Reviews for Voodoo

by anna
26th July 2011

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

Walking up the stairs intrigued us, I loved the cave like feel and the UV lights, very cool, our kids would love it. The aromas coming from the kitchen divine. We loved the decor, it has a fun and adventurous feel to it.
The staff were warm and friendly and made you feel very welcome.

Tough decisions on what to order as the menu all looks great. I chose the Jambalaya and it was beautiful, just the right amount of heat in it, a little light on the meat, although I’m not complaining as we did have a voucher – not sure if this made any difference to the amount of meat in it – (4 pieces of thin sausage which tasted great, 3 large prawns and 3 small pieces of chicken about the size of a 10c piece) still tasted great though, if I was paying full price I would have expected a little more meat.
My partner choose a pizza can’t remember it’s name – central pizza? But it was delicious – the base was clearly handmade from scratch with awesome flavours like none other I have tasted, it was just yum, the topping great too, the cheese was soft and silky, the flavours were just all there.

The service was great too. Considering it was a Tuesday night they seemed to have a good steady flow of customers and we didn’t have too long to wait for our meals either.

Overall a wonderful dining experience and we will definitely be going back.
la nourriture était délicieuse.
I highly recommend this restaurant to everyone.

When we were leaving there were people at the door deciding if they should go in or not, I think I convinced them and I’m sure they had a delicious meal too.

by K C.
29th March 2012

I was dining on a night with limited menu…..

and no I did not have a voucher….. me my fiance and a colleague were here and somewhat disappointed….

I thought with a limited menu and not a lot of people at the restaurant that night we would get ok service and good food….

the chicken we had for entree was bland and tasteless…..and it was accompanied with very little service for our table….which didn’t help…

the main was the ribs and it was dry and the fiance basically refused to eat it….

the dessert however was a good dish and we enjoyed it….. overall the experience was average in terms of service and food quality..the dessert was nice but won’t make us go back again…

by Roger J.
22nd March 2012

Came in around 7pm tonight, and was promptly served with our beer (for our voucher) and that the ribs were not too far behind. The ribs were presented immaculately , with fries and a side salad. Would have paid full price for the meal, it was that good! Service was Superb! Highly recommend this place!!

Cheers

by Phil G.
22nd March 2012

The food was passable, hence the 1 star. The dismal service, the number dishes that were unavailable, the clutch of bottles in the waiters arms that passed for the wine-list – I could go on and on – made the dining experience unforgettable and unforgivable.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 22/03/2012    Hide »

Hi Phil G. I could go on and on but I won’t. You were on an…    More »

Hi Phil G. I could go on and on but I won’t. You were on an extended voucher, You where mad because we sold out of ribs, You where mad because the waiter brought you a knife instead of a fork. Why don’t you tell the truth? Why don’t you tell how you created a scene about the ribs and fork,insulted me and my waiter to the point we where ready to throw you out. Why don’t you tell about running out and not paying for your drinks. By the way big man, you should read Linda’s review. It fits you to a tee. And finally enjoy the sixty bucks worth of drinks you snook out without paying for. Your really a very sad little man who I shouldn’t have shown the courtesy of allowing in here with an expired voucher. Don’t worry about the money, I won’t turn you to the police like I should, just don’t ever come back. And you have the nerve to write a review. Really?

by Scott
22nd March 2012

If it would allow half stars I would give Voodoo 3 1/2 stars.

Myself and my partner decided to give Voodoo a try on Friday night (16th March) despite reading a few dodgy reviews (followed by some rather infamous replies by the Don!).

My partner was immediately impressed by the decor as we walked up the stairs, there really is no other place set up like this in Wellington! We were greeted at the top of the stairs straight away by a waiter who turned out to be very attentive and impressive for the duration of the night.

The place was surprisingly empty for a Friday evening with only one other table taken when we arrived, so us not having a booking was not a problem and we were seated straight away.

We shared the BBQ Shrimp to start and didn’t have to wait to long for it to arrive. Three very large, and very tasty shrimp on a small green salad which had just enough heat to it to keep you interested. A pretty good starter, although probably not so good for sharing.

