29th March 2002 – my husband and I took an overseas visitor to Hammerheads last night…it was absolutely FANTASTIC. The service was outstanding, the food was divine (the best steak I have ever had) and the window table and view was glorious. I love the place! Couldn’t fault it if I tried. Thank you for a great night out!

I had been excited to go here for quite a while. I ended up trying it on my birthday, which I discovered was a mistake. As a seafood restaurant, I thought it was only appropriate to try the salmon. My other guests were smarter than this and had two orders of the sirloin and one of the lamb – these were cooked perfectly. However the salmon was dry and overdone to the point where it was inedible. For such an expensive meal I would of hoped the chef preparing it knew what he was doing. The waiter was rude and the kitchen was unaccommodating (I asked to not have the dill custard and the waiter told me this was not an option). Only saved from a 1 star because my guests were happy with their non-seafood meals.

I had Grilled Angus sirloin (medium), truffle butter, rosemary chick pea frites, kalamata portobello puree, butternut remoulade, jus – $39.50 and I purred – I simply loved every mouthful.

I asked the waiter if anyone had ever not loved that steak and he told the story of ‘just once’ when someone wanted it ‘black’ and so it was returned to the kitchen 3 times to get it just right – but even then, it was loved.

I’m a fan of Hammerheads again

We had our Xmas dinner there last night 3 Dec. My food was AMAZING! Scallops, crayfish and creme brulee!!! My hubby was on the other hand devastated…. He said his lamb was the worst he has ever had! I would give it another go and hopefully it was just a bad night for them. Very pricey misfortunate.

Was looking forward to my dining experience on the 11/11/11. Had previously dined at Hammerheads some 5 years prior and thoroughly enjoyed the service,food and ambience. This however was a total different experience-I can only assume there are new owners after the fire?? The lighting was far too bright to enjoy the views. The food was decidedly average with a somewhat asian feel (we are eating euro food after all?!) The service was a little intrusive. All in all my partner and I couldn’t wait to finish the main and leave. Will not return

First time back after the fire. New menus, the griled gamefish (tuna) and market fish (hapuka) were delicious. Pricing is certainly at upper end at $37 but it was a delight.

We did a 21st this year……and judging by the earlier readings….it has not changed a bit…we have been to Hammerheads a few times even back in the 80′s which was a mecca for the so called ooba dicks…along the way we did encounter the pretentious staff, why they act like this I do not know because when I have this sort of service upon me, I ask them are they happy and if not go and do dishes instead of showing the snobbery. My parents asked for Fish and Chips which Hammers had cooked previously, this time unfortunately we got the look of disgust and a flat NO which does not come across good with 11 people…..I did however write a letter pointing out the subtle things which should be looked at but had no reply which I expected…maybe they have changed management but anyway won’t be going back….

We went here last night for a bit of a romantic date and I normally don’t bother writing reviews about places, in fact this is my first ever. But I probably experienced one of the best meals of my life and I thought the world deserved to know. We started with the prawn entree, he prawns were very, very fresh however felt the flavour was slightly lacking. The came the highlight of my meal the Akaroa Salmon. I am a bit of a Salmon snob and this was hands down the best salmon dish I have ever had… melt in your mouth stuff. I will be going back numerous times just for this dish alone! My partner had snapper and this was also delicious. The meals were a very decent size and well worth what you pay. We finished with the Creme Brulee and it was second to none. Last but certainly not least I have to mention the FANTASTIC waiter who was amazing. He really put the icing on the cake for us. I wish I had got his name. I honestly believe this must be the top seafood restaurant in Auckland!

I regularly make the trip to Hammerheads at any chance I get. Me and my husband go there for all birthdays and anniversaries etc. Despite the bad reviews I have always found the staff friendly and attentive and the food amazing! They were also very helpful and understanding of my needs when I was pregnant too. By far the best fish i have had and being a big foodie I have eaten at a lot of restaurants. My favorite restaurant, I will be back in a week for my anniversary.

I have eaten here twice in the past couple of months –

First time I came with a group of old school friends. We had a wonderful evening and were looked after really well by the fantastic staff. They were attentive but not over the top.
All the food we had was magnificent and to top it off we had a table with a wonderful view of the water.

The second time I came here was for a wedding reception. I have been to a number of weddings this summer in and around Auckland and Hammerheads hands down does the best food of any of the venues I have been to! Not only do you get three options for the entree and three options for the main but they are of a generous size. Everyone could not stop talking about how good their meals were.
From the moment we arrived in the bar areas for pre dinner drinks and canapes ( which were awesome – I especially loved the scallops wrapped in bacon!) we were looked after so well.
Well done Hammerheads! I will definitely be back soon.

