-
Facilities/Features:
- Children's Menu
- Conference Facilities
- Great View
- Private Functions
- Wedding Functions
- Payment Types: EFTPOS, Visa, MasterCard
- Price Range: Moderate, $15 - $25
- Dress Code: Smart casual
- Alcohol: Beer, Wine, Spirits, Cocktails
- Seating for: 70 inside, 50 on deck
- BYO/Corkage: No BYO
- Parking: Free Off-Street
- Good For Groups: Yes
- Good For Children: Yes
- Takeaways: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Dietary Restrictions: Vegetarian
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Meals: Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, Dessert
Elevation, 350 metres above sea level, offers a dynamic, diverse and very well-priced menu, the best local and international wine and beer.
Elevation is the highest restaurant in Auckland with unbelievable views of the city and beyond.
Relaxed indoor/outdoor dining Elevation Cafe & Restaurant, as the name suggest we are elevated higher than Sky towers on Waitakere Ranges, best view of outstanding Auckland city view, the harbour and Waitakere range.
Nestled in the lush scenery of the Waitakere Ranges, there is no better place to enjoy a wonderful day or night.
Our main focus is fresh ingredients and best quality meat. We are equipped with toddlers seating and have special Kids Menu.
Michelle C. said: "I have been to Tonys 5 times 3times last year and twice this year, have had Dinner and Lunch. This place is excellent the service is…" read more »
34 Reviews for Elevation Cafe & Restaurant
1
1
12
1
Menus were bought to us, and orders taken in a timely manner. While waiting (which wasn’t long), we were served complimentary chicken entrees, which were very appetising. But what was even more tasty were the scallop entrees. We have eaten scallops at quiet a few restaurants, but my partner and I agreed that these were the best we had ever tasted – we were savouring each tasty bite! My partner ordered the steak – medium, which came out just the way he liked it. I ordered the Thai Prawn Curry, which was absolutely divine! We had the chocolate mousse for desert, and as chocolate lovers, it was just perfect.
All in all, we absolutely loved our experience at Elevations, and will definitely be going back. We are even thinking of having our wedding reception there.
1
Elevation however, put a big smile on my dial and ticked all the boxes! I highly recommend this place, we had an all round fantastic experience when we ate there recently on a Sunday evening and it was well worth drive over from the North Shore. Peaceful and quiet, tucked away amongst the trees and overlooking the city, the view is a million dollars. It has to be one of the best in Auckland, second only to the Sky Tower. The staff were lovely too – friendly and attentive without being intrusive.
My partner and I were particularly impressed by the chilli lime calamari which we shared as an entrée. We both thought that it was the best we’d tasted. For mains we had the eye fillet and fish of the day. The food was really tasty, skilfully prepared and every mouthful delicious, a lot of thought had gone into the dishes we tried.
The only not so great thing was the restrooms which were undergoing renovations at the time of our visit, the single reason why I have given a 4 star rating instead of 5.
I think Elevation’s ‘WOW’ factor makes it an ideal destination for a special night out, an anniversary, romantic dinner or first date and they are available for functions. If you have overseas visitors, a memorable finish to a day out at Piha (and a great way to show off Auckland!) would be dinner at Elevation with its stunning views of the city twinkling at night. It made such an impression on us that we have booked Elevation for our Wedding reception next year!
2
The positive:
-The food we received was amazing! Highly recommend the Thai Prawn Curry!!
-The staff were very friendly.
Things that could be worked on:
-The waitress (who admitted she was new) forgot completely about our starters, however she was very apologetic and helpful. The other waitress however almost seemed over confident and forgot to bring us water when we requested it (something pretty straight forward).
-Our booking made the day before wasn’t recorded and tables were being set up around us like they had just opened. Would be good to have it set up earlier not while customers are arriving.
-The toilets are a bit of a let down and were in need of a restock.
Overall though, the manager is very friendly and I can tell trying to bring Elevation up to a high standard and I hope this feedback is appreciated. Would I go back again soon? Absolutely!
8
Waitress was very friendly, our order was taken within an acceptable time, we weren’t left waiting like in some places.
