Bracu is well worth the drive and is a fantastic setting either during summer or winter. If booking ask for a table outside as this will get you on the totally in-closed veranda.

Each meal starts with freshly made bread and extra virgin NZ Olive oil (NZ Olive oil is some of the best in the world and is no relation to the old, sometimes off, imported supermarket stuff).

The service matches the food which is exceptional.

A place for a long lazy lunch.

PS: They do really good coffee.

One of my Favourite Resturants, The Food is Delcious and The wine is Fantastic, The staff are amazing and they look after you well, also the set up Is Lovely i could sit out there all day enjoying everything there is to offer. will go back for sure very rewarding and Perfect, Just EXCELLENT!!!!

We wanted a place for a special treat to thank a good friend who organised our wedding. Bracu was recommended. If you want cheap meals and a steak house do not go to Bracu. If you want to celebrate a special occasion with awesome surroundings and atmosphere, fantastic quality food served by excellent staff at a leisurely pace then Bracu should be at the top of your list. The complimentary gifts for the ladies when we left was a nice surprise to top off a lovely occasion. Much appreciated

Simply the best meal I have had at a restaurant ever!
Bracu will continue to be a favourite of mine and my family – tucked out of the way in Bombay it is a beautiful wee spot with amazing food.

The staff are friendly without being overbearing and the degustation menu is to die for.

The new chef is doing an awesome job.

Great food. The chawanmushi was a lovely surprise. My minestrone was delicious.

Very good service and we had our food explained to us which added to our enjoyment.

It was a lovely Indian summer day and overall an excellent experience and a further visit is definitely recommended. What a clever marketing ploy to give us each a generous sample pack of Olive skin products.

A triple family celebration (graduation, birthday and a milestone in a health challenge) so we thought we’d go somewhere for a treat. Every aspect of this remarkable venue is wonderful: the service (made even more fun as I had taught the charming young waiter, Connor), the fresh, delicious food (we had several restrictions for my Dad’s health and all of these were met with respect and efficiency), the environment (cool, elegant seating on the veranda, and a pleasant walk in the grounds after lunch) and “going the extra distance” (I had a concert that evening and needed to change into performing gear – the staff were so hospitable). We felt welcome, valued and special.

The best meal I have had there since it opened. Fabulous service too. My overseas visitors where blown away. The wine accompanied the meal, the olive oil was beautiful, the coffee brilliant. We were seated on the veranda and admired the olive grove. Mikey the brilliant chef even took the time to come and speak to us. Lance, Katie and Jim thank you so much for a wonderful afternoon.

Outstanding. If there was an option to give six stars I would. The service was impeccable, the food inspired and faultless and the venue a delightful find.

We recently moved to Auckland and had been looking for somewhere special that didn’t involve the long drive into the city from Franklin. Well, we found it. What an absolute treasure.

We intend to become regulars!

Have been to Bracu a few times over the years and to be honest have always felt a little let down in the bang for buck stakes. The service occasionally wasn’t all it should be and the portion sizes minuscule which would be ok if I was taken to food heaven.

This time it was a Friday night with a table of four. We were drawn by the $85, 7 course degustation menu. Started as always with a Mojito and alas it was a poor imitation. They weren’t sure if they could make one (huh) and the soda water with a bit of mint was pretty hopeless. I would expect better from a fine dining restaurant. However that proved to be the low point. By and large we all enjoyed each presentation and left feeling very content. If they keep the degustation going and update it from time to time I’ll definitely be back on a more regular basis as I’m a local.

Service was good with a lovely local waitress with a sense of humour, balanced with an interesting character with German or Austrian heritage. The Bracu estate olive oil with bread was very moorish. Best experience I’ve had at Bracu and hopefully I’ll follow it up with an equally good experience in the near future.

The food was fabulous and the setting brilliant. We had a wonderful girls night out that my daughters had bought vouchers for as a birthday gift. However you may recall that I emailed you on 6th Nov to say that our vouchers had recently expired. The response was that they would be honoured which I was very happy with. The vouchers cost $100 for 2 which gave meals to the value of $200 for 2. When we arrived we were told we could just order from the menu for the face value of the vouchers which we were somewhat surprised and disappointed with and expressed this. The maitre’d returned to inform us that we could have the degustation menu at $85/head with the attitude that we should be grateful!! We graciously accepted while realising the vouchers were not really honoured as we were entitled to $100/person. I feel we should have at least been offered a glass of wine/person to have honoured the voucher.

