New Zealand Herald

Reviews for Everybody’s Bar & Bistro

by Stephen W.
12th May 2013

This is not a place for everybody, as the name implies, it is in fact a place for very few, and that number is dwindling, due to the noted problems from previous reviews.
My wife and I went there for our first wedding anniversary, what a fail! The staff was rude ‘too cool for school, or service’, and would rather be anywhere else, that said I blame the management’s poor employment choices, when hiring as well as sending a ‘We don’t care’ message with the way the place is run. The sooner this place closes and someone that knows how to run a restaurant with service at its forefront the better. The ‘Mains’ were small and unsatisfactory and rather than stay for a rubbish desert we chose to leave early and spend our money somewhere more deserving, up the road. We told the Maitre d’ why we were leaving (we only saw her when we got up to pay and leave) and she argued with my wife about her complaint about the ‘so called’ salad, saying it’s not really a salad more a garnish (well don’t call it a salad on the menu) I’ve got so much more to say about how bad the service was as well as general comments on this place, but I feel I have wasted enough of my time and money.

by orca1 k.
8th May 2013

Oh how can a beautifully renovation in a charming setting with lovely deco lights, hardwood floors & impeccable linen be ruined, courtesy of an icy cold reception from the male waiter.. Upstairs is truly stunning & yet on my girlfriend’s graduation day..our party was made to seat outside rather then the warmth of indoors during an absolute bucketing down heavy rainfall day & by Party, I mean a total of 6 elegant, individuals, dressed appropriately for the weather, we weren’t offered the outdoor heaters to be switched on. Our ‘charming (not) waiter was as cold as the Champagne served to celebrate the degree. We were ignored the entire meal with the exception of silently clearing our plates & placing dessert menus. Not even a basic – ‘how was the meal or Congrats on your Graduation. Nothing! You are paying the dollars of fine dining but the limited menu selection & almost nil-existent non-alcoholic drink list was disappointing. But what blew us away was the actual limited meals, nice simple presentation but the buck stops there. The Rib-eye steak was a tiny morsel with a very watery jus & salad of shaved Red onions & Coriander is not a salad, forgot about seasoning/dressing! Another mate’s Lamb-shank was the size of Lamb neck, most of the time was spent separating the fat & searching for tiny bits of meat, her disappointment was obvious… she voiced the opinion ‘where the heck is the rest of it?? How can the occasion of a hard-working young lady be marred by the absolutely pathetic customer service of what was suppose to be a lovely meal shared by family & friends who took time off for this special occasion.. Easy just visit this Restaurant & let the maitre-d do the rest! Customer service & brilliant customer service is not offered at this establishment. Don’t waste your money or time coming to dine here. What is concerning is to date, management has yet to front-up & respond to any of the reviews especially single 1 ratings reviews like mine. Is business that good or does the level of ignorance flow like cheap red wine right up the ranks?!

Comment from Pack I. of Everybody’s Bar & Bistro 10/05/2013    Hide »

Good afternoon Orca1 k., I would first of all like to thank you…    More »

Good afternoon Orca1 k.,
I would first of all like to thank you for taking the time to focus our attention on the service issues you experienced with Everybody’s earlier this week. While it is ever our intent to provide the highest level of customer service, all too often, less than satisfactory experiences go unmentioned and we do not have the opportunity as management to rectify these situations. Your effort allows us to address such issues and hopefully mend some of the discord between your group and our establishment.
The fact that your welcome to our establishment was less than hospitable is inexcusable. We constantly work with our staff to ensure each guest is warmly greeted and welcomed through our doors and I sincerely apologize if our server did not meet your expectations in this regard. In such inclement weather conditions, it should have been made extremely clear that unfortunately due to special limitations, groups of more than six individuals can only be accommodated for dining on the exterior tables where you were seated. Our server did mention that you had expressed the possibility of more attendees, so again I apologize that it was not made clear why your group had been seated outside. However, the heaters could and should have been utilized. Again, we have no excuse for this oversight.
As an up-market bistro, our menu and portion sizes are designed to deliver a maximum dining experience to guests while hopefully staying competitive in the price market. We use some of the finest cuts of meats coupled with seasonally fresh herbs and vegetables to heighten the flavour of each dish and enhance the dining experience. Obviously in this instance, we have missed the aim for you and your guests and your input will be acknowledged in the continual assessment of our offering.
I do sincerely hope your initial experience with us has not been so extremely off-putting that you would not allow us the opportunity to prove why we are and hope to remain one of Auckland’s most reputable hospitality establishments. If you would be so kind as to email info@everybodys.co.nz with a full name and contact details, I would like to rectifying this situation.