The food didn’t take too long, well my open steak sandwich didn’t – the fries on the other hand took about 20minutes by which time I’d eaten the steak sandwich. I also had to remind the waitress, who said “they are coming now” and still took another 10 mins.
I think someone forgot to put my fries on.
However, the portion was excellent and the fries well cooked.
My medium steak was great and really tasty. The portion size for the price was very good, although my only criticism with this is that fries should be included as in many other cafes.
My wife had the chicken quesadilla (sp) and the portion size was also very acceptable for the price
Overall a great first visit for me to Elevation Cafe and I will go back. The stunning scenery and the views of Auckland are well worth it and the food is excellent. I have already recommended Elevation to others.
I just wish they would ease up on the use of pepper!
If, like me, you don’t like a lot of black pepper on EVERYTHING, fries included, ask for no pepper and put your own on!
I will return to the Elevation soon…
1
1, The waitresses were very friendly.
2, My aged Eye fillet was pretty good.
Negative:
1, not lighting from outside, Scenic Drive is a long, twisty and narrow road, being middle of nowhere this I was very surprised that there was no light-sign.
2, once we parked our car and make our way to the restaurant, there was no lighting either, while it was only less than 15 meters of walk you would still think some light would be helpful and make a decent presentation.
3, once inside it was pretty cold, there as a fireplace but it was nowhere near enough to warm up the place. my mother could not take her thick coat off during the whole meal.
4, the portions are pretty small for the price and the given class of the restaurant, calamari was 16 dollars and only had 3 pieces. though it was not bad, it was not world class either.
5, the plates were not heated so with room temperature so low the food quickly got cold.
6, both me and my wife ordered eye-fillet, I asked for medium-rare and she asked for medium. mine turned out ok and hers was definitely well-done, there was no red whatsoever.
7, my mother’s lamb rack was pretty small too, considering the price.
8, all three mains were steak or lamb rack, but we were nto provided with no steak knife. It was pretty hard to cut using normal knife. I did not ask for steak knives because I figured if they didnt already give us, they probably dont have them.
9, the pizza was quite average, I am not sure if I am expecting too much for 22 dollars.
overall comment:
for a cafe, Elevation isnt too bad, but as a fine-dining restaurant (certainly priced as such), it has many things it needs to work on.
1
Given all the comments made by previous customers about the bathrooms, I’d like to make a special mention of the dried flower arrangement at the bottom of the stairs – which is lovely!
1
3
2
On arrival the waitress pointed far across the dining room and outside to indicate our table “you see that one? no not that one, that one behind, yes..no…yes”… rather than simply showing us to it.
The table, though reserved, had not been wiped clean – I had to ask. The cutlery wasn’t sufficiently clean. The menus: splotched ink, tattered and incorrect. The “flat bread with a selection of dips” came out as bread with a bowl containing supermarket pesto (the pungent bitter oily type) and below average tomato salsa (tasted like it came from a can) – placed in the same bowl so that they blended together. Needless to say I ate the bread and left the dip.
I think the chefs take shortcuts, compromising quality and hygiene.
The positive side is that the coffee was good and the view superb. I think the service is getting there but needs some constructive direction. Elevation needs a bit of a shape up – it could be thriving with customers.
1
went with the in laws for an evening meal. positives first…food was good, view was awesome.
negatives.
head waiter was tweaking like a crackhead (i suspect he was) and made no sense. i had to ask one of the waitresses to have him leave us alone as i was very uncomfortable with him close.
the service was chaotic and poor. the lights were on full noise until well after dark (which may explain our hopped up friends sketchiness).
i had to chase drinks.
the waitresses are nice, pretty young ladies that had no idea of what role they needed to perform. had they had any leadership that would be an easy fix.
the place is a bit shabby, and we had to ask for cutlery to which the waiter replied “oh they’ve taken that away”. that didn’t make sense as there were no tables set in the restaurant.its a small thing i know but i dont like being lied to especially by incompetent freaks.
we eventually became so uncomfortable we had to leave. we still had a half bottle of wine that we decided to take with us as it was paid for. we were told (politely) that this wasn’t policy as they had no byo licence (fair enough) however we werent going to stay and finish it and we werent going to leave it. when i tried to explain why i was told i had a personal issue with the waiter. and his behaviour was explained as due to his mental issues-i dont believe that, as no place that i have been to that charges thirty dollrs for mains would employ a person that disturbed as the dominant personality at the front of house.
i would like to go back for the pizza and the view and the reasonably priced beer but i wont pay to serve myself and be harrassed by drug addled staff.
