Went for Easter to have lunch, wouldn’t serve us, waved the waitress, went to the bar, was told to wait to be served, is half an hour to long to wait to even be greeted, so left and went to GPK…. REALLY bad bad service

We’ve only had good experiences here, but go here realising that it’s foremost function is a pub that serves food, not a restaurant that serves alcohol. Haven’t had anything yet that I wouldn’t recommend. Deserts are great (and I don’t do deserts). Love their pizzas. Wish they would use proper Bacardi rum – not the white rum substitute that so many of the pubs are using now!

We headed here last week for my hubby’s birthday. After checking out the reviews it sounded like a good local place to try;

Possibly a gastro pub wasn’t the wisest choice for a couple closer to 40 than 30 (however we do enjoy a good night out just to be clear), however the music was very loud (it was about 8.30pm), so much so that our friends that joined us declined to stay for dinner as it was simply too loud to have a decent conversation. Given we were on the clock with our babysitter, we decided to stay on and order.

We were looking forward to the pork board for two given the great review given here. Having ordered we were somewhat surprised when our meal was delivered, minus the crackling. When we queried this we were advised they had run out which is why we didn’t receive any. Given this is an integral part of the dish, I would expect we should have been told this upfront so we had the opportunity to order something else – which we would have – lets face it, pork without the crackling is not that special. They did offer us complimentary wedges or fries, however we said we would prefer a discount off the bill at the end and to be fair they did give us a reasonable discount (wedges and a beer off the bill).

Service was on the thin side – we would have ordered another two glasses of wine to have with our meal if anyone had come remotely near us once our meals had been served – it was literally impossible to get anyone’s attention. To be honest, we could easily have left without paying and we wouldn’t have been missed until we were long gone.

Overall, it was ok – I hate to moan – but given these days we don’t get a lot of opportunities to dine out, it is disappointing when the basics are not done right.

Wife (of 25 years) and I went there and luckily got an outside table. Great ambiance and good service. Being frugal with our money, bought the pizza on special ($10) – couldn’t believe how good it was, so we bought another!
The enjoyment of a restaurant depends on 3 things –
1/ Value for money (good food at good price)
2/ Good service (not just looked upon as a walking wallet)
3/ Good company seated with you
The Elephant Wrestler (weird name) delivered a 10/10 for us both – well done!
Will be back!

I went last night – 6 of us and really enjoyed it. When arriving things were a little slow. We had to go get our own drinks. As the night went on 1 waiter was great and our other not so good. However the food rocked. You must try the Pork board for 2! We were the envy of the table. Its was sublime – perfect crackling and beautifully cooked loin with a lovely jus. We had it with the apple and fennel slaw which was the perfect compliment. Def. going back for it again. And so are the others that were with us and didn’t get it….

Family of four looking for a mid week dinner, this looked perfect. Sat outside, excellent ambience, well spaced tables, good atmosphere. BUT, after a 10minute wait, had to go to the desk to ask for a waitress and menus. After another 10 mins, flagged down a waitress so we could order drinks. And they took another 10mins. Specials menu was not explained, food ok but expected more than Rocket and 1/2 tomato as the salad with Fish and Chips. No we wont be going back there.

My friends and I went on Sunday to The Elephant Wrestler. Great venue, delicious food and really friendly staff. We just wanted to have a couple of drinks, but after we have seen the menu, we decided to stay for a late lunch. Was the right decision. The menu covers all different sort of food. Simple, but tasty. I had the Sunday Roast and my friends shared pizzas and small plates. Great portion size, perfect to share if you cant make up your mind and want to try more than one meal. The girl that served us was very professional and smiley. The other staff seemed to have fun at work too. Definitely the right spot to hang out with friends. Will be back! Well done guys!

The food was disappointing. My hamburger was made up of a rather stale ciabatta bun and a processed patty which claimed to be angus beef, but tasted more like plastic. The burger looked impressive, but was difficult to eat, and not worth the effort. The outdoor area was nice, but wasn’t enough to make up for the lousy, expensive hamburger.

We took overseas visitors there for lunch before a rugby game and have to say the food was good but unfortunately we were given the incorrect bottle of wine and unfortunately this was not picked up by the person who had ordered it until we were half way thru the bottle then one of our guests ordered a glass of sauvignon blanc but was given chardonnay instead. Really need to hire a barman who can read!!

Went to check out this new bar last nite in Takapuna before heading elsewhere to watch the rugby …well we didn’t leave it was fab great food probably the best steak I’ve had in Auckland and the French rugby players sitting at the table by us we watched the rugby in the courtyard great experience to be outside watching TV with the sound on and a really great atmosphere to top it off the game finished and there band started so we stayed and danced the night away awesome night and great venue we have defiantly found our spot to have a night out and watch the world cup thanks elephant wrestler and see you soon

This place is awesome. Went there on a Sunday avo and it was packed. Great outdoor bar area – sun was beaming in and it created a really great atmosphere. We had a few different starters – the chicken skewers, the salt and pepper squid, and the risotto balls – they were all perfect. Another friend in the group had the risotto as a main and she was raving about it. Will definately back at TEW in the near future for a full meal (and a few cold Heinekens!)

even though i only went there for SUnday afternoon bevvie with friends, i already know this is going to provide some stiff competition to the ever popular Macs bar down the road.
Nicely laid out and spacious inside area, but the outdoor area makes it – will go off in summer!
The menu looks awesome, and apparently the risotto balls and are superb!
Will definitely be back to further sample the menu, and make the most of the outdoor area!