Reviews for The Riverhead

by Rebecca J.
4th May 2012

We have dined at The Riverhead severl times lately and think you have done a great job with the refurbishment. The food is great with a nice selection – The pulled pork sandwich is awesome.
The staff seem friendly and we love the snuggly blankets for outside. Best of luck and we will be back!!

by Peter B.
27th April 2012

We booked via email on Monday for an Anzac afternoon lunch, and I had to ring 24 hours later to see if my booking had been received and confirmed. With this sort of service we should have stayed home. Service was slow with both taking our drinks orders and, food orders. After well over 1 hour of being at our table we were advised that they had “lost” our order but several seconds later advised “we have found it”. After waiting another 30 minutes it arrived – we were underwhelmed – the pizza’s lacked any flavour and tasted like cardboard, and the chefs pie resembled more like soup in pastry.
Both alcohol and food prices are on a level with the viaduct but the service and quality/presentation of the food was well below what one expects from an eating establishment nowadays.
In summary – over-priced and average food.

Comment from Paula P. of The Riverhead 27/04/2012    Hide »

To all the people who ventured out to The Riverhead on the…    More »

To all the people who ventured out to The Riverhead on the stunningly sunny and warm ANZAC day, Stephen and I would like to thank for being so understanding of the wait for food which occurred mainly between the hours of 1pm and 2pm. This was in fact the first midweek ANZAC day that we have been in operation and we certainly didn’t expect the volume of people that turned up. Being a destinational tavern we are aware that turning people away is very disappointing for them after making the trip and we tried to accommodate as many as possible. However many were still turned away at the door. We did however explain to guests once it was obvious that there was going to be a delay for food what to expect before they were seated. Our records showed that we processed just on1300 meals over the day which put our kitchen teams under extreme pressure, despite our recent kitchen extensions.
The majority of people where relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere of the outside decks, but we are very aware that there was a long wait for some of the most popular dishes due to the sheer volume.
For the next fine Public Holiday we will limit the available seats in the restaurant and put on our usual Sunday Cook Shack option (BBQ Burgers, Chips & Salads) opening the Boat House to help alleviate the pressure.
We would also like to thank our amazing staff who dealt with the volume and the pressure so well.
We unreservedly apologise to those who booked and got caught up in the delay…and we also would like to apologise for not getting around everyone to explain the difficulty we were having.
We accept that we will be continually looking at quality improvement to ensure that every aspect of The Riverhead meets the expectation of those who chose to visit us.

by Erica
23rd April 2012

After being told about the Riverhead by friends, my partner and I visited the Tavern for the first time on a Saturday lunchtime. From the time we walked in the front door to the time we left we were impressed with the atmosphere and the friendly staff. Eating a nice meal on the outside deck while enjoying the water and rural views is an extremely pleasant and relaxing experience.

by Debbi T.
20th April 2012

Had lunch here and was so impressed. We started with breads and dips and then all 5 of us had a different main. All presented so beautifully and all delicious. Meals were a really good size – was disappointed I couldnt fit dessert in !!There were a good selection of those. Overall – food amazing, service amazing and the location is outright stunning. Just wished I lived in Auckland so I could go back.

by Martin W.
3rd April 2012

This is a must-do. We paddled up the upper harbour by kayak and had high expectations of The Riverhead. Food was excellent, as was the service, and a great experience for our family. Thoroughly recommend.

by eatingout
3rd April 2012

I am really disappointed with The Riverhead. We eat out often and were hoping for a local where we could get a reasonably priced meal, reasonably priced drinks, great service and a place we wanted to visit regularly. (Like a couple of times a week) But this didn’t happen. The meals are expensive for what they are, the staff are inconsistent and badly trained, the place seems really disorganised and the drinks are Auckland City prices in the middle of nowhere. I think they have tried to take Hallertau on but don’t measure up and we don’t need two. What we need is a great family restaurant where we can take the children.

by Mel M.
6th February 2012

We visited The Landing on Saturday night to celebrate my Mother’s 60th birthday. After hearing so many great comments about this place we thought it would be perfect. My parents had been here just before Xmas and said it was fabulous. I had also looked at the reviews on this page and was confident we had made a good decision.

We ended up extremely disappointed with how our evening turned out. My partner’s beer on tap tasted a little weird so he ordered a cider, he had to wait well over 20 minutes for it, despite asking 3 times. When it arrived it was a pear cider – not what he wanted, but after waiting so long he decided to drink it. We had to ask twice for the bottle of red wine which was then plonked unceremoniously down on the table. We did tell the waitress not to pour it, but we did not expect it to hit the table with a thud. The entrees were good – although the sauce on the prawn cocktail was in the bottom of the glass, meaning you had to eat prawns and lettuce before you got to the sauce. The kumara chips were absolutely cremated and black. My partner and sister’s calamari and Dad’s mussels were good as was my ostrich. However the mains were terrible – my father’s fish came with broccoli instead of salad as our waitress had told us, my mother’s lamb was a little overcooked, my partner’s burger was very plain. My sister’s vegetarian lasagne was 10 minutes later than the other mains. The worst however was my fillet steak – I asked for it medium and at $36 you would expect that it would come as I asked. It was cooked completely through and didn’t even look like fillet. I returned it and was then brought another meal well over 20 minutes later– by this stage the others had finished their mains. The second on was exactly the same. At that point we’d had enough. The chef obviously has no idea how to cook a steak and to repeat the same mistake again is ridiculous. Not only customer service, but what a waste of ingredients! I am certainly hoping for their sake as a business they do something about the chef and the waitress.
Although I will say the restaurant was apologetic and generously did not charge us for our food but money aside my mother’s special birthday dinner was ruined. We will be having another dinner out – just definitely not there! The best thing about the whole evening was the amazing view and great hand basins in the ladies toilets!