Had a wonderful dining experience at Bracu . . . the surroundings, the service and the food were all fantastic. Yes, it is pricey, but for our special occasion I can’t imagine anywhere we’d rather have gone, and we’ll definitely be back.

My first experience at Bracu was amazing! The staff were excellent, and as we had a little wait on our meals, we were given complementary bread and olive oil, as well warmed giant olives to snack on. When the Entre’s, Mains and Deserts came out we were not disappointed. The meals were absolutely divine and I highly recommend making the trip to this beautiful restaurant!

The attentive sevice and scenery are wonderful, the food was good (but I have had better), but sadly we thought it was expensive for what you got and we wouldn’t come back because of that.

Excellent food, service impeccable,
Loved the way you can get really nice wines by the glass, so you can have a different wine for each course.
Our waiter very knowledgeable about wines and what to have with what.
The food comes in small portions, but incredible tastes in every mouth full.
It is worth saving room for desert.

Such a great place with great atmospehere and amazing food. A really nice touch to be able to buy olive oil and olive products after your meal. Would be great to perhaps try some olives as well when you first sit down!!
Although this is pretty much my fave restaurant it would be so much better if the wait staff knew what they were doing a bit more and could describe the meals on the menu, however they are pleasant and not obtrusive. But given the standard of the place and food I think the service could be improved to give an overall exceptional experience!! Good work Bracu we will continue to come back

After reading all the great reviews I finally made my way out to the Bracu last night for the 5 course tasting menu. The setting is beautiful, the music/ ambience is perfect and the maitre’d was incredibly helpful. However….

The food was average at best, the first course salmon was cold, and my vegetarian substitute soup was no warmer, have a congealed layer on the top of a liquid that tasted like it may have been used to wash the vegetables rather than include them. The rest of the course’s continued like this.. though some managed to actually make it out luke-warm. I was expecting some food that would make your mouth water but alas nothing materialised that offered my taste buds any comfort. Presented perfectly yet no substance, the only hope of redemption came with the desert…. however the tasteless oily (supposedly) lemon souffle accompanied by Olive Oil ice cream failed to set it off, though fitting perfectly with the other courses.

Maybe we caught them on an off day but I would not recommend to anyone. Maybe if you were looking for a stand out venue with great service and ambience then its for you, just dont get your hopes up on the food which is, after all, is the most important part.

PS having the waitress ask me on my way out “how did your soup turn out?” with a chortle followed by an explanation it was the first time it had been served does not lead to a great experiment. Don’t particularly like being a guinea pig.

My husband and I went to Bracu earlier this month for a romantic dinner, to celebrate our anniversary.

The moment we walked in, we were warmly greeted by the maitre’d, Patrick, who introduced us to our waiter for the evening – Jim B. We were seated out on the verandah with most of the other couples. It was a lovely, warm night so the setting was fantastic for a romantic dinner.

We had the 6 Course Degustation Menu, which was great because we didn’t have to think about what to order!
I could break down the meals but there were so many! The most important thing is that every single meal that came out tasted exceptional. The flavours were excellent, the presentation was gorgeous and the serving portions were perfect.

The service we had throughout the night was faultless. We were never interrupted because our waiter just seemed to know when it was appropriate to top-up our wine/water glasses, ask questions, etc. Each course was well-timed, so we never felt like we were waiting – nor did we feel rushed.

They get extra points for having a bottle of their Olive moisturiser in the bathrooms and the only tiny thing I could pick on was that they ran out of handtowels in the women’s bathroom and I had to go out and request for more. This happened fairly early in the evening, so they must have missed replenishing before the dinner service.

Overall, our dining experience at Bracu was memorable for all the right reasons and we will definitely be back. It is well worth the trip out to the Bombays!

Our long lunch on the verandah at Bracu on Christmas day was a great hit with our family of 12. The five fancy courses were really amazing and the friendly but professional waiter Marwan, was so accommodating, organising children’s menus and extra bowls of their ‘to die for’ hand-cut fries with aioli. Afterwards, a stroll through the olive groves and gorgeous gardens to take photos was such a nice finish to a perfect afternoon – thank you Bracu – we can’t wait to return!

