New Zealand Herald

Reviews for Empire Tavern

by John H.
16th May 2013

Went there over the weekend for the special, they have a lamb shank meal for only $5 with any drink purchase. So I ordered a coke and got the special.
Impressed! You could not even buy that yourself for that much and boy it was good!
Love the look of the place, The Garden Bar is pretty open and a nice place to dine.
Staff were great and friendly.
Definitely be back and that special is a must!

by Jessica G.
12th May 2013

I have been in there a few times now to get coffee in the mornings on the way to work, as a self confessed coffee connoisseur i can honestly say that the coffee is up to standard.
The staff are really friendly and I like that they have remembered my usual order. Its a small thing but its the small things that make the biggest difference.

Yesterday I went there for the first time for lunch and ordered a “lady Killer” pizza – delicious. It was quite busy and the order arrived in a reasonable time frame.

The staff are very friendly and welcoming.

Love the new look with the renovations that have been done.

Will be back for sure. Well done Empire.

by Robin B.
7th April 2013

Seriously peeved. Decided to try out the $5 steak meal they were advertising. Arrived, sat down, and after about 10 minutes managed to get a waitress’ attention.

For some reason, while we were waiting the waitress came up and told us to pay immediately, which was strange because at sit-down places you generally expect to pay afterwards. We’d soon find out why.

When the steak arrived, it wasn’t the 250g advertised portion, but AT BEST around 120g. A table near us was served one more than twice the size. My steak in particular was burnt black all over on the outside and well-done beyond recognition, despite asking for medium rare. It was cut in half down the middle, clearly so someone could check its doneness, and despite this I was still served a far too overdone steak. The ‘chef’ kept staring out the service window to peek at our table, and upon making eye contact with me withdrew his head so fast behind the counter he hit his head.

Not worth the $5 (yes, literally) and I’m not going back.

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