I ate at Flax several years ago and it was very nice, but on our latest visit we left disappointed. My partner and I paid about $25 each for Fish & Chips (there wasn’t much else that appealed on the menu) and for that price we got salad that was swimming in dressing, a handful of ‘McDonalds’ fries (thin and full of oil) and a piece of fish that I could have cooked at home. My friend ordered a curry that was mediocre and my other friend wasn’t impressed with her salad but at least the service was okay. With so many amazing restaurants in Albany and Takapuna Flax really needs to step up their game – we surely won’t be going back when we can pay the same amount to dine at a restaurant that not only provides diners with a good choice of meals, but executes these in the way a restaurant should! Would have expected better food from the local pub. Don’t waste your time and money.

Very disappointing. We have eaten here several times before and enjoyed but this time food was below average. Fish overcooked, steak sandwich underdone, and a plate overfilled with chips. Quality rather than quantity would be a good idea. Wait staff were excellent shame about the chef.

great place to dine, food is great and so is the service, my only niggle would be the condition of the leather seats which are a tad tacky! other than that fab place 9/10

What a delight, my partner and I went for dinner there last Thursday night. We hadn’t booked a table and the restaurant seemed quite busy, however the waitress was very helpful in sorting us a table. We ordered our drinks and the waitress explained that there was a large group that had just ordered food and there would be a wait on food. After taking our orders the lovely waitress came back and informed us that she had asked the chef if they could make our meals before the larger table and they had agreed to do so. We were very grateful that she had gone out of her way to help us enjoy our dinner. The seafood chowder was beautiful and my partners steak was cooked to perfection. Great service and great food. Very impressed and we will be back for another outing with friends!

i booked for my mothers 76th birthday for lunch for 7 people, when we arrived there was only 1 other table with 2 people on it so they werent busy, i had to go and ask for someone to come and take our drink orders, i read the review before i left i thought, i hope its still not like this but unfortunately the service hasnt improved, and unfortunately the meals werent that great either, sorry but really disappointed

My partner and I dined here one night when were on holidays, during the week, quite night, service was good, meal was lovely, would recommend for any gathering, keep up the good work, can’t wait to return next time we are in town.

I went to Flax with a large group for a friends for a spontaneous dinner (we were previously in the bar side of the restaurant). The staff were very helpful in organising a table for 14 with no booking on a Friday night. The food was great, the restaurant was busy, and had a good vibe going. The staff were attentive, and we will all definitely be going back. Thanks to all who made it a great evening for 14, not an easy job!

We made reservations for Flax for our wedding anniversary dinner and left feeling disappointed with the meal. There were 4 of us and we all ordered entrees and mains. Two entrees arrived and were finished before we enquired as to the whereabouts of the other two. It appeared that the printout of the order didn’t get through to the kitchen. Sound familiar? We were given a free drink to compensate however. The mains arrived and whilst they were OK, for the price you pay,I would like to be able to order and eat something that I wouldn’t be able to cook myself at home. I’ve had a lot better elsewhere so will not be returning to Flax – I work too hard for my money to be throwing it away on a mediocre restaurant.

We had dinner at Flax on Friday night and will not ever be returning. We sat down and waited for at least 20 minutes for our glass of wine, which appeared to be a very small measure. The table next to us had their meals delivered, we glanced over and decided that the tuna salad looked nice so one of our party ordered that, there was an option of entrée or main size. The main was ordered and after a very long wait our meals arrived. The tuna salad appeared to be the entrée size and when we were able to raise one of the staff’s attention and pointed out the error, we were told that the meal in front of us was indeed the main size. Not happy with this we pointed out that the table beside us was delivered the same meal and it was twice the size of ours. Another staff member then came along and told some story about the table beside had “upsized” their salad! Please, the recipient of the salad next door was at least 80 years old and I have never heard of anyone requesting an “upsized’ meal at a restaurant, particularly not an 80 year old. We had also been chatting to the party next door, due to the long wait, and it was their first visit to the restaurant so the chances of them requesting an upsize is ridiculous! The whole experience was very disappointing for such a lovely venue. We felt quite ripped off as the menu prices were very expensive as well for what was delivered. Hopefully they will get their act together before the masses of tourists arrive for the rugby world cup later this year.

This was my first time dining at Flax and I would gladly go back. It was a balmy summer’s evening and all the outside tables full.
We were greeted politely, given our pick of tables just inside the open stacked doors and we were treated to pleasant and timely service. The food was tasty and attractively presented.
Later in the evening, the waitress made a mistake by not buzzing our dessert order through to the kitchen, but she was extremely apologetic when this came to light and graciously took the cost of a special coffee off our bill without us asking.
Very good. Thank you.

These people really should not be in the restaurant business. We have visited Flax several times and each time it is different, but not very good. The service is friendly enough, but often confused and chaotic. The coffee is awful and they need to be a lot less stingy with the beans. The food was quite good, but the vegetarian in our group was not impressed. Last but not least, the music was so loud it was at times uncomfortable and made conversation difficult if not impossible – I don’t care if the staff is young, they are not the ones paying for the experience. After three visits, we all agreed it was a hit and miss affair and since their are so many consistently good cafes on the Shore, we will not be visiting Flax again.

We went to Flax a while back and never went back. I ordered a Soy, decaf flat white which the girl who was making the coffees yelled out in disgust, and was a bit embarrassed when I asked her to keep her comments to herself….

