New Zealand Herald

Reviews for Garrison Public House

by Rebecca K.
27th May 2013

The bar staff were fine and the wait staff were also. Reasonably friendly service but not particularly efficient. I noticed a lot of half eaten meals that had been left by previous diners sitting around for quite awhile. We ordered calamari starter and a vege filo starter. The calamari was yucky. Greasy and limp, we each tried some and had to squeeze it inside a napkin to get the grease off. We decided not to eat any more. The vege filo was OK. The waitress eventually came back to take our plates away. We’d put a note explaining the greaseball squid situation and said it was a wee note for the cook. She looked pissed off and didn’t smile, walked straight past the kitchen and out the back to the dishwasher area. At no stage did we see her approach the cooks to advise of customer dissatisfaction. We went outside to get some air and noticed plates of barely eaten food out there too. It took staff about half an hour to come out and clear plates and empty overflowing ashtrays. I’d go back for a drink but think I’d stick to a bowl of chips. Surely they can’t get chips wrong?

by Taryn F.
20th May 2013

Had terrible experience. Went for lunch with my husband and parents. Ordered two starters and 3 mains. Waiting a while then 3 wait staff came out with ALL our food and we asked why we hadn’t yet got our starters and the waitress said well we should have said we wanted the starters to be starters..we did, but why should we have to explain that? Then she said they were busy. We asked her to take one main back so as we can eat the starter first, she kept saying that she din’t understand what we wanted her to do, I almost took it to the chef myself to explain. When we asked for the main back, the waitress had put the food, including the salad and chips under the hot light..yum hot salad! By then the chips were rock hard. The ‘large’ fish was tiny and the squid was so chewy, D grade fish and chip shops do better, I noticed the table behind and next to us left their squid half finished. And to top it all off where we were sitting outside smelled like vomit, most likely from the night before and was never cleaned properly. Our bill was $180, what an utter waste of good money. I will never return and have already told several people not to bother with Garrisons. The food is too expensive for the quality you receive.

by Dana
11th May 2013

I was sceptical about this place after reading the reviews on here but thought we’d give it a go. We booked a table for four on Friday night. We arrived to a very packed bar and dining. We were seated at a table for 8 as there was no other tables available. We figured there might be a long wait for our meals but luckily we were wrong. Service was great. Our meals came out super fast and we’ll presented. We even had to take the left overs as takeaways because there was so much food!

Only downfall was they had ran out of their trademark desert but the other options were well worth it.. Very generous servings.

Overall for the amount of people packed into this place I think the staff did very well and I’d highly recommend going.

by Melwyn
5th April 2013

My husband and I ate at Garrisons on the 2/4/13. The food was lovely but I noticed that one of the young waitresses was made to clean up chewing gum from under the longer group tables with a metal spatula, gloves and white plastic tub. This was not the most appealing sight while eating and not conducive to a nice atmosphere for diners. Also it seemed rather unpleasant to make the young lady do this in front of patrons ( a bit demeaning actually ). This is something that should rather be done after hours.

Comment from Dave H. of Garrison Public House 9/04/2013    Hide »

Hi Melwyn, I have just had a meeting with all concerned in…    More »

Hi Melwyn,

I have just had a meeting with all concerned in this incident and it appears to be the result of the ‘right idea at the wrong time’. The feedback from both the manager and the staff member is that the job was started when they were ‘deathly’ quiet and were looking for jobs to keep them occupied, which was the right thing to do. However as discussed with the manager once people started to occupy the café area again the task should have been put on hold so as not to cause any discomfort to those people dining and enjoying the atmosphere.

I once again apologise for your experience but I believe it to be an honest error in judgement which won’t be repeated.

by Blair C.
29th March 2013

Disgusting behavior by the bar manager on dated: 29/3/2013.

Reason:
Thought we would have a bite and a drink on our day off.
Whilst having a drink the food we ordered was delivered by the bar manager himself and he almost threw it at us with a bang on the table without a word said. Too bad if I would have liked another drink with it!!

I approached him about this and his response..”Lets take this outside”… Hmmm what was he referring to I wonder (customer service skills totally missing!).
Anyhow based on these comments we decided not to remain there.

Apart from the manager aggressive approach the food is sub-standard and is ok for drinks alone. Everything is way over cooked, fish was so well done and like rubber a prior time.

