We have dined here for diner & lunch.Firstly the views across to the sea are amazing.We sat for lunch on the sunny deck & had a light seafood lunch.We returned a week later for diner & can say we loved the clean fresh real seafood tastes.Food wasn’t disguised in the usual heavy sauces & portions were generous.would return again

I don’t usually write reviews but felt that the O Pescador in Orewa deserves one. My husband and I live in Orewa and decided as a change to try the O Pescador as we have never been before. The mainly sea food menu was a very pleasant change to the usual sample fare on offer in most New Zealand restaurants. My husband chose the Calamari and I opted for the prawns pan fried in Garlic and wine. Both were absolutely scrumptious. The portion sizes were good and the light, crisp batter on the calamari was to die for. My prawns were equally impressive with the sauce complementing the taste of the prawns – not overwhelming them. The stunning elevated sea views from the restaurant of Orewa Beach were an added bonus and completed the ambience of the nautical-themed restaurant. The service was great and we will most definitely be recommending it to our friends and going back for more. It is one of Orewa’s hidden gems and worth the walk up the stairs.

I can see the owners or friends of the owners wrote the last review. The First review was remarkably similar to my experience!

The wait staff do try try hard, but fail to come close to service you receive from any average restaurant. The first time I tried to dine here was at 7pm on a Saturday night, I did not book but I did try. There was no number in the phone book, no email, even 018 could not help! There were eight people in the restaurant with at least 30-40 seats spare, I was told they were fully booked. This turned out not to be true.

This was about three weeks after opening, so a month later I thought I’d try again, still no phone number I walked in again. It was a struggle but we got in. There were 10 others.

The starter, very dry bread with enough oil and balsamic for 2-3 bites… hmmmm. Not such a flash start. My partner ordered duck and I the terakihi. After about an hour our food came! I was starving, and guess what, I got given tuna instead! I was so hungry I decided not to wait for what I ordered. The tuna was unseasoned, over charred and cooked all the way through (said seared on the menu)…it sat on top of what tasted like tomatoes straight from the can. The duck… burnt.

To boot!!! We got over charged by a few dollars! I was not a happy camper and I did tell them in the most polite and humble ways as my girlfriend did not want to be embarrassed, only to receive a shrug and smile and to be told that next time would be better. I don’t think so. I could cook better when I was eight years old.
Never again.

I will be fair. The chairs were lovely. But still, a Fillet’o'Fish is gourmet to O’Pescador and McDonalds has fancy leather seats too.

After reading the previous review we decided despite the poor review to give the restaurant a try as the other option we had was closed. We now feel we should write a review as we had such a lovely dining experience. It was 7.30pm Friday night and the restaurant was fully booked – we had no booking. Nevertheless the very pleasant girls on reception brought in an extra table and made room for us.

We had bread for starters which was hot and beautifully baked with nice olive oil and vinegar. A lovely Pinot Gris which was available per glass at resonable price. All other wines were also available per glass. We both ordered fish, one flounder and one terakihi. This was fresh and beautifully prepared served with pesto and vegetables. Delicious. Finished with desert of Brulee. Meal was perfect, ambience very nice, and service great. Thank you.