by Premi
14th January 2012

Our social club had a great night at the Riverhead pub before Xmas. Everyone of our group had wonder full time. So in January I took my family for brunch. It was Great we had good breakfast. No one cooks eggs like the dad in our house but the chef at Riverhead. It was cooked just like my family likes it soft and runny. The coffee was the best I’ve had so far in Auckland. We had a cafe girl with us and she was totally satisfied and happy. The staff friendly and service was good as well as value for money. We will be back when the weather allows us to have a summer.

by Robyn S.
6th January 2012

What a fantastic place The Riverhead is! We have just had another fantastic experience there – great atmosphere, friendly and helpful staff, food to die for and what has to be one of the most picturesque places to dine. Each time we have been there the experience has wonderfully consistent. Loving it more each time – we will be back!

by Diana R.
4th January 2012

Dreadful. Which was such a shame as we had heard good things about the place.

We took a family member for lunch as a treat and were embarrassed. From trying to get water for the table, salt and pepper to paying our bill – we felt invisible. The waiting staff seemed confused about which tables they were working.

The three of us all ordered the same main – fish of the day(hapuka) and they were all dry and one plate had enough sauce for three meals, the other two had hardly any.

A lovely venue with such promise but we will not risk it a second time.

Comment from Paula P. of The Riverhead 7/01/2012    Hide »

Hi Diana, I’m Paula. Stephen, my husband and I own The…    More »

Hi Diana,
I’m Paula. Stephen, my husband and I own The Riverhead.
It’s always upsetting to get unfavourable feedback about The Riverhead after putting in so much time and effort to make a difference here, but I do appreciate the time and effort you have gone to give us feedback.
It’s only through feedback, whether the sweet kind or the ’brick bat’ kind that we can grow, see things from another perspective and improve our service.
There is absolutely no excuse for you to have come to The Riverhead and feel invisible…after all it is one of our key points to try to make people feel at ease here, give them a relaxed but wonderful ’home grown’ experience along with superb food in these amazing surroundings.
This is our first Year of operation, our first Christmas and New Year period and we were advised that we should expect to be busy up to Christmas Day and then may as well close the doors after that until the end of January. This fortunately has not been the case with our average day being quadrupled and staff given annual leave. We have been taken by surprise by the sheer volume of people coming to The Riverhead and have been severely under staffed. This is not an excuse as much an explanation. We are on a pretty steep learning curve.
As for the Fish of the Day, we have spoken about this with the Chef.
We do hope that you will give The Riverhead another try. Unfortunately things do occasionally go wrong and we unreservedly apologise for this but the overall feedback has been very positive which is very reassuring. We’d love to see you back and give us another try.
Thanks again for taking the time to pass on the feedback
regards
Paula

by Michelle S.
14th November 2011

Had a lovely dinner there. Pork belly entree was on the small size for the price of it but made up for by the size of the seafood chowder entree. Mains reasonably priced, atmosphere great & the attendant was very good (she even took our order sooner so that we could get in front of the big group about to order). Would recommend. View over the river mouth is amazing.

by Stewart
8th November 2011

I have just been blown away by this place. The river view is so relaxing I could sit there all day. I have tried the entire menu on my visits and every one has been perfect. My favorite is the steak on kumara mash a close second would be the crispy fish and chips. The staff are friendly and attentive and there is a neat ambiance which is why I keep going back. We sometimes do brunches on Sundays followed by perfect coffee. Yum looking forward to going back soon.

by Thomas F.
8th November 2011

We went recently for diner after a busy day and found the staff super-friendly and the atmosphere warm and relaxing. Loved out door area.The meals were delicious and service was great. Will definitely visit again soon.

by Chad M.
22nd October 2011

Dined last night. Packed restaurant, surprising as rugby was on……. server attentive but not intrusive, a little stressed but forgiven as very busy. Food fantastic. Myself having lamb shank with mash awesome, beautiful french style braising falling off the bone and heavenly tasting. Amazing venue, especially the outdoor decked area. Very impressed although dubious at first due to other reviews. Obviously taken all feedback on board and moving in the right direction! Great job guys, will be back to check out live music on the 30th, will bring a crew to show you off, can’t wait.

by Maree
29th August 2011

We’ve tried The Riverhead a couple of times. We have young kids and to be honest, the food has taken way too long and they get really restless. Would be great if things could speed up a little on the service front – we waited over 20 minutes for our first drink to arrive and there were three people behind the bar!

Write Review