All in all – Bad!

by NEELAM K.
18th February 2013

I have been going to Garrisons quite a bit and recently had a real bad experience. My husband and I decided to have a few drinks and order dinner as well. My pasta was average but his steak had a worm in the salad. He was told that the meal will be on the house and we were waiting over 45 mins and finally decided to ask them to have it packed. When we got home the steak was really small not what we ordered. I am very disappointed. I am definately going to check my meals before I eat anywhere.

by Linda
7th February 2013

I tend to base my decision of whether I would revisit a restaurant on how good or bad the food is, and value for money. As long as the service is not too shabby I normally wouldn’t mind and I would always go back again. This place is however a bit of an oddball. I love the pizzas, calamari and pastas I’ve had at this place, the drinks I could never complain about either. For such a big pub / restaurant and the amount of staff they have, they really should have full table service. It gets a bit tiring having to order at the bar all the time. Also I don’t know how their management trains their staff – they tend to have a decent staff to patron ratio, but you almost always have to wait for aaaaages to get served at the bar. The staff usually look like they purposely take the longest time they could get away with doing whatever it is they are doing. On a few occasions I am certain I had been purposely ignored and people who have came after me got served before I did even though I had waved at them to make sure someone saw me waiting already. So to summerise – food is awesome, keep up the good work, owners and managers please train your staff to give better and more efficient service.

by Shayndia W.
7th February 2013

I have come here probably 4 times every time it is not busy. The staff are so rude or just walk around pretending they didn’t see you. I have seated myself all 4 times and have got my own menu every single time as well. The last time was the worst I sat myself at a table with my friends there was about 10 other people in there with a lot of staff who were all standing around chatting or eating altogether. We had to get up and ask for water. After about 10mins of the girls standing around talking one finally came over and said do you want a menu, no Hi or nothing like it was very hard for her. We just got up and left. I will not be returning again I thought maybe it might have changed but that was the worst! My friends who have never been there were shocked even saying they would rather eat at the Sylvia Park food court and get better service! The staff here are so shocking!

by Jamie
11th January 2013

Went here with a friend and her two young daughters for lunch, the service was pretty good the girl seated as and offered to bring a high chair over for us. My friends daughter ordered the kids steak and chips, I had the fish and chips and my friend had the salt and pepper squid. The food was not very good first of all the steak was so over cooked it was burnt it had been killed twice for sure, I know its just a kids dish but surely they can make an effort to make it somewhat edible. My fish was quite soggy and really oily and the side salad was limp. My friend said her squid was ok but not the best and the same limp salad on the side. Not too sure if I would go back any time soon.

by Anne F.
29th November 2012

My mother who is visiting New Zealand and I went to this place for lunch after shopping on Monday 26th November. It was really quiet (maybe about 7 tables). I went inside to get menus. A waitress came over smiling and told me we can order at the bar when we are ready. Really? It’s not like it’s busy, surely she can take our order at the table? Never mind. I went to the bar and ordered. The girl behind the bar looked bored, very disinterested, and gave no smile. We ordered two fish and chips and a glass of wine. I started walking back and she just stared at me. “Do we have to pay now?” to which she replied a cold “yes”. We might have ordered more if we were on a tab. Maybe more wine or some coffee, even dessert? Well I guess we were not allowed to lol. So I walked back to my table and came back with my money, paid and walked back to sit down.

A few minutes later, the first friendly waitress came over with my glass of wine and said “Hi, you forgot to take your wine before!”. I was shocked… I replied “I thought since I have a number you would bring it to us?”. The food came and we had no cutlery. I had to get up and ask for them. Our plates were never cleared when we finished and of course, with that, we were never asked if we wanted coffee or dessert. So we left quite disappointed and went to have coffee and dessert somewhere else.

I work in hospo and I know that 50% of a dining experience consists of good service. It does not have to be fancy, but friendly, honest and willing. And there was none of that at Garrison. It’s a shame because it’s a nice place. We felt unwelcome.

by Olympin
5th August 2012

Not bad at all. Had a great platter full of yummy squid ,Sweet corn fritters and Chicken satay skewers.
A nice amount to fill 2 persons.
A nice venue to watch the live sports game .Very busy because its so good.

by Chris O.
7th June 2012

I was a bit sceptical about going to Garrisons after reading the bad reviews here but I was given a $50 voucher and I’m not one to pass up a free meal so off I went with my wife and son.

We went for dinner on Sunday and upon arriving we were greeted by a very friendly young lady who gave us a few choices about where we would like to sit.

