We hadn’t been for years, and what a pleasant surprise going back for brunch!

1. The waiter ( Irish chap who had been in NZ for over 10 years ) – he was excellent and really knew his stuff – he also got the 2 young boys 3 and 4 yrs old, to make their own OJ with the OJ machine , and provided colouring etc for them – excellent and meant we could relax

2. The Breakfast with Bacon and Eggs with a Snapper fillet was, in my opinion, the best breakfast I have had in a long time – sounds odd but try it – it just works

3. The kids meals were excellent

4. Teas and coffee’s were excellent ( often so bad – their Japanese green tea was superb, and served properly )

5. The outlook and general ambiance is great


I would encourage anyone looking to get away from roadside cafes to give this place a try – we will be going back

We always have a warm welcome from the lovely and helpful staff.
Great food(specially desserts), gorgeous place to have an enjoyable and relaxing lunch. We’ve been back a few times and have always been happy with the experience…
We just love going there!

Booked a hens party into this restaurant and the booking was mixed up and subsequently we were given the wrong meals. When bringing up the mistake, the Waiter was really rude and manager was unhelpful! ended up paying a lot more then we booked for. Wouldn’t pay for the food or the terrible experience again!

Went at the beginning of October and enjoyed sitting outside eating desserts and drinking coffee. Fantastic frontline staff, beautiful presentation of food but taste was below average. Enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the tables on the deck. Went a second time at the beginning of November for high tea with another friend and sat on the inside. Again fantastic frontline staff, presentation of tray and tea was beautiful and again the taste was less than average. Inside was excrutiatingly formal, the decor dated and if it weren’t for the high level of staff service, the experience would have been thoroughly forgettable.

Really friendly staff.
Some great views.
Main meals cooked to perfection (we had lamb shank, chicken breast, salmon, scallops).
Beautiful desserts, probably the best part of the meal.
Great to have the choice of the regular lunch menu, a set lunch menu and any combination of the two. A lively atmosphere which didn’t effect how prompt and attentive the service was. All in all, can’t fault the experience

Just had the lamb shanks for lunch, they tasted great, service was excellent. My partner has had ‘high tea’ there a couple of times and has always enjoyed that as well.

We had High Tea here one morning, and thoroughly enjoyed our experience. We were presented with a three-tier stand filled with wonderful sweet treats, petite sandwiches, and savouries accompanied with tea.. Lovely environment looking over Cornwall Park, and child-friendly as well..

Hubby and I dined here for lunch on Queen’s Birthday. I ordered Devonshire Tea and hubby had the scallop dish as a main. We both enjoyed our meals, although the scallops was merely so, so. What made the experience memorable were the atmosphere and the beautiful setting within the park. We were very prepared for bad service considering past reviews but were pleasantly surprised (I wanted to try the restaurant for the location regardless). We arrived just before noon and did not have to wait for a table. There were several servers/wait staff that waited on us throughout the meal, from order taking to drink serving, food serving and plate clearing. We could not fault the service we received, it was always with a smile and someone stopped by just after we received the meal to make sure everything was okay. Overall, a positive experience. Would be lovely to try it again during warmer/clearer weather.

I will never dine at Cornwall Park Restaurant again.
My friends and I (there was about 20ish of us) went here for lunch and had a really bad experience of the place. Some of the food was cold and had to be sent back, we had to wait almost an hour and a half for our meals and to top it off, one of the waiters spilled a tray of wine on me.
I had brought a new dress for this lunch, so was really upset that my shoes were soaked, my cardigan was wet and the entire side of my dress was drenched. I was offered no apology whatsoever and spent the entire meal upset and cold.
Overall, I’m really unimpressed with the way that this was dealt with by the staff there. Yes, in the end the owner agreed that the dry cleaning would be paid for after some prompting by myself, but the whole inconvenience of the ordeal was not addressed at all. Our whole table has gone away from this lunch feeling very negatively towards the staff and management of this restaurant. I feel like the bare minimum was ‘offered’ as compensation for my dress being soaked. I was very reasonable and understanding about this whole thing and I didn’t make a scene – though perhaps this would have been a better option to have sufficient compensation offered!

Place is absolutely gorgeous! Food was wonderful had the seafood chowder and fish then a brownie for desert. Was 1 of the best dining experiences I have had for a while cust service great and to Richard it closes early because the park shuts early! That’s why they don’t do dinner which is a shame

Although the food was good the service was poor. Ordered Devonshires, drinks arrived promptly but had to call the waiter after 20 minutes to ask for the scones and then waited another 15 minutes for them to arrive (no butter). I would expect the scone and drink to be enjoyed together

Nice food, good coffee, good service

After reading Richard’s review, I have to wonder where he has eaten before. I grew up in Onehunga and have for many, many years gone to the Cornwall Park restaurant for lunch or high tea.
The atmosphere is friendly, the staff very helpful. You have a choice of sitting inside, on the deck under cover or outside at large, easy to access tables. Children, babies no problem.
The food is delicious and the scones to die for. I now live in the West and still go over there for some of the best food in Auckland. You don’t have to be a snob to eat there.

Having a monopoly position shouldn’t mean that you serve bad food and close early. Granted the new owner/manager is doing a better job than the last guy but it still caters to the blue rinse set. If you can remember the Empire then this is the place for you. Frankly though cucumber belongs in my Pimms and not in a sandwich.
There is an ice cream place out back but they have weird flavors and also close early.