New Zealand Herald

Reviews for Cornwall Park Restaurant

by Jacob R.
23rd May 2013

I have previously been here twice before, for high tea and a set lunch menu. The high tea I had the first time was exquisite with ultra gooey brownies and delicate hand crafted pastries and scones, I left very pleased. The second time I had the set lunch menu,which consisted of~Crispy skin salmon marinated in light honey sauce, and lemon cake with passion fruit ice cream.
I was waiting an hour and a to get my main course, but was totally worth it! The salmon skin was like pork crackling! It was perfectly cooked and the flavour worked REALLY well! The dessert was a tiny bit on the dry side, and the flavours were a bit strange!?
Today,I had salmon, and for dessert I had a selection of ice creams. The salmon was good. The ice cream was unusual?!
I will always come back for high tea!

by Nicky
3rd May 2013

Nice atomosphere with good parking available. Unfortunately the coffee was extremely bitter and barely drinkable.

The scones were nice, but the butter was strange.

Coffees also took a long time to come to the table

by Rochelle
13th April 2013

Fantastic location, lots of parking and great views. This restaurant should have everything going for it, when I looked online I saw it was quite pricey ($30 a main for lunch) so was expecting good things. The food was ok, fish was very fresh and beautifully cooked but the service was just dreadful. 2 1/4 hours for lunch of which about 1 1/2 hours was just waiting for food to arrive, the waiter got every order wrong and did not have a good handle of the English language. Will not be going back. Shame because the coffee was excellent.

by DIANA L.
19th February 2013

I took 26 of my really good lady friends to help celebrate my 60th birthday. Last year was a very challenging year for my family and they had all been exceptionally supportive so I wanted to give my thanks to them. I made numerous phone calls to make sure that everything would be perfect for the Champagne High Tea which we would be taking in the private room. I asked for the tables to be set up in u-shape formation which they assured me would fine.We all arrived there to find two separate rows of tables. They then had to waste our allotted time to re-set the room. Once we were finally seated they then went and asked everyone for their order…I had pre-ordered the High tea!!! All they had been asked to do was take drink orders…more wasted time. To cut a long story short the staff are not good at taking instructions but they were very attentive in the end and the food was Delicious.

by NomNomPanda
1st February 2013

Went here to catch up with friends. Was apprehensive due to the previous poor reviews, but the cafe was actually pleasant enough both in setting, service and food. The teas are proper loose leaf teas, not the tea bags that some expensive restaurants still manage to offer. The person who ordered pancakes had it served with clotted cream, and the breakfast dishes were standard cafe items, some with a twist like the 5 grain polenta in the full vegie breakfast. Pretty much what you would expect.

by Ben D.
19th January 2013

What a pity this restaurant doesn’t live up to its amazing location, the waitress was attentive and promptly took a drinks order while we decided our order, the garlic bread was nice and delivered to the table in good time but that was the end of it, our mains took a long time to be delivered and even though the waitress apologised for the delay there was no apparent reason for any delay as the restaurant was not that busy and seemed there were a lot of staff. The main was small in portion size (an increasingly common practise) the vegetables were minuscule and looked like they were prepared the day before, my partner found a hair in her meal and only ate half as a result, we ended it there paid and left never to return.

by Genevieve V.
15th October 2012

This restaurant has filled our family with lovely memories in the past as I have dined with Grandparents and Great Grandparents . It certainly has changed my partner and i had Scotch fillet i asked for it to be medium rear however it well done the thick chips tasted quite greasy and not crisp. My mother had market fish and the fish was over cooked. The service was good the manager was very apologetic but did not offer anything else. Because my mother wanted to do something nice for us we allowed her to pay but i couldnt help but feel a bit ripped off firstly because it cost $90 but also because it is in such a amazing iconic stunning location. I will try this restaurant again but perhaps for high tea and that is because the manager seemed genuinely sorry.