by Janice J.
1st April 2013

This place, while having the prices of a fine dining restaurant, is well short of the kind of experience you would expect from such an establishment. Ignored completely when we entered. The chairs reminded me of sitting in a 19th-century school dining room hall and were hard and cold as ice. Service we received from the waitress was akin to something you would get at the cock and bull – maniacally cheery, obstructive and overly familiar – was quite impressed when she very arrogantly dismissed one of my party’s food allergy as something else. In one case, a main was grossly undercooked and she neglected to do anything about it. Huge disappointment. After months of wanting to try this restaurant I was really let down.

by Ben D.
24th March 2013

Arriving on a Saturday night at 8.30 pm was probably a little ambitious for this popular spot but just the two of us so thought it was worth a try, inevitably it was packed and we were informed of an hour wait so we sat near the bar and had a couple of drinks while we waited, this is where the first surprise came as the Maitre d kept us informed and apologised for the delay, we were seated bang on an hour as promised, once seated the service continued to be excellent with the waitress prompt and efficient without any pretence, the food was excellent both main and dessert, the Maitre d even returned to check everything was ok. Other Restaurants could do well to study these guys as how to handle customers when under pressure.

by Kay
23rd March 2013

We won a free dinner here. I was really disappointed with the service and food. It would appear that all of the people who had won free dinners were grouped together and treated as second class citizens.

by Julia S.
20th February 2013

In a nutshell: Don’t go if you value a positive dining experience. Terrible service + below average food = money not well spent.

The story: The day we “experienced” Everybody’s was Valentine’s Day, despite my dining partner and myself not being a couple. However, we were looking forward to finally checking out what all the hype was about and were hoping to have a pleasant evening in any case. Man, were we disappointed…

As we entered the restaurant, we already didn’t feel welcomed, as there is no obvious reception area and the couple of waiters rushing around failed to greet us, let alone ask if we had a reservation. Finally we approached one of them, who turned out to be the French waiter. I wish we hadn’t. Our online booking for “a nice table for Valentine’s Day” had been confirmed for 7:30pm, but when we told Mr. French he bluntly informed us that the table was not yet ready. We didn’t really understand this, as not only were we punctual, but furthermore we could see three of the booths, that we expected to be sitting in were empty. We were told to have a drink at the bar (not on the house, despite their running late), which we didn’t really want as we had just come from pre-dinner drinks, and were by this stage genuinely hungry. Before we took to the bar my partner politely asked Mr. French approximately how long it would be, to which he slyly replied “The nicer you are to me, the quicker it will be”. Really, this should have been our clue to leave. But we had been looking forward to the evening so we did as we were told and sat at the bar.

Nobody ended up taking our drinks order, so when Mr. French returned to bring us to our table we were happy to move. Until we saw the table. We had been waiting not to be seated in one of the three comfortable (still empty!) booths, but were instead crammed onto a table where I sat less than a meter from the open-kitchen, till and waitstaff through-fare in other words, in the way, and my partner had to squeeze into the table so the waitress could still get between our table and the next. As we knew we were paying good money and since we had requested a nice table we asked one of the waitresses who the booths were for. We were informed these had been specifically requested by Valentine’s couples. We told her we weren’t aware one had to request these, but just because we were not a couple, we would still appreciate a nice table. After to-ing and fro-ing she finally agreed to move us. After we were settled (again…), Mr. French stopped by our table, we assumed to FINALLY take our drinks order. Instead, he leant his lanky frame across our table and sneered whether we “would be the most difficult customers of the night”. Now I’m not one to not appreciate a sense of humour (even if it’s French…) but to me that is just plain rudeness. Having worked as a waitress myself for years, if I spoke to a paying customer in such a manner, I would not expect to have my job the next day. We retaliated with “Only because you have been the most difficult waiter”, and asked if we could order our drinks, please. We had to repeat the order and show him on the menu as he obviously didn’t know the wine list as well as he thought.

We decided upon our meals quickly, however again had to ASK to order these. We chose the ‘Big eye tuna’ and ‘Twice baked gorgonzola souffle’ both arrived RELATIVELY swiftly, but were nothing special. The souffle was collapsed, the tuna flavours clashed. As our mains we both ordered the gnocchi for $30 a plate. After an hour of having had our entrees we asked Mr. French how far away the gnocchi were (yes, we dared!), his response “two minutes!”. I noticed the table next to us had already asked for their mains also. Naturally it was closer to another ten…and when he plonked the two plates before us we couldn’t believe our eyes. I genuinely thought they had misunderstood and thought we wanted to share the gnocchi and had therefore split the portion it was so tiny! Furthermore when we came to taste food we had waited until 10pm for, we realised the gnocchi were completely over-salted, so in a sense we were glad there were only six little gnocchi, and two baby carrots to be eaten. We took photos of the portion size which suddenly got Mr. French’s alarm bells ringing and for the first time the entire evening we were asked if “everything was okay”. By this stage we were so over it we told him no it wasn’t, but that it no longer mattered. The waitress came over and asked if we wished to exchange the meal, but since we didn’t feel like waiting another half hour and were positively ravenous we kindly declined, to which she suggested she take the gnocchi off the bill. Something I suppose…