Don’t want to spoil a series of great reviews – maybe they had an off day, but …

We booked a mid week lunch and were given a table on the verandah.
I enquired about a particular wine on the list – but the waitress was unable to tell me anything about it – also there was no wine waiter available to ask.

My ‘roast’ duck was crisp on one side, but raw and bleeding on my plate and I couldn’t cut it with a knife. I sent it back – it returned over-cooked but at least edible. (They deducted cost of coffees as a gesture).

Finally they mixed our bill up with that of the adjacent table.

Went to Bracu for the Sunday Sampler Dinner special last night.

Setting is very nice. It would be nice to sit outside next time on a Summer’s day.

All the staff were very pleasant, cannot fault them for anything.

Bread and olive oil to begin was delicious. The only problem was there wasn’t enough of it!

The starters were also of a high quality.

Lamb for the main was also well-cooked and tasty. The salad to share had a nice dressing, but consisted solely of lettuce. A little bit of colour would have gone a long way. As our other side was a rather large bowl of broccoli, it was just a bit too much green.

The salty-peanut ice cream with dessert was excellent. The chocolate tart was also very generous.

Although not the cheapest, my experience at Bracu was definitely a good one, and I will be going back again in the future.

Best for special occasions where it doesn’t reall matter how much you spend.

My wife and I have dined at Bracu on numerous occasions since it opened and we dined on Sunday for the first time in a while and were blown away with the attentive wait staff and the qualty of the food. I have to say that the food was probably the best that I have eaten there. I was quite surprised to find that the new chef was the old 2 I c, long may this chef remain. I will be back sooner rather than later. This was their Sunday special and we came away with both arms and a huge smile.
I would love to know how the lamb was done

4.5 really.

Lovely setting, friendly and attentive service, without being OTT. Food is lovely, and really nicely presented.

Pork belly not as good as ascension! (but still good!)

Check out the wine library.

Excellent fine dining experience! Been there 2-3 times, and although I haven’t tried recently, I still couldn’t find any better experience. Still the best so far. Quality of foods are superb, Great atmosphere.

Bracu is one of Auckland’s lesser known wonders. It is DELIGHTFUL. For that special occasion THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO. Extraordinary surroundings matched by interesting and delicious food.

Patrick the maitre’d is OUTSTANDING. I had a ‘fussy moment’ – and he moved heaven and earth to sort everything out. Top top service. Highly recommended

Wonderful food, wonderful service, wonderful place. Our Sunday brunch was such a treat – felt so special dining on the balcony. Staff were lovely – everyone so helpful.
We had the dog with us and we were able to let him lie under an olive tree while we had bruch. Following our meal the maitre’d invited us to take the dog for a walk around the estate – brilliant. This was a great morning – couldn’t recommend it enough.

The rating here is a bit unfortunate for one reason, actually for one person.

The setting at Bracu is lovely, definitely worth the drive out to Bombay.

The food was much better than the last two times we attended. Perfectly seasoned, not generous portions but still comfortable after 3 courses.

Our waitress (Katie) was polite, friendly, and accommodating. She didn’t seem to have a lot of experience but made up for it by being totally charming & helpful.

Unfortunately, our other lasting memory was the clown of a maitre’d/ sommelier that was working (Saturday 11th, lunchtime).

I had come out for lunch to thank a friend for some brilliant work he had done for me. I did NOT come out to talk to an arrogant pompous overqualified waiter.

Aside from constantly pestering us (he knew my guest) he told us how much he disliked working there, how he had no respect for the staff, and was only waiting to get a cafe of his own and then get away as quickly as possible.

His persistence and interruptions spoiled an otherwise fine lunch.

Do go and try Bracu, but ask Katie to look after you!

very very expensive, but you do get what you pay for. felt like we were millionaires dining at their beautiful venue.. Was a great experience that we still talk about all the time. The wine list was over 20 pages long and had bottles of $4000 wine on there! I think everyone needs to treat themselves to Bracu at least once in their life…

It was a Wednesday night Birthday with quiet celebration over a superb meal, extensive wine list allowed for different choices through the night. Very accommodating staff, ever attentive but unobtrusive. Expensive but “You get what you pay for”!