by Ngaio M.
1st October 2012

We visited for the first time on Sunday for early-ish lunch (1130-45). Stunning day and setting, staff were good and told us that the kitchen was changing over and there would be a short wait on food – no problem at all! However, drinks were slow to get to us (surely this would be prompt given a delay on our food?) anyway… I had the Warm roast beetroot, orange, cashew and rocket salad w grilled haloumi cheese and vincotto dressing | $19.50 and my husband had the Grilled eye fillet steak w fried egg and chunky home made chips | $33.50. While my salad was nice enough – two meager slices of haloumi and un-toasted cashews was very over priced and underwhelming. The steak was a small eye fillet that lacked flavor and was over the requested medium rare and “chewy” rather than “melt in mouthy”. That and the again meager 5 hand cut fries that came with it, left him still hungry after leaving! Disgracefully over priced and underwhelming! That said, lovely setting and nice staff. But afraid we wont be back until there are some serious changes to the portion/pricing.

Comment from Dean J. of Cornwall Park Restaurant 4/10/2012    Hide »

Hi Ngaio, Thank you for taking the time to comment. I am…    More »

Hi Ngaio,
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
I am delighted that my team let you know about the starting time of the lunch service, we need to do this to allow the kitchen to get their (mise en place) in order to be ready for the busy lunch service that we have.
I am saddened that you did not enjoy your lunch however, and of all the dishes that you could have chosen these two are in the most popular grouping. I get great comments about these everyday. I have asked the Head Chef to once again look at these to make sure that we are serving these as we are supposed to.
As for pricing, like you everytime you go to the supermarket, we feel the squeeze but I still insist on only using the best ingredients and these do cost more than the cheap alternatives.
Be assured that I review our costs very regularly and try my best to offer value for money. We appreciate those who choose to dine with us and we respect those who choose not to.

by lisa
9th September 2012

This review is not for the restaurant but the ice cream kiosk around the corner. And really its just some advice……
Have enough staff on to cater to the punters! – its a Sunday, you can assume its going to be busy??!!! Expecting a teenage boy to make coffee, roll ice creams, cook chips and handle money by himself is cruel.
Teach the staff how to cook chips – ten mins in the fryer is too long. They came out calcified looking like little bones!
It might sound really picky but is it too much to expect some decent hot chips?
And the hotdog – ditch the fancy bread bun, ditch the fancy frankfurter and just make a decent hotdog that’s HOT – oh and get some mustard!!!!!
I am so sick of the bad or just mediocre food we get in NZ. There just seems to be this apathy or that’ll do attitude. Food retailers need to wake up.
We wont be using kiosk again, we will bring our own in. And it doesn’t do much for the perception of what the restaurant will be like. BTW this is no criticism of the staff ! they were unfailing polite under stressed circumstances – its the bosses that need to accountable for not staffing it properly.

Comment from Dean J. of Cornwall Park Restaurant 9/09/2012    Hide »

Hi Lisa,Thanks for the advice. Just to let you know we did have 3…    More »

Hi Lisa,Thanks for the advice.
Just to let you know we did have 3 staff rostered on today and yes it is a Sunday but a relatively quiet one so we have the staff from the Kiosk Ice Cream outlet keeping busy in the restaurant to best utilize their time. They are called by a buzzer to come back to the Ice Cream outlet at a moments notice so I will speak to the guy that I had on to ask why he didn’t call for help. I did check on him and his team 3 times today and at all times was told that they were fine. By the very nature of the business there are fluctuations and he may have missed judged this and I apologise to you for your experience. As for the hotdog I will review this again, you should have been offered both mustard and /or tomato ketchup with grilled onions, the quality of the Frankfurter is second to none and made by a specialist European small goods company and we are very proud of this quality as opposed to other offerings in town which are not necessarily meat. We will go over the cooking of chips as well. I absolutely agree that the offerings should be up to a good standard and I question the customers myself to ensure their satisfaction is being met. Be assured that all of my Managers and myself are accountable and we do have staff on hand to man the outlet. I thank you again for taking the time to post this comment and we will as always strive to get it right for you. Kind regards Dean

by Yoanna L.
29th August 2012

Went there for high tea recently and overall was not quite impressed. Serving staff were nice and helpful and I like the way they serve the herbal tea. Average sandwiches and cakes, I did not particularly enjoy the scones because the scone dough was obviously over-handled. Sorry for being so critic but the coffee served was a bit of disaster as the foam on top was large-bubbled and spongy. Unbeatable location and views, would be a better restaurant if they have better coffee and more appealing desserts.