IN RESPONSE TO THE OWNERS COMMENTS…
apologies to your friend for my mistaking him for a druggy. however as his behaviour is manifestly bizzarre i would consider having someone monitor him and restrict his roles.you are obviously nice people. you just have no concept of customer service.
it was easy to make a mistake re the role of the waiter as he was the only contact we had with your staff. he seated us, got us the grubbiest menus i have ever seen, then attempted to take our orders. where were your staff? where were you? i can only assume you were the bloke in the basketball outfit hanging around in the corner.
your attempt to make our distress our own fault because we didn’t seek YOU out to complain about the bizzarre behaviour of your staff epitomizes the attitude we saw there. for starters where were you? certainly not running the floor like you should have been. the fact that there were well and truly enough staff to keep the few customers happy means no one was doing their jobs-you included.
you assume prior knowledge. why would we have it? do i need to research before i come? not only that but i made a complaint to your waitress-she didn’t explain him nor did she tell anyone else (ie you) to do so.
i make a mean pizza and heinekens are cheap at the moment, even out west. why the hell would i pay restaurant prices when i can get the same food and drink at home cheaper and without the hassle. there has to be a reason to go to you-you dont provide one. first time customers dont want to have to figure out the idosyncracies of your establishment. they just want decent food and good service-YOU are the HOST. it is up to YOU to make them comfortable.
i drive past you twice a day, and will continue to drive past. i feel no desire to spend another dollar or minute in your establishment. they are both too hard to come by these days.
1
1
7
The waitress came to take our order, then expecting the water/coffees to arrived soonish, still after approx 25mins still no drinks. 2 tables behind us, who arrived after us – had been given drinks/food before us, although noticing their food also arrived before their drinks.
1 pizza & fries was then given to the table behind us, who arrived after us & the man said, oh thanks, I didn’t realise the pizza came with fries. The pizza doesn’t come with fries, this was our order. The waiter took the fries away, I have no idea where & then the waiter proceeded to take the pizza from their table & give to us!!!!
Unbelieveable.
The other pizza, salad & cold fries, that had been walked throught the restaurant, looking for the correct table arrived & were now cold.
Still no water/coffees. At this point I was over the coffee, as pizza & coffee isn’t really an ideal mix together.
The staff seemed totally disorganised & not at all working as a team. As workers in the hospitality industry, we have expectations, like most people when we dine. This experience was a total disaster. The view/location is fantastic, however I hope the new management have some big ideas on how to train staff to cope with daily service.
Upon leaving, the waiter & waitress apologised for the delays & said we were not prepared for today being so busy. The day was a public holiday & not being prepared is a poor excuse, also, there was no mention/signage of the surchange applying.
As a local resident & a first timer, I will not be recommending this resturant as a place to dine.
1
2
My husband and I went with family to celebrate my mum’s birthday. It was a cold, rainy winters night in June and we were pleased come into the warmth.
The first thing we marvelled at was the stunning view of Auckland City. I had reserved a table but I had forgotten to request one with a view. However I was delighted that our table had a magnificent view, in the corner right next to the large windows.
We experienced very attentive service and enjoyed our food. The wine and coffee was also very good.
We would definitely go back and I have already recommended it to people.
2
1
The service staff were friendly and attentive and our drinks were promptly delivered to our table.
The Food was excellent….. I had the eye fillet on Creamy herbed potato mash and wild mushroom sauce (mushroom sauce was superb) and my partner had the Fish of the day which was a wonderful Tarakihi on Roasted winter veges with a creamy basil & parmesan sauce. Both our meals were delightful and the view and ambience is beautiful. We will definitely be back.