We still ended up paying $83.00 for an evening where we were made to feel like like a complete inconvenience. So, it would seem that despite the name, Everybody’s really isn’t for everybody…And I will make sure NOBODY I know will have their night ruined by them

by Kirsten C.
6th February 2013

I always enjoy visiting Everybody’s!! My new fave place in town to meet with friends after work, and why not try some of their tempting food on the menu- big eye tuna was perfect!!!The staff makes us feel welcome and look after us very well, love you guys!!

by Steph
6th February 2013

Go there all the time for after work drinks! Just amazing, drinks list is good, tapas superb and service always friendly and professional!

by Sarah T.
31st January 2013

Celebrated a milestone birthday with 50 family & friends on the mezzanine level at everybody’s. absolutely amazing , the canapés were mouth watering & the selection of wine & beer terrific. Customer service is a must & the staff that were on made you feel so welcome & very helpful & friendly. My Aussies friends just loved it so look out Sydney!!

by Tom D.
20th January 2013

We enjoyed a fantastic meal at Everybody’s last night. Each course was cooked to perfection and we received brilliant recommendations from our waiters.
I was also very impressed by the portion size. You can leave some restaurants of this standard still feeling hungry but we left full and very satisfied.
Loved the relaxed atmosphere and the entire dining experience. We will be going back.

by Di S.
18th January 2013

Enjoyed the food very much. The French waiter was attentive, knowledgeable and had good sense of humour. The bar staff knowledgable. Love the decor – inside outside, fun place for drinks and dinner

by Amanda
17th October 2012

Delicious food, great service. Food is expensive, but you would expect that from a place this swanky and it is amazing food, so the price is forgivable!

by Rachel B.
29th September 2012

I was pleased with my experience at Everybody’s. We booked a table for 7:45 although we weren’t seated until 30 minutes after that. The staff recognized the error and sent us over a delicious tuna entree to make up for it. The waitstaff was friendly and knowledgeable and quick to get our drinks and clear our table. The salmon was cooked perfectly and came with broccolini and mashed potatoes. The sauce that went with the dish was a little salty for my liking but overall, an excellent meal!

by Jack B.
3rd September 2012

Good food (pig for main) and outstanding service. One jarring note, watched one of the chefs repeatedly tasting a dressing in a container with the same spoon. Will not go back because of this unsanitary behaviour.

by Joan T.
27th August 2012

Great location, I would give the starts to the waiter because he was excellent, very knowledgeable of the menu and enthusiastic, even when he was alone serving all tables outside. Food is average and pricey. good for drinks thought.

by Simon
1st August 2012

Visited Everybodys last week for the first time for dinner with some work colleagues.
Had been for a drink a few times, great and interesting people watching spot and good atmosphere.
We originally had a table booked but the manager moved us over to a booth on request with no fuss which was great, the booths are so much comfier.
We had the pigs head, a soufflé and I think tuna for entrees, everyone was happy at the table and I really enjoyed my pigs head.
Main course was equally as good and big portions, we had steak, fish and pork belly with sides including the duck fat fries.
The waitress was lovely, friendly and approachable though she did forget one of our bottle of wines but once reminded rushed it straight over apologetically.
Overall had a great night, weren’t too affected by the bar noise in the booth and felt like the staff knew their stuff and our waitress looked happy enough to be looking after us.
All in all would re visit.

