Have just visited this restaurant with a group of friends and could not fault it for service, atmosphere and quality of food. The wait staff were excellent and anticipated your needs prior to you!

Food was fantastic and there was not one grumble amongst our group, some of whom are fussy eaters.

Sadly it was not BYO and naturally prices were reflected in the bill total.. All in all a very enjoyable evening was had by all. Wouldn’t hesitate to return on another occasion.

Attentive service even though we had been turned away initially as they were not able to seat us at our booked time of 7… and asked to come back later
Overall 2 out of 4 meals returned to the kitchen as the food was cold… The eye fillet was as tough as a boot and obviously poor quality… But after already returning 2 meals it seemed pointless to return the 3rd…
Entrees alright again just cheap ingredients…and to much garlic even for us that like garlic!
Just a poor experience all around really food wise…
On the plus side the service was excellent…

Waitress asked people in our group how they would like their Chicken and Pork cooked. Two orders turned up incorrect another didn’t turn up at all. My vegetables were cold and par cooked and my $30+ steak would have been 50grams at best and was no better a cut than you would buy at a supermarket for less than $5. Very disappointing, even for a local South Auckland restaurant.

We went here on a Sunday night as a group of 6. We pre-booked a table and were seated as soon as we arrived. Waiters were very friendly and well presented. Food was excellent and we the restaurant allowed up to bring our own cake for dessert as we were celebrating a friends’ birthday. 5 stars for in restaurant experience. The next day though, 2 out of the 6 experienced stomach aches which were assumed to be from the food. I do not know what the health rating is but please check before eating here.

Read The reviews & heard a few things so we went to see for ourselves. Party of four, just very good friends out
for a bit of a celebration.
Great Food, Great service so will definitely be back

We wanted to go out somewhere ‘nice’ for dinner and found this restaurant on the internet. It is a real diamond in the rough (there are very few restaurants we have enjoyed in South Auckland). Service was superb, if not better it was definitely equal to any of the fine dining restaurants we have been to in the past. Staff were attentive and friendly. The meal was delicious and the portion sizes were just right. Definitely won’t be taking that long drive into the city with this restaurant so close to home.

We’ve lived close by for a while now, but had never eaten here before tonight because of the reviews.
We had a fantastic experience – everything met our expectations and the staff were very friendly and attentive. Thanks for the lovely meal!

We went to Volare earlier this year, and had a great experience. The waiter and staff were great and the food was amazing! We have been craving the pasta ever since and look forward to returning very soon with friends and family

I generally tend to find that the reviews on MenuMania are pretty accurate, although sometimes they look a little like the owner’s friends have been trying to pump them up.

Our reasons for going to Volare were 2-fold:
1. Because customers to our own restaurant often compare the two. These are people who like familiar, suburban, friendly dining.
2. Because Peter Calder (The NZ Herald’s head reviewer) gave them a very bad review, despite the feedback we have received in point #1.

Our verdict was that this is a very nice, unpretentious, friendly venue. We went on a Wednesday night and the restaurant was almost full.

Calder’s comments were on the whole totally unfounded in our experience. The restaurant staff were friendly & attentive, without being overbearing or familiar.

The garlic pizza bread & calamari we shared to start were just as good as we anticipated. We are suckers for fettucine al pollo, and for $18 per portion this was good value for money & decent sized portions.

All in all we wanted to write this review to point out that newspaper reviews can be damaging or complimentary, but you need to try venues out yourself to make a decision.

Our sister-in-law babysat for us, and when she heard of our destination said “why don’t you go somewhere nice”, her opinion purely based on the Herald. On this occasion, Calder has definitely meant that some diners will miss out on a very nice night out.

Volare is a great destination & we suggest you try it.

To sum up: good food, appalling service.

We arrived for our 7pm reservation and had our table pointed out to us – nobody bothered to take us there. Someone brought over some water a short time later, but we had no menus. The waitresses kept rushing past our table, eventually serving food to people who had arrived after us. We would have left but it was a special occasion and there’s nowhere else to go nearby. After 35 minutes of no service and glaring at the waitresses and manager, we finally managed to physically catch one of the waitresses and ask for menus. After that things went back to a semi-normal pace, but our drinks did take about 10-15 minutes to arrive. The food was tasty but the vege portions were a bit mean. The standard of service was highlighted when after our dessert was served, the waitress came back to dump a pile of spoons in the centre of the table. When we left they were quick to take our money, but offered no apology or discount.

Thoroughly enjoyable evening, we were seated about 6:30 so not too busy but it picked up to be a full house. Great waiting staff, attentive enough without being overbearing, even when it got busier, lovely meals, scallop entree superb, steak and fish of the day (dory) beautifully cooked. Will definitely return, and lots of locals there too.

I ordered the tortallini and really looking forward to it only to be presented with a plate straight out of a “heat and eat” Frescarini packet from the supermarket!!!! Definately a bit cheeky to call itself an Italian restaurant! Dissapointed! And the red headed waiter walks around like hes gods gift to the earth! Not enjoyable!

A lovely place – Sadly had their dish with “crisp bacon” – turned out to be something else, definitely not crisp bacon – cheap ingredients aren’t a good idea ever!! Will stick to pizzas and not pastas in future

Service was a little slow, but it was a Saturday and we were a large group. Very hot when seated upstairs. Food not bad, portions were a little small.

I live locally for a few years and have only just visited this restaurant – I wish someone had told me about it earlier.

I went in May 2009 on a cold night and they greeted our table warmly and even had a gas heater going. It wasn’t a busy night and there was only the front man (owner?) and one waitress – we didn’t feel neglected, the service was very good.

The menu was waiting on the table for us and after about 5 mins the waitress came to get our drinks order. They do a gorgeous Italian red wine for $30 – all other wines are around $35-39.

After being there about 10 mins our food order was taken, after the waitress told us the mains were quite big. When they arrived they were above average but not huge. We shared garlic bread (big pizza, generous garlic) to start and then went straight to the mains, skipping the starters (not many vegetarian starters).

Mains: Chicken Fettuccine $19, Seafood Spaghetti $19, Yummy (even for a meat eater) Vegetarian Cannelloni $19, Creamy Mushroom Chicken $26, and a really nice Trio of Seafood: fish, king prawns and calamari $32.

Deserts: approx $12 – Tiramisu, Creme Brulee, Lemon Tart, Icecream.

Overall: Good service, Good sized portions, Good food, Good prices, Good wine, Good atmosphere

We have just shifted to Auckland from Blenheim, and love Italian food.
Edwardo, the owner and his staff are just a pleasure to be served by.
The chef’s are Italian…the food is Italian….the atmosphere is Italian.
Our 11yr old daughter just enjoyed the experience, of being treated like a lady and a young adult.
Good food,excellent value,great host.
Regards Dave