Reviews for The Customhouse

by Cameron
14th April 2012

We went to the Custom House thinking it was one of the top restaurants in Dunedin. We were very disappointed.

After we ordered, we were told that there were only two chicken breasts available and someone at our table had to change their order. After doing this, the waitress came back 5 minutes later and told us that the other table- the only other group in the restaurant- had taken the breasts. We then had to change order again.

The meals themselves were reasonably tasty- the lamb was especially good. We ordered three sides of vegetables, and five appeared on our table. The waitress then charged them to us, even though she admitted that she had ordered them for us because she thought that we would need them! They remained untouched but still she insisted that we had to pay for them. There were other little annoying things that happened- not enough desert menus to go around so we had to share, coffee machine unavailable, no steak knifes provided, and we had to get up and ask for water and desert spoons. All we got was a whole load of apologies and the waitress kept telling us that she had a wedding to arrange tomorrow and that is why she was inattentive.

I would hate to see the restaurant busy as they could not even look after two tables! It was like we were a nuisance and a distraction to them. For the price they charge, one should expect excellent service. I would not recommended this restaurant.

by Margaret B.
4th March 2012

We were disappointed with the food and the service at this restaurant. The waitress asked how the meal was and when I pointed out why i had left a large proportion of the meal and why she said she would tell the chef .. and that was it ! No other comments or action. The location is good, and good for families as we noticed children ate free so perhaps we just choose the wrong meals on that particular night.

by Max W.
2nd March 2012

I often go in here for a coffee after church on Sundays.

Possibly the best thing about the Customhouse is its great location. There are few places you can sit in Dunedin with a view out over the water… which is shocking for a seaside town.

The service is fine, the coffee is good. The couple of times I have had a meal here it has been very nice as well. A little on the pricey side, but for the nice location and good food it is worth it if you want to eat somewhere away from the grey buildings of central Dunedin.

by steven s.
16th February 2012

Went for valentines day dinner, really enjoyed our meals , my steak cooked too perfection and my partner had the fish which was really nice and the service was good.Real awesome views of the harbour and wharf, there aren’t many places like this that offers million dollar views. highly recommended!

by kerryanne
14th December 2011

arrived at a very nice restaurant, great views and interiors, very cosy!
However can’t vouch for the service.
Was handed menus and waitress never came back to take orders, after about 20 minutes we had to go and find somebody, no apologies for this, another couple at a nearby table actually got up and left. then we had to wait an hour for mains for only two of us and by this time we were starving!! but food was delicious and worth the very long wait.
could be an excellent place if service improved

by Rosie
10th November 2011

This restaurant has a really nice interior and was warm and cosy when I dined here. I was a bit disappointed with my meal. I ordered the lamb but it was a bit overcooked. I also heard another customer at the table next to us complaining that their lamb was overcooked. So while the meal wasn’t bad it was more expensive than I thought it was worth. However, my date really enjoyed his meal. The waitress we had provided us with average service. The main issue I had was I almost felt as if she ignored me and only served my date…

by Harry
26th October 2011

took my partner there for her brithday the food was amazing and staff friendly

by julie C.
13th September 2011

I have always rated this restaurant highly over many years but we were extremely disappointed and felt ripped off following choosing to go there for a special occasion to entertain two Auckland visitors. We spent hundreds of dollars and the service was terrible, there was not enough staff on. A number of things on the menu were not available,the food was very average,we were even told that we couldn’t have coffee following the meal as the machine had just been cleaned, it was all of 9p.m!!!!We would have complained on the night but the staff were just too stretched so I decided to write a letter regarding our experience and this has never been acknowledged, I even took the letter in and handed it to the Head waitress on that day to say it was for the Manager. This was some months ago now, so obviously we are not getting a response. We won’t be going back or recommending this restaurant to others. Not long after this experience we went to another top restaurant in town and paid about the same but had a wonderful experience, top service and top food. Shame on you The Custom House,very very poor not even acknowledging your below par service!!!

by Derek K.
31st August 2011

Went there for lunch with my wife in late July 2011 and was most impressed. The food was superb. My wife had a Thai dish, while I had the lamb’s fry, both exceptional, fresh and flavoursome. The service was warm and friendly. Keep it up.