The venue was great, fantastic view good service, pity about the food.
My partner had the Tuna, which she enjoyed, I however decided to have the starter prawns as a main. The prawns where tiny, they tasted like pre-frozen prawns slightly reheated in a watery tasteless sauce. Nothing like the sat eared prawns in chilly as suggested on the menu.
The restaurant was busy so people must be enjoying the food, maybe I just picked the wrong dish. I won’t be going back there again, if I had stayed at home bought a dozen frozen prawns and put them in the microwave for a minute they would have tasted better than what there chef came up with.

Would not recommend.

Great location and reasonable food we have eaten there twice in January and probably will not return this trip.
The food is fine the service slow but they were crowded on both nights which says something.
The view probably makes the place it should really have more stars but still a good night out.
Tony Buckingham 2 visits January 2010

I’m not sure whether the poor reviews are warranted, as i have not had a bad experience with Hammerheads, and choose to eat here whenever there is a special occasion. Perhaps the time or day has an effect, but i have always found the staff to be exceptionally friendly and attentive over any of my recent visits.
the last time i went was for my bday, and as usual, the food was amazing as was the service. this was particularly commendable since we had 2 people with strict dietary requirements at the table.

having once worked at Hammerheads, i appreciate the improvement in the menu over the years – the ingredients and tastes are fresh and simple. the chefs obviously do not feel the need to add anything unneccessary, and let the flavours speak for themselves.

i began with a prawn salad with plenty of mint and coriander – the flavours were divine, and reminded me of the delicious tastes of vietnam i pine for. for the main, i had harpuka with a ‘sauce’ of seafood pieces (prawn, scallops, mussels) – the sauce usually has cream, which i requested they exclude, and the wait staff were happy to oblige.

dessert was AMAZING – having been before, i know the Valrhona chocolate cake is to die for! think, the thickest, darkest, richest chocolate moussey cakey goodness, and your getting close! superb!

my friend, who is allergic to eggs, nuts, shellfish, and mushrooms was looked after exceptionally well – so much so that as she was about to taste her sorbets, the matre d came rushing over and said there was nuts in the topping, and promptly whisked it away – not great that she almost ate it, but FANTASTIC that he was attentive enough to prevent it.

hammerheads is a restaurant with high standards – it is not fine dining, but there manner of service is much more ‘proper’ than many of auckland’s more casual restaurants. if this makes them seem ‘pretentious’, so be it. its important to remember that perception is a two way thing – if you think someone is being ‘snobby’, that is partly YOUR interpretation of THEIR behaviour… im sure they arent intentionally pretentious, but that might just be the expected behaviour in a high quality restaurant.
i love hammerheads, and will continue to go there.

Well despite reviews to the contrary – I had an amazing experience @ Hammerheads. The service was excellent, and the food divine. I had the warm vegetable salad for an entree – small but amazing combination of flavours, pumpkin, pine nuts, beautiful. I had the snapper for a main on some kind of Risotto with a lemon butter and caramelized onions. It was perfect. Finished off with a date pudding which was just wonderful. Beautiful setting, very professional service, a bit pricey, but completely worth the superb meal.

ZERO STAR is what i wanna giv ethem.

probably the most arogant restaurant i have ever encountered. i used to be a chef and have dined out extensively. and by far, these peoples noses are so up their own buttocks its amazing they can still breathe.

the food was ok, the price was high. but you see, it sok if the service was good, location is good. but they were so arogant and did not know the meaning of customer service.

staff were condescending and patronising.
would never go back, really, their menu is nothing special at all! swashbucklers is better! cheaper and food was jsut as nice

Poor menu, cold restaurant. Could have been a trip back to the ’80s. Has to be one of the best locations in Auckland for an eatery let down by the people running it. Drive 5 minutes along Tamaki Drive in either direction and you will find somewhere better.

This is the worst restaurant ever… we had the seafood platter for two, which was pretty good. But the service was absolutely dreadful, the manager (woman) is one of the rudest people I have ever come across as a customer service Representative. I will NEVER go back, and discourage everyone from going there.

We always feel a bit let down by this restaurant. The food’s OK… the service is acceptable…. it’s hard to put a finger on it. Something to do with the attitude. A touch of pretension, maybe. The demand for a tip, certainly. We’ve given it three goes over about 18 months, because we truly love seafood, and we don’t expect to go back.
That said, don’t take what we’ve written too seriously. We’re getting on a bit, don’t like stereotyping and dislike being treated like vagrant old age pensioners. We have rated it as “average” and if you’re in a group of businessmen you might find the atmosphere better than we have.
Judy and David