wagyu burger for lunch, the Chicken Liver Parfait is also great. A standout was an incredible banana creme brûlée – which I might not have ordered had the waiter not said it was really special and worth trying…he was right.

We had good service, only one hiccup over where to pay the bill – and yes an arrogant barman who seemed to have forgot what he was there for (Service!)…

The location is fantastic, especially sitting outside or upstairs with a view of the harbor, the decor is spectacular and really glam. A nice change from all the rustic ‘gastro pub/mechanics’ styling that is so trendy right now.

A very bad experience.

The greeting was warm on arrival and then it was down hill from there.

Once seated we were then served by very poorly trained waiting staff. A number of basic questions were asked about items on the menu..like how is the fish of the day cooked..and they couldn’t be answered. When we finally got through the “faulty towers’ part of ordering another waitress appeared and asked us if we wanted to order dinner. One of the guests asked if they could have a bun before dinner, which was totally forgotten about and then half way through entrees a large plate of sliced bread arrived with side plates for everyone.

The food itself was nothing at all special, we have often had better at restaurants half the price.

One diner at our table of four asked about a sauce to have with the fish and they were recommended bernaise which duly arrived…interesting. Two of us decided to have the lambs fry, which was close to raw inside and very bitter in flavour. Again had far better for under half the price. Now don’t get me wrong, we are happy to pay top dollar for great food and often do, so price in itself was not an issue.

Everytime the waiter asked us if we wanted more drinks he would poke me in the shoulder to get my attention. If it wasn’t for the fact that we had been asked to join our friend there for dinner I would have made a formal compalint and left.

Now the really good part…when it came time to pay, my friend, I will say was offered to check the account after they had printed it out but he declined saying “I’m sure it will be fine”…BIG mistake…The account was settled with $150 worth of gift vouchers and the balance split between the 2 parties. Each half remaining was $275 each…so dinner was $700 and 2 of the guests did’t drink. I couldn’t believe it but again was reluctant to comment as we had been invited by friends for the evening. Thankfully I asked for a copy of theMore account as we left. When we were outside my friend said to me.. I wouldn’t go back there ever, can you believe dinner was $700 for that rubbish food and terrible service. I now took this opportunity of finally agreeing and got the asccount out to check and found they had overcharged us $348.40. Which of course they refunded.

What a terrible night. A real pity, such an iconic location but such a terrible restaurant. Every one was casual, not at all sharp, close to arrogant and backed up by very below par food.

Try it , it might become Auckland’s faulty towers, all they need is Basil!!

Extremely disappointing! I wouldn’t go back even if I was paid to!

If you’re looking for a place where the waiting staff are arrogant and can’t get the basics of customer service right – Botswana Butchery is the perfect place for you!

We went for lunch on Anzac Day, at 12:50pm seeing there were some people already seated. The waiter very flatly said “sorry we open at 1pm” and didn’t offer to seat us for the next 10 mins like other customers. Not letting this dampen our spirits, we came back after 10 minutes. After waiting a good few minutes at reception seeing the members of their staff walking around, one of them finally asked us if we were okay. After showing us to our table he left us with one drink menu between the two of us. We waited another 10 minutes for our drinks orders to be taken and the drinks took another 10 to arrive (we ordered wine). We had to “ask” for lunch menus TWICE after 30 minutes of being seated.

When our food finally came the waiter ‘assumed’ who ordered what and put the wrong dishes in front of us. I got the day’s special Tarakhi and the man ordered the steak sandwich. I’m just an average cook but have no doubts that I can make better fish myself. It had potato and peas curry and a piece of fish on top – our Indian takeaway down the road can do better at $12!! Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting authentic curry at an African Butchery – But I was expecting some taste and class! The steak sandwich, priced at $26 wasn’t filling or great either.

We weren’t asked how our meal was, given dessert menus or even asked if we wanted to order any more drinks after our first glasses. The very arrogant hostess walked past us every few mins and not once did she smile or check on us. $100 lunch for two people (including 20% surcharge) left both me and my partner VERY pissed off.

Thank you for ruining a special occasion for us Botswana Butchery! I’d be surprised to still see yoMoreu guys around in a few months time, seeing we’re not the only ones who’ve had a bad experience.