DK

by Laura M.
12th August 2011

Have eaten here before in the evening as a couple and been very impressed. However, today we went at lunchtime, 4 adults and 2 babies. As soon as we asked for a table it was clear that they weren’t very keen on having the babies present and seated us in an area away from everyone else. I have no problem with that as it is quite practical. They were not that busy but the service was very slow. The food was poor – the pancakes were stodgy and so hot in the middle they could only have been microwaved. The fish was undercooked, the medium rare steak overcooked and not the quality of meat you expect for $30. They were out of both orange and grapefruit juice. Despite the babies being extremely well behaved (1 tiny wimper from 1 of them, and as soon as the other started to grizzle we took her outside), it was clear that the floor manager was not happy to have us there and several customers were giving us the evils too. I certainly won’t be going back.

by Courtelle
12th August 2011

I too cannot believe the negative feedback!
I’ve never joined this website but was compelled to after seeing the feedback!
Custom house is AMAZING, My partner and I always go there and every time the service is OUTSTANDING and the food is above and beyond most of the other restaurants in Dunedin. I highly recommend custom house.

by E J.
21st July 2011

We’ve dined here several times and I honestly find the reviews below hard to believe. Service has always been friendly and prompt. The food has been good and generously portioned. The prices – yes, steep – but we don’t dine out every day, so we allow for that! I’d recommend the Customhouse to my friends and often do!

by Z D.
15th July 2011

Hi
Went there for tea with two other friends.At the time of ordering there was a table of five, ourselves and one solo diner.
I ordered a Caesar salad with grilled chicken which was o.k. but had to cut about seven pieces of lettuce apart as they had brown soggy ends on them,not happy to do that as I wouldn’t feed my own children lettuce like that and this is meant to be a restaurant!
When waitress asked how our meals were I told her and had left lettuce on plate to see, she said oh sorry about that.
After dessert (brulee) which was nice we went to pay and she asked us again how our meal was,HELLO!-only eight people in the building surely she should remember that I wasn’t happy.
No “I had a word with the chef, no sign of embarrassment etc.
I won’t be going back

by Mary T.
2nd June 2011

Went here with quite a big group. Found food to be really nice and had many options to choose from. The service was a let down. There were two waiters working, and the restaurant was quite busy. They were quite rude and took a very long time to serve us our drinks. They were also very under skilled. Apart from the service, food was impressive. Maybe if they had more staff, especially ones that were capable the dining experience here would of been better.

by R M.
27th May 2011

Wonderful meal and very attentive staff. The only let down was that we were seated next to a group, when the restaurant was nearly empty I don’t see the need to sit groups so close together. Almost felt like we were sitting at a table with a group of strangers.

by Anne-Marie
19th May 2011

Lovely meals and wine. However, the service was less than average – one blonde lady (whom we assumed to be the floor manager) ruined the entire experience – extremely rude and dressed very poorly. In my 6 years of working in hospitality i have never come across some one so rude. Would not go back if this particular lady was known to still be working there – such a shame.

by Kate L.
7th April 2011

Went there for the first time the other night. I had the chicken parmigiana. It was very nice. However, the service was a bit average when taking into consideration how expensive it was. Also, the meals took a long time despite it being almost empty. Overall I still really enjoyed the night out.

by Sheetal
26th March 2011

We went for lunch here. Place is amazing, we got table just besides harbor. Service was good but little slow. Don’t remember what my husband ordered something with salmon but it tasted very nice. I had ordered lamb which was not that great.

by Jenny
20th March 2011

We’ve eaten here once for lunch and won’t go back. We ordered fish soup, which was absolutely delicious, so nice that we wished we’d had more than the one spoonful we got in each bowl! And it wasn’t cheap either.
Tiny, tiny helpings and over-priced. I got the impression we were paying for the gorgeous building and decor and the large number of staff hanging around not doing anything.

by Samantha
29th November 2010

One word – Awesome!! Had the best birthday dinner last friday, food and service all fab. Staff really went the extra mile to take care of my elderly grandmother. Thanks so much

by Stacey O.
10th May 2010

Our night out was a disaster from the beginning we arrived at Customhouse. The waitress was rude and unattentive. This was extremely disappointing considering it was my brother and his friend’s graduation dinner. The service was slow, when we finally received our meals the lamb was cold and the salmon was undercooked. We informed the staff and nothing was done. We received no apology or discount. I would NOT rate this place. Considering the price of the meals and drinks I expected a nice evening out! At least the company was good.

