We visited on a Saturday lunch time. It did not even look like the restaurant was open, we had to go inside and ask.

The decor is nice but nothing special, the tables are well placed leaving plenty of room to maneuver, especially as one of our party was elderly and has trouble walking.

The staff were pleasant and recommended a very nice wine off the list, while not extensive has a good range to chooses from both by the glass or by the bottle.

While not large the lunch menu has something for all tastes on it. However this is where the good impression stops.

$18.50 for 4 garlic prawns is not a meal neither was the lack of garlic and the dry tasteless rice. Was not a good meal.

$19.50 for the seafood bisque seemed a good price, but the menu said grilled Ciabatta bread! What we in fact got was definitely not Ciabatta nor grilled – it was in fact stale and hard. The bisque had 2 muscles, 1 scallop, 2 prawns and a couple of pieces of squid. Although the fish was beautifully cooked apart from the squid which was tough and rubbery the bisque itself was so sweet it spoiled the whole dish and could not be eaten.

$22.50 for the fish & chips, where do we start, large potato wedges, not quite cooked through and the fish of the day 2 thin strips of Gernard, which was nearly missing as the batter was so thick and tasteless.

Would I go back? No.

Quality look, quality fittings (chairs, glasses, cutlery) and very professional staff. The steak was superb but when it came to the Ballotine of Spatchcock ( chicken, spinach and pinenut mousse) Mushroom risotto I hope they have the chef under lock and key on the premises and don’t allow him out for fear of him taking off. Off the planet, as nice a meal as you could dream of – for this price, ridiculously good.
To those who have complained about the quantity/size of the food I suggest they go to the Gate Pa racetrack and ask the kind horse trainers there for a food bag. Those diners will relish the horse-sized helpings of horse fodder.
Lucky to have a place like this in Tauranga.

We recently ate at Phil’s Place – what a great setting alongside the marina – perfect on a summer day or night. We had great service from a very professional and friendly waitress. The food was beautifully presented. We had the eye fillet special and fish of the day, snapper, and it was delicious! The desserts were to die for!! This has to be the best food we have had in Tauranga and I agree that there aren’t many restaurants of this quality in Tauranga Thank you and we will be back.

So i went to Phils Place for dinner with my partner, it wasnt a special occasion or anything, but the staff made us feel so special, i have to say it would be the best service in Tauranga by far, also i have read alot of the reviews on here and the people that have complained about the food on here i would really love to know where you eat?, the food was amazing, my Steak was cooked perfect and the Lamb was to die for,as for seasoning as so many have bought up, good food does not need to be seasoned, and we did not have salt or pepper at our table, even though we were offered it, we turned it away, as it was good food.The Restaurant is the best in the Bay in my book, and if you have not been i suggest you do it, the service is really really good, right from the minute you walk in and are greeted by Daniel the Matire d, the friendly good looking staff, and the amazing food to match..Well done Phils Place keep it up, and i will be back many times.

We dined at Phil’s Place last night for my husband’s birthday and having read some negative reviews prior to heading over to the restaurant we hoped that some changes had been made. The design of the new restaurant is fantastic however the white tablecloths don’t match the rock music – we recommend ditching them. Our food was a real disappointment as pointed out by prior reviews – everything was underseasoned, cheese souffle did not taste of cheese, steak not cooked to order – though undercooked not overcooked, desserts were both dry and bland. Only highlights were the perfectly cooked bowl of fries and side salad and the barman was great – we enjoyed our cocktails both before and after dinner. What a shame – after high expectations to have an incredibly disappointing meal. We will not be returning to or recommending Phil’s Place unless changes are made.

My husband and I dined here for my birthday and I was very sceptical due to the reviews, however I found the entire meal and service to be exceptional.
I accidentally split my water and the staff were over in no time at all to clean it up.
I chose the fish of the day which was ‘snapper with a citrus relish’ which was divine, the nicest meal I have had in a long time.
The atmosphere was very pleasant, a little dark yes, but in winter it would be very romantic.
I will now not make judgements by other peoples reviews until I try it personally. We will definitely be going back again. Thank you for a lovely evening.

The atmosphere is funky and world class. the service was excellent. Food was on the whole good although the steak was overcooked. Spatchcock and risotto superb!! Didn’t try dessert. Size of meals was good particularly if you are going to sample the different courses.

This is a step in the right direction for the Bay however if you are on a budget this is not the place to go! Four people with two bottles of wine – $350-00. Great for a special night out or a casual drink.

We went for our first anniversary dinner, I wanted everything to be perfect but it wasn’t…
I asked for a vodka lime and lemonade single no ice. And it arrived with ice.
My husband ordered the special, surf and turf at a cost of $96 sounded good, steak and 1/2 a lobster and asked for a medium rare steak it arrived medium to well done, mash potato, and 2 small carrots, the lobster was cooked well but too much salt.
I had the lamb rack and it was also overdone…No we didn’t complain cause we didn’t want to spoil our special night, but no I would not recommend this place to my friends especially at the prices they are charging, I dont mind paying high prices for quality but this was not quality.