10
And wait we did. For a good 15 – 20 minutes we were waiting on the couch by the fire. Uncomfortably positioned right next to a couple dinning and a straight view into the kitchen where we watched a chef peering out into the half filled restaurant.
We watched the manager and his sidekick both serve a couple that were dealing with their bill. One of them at the time could have escorted us to our seats. We had waitress staff and waiters walk past us countless times and not any of them communicating to us to let us know what has happpened to our table.
I thought at one point the manager was coming over with menues but instead he walked to another table. I was beside myself, not ever have I had to wait that long to be seated in a half empty restaurant even without a booking!
Shocking.
We eneded up leaving and driving all the way back to Titirangi to have a lovely meal at Takahe restaurant.
2
It could be such an amazing place, it is truly beautiful and the inside also has a lot of potential, but the bad service is what holds me back from going there.
I noticed in one review that the customer was critical about a toilet opening directly into the dining space. If fact the toilets at Elevation are on a lower downstairs level. There is a disabled toilet on the same level but there are 3 doorways, a passageway and a bathroom between this toilet and the dinning area.
Also interesting to note the criticism regarding the kitchen area not being screened from the dinning area. A screen was removed about 2 1/2 years ago when the kitchen was overhauled (I am quite comfortable seeing where my food is prepared).
As for the food, I have also experienced some variation in quality and I believe this may be a consequence of changing chefs. My experiences over the last year has ranged from good to excellent.
Many of my friends regularly visit Elevation for meals, coffee and after work drinks.
1
When we alerted the staff the waitress shrieked and ran off to get management. Upon management arriving with her bright yellow glove, hand up, she proceeded to pick up the rodent, walked outside to the balcony, where said rodent was thrown off the balcony in front of all shocked dining patrons. Upon her arrival back into the restaurant she was casual with her apology i.e. “sorry for the interruption”. This was all that was said on the matter.
Our table was flabbergasted at the brutal disposal of the rodent and the casual attitude given to this.
The staff were very rude and did not seem to care about our distress in finding the rodent and witnessing the way in which it was dealt with.
The staff and service was rather lacklustre in general.
Upon leaving, we thought we would get at least an apology for the experience we incurred, but to no avail.
Needless to say whilst yes the view is fantastic, none of our party will ever be going back to Elevation Cafe.
A great disappointment indeed, especially on Mother’s Day.
2
1
We went on a Sunday morning for brunch and first off I noticed that it was absolutely freezing inside and people were wearing jackets and hats. We were then given a menu, printed on paper only, not even laminated, which contained about 4 options, which granted, were the standard breakfast choices of any cafe. Looking at how steep the prices were I thought I must be in for a real treat but alas….not the case. I found the staff to be very uninterested, borderline rude. First our coffee arrived which was burnt beyond recognition, our breakfast followed quickly…too quickly obviously because everything was cold. The food was completely un-imaginative and most people could have done better at home for about one third of the price…….Chef…have you heard of seasoning?
Overall not a good dining experience considering that the distance to get there is so great, you aren’t exactly just popping down the road…….
Did you eat at this restaurant? Have an opinion to share?





When they finally arrived, our drinks were empty and the waitress didn’t bother to ask if we wanted more. Another couple who had since arrived were waiting for some time, too, ignored and without drinks for a substantial period of time-terrible, too, as they were dressed up and out on a date.
We were passed by and not checked on once, however the deal breaker had to be one of the staff members pontificating a mere meter away at a table with what must have been one of her friends. For the next fifteen minutes, we heard her wax lyrical about her spiritual growth, her meditations, and where she practiced said growth-all the while two tables sat waiting for service.
When we expressed how disappointed we were upon paying (fries not comped), she stated that you couldn’t judge a place on just one visit. We’d also visited that day as we were considering Elevation for our wedding reception. Even when we told them this, there were no attempts to rectify the dismal service.
To be so blase and short-sighted speaks of poor management and a disregard of the customer. Needless to say, we found another venue later that day-they were busy but the service was impeccable and gracious.