The place was probably 50% full and there were plenty of friendly staff on hand. We ordered a couple of drinks and the mixed seafood plate. The service was excellent, the food was very good. We were both satisfied with the quality. Maybe the manager had taken the bad feedback on this site on board and improved staff and service but overall we found the service excellent and will certainly be returning.

Being a sports fan the only gripe I would have was the low quality image of the skytv channel on the big projector screen

by Nafiza E.
12th April 2012

First of all, service is really slow – they either need to hire more staff or train/up skill their current staff to give a better, efficient, quality service. On top of that the food was a huge disappointment – fish and chips were way too oily to the point of tasting re fried, if I wanted cheap quality, re fried, over cooked oily fish I would’ve gone to a cheap Chinese takeaway where I know what to expect with the money I pay, not at a supposed ‘good quality’ restaurant/bar.
Once the tables were cleared after the mains, we had to wait for half an hour before someone finally answered our calls for service to get a coffee, and the ‘latte’ that was ordered might as well have been a flat white, which BTW was made by the maitre’d who burnt the coffee so I had a dark, burnt, bitter coffee which I could not drink.
They should just take out the restaurant and keep it as a bar as its just not restaurant quality at all, unless you like to waste money on poor service, oily fish and burnt coffee.

by Alan G.
8th January 2012

Alright as a bar to watch sport or have a pint, but the food isn’t very nice.
Nicer food at McDonalds

by Ian
3rd December 2011

Went for lunch, for bar food not bad goo proportions and cooked well..

Service was average and rather slow with meals coming out one at a time with a good minute or two between each person at the table being served..
You can tell this is a bar as it was not very clean…

by Claire
18th November 2011

Garrisons, oh how I love you! I love that there is always a seat, I love your incentive programme, I love that the food always come out fast even when you’re busy, I love the thin and crispy pizzas (in fact, all the food is amazing!) and most of all I love that you send me a voucher on my birthday to use! You rock. I’ve been there over 20 times and have never had a bad experience. Keep up the great work!

by Annie
6th November 2011

Went here for a late lunch today. When we walked in a number of people looked our way but nobody came over to us, in spite of us lingering a bit, so we found a table ourselves. Nobody came with any menus so after a few minutes husband got up, went up to the bar, where the very friendly guy behind the bar found some menus for us.
We chose our meal (a platter for 2-4 costing $47), and waited. There was a table of four young people in Garrison uniform eating what looked like lunch (one had a large sandwich she was clearly enjoying). Nobody looked in the slightest bit interested in us, so husband returned to the friendly guy in the bar and placed the order, ordering a couple of beers at the same time, which he brought back to the table.
Waited about ten minutes and noticed a large platter of food up at the kitchen area. Could that be ours? A young woman in Garrison uniform walked past the platter with a tray of glasses. She went to a counter and stated stacking the glasses. It was pretty clear to us that she wasn’t going to bring us the platter in a hurry, so husband got up (again) and walked over to the platter. It had a ticket with our table number on it. So he brought it over.
The group of young people having lunch in Garrison uniform and another woman at the end of the kitchen all looked a little shocked/surprised to see husband being so bold, so I loudly said “What else are we supposed to do? Obviously nobody is going to bring it to us” with my hands in the air in an exasperated fashion.
Now we realised we had no cutlery. Poor husband got up AGAIN, made his way back to the kitchen area, and got our cutlery. I noticed one of the young ones at the table gesturing to another young guy in uniform to get the cutlery for us. Too late. Husband got to it before him, but to his credit he was the ONLY one who ATTEMPTED any service in our direction.
We ate for a bit, drank our beers, found the food without any seasoning and with a very limited choice of sauces, decided that we could have bought the items for around $10 at the grocery store, and jolly well should have done so, as we had to serve ourselves anyway! Our experience left us $63 less than we had when we walked in.
We got up and left. The entire experience was about 45 minutes altogether. During this time NOT ONE staff member came over to our table in spite of being noticed taking menus to other customers who had sat down right next to us. At no time were we asked if our meal were satisfactory. Even when husband got up AGAIN to get a takeaway box, not one of the staff made an effort to do anything, in spite of having looked our way and made eye contact with husband a number of times. No apology, no assistance, no service.
The only good experience in this whole ridiculous episode was the friendly guy behind the bar. Boo Garrison. Shocking. Time to have a look at your staffing arrangements and get some customer service training.