For mains I had the Chicken Rochambeau, a roast chicken and oven baked ham dish, and my partner had the New Orleans Pasta dish, Spaghetti tossed with spiced chicken sausages and shrimp in light garlic cream sauce. My partner said she enjoyed her dish without it being amazing, I tried some and would have to agree.

My chicken dish was both great and a touch disappointing at the same time. The chicken and ham were both tasty and worked really well with the marchand de vin sauce and béarnaise sauce. However the side of veges were overcooked to the point that they were almost a mush on the side of the plate, and the bread that the ham and chicken came on (it looked like a slice of french stick?? No mention of it on the menu) was a bit off with the rest of the plate. So all in all a good, without being great, meal.

Lastly, as others have mentioned there is only the one house sauv on the wine list, and despite wanting a bottle I did not see any other options that are available only by the bottle. We went with the house sauv on the menu, only to be told that the sauv we would be getting was different to that on the menu because it was a better match with the meal. I find that hard to believe considering a) we hadn’t ordered yet and b) the range of food on the menu could not all be matched to the one wine. Would have been better off telling us that they had run out of the house sauv and would be replacing it with another one.

Not at all a bad meal, but for the price (around $115) I think I expected more.

by Amy W.
21st March 2012

Ok, first off I am a proud voucher user. I called ahead and got a reservation and the run down of what my voucher gets me. So when I arrived at the restaurant there were no misconception I knew what I was getting. RIBS AND BEER! So when my boyfriend and I got there and we’re greeted by the owner Don and immediately shown a seat we were impressed. (we had read the reviews on this site and others and were worried about the service). Don offered us our beers or if we wanted something else we could make an exchange. Coronas YUM! He also told us he had already ordered our ribs and they wouldn’t be long. He wasn’t kidding. We were digging into ribs about 7 minutes. The ribs were YUM YUM YUM. I tasted them before I bit into one because the flavors were so strong. There were fries underneath but they got pushed aside. The flavor was delish and the meat was fall off the bone fantastic. I tore through mine like I hadn’t eaten in days. My boyfriend was a little more ‘kiwi’ using his knife and fork but I was good old Kansas girl tearing into with my fingers and teeth. The waiters were on the ball getting us water and little bowls to wash our hands. Very very friendly. When my boyfriend finished his first plate he didn’t think he wanted the refill but I talked him into it and honestly it was Almost better than the first order. The waiter took our plates and promptly offered us dessert which of course we had to have. Me peach cobbler, him key lime pie. The cobbler was so perfectly warm with yummy vanilla ice cream. Key lime pie was yum but barely got a bite mr ‘I’m too fun for seconds’ wolfed down the pie . Also, saw several people there with vouchers and all of them looked like they were being treated very well and a couple came in with a voucher that hadn’t made a reservation, Don immediately let them know that they were out of ribs for the night but would be happy to set up a reservation for them on another night and they left very happy about it. I think the reason we had such a good experience is because we took the time to read the reviews here take them at their word but also talk to the owner. We will be returning because I want some gumbo and want to try the pecan pie.

by Yakcall
21st March 2012

My partner and I got to eat at this restaurant last night after the owner was kind enough to let us use our Grab One voucher after the expiry date as we couldn’t get in before then.

The food was wonderful and authentic. My partner has the Crumbed prawns and I had the hot wings! Wow they were good. Left a nice burn after eating them.

For the main I got the ribs and they were wonderful and the sauce on them were amazing. I would go back just for those.

My partner had the chicken and ham with bearnaise sauce. I got to try abit and would say it was a wonderful combination of tastes.

For dessert we finished with the peach cobbler and the Key Lime Pie (Personally one of my favourite desserts) and this one I had was right up there with the best I’ve tried.

I will be going back to have more again and be taking my friends with me.

by Joanne a.
17th March 2012

Hi
My wife, son and myself enjoyed a fantastic meal at Voodoo, including excellent service, with great (Blues)music playing in the background.

Don the owner came over and greeted us….