by Steve B.
27th July 2012

Treated my elderly mum to high tea recently and was a little disappointed.The sandwiches could have been fresher and a little bit more interesting eg. cress with egg, cream cheese with salmon. So could some of the cakes sticky date rather rubbery, some easy to eat old fashioned cakes would be good for older people. Scone was lovely, though Grandma would turn in her grave at no serving cutlery for cream and jam and no butter!Also no hot water jug served with tea.I do think for the price charged it could be a lot better. Staff friendly and helpful and a lovely place. Love the whole high tea concept just needs a bit of polish.

by Maloo22
16th April 2012

We hadn’t been for years, and what a pleasant surprise going back for brunch!

1. The waiter ( Irish chap who had been in NZ for over 10 years ) – he was excellent and really knew his stuff – he also got the 2 young boys 3 and 4 yrs old, to make their own OJ with the OJ machine , and provided colouring etc for them – excellent and meant we could relax

2. The Breakfast with Bacon and Eggs with a Snapper fillet was, in my opinion, the best breakfast I have had in a long time – sounds odd but try it – it just works

3. The kids meals were excellent

4. Teas and coffee’s were excellent ( often so bad – their Japanese green tea was superb, and served properly )

5. The outlook and general ambiance is great


I would encourage anyone looking to get away from roadside cafes to give this place a try – we will be going back

by amy
16th January 2012

We always have a warm welcome from the lovely and helpful staff.
Great food(specially desserts), gorgeous place to have an enjoyable and relaxing lunch. We’ve been back a few times and have always been happy with the experience…
We just love going there!

Comment from Dean J. of Cornwall Park Restaurant 17/01/2012    Hide »

Thank you Amy for taking the time to leave your comment on…    More »

Thank you Amy for taking the time to leave your comment on line.
I have passed this onto the team and they are wrapped.
Let’s hope we see you and some sunshine in the park again soon.

by Lena G.
12th December 2011

Booked a hens party into this restaurant and the booking was mixed up and subsequently we were given the wrong meals. When bringing up the mistake, the Waiter was really rude and manager was unhelpful! ended up paying a lot more then we booked for. Wouldn’t pay for the food or the terrible experience again!

Comment from Dean J. of Cornwall Park Restaurant 15/12/2011    Hide »

Dear Anon, Thank you for bringing this to my attention. The…    More »

Dear Anon,
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
The mistake was at the time of ordering and made by my waiter which I aplogise for unreservedly.
The High Tea(3 tiered stand) which was served to you is by far the most popular event for Hens Parties and he mistakenly ordered that for you as opposed to the Devonshire Tea (scones with cream and jam) that you had wanted.
My Manager did offer to only charge you for the lesser amount at the time which you declined and this still stands, we are more than happy to refund the difference. Please feel free to contact me directly to organise this.
Kind regards
Dean Johnson
(09) 6302888

by Ailsa
4th December 2011

Went at the beginning of October and enjoyed sitting outside eating desserts and drinking coffee. Fantastic frontline staff, beautiful presentation of food but taste was below average. Enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the tables on the deck. Went a second time at the beginning of November for high tea with another friend and sat on the inside. Again fantastic frontline staff, presentation of tray and tea was beautiful and again the taste was less than average. Inside was excrutiatingly formal, the decor dated and if it weren’t for the high level of staff service, the experience would have been thoroughly forgettable.

