New Zealand Herald

Reviews for Billfish Cafe Bar & Restaurant

by Grant C.
9th March 2013

We had dinner at Bill Fish . An outside table on a beautiful summers evening . The location is great on the edge of marina. The service was very good . I had Cajun fish (Hapuka) which I had enjoyed on a previous visit and again it was excellent . My wife had the “Sizzling Prawns ” These were rubbery and very bland tasting – a real dissapointment . The blackberry and marscopone torte was good and the coffee excellent . We will return as it is a great spot but will stick to ordering fish as a main course

by Vicki N.
11th December 2012

I have had the unfortunate experience of dealing with the owner in the past. He is rude and does like to be told that he is wrong when charging me more for a takeout coffee. Fortunately there are other places around with far better service.

by Julie C.
22nd November 2012

To all of you, we have supported this secret z pier location for three years and without doubt every single time the service, standard of food and owner commitment has been without question. We take great pride in bringing our visitors from outside Auckland and indeed beyond our shores to this wonderful venue. The standards, food ,and service make us proud to be able to offer this experience to our friends and family as an unrecognised Auckland icon. Having travelled the world many times it is hard to complete the trident. This being food, service and location. Thank-you Billfish, for helping us to fulfil our lifestyle John and Julie

by Courtney G.
3rd September 2012

Impromptu visit as we just happened to be passing by yesterday on Fathers Day, we were there late in the afternoon so just had coffee and a selection of mixed dishes (Prawns, Squid Rings, Chips & Garlic Bread) as a late lunch/early dinner to share between four of us. The king prawns were divine! Calamari was nice and light and the chips were crisp. Garlic bread was nice but couldn’t eat alot of it. We found our coffees were really good too. Only downside could have been to have a jug of water on the table? As we were having constant refills.
Great live entertainment too, we couldnt see her but she had a amazing voice.

by Rachel G.
18th August 2012

Interesting reviews. I have been here a few times and found the food to be much improved recently with quite decent coffee and a fantastic location. The service we have had from the female staff members has been good, but I am presuming that it was the owner/manager with whom we had an argument (large man wearing a loud shirt). Absolutely no idea on how to serve customers and reading the reviews is still arrogant enough to think he is doing alright. He is obviously making enough money to keep going, but I certainly won’t be returning (and I can see he won’t care). Restaurants/cafes will never improve if we continue to put up with poor service – we all deserve better than that.

by Greg
1st August 2012

We hosted a birthday party for 60 people. We cannot thank the staff enough for an evening that exceeded our expectations. The food was superb. Our drinks lady was very attentive, and the feedback from our guests, on our choice of location, was positive. I am sure many of our guests will be going back to Billfish, on their own account.
Thank you.

by Margaret S.
3rd May 2012

Have been to this restaurant several times before and enjoyed the beautiful setting.
However, was booked in with a large group on Wednesday 2nd May for Farewell celebration.
Upon arrival squashed/queued for drinks at small bar. Tables not set, no water, glasses etc.
No service upstairs – had to carry our meals etc up ourselves.
$32 buffet style meal included – bread rolls, 1 cheap green salad, boiled potatoes, kumara salad, bloody rare beef (no choice of rare, medium or well-done!) chicken (some of which was under-done) and deep fried fish? ( the later helpings not drained properly and dripping with fat) and 3 condiments/dressings. Followed by cold yukky coffee/tea and store-bought biscuits!!! Very disappointing.

Comment from Scott L. of Billfish Cafe Bar & Restaurant 3/05/2012    Hide »

Once again management’s choice of food options. I am sorry but in…    More »

Once again management’s choice of food options.
I am sorry but in 20 years have never herd of a restaurant that plates up a buffet meal for its guests?? and then carries it to the table for them.
There are water stations all around the cafe at all times and being a cash bar that night, guests were required to pay as they go (again a management decision) that’s why it’s called a cash bar?
I also challenge anyone to come down and try our non greasy fish n chips, we are famous for them.
It’s also great to see no one ever BUYS biscuits these days, awesome!!

by Barrie W.
3rd May 2012

Went there last night for a special function for 60 people. The meal was a buffet. Our group had the whole of the inside. Personally I found the food seriously wanting. The beef was very rare and in my opinion the chicken drumsticks were not cooked. The salad consisted of just lettuce leaves-nothing else in the bowl. The whole spread lacked imagination and variety. I asked to speak to the chef/owner who told me he had been doing his job for 20 years and no one had ever complained about his rare beef as this is what he normally served for such events. He said that there was some med-well done beef on a plate but 2 of us could not find any. Even more concerning that there was no effort to check the chicken drum sticks left uneaten on my plate. The owner’s statement that he had checked the chicken drum sticks when it was cooking with a probe did not satisfy me. Hang on a minute 60 guests, say 2 drum sticks each, that’s 120 probes?? What ever happened to the visual check? The meal seemed to be just the one main course however there was coffee and tea made available later. There was some Tim Tams and some other of what appeared to be store bought cookies. I would have expected a number of at the very least simple deserts that were in keeping with the name and reputation of this establishment? All in all I found the meal wanting. I am disappointed that the owner/chef did not bother to check the chicken drum sticks for himself as a result of my claim that his chicken drum sticks were not cooked. Alas no effort was made to check the uneaten chicken on my plate. This suggests to me that the owner could not care less! To the owners credit he did cook us some med to well beef and some chicken pieces. We will vote with our wallets on this one. Sorry we will not be back and the rule of 25 will apply. We will tell 25 of our friends of our experience.
Thanks Scott for your response.
I understand that the buffet was chosen by the organisers, however that does not excuse the quality of the food that your establishment presented. I would have expected more variety and yes I would have expected some simple deserts for my $32.00 a head (notwithstanding the cash bar)! You claim in your posted response that you had eaten several chicken drumsticks yourself? but I think your own E-Mail in your posted response speaks volumes. Quote,
“Hi Barrie, Sorry about last night. I think you may be misinformed about the food you were offered last night
Sorry again if it was not what you expected (and for not taking your chicken away to check)”. Signed Scott, Unquote.
Check out Pandora Bakery Scott for commercial quantities ready made slices, ideal for a simple desert bar.
Sorry we will not be back