Disappointing! Coming from Queenstown I wanted to support a local and new eatery but it was not good. There was no record of our telephone booking and the wait staff did not resolve it, we had to go and check.

The service was very average, meals were average, small proportioned, there was a long wait and over priced for what they were. The steak condiments, cognac sauce lacked flavour and was generally not impressive.
Definitely won’t be rushing back or recommending it particularly when there are so many other great choices in Auckland!

Decor was great though – just work on the service big time!!!

Very Disappointing
Expensive but that is o.k if the quality matches…… but here unfortunately there is a huge gap
Meals are small and very poorly presented
You buy the steak you want then have to pay extra for the sauce or butter
The steak comes on its own, no garish , looks terrible as it is placed in front of you

I had the yellow fish tuna which was so mediocre… I have had better tasting Tuna from a can
The décor is great but the food, service , attention to details and customer experience is not

We won’t be back that is for sure, was actually annoyed we came here when Auckland has so many great restaurants

I am a HUGE fan of Botswana Butchery and regularly dine Botswana Butchery in Wanaka and Queenstown. I have spoken to so many people so often and told them such incredibly wonderful things about Botswana Butchery. At every chance I get I direct people to the Wanaka and Queenstown restaurants.

HOWEVER, I recently visited Auckland and there is a MAJOR difference between this venue and the others. The waiters simply don’t meet the same standard as their counterparts in Wanaka and Queenstown. Also, finding a fish bone in my pannacotta was not a good experience and the apology for this was minimal and I only received an offer for the pannacotta to be free. My constant and endless promotion of Botswana Butchery will be put on hold.

I loved the decor and the ambience of this restaurant and
whilst the staff were very pleasant they let themselves down on service.

We waited a ridiculously long period of time for the wine to be brought to the table and twice the waiter brought the wrong wine. In the period of time it took to sort this out no orders were taken for food so it made for late dining.

We were a party of 12 and the reviews on each meal went from “only ok” to “excellent” and somewhere in between. For the high prices they’re charging quite frankly we expected better.

The whitebait starter was rubbery and nothing to write home about in terms of flavour. The steak although very tasty was overdone and the accompanying cognac sauce was bland. The plates the mains were served not heated.

Dessert on the other hand (I had the banana creme brulee)was delicious.

Unless they step up the service and fine tune the cooking and finer details associated with fine dining, for price, I wouldn’t be inclined to come back.

Unfortunately they have not hit the ground running. Service was very poor from all aspects, basic service standards are not applied. When the wine was finished, no more was offered. We had to ask for the desert menu and even that was a challenge. It appears the staff lack product knowledge and have an attitude which isn’t welcoming or fun.
Food was very average considering the price point. Perhaps too big too soon….time will tell.

After hearing all the hype, we were looking forward to trying this iconic Queenstown eatery.
What a disappointment, service was very poor. The menu was expensive and the quality of the food was very average.
Unless they lift the standard it will be a very short stay in Auckland.
There are a number of very good restaurants in the Viaduct and downtown area. Do yourself a favour and give this one a miss.

So it’s new but I expected more. Love the decor and the staff but the wine list by the glass is way too expensive. The Waiheke drinkers (and there’s a lot of us!) are comparing notes. Tonight someone said the Chardonnay was $18 a glass! We miss our Waiheke specials at the bar. Let’s hope things improve before we vote with our feet!

I am a big fan of this restaurant in Queenstown, we Always make a point of going there when in Queenstown, so was excited when I learnt they were opening in Auckland.

However, after my first experience I was disappointed. Location Good, Service OK (but certainly lacking in many regards), Food was pretty average, and very poor value for money.

Meals are not $25-$35 (as this website suggests). A piece of meat was at the upper end of this, and by the two you ordered a couple of sides (necessary due to the pitiful size of them), you can add about ~$20 on to the price of the meal. My tuna (MR-Rare) was overcooked, dry and nasty, and the sauce (“Wasabi Butter”) I picked to go with it was a cold block of basically butter – uneatable.
Given all the competition around Auckland and some of the great restaurants in close proximity, I probably wouldn’t return based on this experience. And would certainly not recommend to others. All round disappointing.