I went to Phils Place 3rd December 2011 for a birthday lunch with my family. We chose to sit outside as inside was dark and gloomy. Service was appalling, we waited 25 minutes for our drinks to be served and restaurant was not busy. If we hadnt already ordered we would have walked out. Portions were extremely small. My dad ordered spinach and goats cheese tart which consisted of 2 mouthfuls of tart and some pond weed on the side. He had to order a portion of chips and we all donated food from our plates to make up the shortfall. All 3 steaks were ordered Medium and when they arrived they were still mooing. All 5 of us were still hungry when we left after paying the bill of $188. Needless to say we would not recommend Phils Place to anyone and will never return. The 1 star rating is generous. Get your act together Phil!

Having just moved here from bright lights big city overseas I have been disappointed with New Zealands dining environment. Having travelled through New Zealand and dined extensively was feeling a little home sick and craving a real international restaurant. Hooray, finally I have found one in this beautiful country. I was greeted and seated by maitre’d Nathan, who was fresh, professional, welcoming and of complete knowledge of the menu and wine list. The decor was modern and funky, a venue that could have been placed as the “it” place to be in any large city in the world.
We started of with the tortellini as an entree which was divine and beautifully presented. For the mains I experienced the most amazing spatchcock dish i have ever tasted which was matched with a beautiful wine suggested by Nathan. Topped of with a deconstructed lemon tart, could my evening get any better.
In all the service was outstanding, the food glorious, the venue had an international flavour with funky decor and funky vibey music.
I highly recommend this restaurant to any experienced diner, if not solely just for the staff that made dining out such a pleasure.
Well done Phil.
Well done New Zealand

myself and husband went out for my birthday, was greetd by the maitre de Nathan, who was friendly and welcoming., the service was amazing, our waitress vicki offered us great service with a friendly smile, nothing was to much trouble for her, the food was nice but very small portions, would recommend going there for a special occasion as the setting is perfect on a summers evening.

At long last, a restaurant in Tauranga deserving of a place in culinary heaven, sooner as opposed as later!! Phil’s Place had been open a week when we dined as a group of four. Daniel (Maitre D) couldn’t have been more professional and welcoming and managed the restaurant with absolute finesse and certainty. We immediately felt at ease, and with a table by the window, looked forward to an enjoyable evening with a view to sample as many of the dishes as possible.

The food did not disappoint, with an interesting selection of dishes to whet even the fussiest of palettes. Without going through each menu item, I have no hesitation in recommending Phil’s Place for any discerning diner who wants to thoroughly enjoy a dining experience that, like a wonderful bottle of red, will only improve with age. We will return and as luck would have it, made a booking for New Years Eve (the first to do so)….should be a great night!!!

Do not go to this place if you are on a budget.We found the food very expensive and small portions so if you were real hungry and worked hard all day you would have been disappointed and emptied out your wallet.

The waitress that served our table has a lot to learn and really not up to standard for a place like this.

We feel Phil will have to do better if he wants repeat diners.

The service at Phils Place was excellent, the food wasn’t so great. 3 of us had the entree Twice baked cheese souffle. It was neither cheesey or souffle like. There was a sprinkling of cheese on the top. 2 friends had the buffalo mozzarella with tomato and aged balsamic vinegar. The mozzarella and tomato were nice but 5 dots of balsamic was ridiculous, they had to ask for more and the restaurant obliged. Another friend had oysters which were very good. For our mains 5 of us had steak which was excellent and cooked to perfection. My vegetarian friend had the risotto which was also very good. As the evening progressed they turned the lights down and by the time our mains arrived we could hardly see them. To look at the desert menu we had to pass the candle on the table around! The wine list was superb although pricey. We wont rush back for dinner but may try lunch next time.

Phil’s place has fantastic service; probably better than anywhere else in Tauranga and the risotto is the best I have ever tried.
However, we have been there a couple times and both times the steaks have been over-cooked. My partner asked for medium rare and got well done on both occasions. The wait-staff handled this well but unfortunately, at least on the second occasion, the replacement steak was also overcooked. It got too late to ask for another one. Because of this my partner wouldn’t ever order the wagyu, despite wanting to (because of the fear it would be over cooked and the $100+ price tag).
Generally the food was under-seasoned and despite sounding interesting tasted a bit bland. No one at our table particularly enjoyed the food and we all left feeling a bit deflated. It’s unfortunate because we were really looking forward to a very good restaurant opening up in Tauranga. And we really wanted to like this. Guess you have to wait until you are in Auckland, Wellington or overseas.