New Zealand Herald

Reviews for Occidental Belgian Beer Cafe

by Tony M.
12th March 2013

This business is a MenuMania SponsorOne of the Business' Favourite Reviews

Great place for Belgium beer, and not having the need to drive to Ponsonby or Mission Bay.

Their beers are superb for an after work drink with friends or co-workers. And their special movie ticket deals allow you to buy one get one free.

Great steak, great mussels, simple things that make everything else awesome

Great customer service too (most of them)

Cheap, good value for money

by Sarah
13th May 2013

have been here many times and enjoyed the food however, this experience was very bad. We had 5 people at our table for some waffles at lunch time. Wasnt very busy yet it took over 1 hour to get 5 servings of waffles and a plate of chips out. We ended up having to get it takeaway which took another 15min and eating the chips and food cold. There was no explanation for the delay or apology and we were still expected to pay full price. Very disappointing.

by Nicole T.
17th March 2013

Great surroundings.

I like the rustic look. Very few drinking place has this yesteryears charms.

Nothing unusual on the menu. Good variety of drinks.

Great night out.

by Mwkyla
10th August 2012

The mussles and flavoured beers are a great novelty and the service is good. Last time we were there the waitress was really friendly and attentive. Live bands here on the weekends are great too!

by Deena Y.
23rd July 2012

This is my #1 choice for Friday drinks. It gets really busy but if you can find a seat it’s worth it. I hardly order food because beer + frites is pretty much all you need.

The only problem is that they are not big enough! They get so busy there’s hardly anywhere to sit – I know this is not their fault but last time I was there they asked us to shift tables to an empty one next to us so they could take our table away when they could have just taken the one that was already empty! Don’t know what they were smoking but overall an awesome bar with a lot of atmosphere.

by Jennifer H.
1st June 2012

Came here during a public holiday, even with the huge holiday tax it was a pretty good experience! My meal wasn’t that amazing (salmon with kumara), tho it was tasty, i thoroughly enjoyed the huge pot of mussels and my bf’s pasta! Lovely place with a slightly expensive menu but you do get what you pay for. The service was OK, nothing to complain about.

by Wilson J.
14th March 2012

Great food, great beer, great prices.

Have been here a few times now, and it has not disappointed me yet. Great service, the staff are particularly friendly and go out of their way to help you.

The Occidental has a really nice vibe about it, been here with a few of my mates and it’s been a great place to catch up and have a beer.

Try a Belgian beer they are delicious.

Very highly recommended, will definitely become a regular.

by Kaylie
12th March 2012

My friend and I came here for lunch today for some mussels. We asked the waitress when we ordered if it was half price for mussel dishes today, she informed us it was. When we came to pay, the lady at the tills told us because we had ordered a half kilo it was NOT discounted. This means that we paid more for less, had we been informed when we ordered we would’ve ordered the 1 kilo option.

Update: it was staff misinformation that resulted in this error which they have since rectified, hopefully they will put up better signage regarding their deals in the future. The food itself was quite nice. We had one dish of steamed mussels and one grilled. We found the steamed one much nicer.

So, while the food is quite nice make sure you check the bill and only the 1 kilo mussel option is half price on Monday’s.

by Karen R.
25th February 2012

Our CBD pub&food crawl last night wouldn’t have been complete without some mussels & beer at the Occidental.

The mussels were fabulous as always. Plus, the kitchen prepped us some extra vege-topped mussels without any bacon toppings when we asked if we could avoid any red meat on the $19.50 mixed platter of grilled mussels (there were about 5 different toppings… all were delish – especially the ones with melted cheese). We appreciated the extra & unflinching effort from the waitress & the kitchen to go the extra mile. Great service.

I enjoyed a lovely wine, while the Leffe Blonde went down a treat for my partner.
We were ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ over the mussels throughout the meal… and the waitress downstairs was excellent in finding us a table for two upstairs next door.

The space next door is like a little private function space with its own bar, and they had filled it with 6 or 7 tables for casual diners. It was fab, because it was quiet, so a great space for conversation.

Loved it.

by theTaster
8th January 2012

Felt really disappointed today, I’ve been there couple of times and ok, I knew service isn’t that great, but today was just ridiculous. Arrived there for lunch with my partner, we got stand for more than 10 min, while the waitress was chatting with a couple aside us and didn’t give a sh*# we were there waiting, then we decided to take a table, I’d to clean my table, got the menus and wait, wait, wait and no one came to get our order. So we left the place…
Come on, the place wasn’t full…
I think the staff should be more professional and perhaps go to a hospitality course and learn how to do customer service properly, or just find another job if you are not happy doing it. Shame on you.
I’ll come back cos I like the food and I really hope the manager can fix this situation.

by Jen
6th July 2011

Not a big fan of their food since I absolutely hate mussels. I like their selection of beer. Might be more expensive then what you are used to paying but when you look at the price to alcohol content ratio it is pretty good. Love the pretty glasses.

by Pivon
23rd March 2011

Excellent place to go. Good value for my money. Great Food and fantastic range of Belgian Beers. Staffs were friendly and efficient. Live music on Friday & Saturday were the best in town. I think they were Recliner Rockers and KGT. My favourite place when I am in the CBD.

by susan
23rd March 2011

Great Food, Fantastic Beers!!!!!
The staff was really friendly though they are super busy….
Highly recomended, absolutely my favorite bar!

by CherylM
5th February 2011

The Occidental was always a favourite of ours, but over the past couple of years has really gone downhill. We had boycotted coming here for dinner as there was always something wrong with the food (eg seafood chowder full of veges with A mussel). But lunches were ok until recently we noticed just how filthy the place really is. It perpetually stinks, and is full of flies. Disappointing.

by Bubble w.
7th January 2011

I have enjoyed the Belgian Beer Cafes in the past, but it has been a while since I visited one.
The Occidental is in need of some maintenance. The foot rest at the bar has fallen down, one on the seats in a booth has fallen through, the place smells of old kitchen cooking fat.
The staff did not pick up any rubbish (including mussel shells) from the floor and seemed quite disinterested in serving.
While the food was adequate, although steak over cooked it was on the high side for it’s quality. The beer was well overpriced.
I will not be going to another Belgian beer cafe. Very disappointed.

by Annamay H.
4th October 2009

1. Great mussels
2. Great service
3. Great location
4. Great prices

Six of us arrived and sat at a small table because it was so busy, just after we ordered the bartender offered us a larger table because our food would not fit on our table, it was very kind, and he was right.

Another bartender came up to us during our dinner and offered us a loyalty card this put 10% of our meal onto the card for next time, you can also add to this card every time you go. This was great, because we had just spent so much money, we automatically gave us a free meal for our next visit.

Highly recommended.

by Chris
8th February 2008

The food at Occidental Belgian Beer Cafe is always great and their belgian beer is always nice and cold

Write Review