Comment from Matthew C. of Garrison Public House 8/11/2011    Hide »

Hey Annie, I was very disappointed to hear of the service you…    More »

Hey Annie,

I was very disappointed to hear of the service you received from us on Sunday. This is not the level of service we aim to deliver to our customers.

I would like to discuss this further with you.

Please email me at garrison@garrisonpub.co.nz

Regards,

Henry

by rizwan
22nd October 2011

Hi there,

last three 5 month every week I’m visiting Garrison public house but now i cannot ignore the things.
now what I’m thinking
first off all the waiters there are non professional or they don’t want to put the efforts because if we ask them any thing they don’t know. and they don’t talk nicely with us this is our experience.
we have ordered many times different food all the times but always they made a mistake and you have to wait again 30 min to get your original order which is not good.
i always to go there because i love to go there for drink and eat and spend some time there, approximately i spent there more than 600 dollars per month but now i have decided not go there because they don’t take us serious as a good customer.

if I’m not going there that’s a different story but i will recommend to other to go there and enjoy because the atmosphere is good…

Comment from Matthew C. of Garrison Public House 31/10/2011    Hide »

Hi Rizwan, Thank you for taking the time to come and visit us as…    More »

Hi Rizwan,
Thank you for taking the time to come and visit us as well as give feedback.

I am sorry that your recent experience at Garrison has not met your expectations. We always strive to offer excellent customer service.

If you could contact me on our email address garrison@garrisonpub.co.nz I would like to discuss this with you further.

by podgee
23rd September 2011

Nice atmosphere but overpriced for what you get. $10.50 for a pint of Heineken seemed a bit steep. Had the calamari and was not impressed, it was just a couple of squid tubes covered in batter. They didn’t cut the squid properly. Different

Comment from Matthew C. of Garrison Public House 23/09/2011    Hide »

Hi Podgee, Thank you for taking the time to come and visit us as…    More »

Hi Podgee,
Thank you for taking the time to come and visit us as well as give feedback. I am disappointed to hear that you were unhappy with your last visit, especially as we pride ourselves on our food and beverages. If you could contact me on our email address garrison@garrisonpub.co.nz I would like to discuss this with you further.

by orca1
18th September 2011

We had Desserts here after a night of shocking customer service from Thai secret garden restaurant. The Customer service we received from Garrison was SUPERB! Desserts arrived promptly and piping hot. Rubarub crumble & choc. Brownie is major yum! Beautiful presentations. Great choice of sitting – we sat right next to Wood-burning Fireplace ONLY disappointment was the Bouncer asking one of our guests to remove her dressy Sequin Beanie as “Hats” were not allowed in-doors! He said it was “rules from Management” BUT thre was no Notice put up anywhere advising patrons of this. AND nor was she wearing a rugby beanie or hat.

by Cate
12th August 2011

Not a good experience at all. Ordered a meal early and 1 hour later I was still waiting despite several requests to the staff to rectify. They seemed rather disinterested in my predicament. I won’t be going back and will certainly not be recommending this place to anyone.

Comment from Matthew C. of Garrison Public House 26/08/2011    Hide »

Hi Cate, Thank you for taking the time to come and visit us as…    More »

Hi Cate,
Thank you for taking the time to come and visit us as well as give feedback. I am disappointed to hear that you were so unhappy with your last visit, especially as we pride ourselves on our service. If you could contact me on our email address garrison@garrisonpub.co.nz I would like to discuss this with you further.

by jude
18th July 2011

I booked for 20 people, requesting a table in as quiet a location as possible. This was just what we received with the table nicely set up towards the rear of the pub where it was lively but we could still talk easily.

The staff came and took drink orders at our tables and even had portable EFTPOS machines so we didn’t have to queue at the bar.

The food came quickly and my fish & chips tasted great. Other people in my group were just as pleased with their pasta, pizza and salad dishes. All were good sized portions and excellent value for money.

