Good pub food and decent range of beers

Last night was the second and last time that I will dine at Southern Cross. What a disappointment, not to mention a rip off.

We were part of a group with a set menu, which sounded good, but in reality most of it was embarrassingly bad. First off we had to wait 45 minutes even for the (meagre) dips and breads to arrive, and a totally unacceptable TWO HOURS for our main course.

What little of the bread and dip I did get was whisked away by one of the waitresses while I was turned away talking to another diner. I can’t see what the hurry was to clear away given that we had two more hours to go before the mains arrived (and more babysitter costs for us).

My tiny main was a stone grill, and sadly it was soggy and mostly brown — where was the fresh, colourful, or crunchy stuff? And does the chef not even know how to do roast potatoes well? There was also no attention given to presentation. The meal was like something I might throw together in short order after a long, hard day. The difference being that I would have at least made myself something more substantial than entree size. A rip off.

The desserts, well, where do I begin? The ‘cake’ (more accurately, a heavy gateau — God forbid that you could properly describe your menu items) was a Moore Wilson’s special. The sorbets were at least presently reasonably attractively, but one of them was just sweet and tasteless.

But I have saved the best for last: the cinnamon and raisin bread and butter pudding. You would think a traditional old favourite like this would be hard to stuff up in the hands of a chef, but you would be wrong. First off, it was served cold. Yep, cold. Secondly, it was bland and made with way too thick slices of baguette. Most people left a lot uneaten, but I suppose at least they were given a decent portion, unlike with the other dishes.

We had one OK waitress, but the rest of the waiting staff were the usual cocky or unfriendly array of people who seem to think that they are doing you a favour just by being there, so have no compunction to be pleasant, helpful, or courteous.

I don’t eat out a lot, so it is a treat for me and really disappointing when you get this sort of return for your hard-earned cash.

My overall experience here was ok. I loved the decor and relaxed atmosphere. Took the kids ages 18-4 and felt quite comfortable having the younger one there. The service was a bit slack, had to wait too long to be served. She should have asked if we were ready to order our meals when she took our drinks order and when she dropped our drinks off…but didn’t and made a special return trip to do that. The lamb pattie in the lamb burger wasn’t that great…dry and packed with god knows what binding it together. Steak was great.

Went here on Saturday morning for breakfast, my god the service was amazing I’m a complete hospo snob and actually couldn’t find anything to fault even with a 3 year olds birthday party going on behind us, every little detail was looked after the food was fast and the wait staff couldn’t have been nicer – congrats guys, that’s how it should be done everywhere!

GAWD, I just read the other reviews and you people are HARSH. Is this really how Wellington operates??? I mean, really.

This is decent bar, with a very diverse beer and cider list, and an OK wine list. It’s got an amazing patio space, FRIENDLY and cheerful service, and a very stylish interior decor, and you guys can only give it 2-3 stars? COME ON.

I’ve had their fries with garlic aioli, it’s DA BOMB. They also had a charity grill going on tonight with free sausage, grilled onions and ketchup and mustard if you donate to the Red Cross Christchurch fund. The guy working the grill was super nice and sweet, and CUTE.

I’d much rather spend my hard earned dollars here than anywhere else on Cuba Street. At least I get good atmosphere, service and beer for a Friday night out with the mates.

xo to you Southern Cross

We came here for 2 for 1 Monday night Stonegrill which was great value. Good choice of meat, with nice sides.

What let Southern Cross down was the service, or lack thereof. We waited for about five minutes at the front counter to be acknowledged. Once seated it took about twenty minutes to be served, and only because we flagged down the waiter (twice). Food and drinks arrived relatively quickly after ordered, but service was not overly friendly.

Have had trouble with service most times I’ve gone to Southern Cross. Food is good though, and atmosphere – especially outside, is great.

Agree with other reviews, great location and the staff are very friendly and nice, but the foods pretty average and overpriced

My rating pretty much reflects the great setting and decor of this pub. The outdoor area is especially cool (though I feel sorry for people living in those apartments above!) and the place in general has a nice, relaxed atmosphere. Nice how they catered to kids by keeping board games around for them. Doesn’t matter for me as a diner as I don’t have children but it was still a nice touch.

The food is overpriced though and average in general. My friend and I had the bland bread with dips – it looked and tasted like a speciality bread you could get at Pak ‘n Save for $3. We also had french fries which were nice.

Perhaps the mains were better – I’m not sure as they were too overpriced for my liking at the time, well frankly I expected the place to be cheaper.

A fantastic venue though.

We went there for my friend’s birthday. We had a very good time, the service was very nice and the stone grill was very excited to us even though I don’t know how to Cook!!

Love it, will be back soon

Not quite sure about this one – I rate the bar and location as great – nice outdoor seating, good all year, winter and summer. There is always a wide range of people there which makes life interesting. Food wise – I dont rate it so well. Tends to be good food, but a little overpriced.
Definately back for drinks, but elsewhere for food.

Great atmosphere at the Southern Cross, especially the outdoor garden and different sections of the bar. However, the restaurant really lets them down. I’m a regular at the Thursday night Real Groovy Music Quiz (thanks guys – it’s awesome!) and sometimes go to their Sunday night dance lessons (again, great!). Occasionally I will grab a light meal while there, but the menu is limited and quality unappetising. This morning, my partner and I went for brunch. Once again, the food was very average with an incredibly limited menu. I didn’t realise that Saturday morning brunch = kids’ playtime session at the Cross. It’s one thing to be child-friendly; it’s another to have kids running around screaming while sliding along the floor. We’ll happily drink there again and enjoy the entertainment, but this won’t include food.