We had Ribs and Pork Belly for mains….top of great selection of desserts…Pecan Pie was my favourite. For a great night out, with atmosphere and very good friendly service (with a touch of fun)…highly recommend this New Orleans experience in the centre of Wellington.
Thanks Don and team
Cheers Peter

by Linda
15th March 2012

Wow ive read the reviews and the voucher customers are such moaners here, they so cheap they complain about everything. Vouchers are for the cheap people who cant afford to actually dineout.
I feel for you Don, i’m glad someone has the balls to reply back to the reviews most owners never never do. Customers never do write the truth, they only do it just for revenge or they think they know what the food is suppose to taste like.
Geez how many kiwis do you think went to New Orleans not many and they think they are food critics.
Well I came in Tuesday with my husband, thank god we didnt buy a voucher. And they were quite steady. Our waiter is very nice and friendly, he took our order and we had chicken wings, they were spicy and hot. Our mains, I had fish and of course the husband had the ribs, so bloody nice. The ribs were beautiful we were sharing. The fish nicely cooked. For desserts, i had beignets and he wanted to try the waffles. Beignets were very nice and the waffles came with blueberries, white chocolate sauce and the comfort syrup. Very tasty.
We truly did enjoy our time at Voodoo and also the food. The music is awesome.
If i were you…. Don, don’t do any more vouchers, you just get cheap diners who dont wanna spend anything.
We will definitley be back and hopefully get to meet you.
Thank you!

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 16/03/2012    Hide »

Thanks Linda. Don’t take me wrong,Not all of them are bad. We have…    More »

Thanks Linda. Don’t take me wrong,Not all of them are bad. We have many wonderful clients who first visited us with a voucher and are now regular guest. It’s just a few cheap people who try and take advantage of us like some of the jokers below. And of course we are delighted you and your husband will be coming back to see us. Look forward till then. Don

by Sally
12th March 2012

The food at this restaurant is at best quite nice. It is inoffensive but nothing fabulous. The prawns as a starter have a nice sauce with it and the key lime pie gives an interesting tang to the end of the meal. I’d not recommend the cajun fish – the fish was quite dry and the sauce overly sweet. The Sav wine was quite awful and there is only the one Savignon Blanc option on the menu.

The service is what makes this place a truly awful place to experience. We were seated without menus – they came about 10-15 minutes later. After making our order we were told about 45 minutes later that most of our order was unavailable. The remaining options were very limited, which was surprising for a weekend night – you’d think a restaurant in the CBD would prepare well enough to cater for a full house (but in fact it was only about half full if that).

The wait staff was unattentive and in the end the chef had to serve us our dessert after no one responded to his bell. The desserts had already sat there for about 15 minutes until he obviously just lost patience. The drinks waiter was a little too hands on – my drink arrived with some unwanted caressing on my back!

I would suggest you not go to this restaurant, but if you do, be prepared for a very long and slow evening. You will however, end up eating some fairly nice food (quite overpriced though).

Update:

Don, I have a few issues with your response. I did of course, expect something along these lines when you told us you would “make you look like idiots” if we posted a review. However, while I expected some ranting and raving and justification for the night, I did not quite expect some of the content, which I’d like to respond to.

Firstly, just a small thing – we did not “threaten” you with a review, we simply stated that we would be writing one. We only just managed to get these words in, mind you, in between the personal attacks and insults you were flying at us.

Secondly, our friend was not a Vegetarian, but a Hindu, hence the fact that the gumbo was even cooked with pork was unacceptable to her. You mention that we were irresponsible for bringing such dietary requirements to your restaurant, but according to your website and the menu when we arrived, there were several options for her. Also we made a phone call earlier to make sure it was going to suit. It was only after we placed the order that it seemed none of those were available.

In terms of your facts about the timing of various portions of the evening, I had a wristwatch on and I was the one experiencing the night. I won’t go through the details again, suffice to say, I stand by my earlier statements.

The dessert hold up….you say you and the waiter were busy. We saw those desserts sitting on the counter waiting to be served to us for 15 minutes. Interesting that you were busy for 15 full minutes without a second to bring us the desserts, after making a point of telling us you would take personal care of us for the remainder of the night.