I have visited Flax a few times, and each time walk out wondering why I bothered. The last time I went was for a late lunch. There was only one vegetarian option on the menu, a salad – which wasn’t that appetising on a cold, wet, wintery day. So, I asked if it was possible to have a vegetarian burger made. This seemed to be a confusing request but after a bit of talking amongst the staff they decided that could be done.
The food was good, thanks to the kitchen staff. But the customer service leaves a lot to be desired. Improve the customer service (and maybe add a few vegetarian options to the menu!) and this restaurant could be good. Or even great.

I think Flax is lovely. Great location on the beach and it has a lovely ambiance. Food has always been superb on our numerous visits. Sure the staff can be a bit vacant – but you get that with young girls LOL. Shame the Tohu Riesling is no longer on the wine list.

We simply popped in to get takeaway flat whites. They were so tasteless it seriously didn’t seem to have any coffee in it. I took them back with my concerns and the wait person was unable to solve my problem, telling me that it’s the same as a small flat white but with more milk to make it bigger! One of the guys overheard and asked if I would like an extra shot added. Which was great of him to offer, unfortunately it still didn’t add much flavour at all. I’m not sure what coffee beans they are using or if the technique is not right (i’m by no means a barista), but we will certainly never get coffee from Flax again.

We had an early lunch here on a Sunday. The food was actually quite nice but Flax is let down by the lack of customer service knowledge of the staff. I think they were trying but need more training. The music playing was really good too….. just too loud! They have all right ingredients here but need to shake it up a bit!

Lovely setting right by the beach. Upon arrival we were seated immediatly and our orders taken soon after. Half an hour later we were informed that the waitress had only just put our orders into the kitchen so there would be a longer wait. We decided to wait but had a time limit due to going out afterwards. We were told 5 minute wait, 10minutes later we asked again how far our meal was and thankfully she came out from the kitchen with it. Meal was good, unfortunatly it was eaten in a bit of a rush. During the meal we were apologised to by the manager about the wait but we were also interupted 4 times in a space of 20minutes to check out food and drinks each by a different waiter. On paying the bill the Man was not so friendly, when I said Thanks and Have a lovely evening to him I was not acknowledged at all. It is a nice little resterant but definatly has lack of communication between staff and they need to improve on customer service.

Came here on Saturday with Boyfriend for a late(ish) dinner. Were seated immediately at one of the comfy booth type tables. It was nice and warm on a rather chilly night and the environment was very relaxed and comfortable.
There were no vegetarian options for mains on the menu which was a little disappointing. After talking to the young waitress she said they could do a vegetarian fettuccine (chicken fettuccine without the chicken). I chose this but it would have been nice to have at least two options to choose between. It came out nice and creamy with the veges perfectly cooked. It did lack a little in the flavour department but was satisfying and otherwise beautiful. The parmesan and cracked pepper definatly made it.
Boyfriend had the sirloin steak. Which he said was filling and delicious.
Had the passionfruit cheesecake for dessert to share – Yum!
Service was good. The young waitress seemed a bit unsure or maybe she was just very bored but was pretty pleasant non the less. The (what I presume to be) manager was very friendly and helpful and always smiling.
At the end of the meal when we were ready to pay it seemed like they had all forgotten that we were still there. We were the only customers left at this stage and they had started cleaning up and tidying away a bit earlier. We went looking for a staff member and called out but noone came. We waited by the bar to pay for about ten minutes and even thought about coming leaving and back the next day to pay as there was just noone there. In the end a guy come out from the back and ignored us while looking for something in the bar until we said we were wanting to go. Only then did the waitress finally come and take our money.
Overall though it was a good dining experience with nice food and a fantastic atmosphere.

Lucky for us to find Flax because they are listed in the Entertainment Bk. I called to book a table for a date night with my husband. The main courses(Lamp Rump & Eye Fillet)+dessert we ordered were absolutely divine and with the view of the beach(we were set by the window),we had a wonderful evening. Given that we had a discount with the Entertainment Bk, the price vs quantity was exceptional. We certainly will return to and recommend Flax to others!

I am a new local to Browns Bay and had my eye on this beautifully located restaurant for some time. My husband, son and I had Saturday lunch here today and found the restaurant over-rated, over-priced and food very average. I paid $18 for a ‘grilled chicken salad’ which as a main I expected to be far more substantial – it consisted almost completely of salad leaves and a few pieces of grilled chicken and a pityful morsel of tiny, dried out kumara. My husband had the $28 steak which came with chips only – he too felt the taste less alot to be desired and it was overcooked. We were seated in the rear of the restaurant which is very dark and gloomy and feels more like a corridor, feel the restaurant should allocate this to kitchen space. Saving grace was my son’s well-priced, affordable cheese burger meal with chips from their kids menu which he really enjoyed. Moral of the story: great location for a quick bite to eat but wouldn’t eat there again, only possibly enjoy a glass of wine in the outside seating area on a nice summer day.

Unfortunately this is not a good review- i telephoned on Friday to book a Sunday lunch for 9 people. The receptionist was extremely fiendly/helpful, asking if it was a special occasion, which it was, and we specifically requested a table by the window looking over the beach etc. Upon arriving at the restaurant at miday we found it to be chaotic (being told at least 40 min wait for food) and no table reserved. They tried to squeeze us into a table at the rear of the building which was next to the kitchen, very dark and v noisy. The duty manager did try to offer an alternative however it was not satisfactory. I was totally dissapointed with the staff/ ambience so we elected to dine elsewhere. PS My grandmother- a Browns Bay local has previously dined there twice with assocaites and had variable service/ food quality. This time it is 3 strikes and your are out- we wont be trying there again!