by Ally Y.
27th May 2012

Despite everyone’s complaints on here, I wanted to check the restaurant out for myself. I have visited Everybody’s for a few fun nights out, but only stayed in the bar area. So this time I ventured into the restaurant.
Originally I had called on a thursday to make a booking for 2 for the following night. The polite girl on the phone told me they were all booked up, but she encouraged me to come in anyway and put my name down and see what happened. Everybody’s is a funky place to grab a drink anyway, so my friend and I arrived at about 6:30pm. The bar is always full of corporates and hipsters so regardless of a restaurant table, people watching there is guaranteed entertainment. I went up and asked to put my name down for a table and was delighted to be immediately placed at one! We were served with water and menus but it took a while for someone to take our drink orders. My friend ordered a cocktail that was pretty obscure but the waiter turned up with it not long after so that impressed me (and my international guest). After waiting for a about 15 minutes and then asking for the waiter to take our order (hrmm, that was annoying) we ordered the tuna sashimi with wakame, wasabi, fried shallots to start & share which was sooo tasty. I definitely recommend that! As it was so early, and I was originally expecting to be seated quite a while later we weren’t that hungry so for our mains we ordered entree plates. I had the “Pigs Head” with turnip cream, nashi, radish, fried barley which really was a pulled pork sort’ve hash cake-like concoction. It was very rich so I’m glad it was not a large plate but quite delicious. My friend had the Gorgonzola soufflé, with witloof, pear, sugared walnuts and he said it was only ok. But he’s a british snob It looked pretty good!
All up the meal for 2 of us cost $104, which consisted of 2 glasses of wine, a cocktail, a starter to share and 2 entrees. So if we’d progressed onto mains it would have been up there with cost. But I think worth it. I will be back, but to try out a comfy-looking booth seat and I’ll make sure I book in advance.

by Liz
28th April 2012

I’m only writing this after getting home and discovering two days later they took advantage of my distractions and over charged me for what I ordered, I won’t be surprised if he does this to other customers ( keeps the extra ) as I learnt this bad trick working in bars..we were a group of young females we were asked constantly for I.d, flattering but not when the barmaid argues with the barmen that he didn’t just check..also it was ahsame my vegan friend couldn’t eat there and they made no effort to see if she could have some sort of tappa..as most places would. But aside from all this the place does have amazing architecture and atmosphere, Id consider going back just fingers crossed there’s nicer people on that shift..An the food and drinks are pricey but good.

by Diane
22nd April 2012

Nine of us had a fantastic meal at Everybodys. Our waitress was great, the food delectable. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals and desserts. Only draw back for us all rather expensive. $36.00 for mains and $16.00 for desserts, plus side vegetables and wine made for an expensive night. Great atmosphere, but a treat. Couldn’t afford to eat there too often.

by Melissa
17th April 2012

Really enjoyed our experience at Everyone’s. The food was divine, the menu whilst not extensive is very good and choosing was difficult. I had two entrees, one as a starter and then one as a main and I was pleasantly surprised that they were more than sufficient and left enough room to share a gorgeous desert. My partner had a souffle entree and the sirloin prepared beautifully medium rare – superb. The waiting staff were very attentive, professional and friendly. Sarah was a fantastic and a real treasure and an asset to the organisation. The decor was very edgy funky and the atmosphere very good . Despite being a Monday night it was quite busy but this didn’t diminish the quality of the service . Would have no trouble highly recommending this gorgeous restaurant.

by Sam E.
30th March 2012

Had a table of 8 for a birthday – thusday night a few weeks back.
Intresting place, food was lovely and barstaff and waitresses were also nice.

The absolutely arrogant and rude male managers and Matradee really spoiled our evening. Both my mother and my partners mother were left absolutely gob smacked at their prententious behaviour.

Thanks for ruining my birthday.

by Shane
23rd March 2012

I dined at Everybodys with two good friends in mid February as a result of the Roxette Concert at Vector being cancelled. The decor is fantastic, our waiter was totally brilliant, knowing when to intuitively take our orders, a pleasing conversationalist and having excellent knowledge of wines and the food menu. The food – the food was brilliant. All three of us thoroughly enjoyed our starters, mains and desserts. Background music level was perfect to enable conversation without needing us to raise our voices. I dine out weekly and at the moment, Everybodys is my pick of restaurants in the central city.

by Jason
9th March 2012

We ran a client charity auction at this bar last night. Once we paid the deposit the manager was incredibly rude to my staff. The staff were aware that we were running an auction to raise funds, but refused to turn music down for 40 mins or have the PA up. The food per head consisted of cheap pastries and white bread club sandwiches. The bar staff were arrogant and rude. You’d think they would want to look after us considering we spent $6,000. I have sent an edict out to staff never to use the place for any functions or client entertainment. Terrible terrible terrible! service

by Lynn C.
1st March 2012

So disappointing after all the hype. The fish odour was unpleasant and the food unattractive – terakihi filets seemed like groper! The skin on was soft – steamed and un-appetising. The Gorgonzola Souffle was delicious but the accompanying salad had dead leaves included! Food presentation was missing…
The waitress was very good.
The coffee was bitter. Two of us didn’t finish our coffee which was from Imperial Lane downstairs.
Ambience is fabulous but cold….. OK inside but the food was going past us to a second kitchen uncovered..all rather un -inspiring.

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