The hand on the back, no it wasn’t you, but again, I stand by my earlier statement.

At the end of the night we didn’t “demand a discount” at all. We suggested to the waiter who was at the register that it would be nice, given the grace and patience we had displayed throughout all the difficulties, that it might be nice for him to offer us one round of drinks on the house. We said it to him quite pleasantly and it most certainly wasn’t a demand. He immediately summoned you, who arrived like a raging bull, hurling insults and calling us cheap. You didn’t quite seem to understand that we were just asking for a gesture of goodwill after the long and not entirely pleasant night we had experienced.

In your response, you call us “schemers, cheaters and liars”. Let me just clear this up. I assume the scheming refers to asking for a round of drinks. I repeat, this was made as a polite request as “compensation” for our patience. It was not, as you seem to be implying, an evil plan that we hatched during the night. Cheaters, well I’m not sure what that refers to, but I am quite certainly not a cheater. Liars, I’m not quite sure again what that refers to, but I can say with the utmost integrity that I have told no lies here.

You also make the implication that you think I am incapable of paying for a meal out. I can assure you this is not the case and in fact I eat out regularly in Wellington with my partner and friends. In addition to this, I travel quite frequently with work and have been fortunate to be able to sample some of the finest dining NZ has to offer. I am an experienced diner and take great pleasure in enjoying a night out with friends over some fine food. The reason I was on a voucher that night was that I noticed it on GrabOne and had not heard of your restaurant, so thought it was a good opportunity to try something different. It was not, as you suggest, a way to get something for nothing – perhaps you need it pointed out to you that the vouchers do not come free.

I see from some of your other reviews that you have some enthusiastic customers. It seems your restaurant and service polarises people. You also mention that you have served a great number of customers since opening. I believe that you do have had a number of satisfied customers and despite my experiences with you, I do wish you well in continuing to have that support.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 14/03/2012    Hide »

Sally, This is not for you, I’ll get to you in a minute. Since we…    More »

Sally, This is not for you, I’ll get to you in a minute. Since we opened on the ninth of May last year we have served 12,743 guests. We have sold 2941 vouchers thru web sites. We have a regular customer base of around 4000 people, who love this restaurant, like we do. Most of the others have been tourists, from other regions, or come in less than once a month. We have had 23 documented complaints that was our fault and we made every effort to correct. Now lets get to you Sally. You came in with a table of four, two couples. Both had a voucher. You where seated and your order was taken. It was explained to you that we where out of a couple of dishes, this is because we cook everything fresh on the day and we quite often sell out. Now back to the facts. After about 25 minutes the waiter took your mains out and discovered that the kitchen had not yet furnished you with your starters, totally our fault. I then personally took charge of your table and explained what had happened which was ok with everyone then. Your starters arrived about ten minutes after that. We do have only one house Sav. but others are available by the bottle. You didn’t like the fish and thats ok too, even though you didn’t mention it to me at the time. Now lets forget all this BS and get to the real problem. Your friend the vegetarian, who turns out, just dosen’t eat beef or pork, wanted us to pick the sausage out of the gumbo to which I explained that even if we did this the pork was still cooked in it. She says Oh No!!! What can I eat now??? I should say why would anyone buy a Voucher when all three of the main dishs offered, contain pork if they don’t eat pork?Being a good host I upgraded your mate to a 35 dollar lamb dish because I felt bad about the starters. The Chef brought your desserts over because the waiter and myself where busy and he wasn’t at the time. I didn’t touch anyone on the back and I seriously don’t think anyone else did either, but even if they did it was just a sign of friendship. At the end of the evening your bill with the vouchers was 63.00 for four people and your tight little friend insisted on a discount because of all the troubles your table had, even though they weren’t troubles when we where upgrading your table. I told you this would not be possible and you then threatened us with a bad review if we didn’t. I told you to pay the bill. P.S. your mate’s male partner was so embarrassed that he had the good manners to apologize for your and her’s conduct after you left. Make no mistake about it, because of a few schemers, cheaters and liars like yourself, I will never sell another voucher in this HIGHLY RATED RESTAURANT (by professional critics). It’s a shame that a few idiots have to mess things up for so many good people who can only afford to come out with a voucher now days. Sincerely Don

by Christo
11th March 2012

In short – the ribs were delicious but other areas need attention to justify cost.