Comment from Scott L. of Billfish Cafe Bar & Restaurant 3/05/2012    Hide »

Unfortunately this man does not realize the menu was chosen by his…    More »

Unfortunately this man does not realize the menu was chosen by his management and was our very basic buffet and does not come with desserts.
After eating several chicken drums myself I was satisfied they where in fact very tasty and well cooked.
And yes the COMPLIMENTARY cookies TO GO WITH THE COFFEE AND TEA where bought in as I don’t have a full time baker, sorry.
Scott

by Donna-Marie
26th April 2012

We had a table of six. Beautiful night. Over priced for Fish and chips. Service very average. During the dinner, I gave $100 to the owner? guy wearing bad taste shirt. This was towards our bill. At the time of paying our near $500 bill. They had neglected to minus the $100. When I mentioned the problem.
He offered no concern or reason. As my friends had not known I had paid the $100. Mr bad taste of shirts was billing them without the minus ed $’s – cash. This added a bad taste to a great dinner.

by Sarah
1st April 2012

We went for a lazy Sunday breakfast. Boy, what a painful experience!!
Not only did we experience poor wait service (had to ask to have our coffee order and then had to repeat our food order 3 times and it still came out wrong) but were served very watery coffee (especially if you consider the standard of good coffee around Auckland) as well as being verbally hassled when it came to pay.
We wanted to split the bill, were told ‘that 90% of cafes in NZ don’t allow split bills’. We explained that 3 of us had breakfast while one had coffee only so it would be only fair. Not only did the owner raise his voice about the hassle and difficulty of doing it but he tried overcharging us by $11.
Its a shame as the food was good but the combination of service, coffee and being told off when paying will mean we wont come back or recommend it.

Comment from Scott L. of Billfish Cafe Bar & Restaurant 4/04/2012    Hide »

It is with regret that these people had a bad experience. This is…    More »

It is with regret that these people had a bad experience.
This is a one off incident that can happen when splitting bills into unequal amounts.
Besides the fact that the overcharged amount was $1 not $11 as stated and was rectified at the time of payment.
We have hundreds of satisfied customers at Billfish and are complemented daily on our coffee, food and service.

by Barb B.
9th May 2011

Mother’s Day brunch. Married children hadn’t been b4 so I suggested we go. Fabulous. Had complimentary glass of bubbly and a choc to celebrate Mum’s day. Once again had the Kumera mash patties which are so delicious. D-in-law’s fish cakes also really tasty and the baked bean breakfast a real wow with my husband. Hope this place stays a secret location. Service really friendly…feels as if you are part of a family.

by Jo N.
23rd April 2011

an awesome location shame about the service. My partner and I went for brunch about a month ago. Waited over an hour for our meals and in the end gave up waiting. Coffees came twice, didn’t seem to be very well organized. Is a real pity as is in a perfect spot but to be honest we won’t be back and certainly wouldn’t recommend it

by Patricia
17th May 2010

Visited the Bill Fish Cafe this weekend after a year…
Not sure what happened it lost it’s former ‘rough’ charme and the food is totally over priced: $20 for ordinary fish and chips is just ridiculous….

Comment from Scott L. of Billfish Cafe Bar & Restaurant 1/08/2012    Hide »

The last time I had fish n chips from my local take out the…    More »

The last time I had fish n chips from my local take out the frozen fish pieces were $4 each and I needed 4 pieces then I added a scoop of chips at $5 so a total of $21
I did not dine in, I did not get any free tartare and tomato sauce and was not waited on by a lovely lady with free water an a set table over looking west haven marina, enough said I think!

by Kate
27th April 2010

Visited this cafe recently because it was reviewed well here and was close to my house. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The setting is certainly beautiful and it was lovely to sit on the waterfront on a warm Saturday afternoon, but the service and food left a lot to be desired. The food was fresh and moderate quality but $20 for fish and chips is a bit steep. The waitress couldn’t tell us anything about the menu, she had to check the fish of the day. And the wine list was a bit slim on choice. But the worst thing about it was the music – absolutely appalling bad bossanova covers of old 70s song. We just had to laugh when ‘leap up and down wave your knickers in the air’ came on. If the owner insists on having such bad taste in music perhaps they could keep it down!! Overall, great location, decent food, just bring your earplugs.

by Tasha S.
27th March 2008

Excellent service very very comfortable surroundings made me feel at home, love the charter boats and the view is perfect!! Fish n chips, squid, mussels are absolutely beautiful!! oh and the young chef is a hottie xx but very very beautiful place I recommend to anyone and everyone to try out.

by Tim H.
14th March 2008

Very large and tasty portions of Fish and Chips. Great setting on waterfront. A bit hard to find. Salty nautical characters all around.

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