by Jane P.
5th June 2009

My husband and I were in Dunedin over the graduation week end and we weren’t aware of just how hard it is to get dinner on one of these nights although we went to the customhouse and even thought it didn’t appear they had any room they made some for us the food was delicious the atmosphere and view were great and we both had a wonderful night, Thank you.

by Cameron F.
4th June 2009

My Family and I had our graduation Dinner here recently and although there was a large number of us I found the staff very good. It was obviously a very busy night but both our meals and drinks were bought out in a very short time. The meals were great and the price was very reasonable for a 3 course meal, all in all had a great night and will definitely be going back. Well done.

by Pip Golden
26th May 2009

We booked this restaurant for a graduation dinner. Booked months ago.
Waitress did her best. Long wait, food not good, very very average.
We have another graduation dinner next year and would definitely not go back there again especially when I hear from other friends how wonderful their evening was at other restaurants around Otago.
I see another review was similar for graduation – I think Customhouse need to take on board these reviews. It is a very special, expensive night and it was very disappointing but never mind we have good memories of the day and we did have a lovely family evening.

by Emily
24th February 2009

Terrible service and dreadful food at a steep price. A succession of different waiters who kept forgetting things. The only place I have known who were able to make blue cod inedible! Even the potatoes were horrible – floury and sweet and roasted, although described as new season. A shame because it’s a nice building in a lovely setting.

by mike
10th January 2009

lovely setting. service not bad. food not good.6 of us dinned there and only 1 enjoyed their meal. steak was ordered rear presented more medium rear and dry inside. not nice.very expensive. would not go back.

by John
30th December 2008

Went in the first couple of weeks it was open – service was appalling; was told kitchen didn’t feel like cooking my meal – and then forgot to deliver my second choice, watched 6-7 tables get soup with no spoons. Decided to give them a second try, service was reasonable, but we were the only people in there steak was cooked incorrectly – when my partner sent it back was given the same bit of steak cooked again (incorrectly). Real shame as its a gorgeous setting

by R
19th December 2008

My first meal at The Customhouse was awful (cold, stodgy pancakes that I swear had been made the day before), but the venue is so visually appealing that I decided to give it another chance. Bad move – this time my squid was half raw, not fresh, and the coating was like glue. Other meals at our table were also complete disaster zones. AND they charged us $12 for an Emerson’s!

The venue is nice and the waiting staff are generally pleasant, but something truly horrible is going on in that kitchen.

GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

by maureen
8th December 2008

just back from Dunedin for daughters graduation.Group had booked 34 seats months ago.Firstly not enough seats& 4 had to sit away from others.We were booked at 8pm& were given set menu which they didnt have,they kept coming back to change what we ordered & then back to say they had run out of selections.Werent served food til after ten pm and desserts for those whose actually turned up-just before midnight.then told 4 people hadnt paidwhen everyone HAD paid& organiser had to pay extra $300.THey didnt believe we hadnt even been given desserts theyd changed twice then came back to chECk who had ordered what& demanded payment FOr no dessert.UNBELIEVABLE.WERE WE BEING FILMED FOR A COMEDY ???

by Jeremy and Anna
30th November 2008

When we went to the Customhouse this morning we expected friendly service and a good breakfast. However, what we got was the following:
1. the kitchen had apparently run out of butter and could therefore not make the sauce hollondaise. Later we learned that there was also no orange juice so we had to choose from the juices that were available. When we arrived at 10am we were the only customers there and we
have to ask the question why nobody could go to the supermarket to get some butter and orange juice (let alone how something basic as butter could run out in the first place).
2. when the poached eggs came out the egg yolk was hard so we had to sent it back to get a proper poached egg with runny egg yolks
3. the coffees we ordered arrived half way through our breakfast