The service was good and fast (a few slips e.g., many items out of stock, but overall positive) and staff were friendly. I don’t like the decor but will judge a place on its food primarily. So back to that, the ribs came with fries and coleslaw and cost 35 bucks (no groupon here). The coleslaw was really poor – at first I was grizzly cause I thought it too small a portion but that turned to relief when I tasted it! Yes, I’m comparing you to LoneStar – people will do that. The fries were unspectacular but just scored pass marks. The only Sav on the menu was a shocker. Came in at $115 for two of us – just mains, wine and a beer. So, where from here? Something has to change – prices down, portions up and work on that shredded cabbage recipe!

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 11/03/2012    Hide »

Hi Christo, You are right, I believe I offered you more ribs as…    More »

Hi Christo, You are right, I believe I offered you more ribs as you where leaving but I know it was to late to do anything by then. I counted the bones on your plate and I know you are being honest. I have spoken to the chef involved as well as the waiter who too should have never taken the plate from the pass. It is beyond me how we could have failed like this but it won’t happen again, Truly sorry Christo and I will make an effort to contact you in private. Don

by Paul J.
10th March 2012

Voodoo is doo doo, avoid like Swine Flu!

$35 for three ribs covered in store brought BBQ sauce, on frozen chips (not even fries) and a mini side of watery coleslaw, run away with your hard earned money.

One waiter on a Saturday night, over an hours wait for the main, had to go to the bar to ask for water and more beer & no beer glasses! Can say no more than WTF.

One last thing, the owner will probably say that the ribs are sold by weight, if my portion was 750g then he needs new scales.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 11/03/2012    Hide »

Hi Paul, Voodoo ain’t doodoo !!! Read my comments to Christo and…    More »

Hi Paul, Voodoo ain’t doodoo !!! Read my comments to Christo and that applies to you to, We are sorry about that and I will also try to contact you. However, I must correct you on a couple of things. One, my BBQ sauce is not store bought and is made by me alone. Two, the fries are Mccains commercial fries which are used by 90% of restaurants in NZ.(not our first choice by the way, but our supplier was out of stock of curley fries.) Finally, the cole slaw is american southern and is saucy not watery. P.S. 3 wait staff including myself and there was no hour wait for the main. You got a valid point about the amount of ribs, so lets be honest about the rest and not embellish it with fairy tales. Cheers Don

by Misty
8th March 2012

I decided to check out Voodoo after reading all the reviews I read here. It seemed like people either really loved it here or hated it. But what really sold me into trying out this place was that the owner responded to most of the negative reviews. I thought the decor was cool and different. The food was yummy, and the staff and Chef Don charming. I will be back again.

Update
Chef Don, I just wanted to respond to your reply. You commented that your marketing people, told you to be kind and sympathetic to the negative comments. I disagree, I think that would sound FAKE. You sound passionate about your food. How is it wrong, To stick up for yourself.
Keep it REAL and HONEST.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 9/03/2012    Hide »

Dear Misty, Thank you. My marketing people tell me I should be…    More »

Dear Misty, Thank you. My marketing people tell me I should be kind and sympathetic to customers who have made negative comments about Voodoo and I said to them with a very few exceptions most of them have been muppets who have not-thing better to do than complain because they didn’t get something for nothing or maybe they where under the mis-guided impression that the customer is always right. Either way we want people like you for our customers. Sincerely, thanks again Don

by Nack D.
6th March 2012

Arrived looking forward to some spicy ribs with a Groupon voucher and left feeling horribly, horribly disappointed. While the ribs themselves were fine it is everything about this issue and how it has been handled which shows atrocious lack of customer service and care.