by Jujube
13th September 2011

Really friendly staff.
Some great views.
Main meals cooked to perfection (we had lamb shank, chicken breast, salmon, scallops).
Beautiful desserts, probably the best part of the meal.
Great to have the choice of the regular lunch menu, a set lunch menu and any combination of the two. A lively atmosphere which didn’t effect how prompt and attentive the service was. All in all, can’t fault the experience

by Russell
10th August 2011

Just had the lamb shanks for lunch, they tasted great, service was excellent. My partner has had ‘high tea’ there a couple of times and has always enjoyed that as well.

by L L.
17th July 2011

We had High Tea here one morning, and thoroughly enjoyed our experience. We were presented with a three-tier stand filled with wonderful sweet treats, petite sandwiches, and savouries accompanied with tea.. Lovely environment looking over Cornwall Park, and child-friendly as well..

by Melanie T.
6th June 2011

Hubby and I dined here for lunch on Queen’s Birthday. I ordered Devonshire Tea and hubby had the scallop dish as a main. We both enjoyed our meals, although the scallops was merely so, so. What made the experience memorable were the atmosphere and the beautiful setting within the park. We were very prepared for bad service considering past reviews but were pleasantly surprised (I wanted to try the restaurant for the location regardless). We arrived just before noon and did not have to wait for a table. There were several servers/wait staff that waited on us throughout the meal, from order taking to drink serving, food serving and plate clearing. We could not fault the service we received, it was always with a smile and someone stopped by just after we received the meal to make sure everything was okay. Overall, a positive experience. Would be lovely to try it again during warmer/clearer weather.

by Ali M.
2nd May 2011

I will never dine at Cornwall Park Restaurant again.
My friends and I (there was about 20ish of us) went here for lunch and had a really bad experience of the place. Some of the food was cold and had to be sent back, we had to wait almost an hour and a half for our meals and to top it off, one of the waiters spilled a tray of wine on me.
I had brought a new dress for this lunch, so was really upset that my shoes were soaked, my cardigan was wet and the entire side of my dress was drenched. I was offered no apology whatsoever and spent the entire meal upset and cold.
Overall, I’m really unimpressed with the way that this was dealt with by the staff there. Yes, in the end the owner agreed that the dry cleaning would be paid for after some prompting by myself, but the whole inconvenience of the ordeal was not addressed at all. Our whole table has gone away from this lunch feeling very negatively towards the staff and management of this restaurant. I feel like the bare minimum was ‘offered’ as compensation for my dress being soaked. I was very reasonable and understanding about this whole thing and I didn’t make a scene – though perhaps this would have been a better option to have sufficient compensation offered!

by Gina
22nd November 2010

Place is absolutely gorgeous! Food was wonderful had the seafood chowder and fish then a brownie for desert. Was 1 of the best dining experiences I have had for a while cust service great and to Richard it closes early because the park shuts early! That’s why they don’t do dinner which is a shame

by lorraine
17th October 2010

Although the food was good the service was poor. Ordered Devonshires, drinks arrived promptly but had to call the waiter after 20 minutes to ask for the scones and then waited another 15 minutes for them to arrive (no butter). I would expect the scone and drink to be enjoyed together

by Cherry
10th April 2010

Nice food, good coffee, good service

by Jenny
18th September 2009

After reading Richard’s review, I have to wonder where he has eaten before. I grew up in Onehunga and have for many, many years gone to the Cornwall Park restaurant for lunch or high tea.
The atmosphere is friendly, the staff very helpful. You have a choice of sitting inside, on the deck under cover or outside at large, easy to access tables. Children, babies no problem.
The food is delicious and the scones to die for. I now live in the West and still go over there for some of the best food in Auckland. You don’t have to be a snob to eat there.

by Richard
22nd June 2009

Having a monopoly position shouldn’t mean that you serve bad food and close early. Granted the new owner/manager is doing a better job than the last guy but it still caters to the blue rinse set. If you can remember the Empire then this is the place for you. Frankly though cucumber belongs in my Pimms and not in a sandwich.
There is an ice cream place out back but they have weird flavors and also close early.

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