Reviews for Martin Bosley’s Restaurant

by Rory P.
5th March 2012

Had my 21st birthday dinner here instead of a big pissup.

My parents and sister were all for the wine match – I am however a beer drinker, not so much wine. We asked if they would be able to organise a beer match- and they said yes very enthusiastically.

All the beers were perfect with each of the dishes, and really extended my beer palate beyond ales and wheat beers. Even dessert was matched with beer! (chocolate stout and a cider)

The organisation amazed me. We booked months ahead, yet they waited until the night to ask if we had any dietary requirements or foods we weren’t keen on. They seem to see that flexibility as a challenge, and damn do they shatter goals.

If you’re into good food and eating a *perfect* amount – no more, no less, go here.
If you’re the typical kiwi who cares more about how many kilos of food they get for their buck, look elsewhere.

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Noticed a person earlier mentioning undercooked broccoli – they’ve probably had it overcooked in the past and that’s what they’re used to. All the veges across all the dishes were cooked perfectly – al dente – “with bite”.

Broccoli should have a bit of crunch to it when it’s done properly…

by Shannon
18th August 2011

You’d think Martin Bosley’s would be pretentious given its reputation. But it is very relaxed, and the staff are welcoming and totally unpretentious. Last time I was there, Mr Bosley himself was even helping to deliver meals to his customers (they weren’t that busy so I think he was just doing it for fun rather than out of necessity).

The degustation menu is very enjoyable – one of the awesome things is that they have 2 dishes for almost all courses: so that you and the person you dine with get something different to one another… and you can experience double the number of dishes! The wine matching was really interesting too – a fantastic way to explore how different wines taste with food.

It’s worth saving up your pennies so you can go the whole hog.

by Lyd
12th May 2011

Sorry this has taken so long to put up but we first visited Martin Bosleys Feb 2010! Everything was beautiful. We went for our anniversary and the ambience, service, food, wine and even getting to meet the big man himself made it for a perfect night. Thank you to all the staff, we will definately be returning very soon.

by MEEYOUMEE
18th September 2010

Husband took me there for my birthday. EVERYTHING was PERFECT. The food, the service, the view. Expensive but worth it.

Loved it so much, I’d like to go there every year for my midwinter birthday lunch. A very special place, and they definitely know how to make beautiful food that tastes superb.

by phillipa
8th June 2009

Three of us went and we all chose the the degustation menu with matching wines. Each course had a theme but each of us had a different dish (e.g. for the meat course my partner had duck, I had venison and my cousin had beef) which made discussing the flavours difficult.

Food was excellent, service excellent and wine matching great.

Second only to The French Cafe (in Auckland) degustation menu. If you like one of these you must try the other…

A top restaurant!

by Philip
19th January 2009

This has to be the disappointment of the year… I had looked forward to going there for a long time, and had tried a number of times to get a reservation, without success. I was expecting something special, and got average.

I decided on scallops for entree, only to find they had run out! And this was fairly early on a Saturday evening. I asked what the vegetables of the day were and the waitress didn’t know… They turned out to be fairly average mushrooms, boring carrots, and undercooked, hard broccolini… all this from what is supposed to be one of Wellington’s top restaurants?

The Kingfish however was lovely. I passed on desert and coffee, deciding it wasn’t worth the money.

Overall: wickedly overpriced, would have been better off in any number of other places around town, for half the cost. I won’t be back.

by Ali C.
24th August 2008

Sensational in a very literal sense of the word. Whimsical as well in terms of unusual taste sensations. Who would have thought of putting ground porcino mushrooms with chocolate? Parsley icecream? Hot and cold soup (yes it’s true!) The degustation menu gives an idea of much of the rest of the menu, and can be matched with wine also. We found the wine and food matches didn’t quite have the synergy we were expecting, but it’s all good adventurous dining anyway. Most of us would need to save up to come here. It might be cheerful, but definitely not cheap!

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