In a nutshell “all you can eat” actually means $120 value in Voodoo (for a $45 cost). $120 is actually very good value and ought to get you well fed in a decent restaurant. Unfortunately this isn’t the case. For this supposed “$120″ value we received 2 x small portions of chips, 2 x small portion of coleslaw, 2 x beers and a staggering 10 x single rib pieces between two people. 2 on both of our first plates (with chips & coleslaw) and 3 on their own on both of our second plates. Do the math and this is staggering no matter how you look at it – it’s barely worth the cost of the voucher itself. Based on what $120 buys you the restaurant is highly over priced.

There are replies from Voodoo about how this is a misunderstanding between Groupon and Voodoo but these are just excuses. There is absolutely no misprint on the voucher as it clearly states all you can eat several times and the nominal value of voucher is inconsequential as there are many other places that two people can go too ‘all you can eat’ well within this price. If this restaurant was honest it would have arranged to recall and refund this voucher a long time ago. Instead customers are turning up and being strung along – this wasn’t even clearly explained to us until after we requested third plates. Why would you waste your time and money here when there are a ton of good value, good tasting and honest restaurants around Wellington to dine in?

UPDATE
Lol.
I was looking forward to this. Having seen your replies to anyone who dared criticise you I was waiting with baited breathe to seeing what you would come up with.
• I don’t know Kate. We are two different people you have cheerfully ripped off.
• Your voucher states “All you can eat” not “All you can eat up to…”. You should request a copy because you keep trying to tell everyone they’ve misread it. If you know little things like the ‘Fair Trading Act’ you should know that it is illegal to “mislead the public as to the nature, characteristics, suitability for a purpose, or quantity of services.” Hence if you have sold a good or service upon particular conditions you are obliged to provide them and you cannot impose conditions or alterations after this fact. Your flagrant dishonesty comes from the fact that you claim these vouchers were purchased under an apparent “misprint” and you have made absolutely no move to correct this misconception, are happy to profiteer off unwitting people and then savage them for being unhappy.
• Following that let’s discuss your approach to customer satisfaction – here is a well known rule of marketing “…a typical dissatisfied customer will tell eight to 10 people about his or her experience. One in five will tell 20 or more.” You have thirteen 2 star or less ratings in Menumainia. So maximise those numbers and that is at least 150 people that will hear of your bad service. And on top of that you actually go out of your way to personally insult many of them. Rather than absorbing these comments and considering “mea culpa” you attack them.
• Now back to your ‘great value’. Let’s repeat this: for my first plate of ribs I got just two ribs – this is $34.50 on your menu, the second plate I got three – this you say is $17.45. Let’s compare that to a similar restaurant, Lone Star down the road, who offer a dozen ribs for $34 on ONE plate. Are you still sure you aren’t taking the mickey? Still trying to sell magic beans for cows mate?

I don’t want anything for free but like most people if I pay for something I expect what I paid for. Read up on the law as well – it might help you at the rate you’re going. I was looking forward to your restaurant but I will be happily telling 20+ people that their money is best spent anywhere else.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 9/03/2012    Hide »

Hi Nack, Hope you and Kate are doing well. I’m sure everything you…    More »

Hi Nack, Hope you and Kate are doing well. I’m sure everything you said is true except maybe your counting ability may be a little off. The 45.00 cost is for two people to the value of 120.00 which is exactly what you got. We sell our ribs by weight not by number of ribs, 750gms per serve to be specific.I’m sure you want understand this because you probably think a 6$ Chinese take away is really a ton of good value, but we have the best ribs in wellington and they don’t come cheap. What you got was a steal,and you accuse me of being dishonest!? Nack,Nack,Nack…..learn to read and don’t expect something for nothing. Say hello to Kate for me. Cheers Don

by kate
6th March 2012

Very disapointed! My partner and I visited Voodoo with an open kind, despite hearing very mixed reviews. Once seated it took over 20 minutes to get water and menus, despite asking for them as we were being seated! We ordered drinks, they took ages too despite the table next to us ordering after us they still received theirs first. We then ordered ribs and the steak for our mains. The ribs were ok, despite arriving nearly 15 minutes after the steak (we think that ours was delivered to the wrong table first). The waitress was vey rude when we asked where the meal was, not even looking at us when she answered and rolling her eyes and sighing. We then ordered more drinks, another twenty minute wait, despite it being rather early in the evening and quiet. Throughout the meal we could overhear the waitstaff talking about their upcoming plans and how much they didnt enjoy working there (to put it politely). We then asked to speak with someone about all the mistakes, we were told “good luck dealing with him” and that he was not available. Not a very pleasant evening and I would certainly not recommend to anyone!