We have to say that the service was great, the waitresses were polite and apologetic throughout the morning but we do think that an upmarket restaurant like the Customhouse should be better than this.
We have been at the Customhouse numerous times and this is the first time we had problems but we would have appreciated a discount of the price or some other gesture of good will.
Yours sincerely,
the Nobles

by Dot
22nd November 2008

Have been several times for lunch and have no complaints. Food and service was good and the setting is lovely. Once we asked if there would be any delay as one of our group had a hospital appointment. We’d ordered a variety of food and they suggested we changed one of the dishes as it would have taken too long. The delicious food arrived and we left in good time.

by Maria
2nd October 2008

Fantastic birthday dinner. Thank you for making my night special. A+++

by Samantha
29th August 2008

Great surroundings, good food and friendly staff. I often visit for lunch mid-week and always enjoy it. Highly recommended!!

by Moose
26th August 2008

Wow, at last a restaurant is trying to be more than one that serves a ton of cold slaw for $30 dollars, took the kids there on Sunday night beautiful fresh fish and my Steak from the grill melted in my mouth. Have to laugh at the Vault list of special wines though because they are giving them away!!. Seriously I have been going there since they opened on and off and yeah it had a shaky start but boy they have come along way! I think it shows they do care. Keep it up Customhouse!

by JFK
26th August 2008

Enjoyed the eye fillet off the grill menu which has a range of steaks as well as chicken breast and salmon. Portion size was good to big I thought. Found the staff friendly although on a prevous visit there was a slightly sour faced waitress who is no longer there. Location great – across railway tracks from new Chinese Garden.

by David Tordoff
23rd August 2008

Nice setting, good parking. Should be good at the price. Rather cold & draughty. Starter ok; veg average; steak – ok if you are into burnt offerings. Far better experiences available in Dunedin.

by Bren
22nd August 2008

What a poor experience! We went there for lunch (three of us) and waited ages for the meal to arrive, the food was expensive and portions were small for what you paid. The salads came with more oil drizzled on them than Iraq has in its refineries. The only good thing about it, is its location. Don’t waste your time or money.

by Claire
16th July 2008

Visually, this restaurant has it all: a gorgeous building situated on the waterfront, with stunning views of the harbour – ideal for a relaxing dining experience.

It’s a shame the calming atmosphere is lost through poor service and disappointing food.

The menu looks appetizing enough, but portions are small and expensive for what you get. Worst of all was the slow and vaguely bored/unfriendly attitude of the serving staff, who gave the indication of having more important things to do – and seemed confused about what we had and had not ordered.

The restaurant is clearly aimed at the high-brow end of the market rather than casual diners, fashioned after the classy, expensive restaurants you might find in Auckland or Sydney. Admittedly, my friends and I, all in our after-work casualwear, were probably not the clientele they were after, but we were still paying customers, after all.

On a positive note, the desserts were delicious and beautifully presented, so there was something redeeming in the end.

by Graham
5th June 2008

We stopped for a coffee one Sunday afternoon, we ordered 2 flat whites and sat down….waited 25 minutes then asked what happened to our coffees and all we got was oh did you order some?
At that we decided not to bother and by the way there were all of 10 people there so were obviously not busy!!

by SJG
16th March 2008

Great service, great food and fantastic view!! no issues in length of time to get food or anything.
Reasonably priced.

by A. Harris
4th February 2008

Extremely disappointed. Slow service. Took 30minutes to be served. 90minutes before meals arrived. Noted other diners left due to lack of or rather no service. Wrong drinks brought out including xtras not ordered. Even failed to bring some ordered drinks out at all. No recognition or apologies by management for poor, slow, lacking and even rude service. Tried charging us for extra meal and drinks not ordered, made us wait while they argued this with us and amongst staff in fron of us and other customers. Very distressing for all myself and other diners involved! Do not recommend customhouse.

by Trudie
3rd February 2008

Great food, but terrible service. Went for a family lunch and waited 1.5 hours for our food, in which time it took 30 mins to get our order taken, and another group arrived after us, and received their food 30 mins before us, not happy. Drinks service was slow and some drinks ordered never came. Then issues when paying the bill as they tried to charge us for drinks which never arrived and an extra sandwich. Doesnt look like they had more than 3 staff on. Very poor, and I’d hate to think how they would have coped had the restaurant been half to full, as it was far from busy when we were there. Not recommended.

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