I would recommend the Garrison to anyone looking for good quality pub grub with excellent, friendly service.

by MK
14th July 2011

Went to Garrison for lunch today, just realised they got table services now (for such a big place, unbelievable). The service was great, chicken burger and ice coffee are sensational as usual. No hustle of any kind, love it. Five stars…

by Steve a.
10th July 2011

I agree with Tracey, poor service, terrible value for money for the food they served and I would never go back to eat there. Continually having to locate a waiter/waitress for service. What’s with that…dont they want our money!! The calimari for $22.50 was the worst I have experienced. Greasy, out of a box and served with a poor salad and fries. For that price I really did expect to get at least good calamari. To top it off the waitress served our meals with a polite ‘enjoy your meals’ but failed to provide us with any cutlery! Nice atmosphere and bar for a drink though but still pricey.

by Audrey
1st November 2010

the pasta was good. but the pizza didn’t impress me much…

i like it’s ambiance though, very cozy. we had brunch here and i loved the idea that someone was singing live, with very nice choice of alternative 90′s songs. twas good.

by JayJay
28th October 2010

Ive never had bad food from here. The Platter is well worth it if you’re having drinks with friends. They make great Calamari, overall good food, great atmosphere. Consistently good quality, a place to frequent for casual drinks and dinner, no fancy food but its all good! The Only negative for Garrison is you need to order your food from the Bar no table service..
Fridays and Thursday evenings are busy

by Abraham
18th October 2010

Good Food, I enjoyed it a lot, will come back, only problem is noise which the guys cant control as too many bubbly diners.

by Tracey
17th October 2010

I was disappointed when we arrived because we stood there waiting as the sign said wait to be seated. The waitress came over to us and said just choose where you want to sit. I thought she would seat us.

Another disappointment was the fact there was no table service, but you would think there was with the number of waiters and waitresses standing and talking to each other, some just standing not doing anything. It was annoying to walk up to the bar to order as we had just the spent the whole day walking around the mall and wanted to sit down and eat.

The food was ok but it came at different times. Like one starter would arrive and then 15 mins later the rest of the starters would arrive. The same was for the mains. So we would wait until our food would come so we could eat together.

Overall, I would say it’s a bit overrated and won’t be going back. You want to be able to spend your money on something where you enjoy the benefits.

by Rachel
10th July 2010

Had many a good meals here. I enjoy their pizzas and my partner just loves their giant burgers. A bit annoying that they don’t serve bottled spirit drinks as my partner enjoys the pre-made Jim Beam and Cola rather than hand mixed (which also works out more expensive). Garrisons can be extremely busy from time to time as it is a popular venue but staff are always up front an honest about any service waits that may occur. Always nice food and service along with an excellent atmosphere.

by Sian L.
4th July 2010

We have been to Garrison on a number of occasions and have held meetings in the upstairs private functions room several times. We cant speak highly enough of the brilliant service and high quality food we receive. Even when this venue has hundreds of All Black Fans packed into the space the food is still always extremely fast, fresh and full of flavours, we often wonder how they do it! Highly recommended, best offer around.

by Keith E.
27th May 2010

Have had a few lunches here and everytime had one of the lovely pizza’s. Just the right size, and toppings.

Good selection of food and beers, friendly and prompt service. Toilets also clean and tidy.

Enjoy

by Jay J.
11th March 2010

Good food at reasonable prices, and it always comes fast. The quessadilias, their Aucklander pizza, and the Kiwi burger and the steak are all very good. Their menu suits anything from a snack to a 3 course meal, although service is pub style and barely a la carte. Good staff, and helpful waitresses. Dont quite like the music though, which is either played by a really bad dj, or a playlist that repeats many songs in a short space of time. The music also doesnt flow, and some of it doest suit the venue. But overall 3/5.

by Satan
17th June 2009

We’ve been here on a number of occasions and have yet to be disappointed (knock on wood).

The food’s good and at reasonable prices. Best thing is that they serve PINTS!!

by Brad
15th July 2008

Was in Garrison last Saturday for the All Blacks game. Really busy but great atmosphere and staff were friendly and helpful. We could see the game as there are plenty of TV’s and a huge projector.
Had a steak and a pizza throughly enjoyed both and the food was served in only 20 mins, which is a good time for freshly made food!
Heaps of beers and wines to choose from and we will be there for the rest of the All Black games!
Cheers Garrison!

by Ashleigh
4th June 2008

I was rather disappointed when a friend and myself went to garrisons for a quiet lunch. First of all when we walked in and were completely ignored. We sat down to look at the menu which we had to get ourselves then we went to the bar to place our order. The waitress seemed to have no idea about the menu when we asked questions- due to the incompetence we ordered a plain old pizza, pineapple juice, iced chocolate and fries. We waited for about 20mins before we received our pizza which was not thoroughly cooked and fries that were cold and served in a obviously chipped bowl.We questioned where our iced chocolate was and 10mins later arrived. it had been sitting on the bar 15mins previous to us asking. The staff were rude and not at all interested in offering an apology and we both refuse to ever go back there.

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