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 9/03/2012    Hide »

Hi Kate I don’t know what planet your from but WE DON’T HAVE…    More »

Hi Kate I don’t know what planet your from but WE DON’T HAVE WAITRESS’S only waiters and None of them would ever say anything like that you silly bunny. Maybe you where thinking of another restaurant.Any way, good luck with that medication. Love you Don

by Matt
1st March 2012

Firstly, going up the windy stairs was interesting – in a good way.. It opens out at the top to a cave like style restaurant.
The atmosphere was awesome. The music suited the restaurant and the staff very friendly.

It was hard to choose anything from the menu as everything looked so good. However the menu on their website is alot different to the one at the restaurant. Theres alot of things missing – like the Pork loin chops and the duck leg.. I think someone needs to update their website.

For starters we had the chicken wings with hot sauce.
They were Delicious! – Just the right heat.

For mains I had the ribs and my partner had the steak.
My partner actually wanted the ribs as well – But we were told there was only 1 left. I found this weird as our booking was at 7pm (earlier rather than later) and for such a popular dish you would think they would have alot more. If it had been a later booking I would not of thought twice.

I then heard the waiter tell the table next to us that there were ribs – only for people with coupons. – We didn’t have coupons how ever you would think for a restaurant it would be done on first in first served basis.

Anyway the ribs – the best ribs I have ever tasted, and I’m not exaggerating! They were tangy,a little bit of spice – but not to much and they were moist and tender!
My partner also said they were the best she had as well.

My partner said her steak was also very good. I had a taste as well. Very well cooked (medium rare) served on a creamy bed of mashed potato. Very nice sauce as well.

All in all we would both definitely go back. It rated highly in places I have been to. The only let down – which gave it only 3 stars from me is the whole rib thing and menu thing.. 2 things that can easily be fixed by getting more ribs in that will last longer than 7pm and updating the menu on the website..

Look forward to going back there again soon!

by Marsh
10th February 2012

First things first – food was great until the last round.
Six of us had vouchers for all you can eat ribs off Groupon.
Made a reservation on the day and was told that it’s supposed to be at least 24 hours notice but they accommodated us anyway (Didn’t say anywhere on the voucher about 24 hours notice).
Two of our party said they’d been before and it was a great place to go – doesn’t seem to be the case when you have vouchers.
Service was VERY slow, about 45 minutes once everyone arrived to get served, forgotten requests, no water, not enough cutlery etc but it looked like they might have been understaffed at short notice and the 2 waiting staff did a good job of getting everything done.
However, turns out all you can eat means 2 plates at Voodoo (One full plate, one half). We weren’t particularly impressed as the vouchers didn’t have a limit on them (Not sure if a Voodoo mistake or Groupon) and clearly said all-you-can-eat. The waiter said we could see the manager if we wanted. I’d read some of the comments on here about how he (the manager) wants to talk in person to customers who aren’t completely happy but he didn’t want anything to do with us, so the waiter had to go backwards and forwards voicing our concerns.
We eventually got told we could have a third plate of half ribs (2 servings in total) but nothing more. When these came out they were well below the size, standard and taste of the first two rounds.
Also, most places you use a voucher only require the barcode/code number from the voucher so when one of our guys pulled out his voucher on his iPhone he was told he needed to print it out and had to go to an internet cafe in the middle of dinner and print it.
Would potentially give it another go based off the raving reviews by our friends before dinner and the fact that the first ribs were excellent, but not with another voucher – that seems to be the common thread in the bad reviews.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 10/02/2012    Hide »

Sorry Marsh, You mis read your voucher. Its all the ribs you can…    More »

Sorry Marsh, You mis read your voucher. Its all the ribs you can eat to the value of 120.00 for two people. Groupon, who is a new company for us, messed the wording up on the voucher to the point where some people have misread them.I was tied up and could not see you on this visit but did send the waiter back with instructions to serve you more ribs, by the way, the same ribs you received the first time. We don’t treat our voucher customers any different than our full price clients in so much as the fact you get what you pay for.this deals value was calculated has two rib meals @ 34.90 each plus two refills of ribs @17.45 each plus two coronas @ 8.50 each. thus 120.00 value. You paid 45.00 for 2 people. We fill this was a very good deal. You are correct in the fact that most of our complaints do come from voucher clients (see my reponse to clair below) but I think you just didn’t think this thru. See you soon and be sure to let me know when your back in and we can catch up then. Cheers Don

by Claire H.
23rd January 2012

Having purchased a voucher off grab one I was looking forward to a good meal at Voodoo restaurant Manners street, Wellington. Then I read some of the reviews and become a bit concerned, especially with the somewhat feisty replies by the restaurant owner. However I must say I was pleasantly pleased. Both my partner and I enjoyed our meal. It was excellent value for money. The service staff were great, very polite, friendly and efficient. The decor although rather over the top certainly adds to the dining experience, making a change from the numerous somewhat sterile environs of many of our top restaurants in Wellington. Would we return, yes most likely, for a quick tasty and inexpensive meal.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 24/01/2012    Hide »

Hi Claire,Thank you for your review. You are like the vast number…    More »

Hi Claire,Thank you for your review. You are like the vast number of customers we see every month who leave Voodoo very pleased. A very small number of folks like yourself will take time to write a review. REGRETTABLY we cannot please everyone and they will almost certainly write a review as soon as they get home and embellish it to make us look bad and them the poor victim. We do make mistakes from time to time and we do try and fix them. That is why i’m a little “feisty” on some of my replies! Once again, thank you for buying our voucher and for the review. Cheers Don

by A.
22nd January 2012

My partner, myself and my son went for dinner on a Saturday night. I saw about 7 tables with people so it wasnt overly busy.
The first thing we were asked was if we had a voucher, which we didnt.
We were sat down and given a drinks menu straight away. Within 5mins the waiter was back to take our order, which was great. However we waited about 10mins for the drinks to arrive. We were then given a menu and i was disappointed to see there was no kids menu. Alot of the meals on the menu seemed to be spicy so my son asked for the ribs (the 2nd most expensive item on the menu). We waited 35mins for our meals to come. The meals were very nice and my son enjoyed the ribs, although i wasnt happy about paying $34 for an 11yr old.
We ordered dessert, while waiting, we saw a couple arrive, order a bottle of wine, they had half a glass each and left as they tried to order 4 meals off the menu and every one they picked they got told they were out of, so they were pretty angry. I ordered 2 cocktails which i paid for straight away. Another table had ordered cocktails after me and they got theirs first. 20mins later i was still waiting for my drinks. By this time we had finished dessert and were ready to go home. A waitress bought one cocktail over then which was the wrong one, and i had ordered 2. 5mins later they came back and asked what drink i wanted. About ten mins later we finally had the drinks, not that we wanted it by then as we were ready to take my son home as it was 10.30pm. We arrived at 7.45.
So disappointing that there isnt really anything suitable for children and took a little too long for dinner to come and WAY too long for the drinks . It also seems a little strange how every customer gets asked if they have a voucher. So the meals were nice but need improving on time management skills.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 22/01/2012    Hide »

Hi A, Im very sorry about your time here at Voodoo. We don’t have…    More »

Hi A, Im very sorry about your time here at Voodoo. We don’t have a kids menu but we do have burgers and pizzas.Let me compliment your son on the ribs as they are the most requested dish, that is why the people next to you where upset, we had just ran out. We are training a new bar tender and it was her first night, once again sorry. When we run the vouchers we have to ask because we have no other way of knowing ,. You see they are on a set menu.We will be working on improving our service has always and will be training more new staff. I’m here all the time so if you have a problem ask to see me. Cheers Don

by DW
21st January 2012

Warm beer, which arrived AFTER my main!?! A WAY-overly sweet chicken sausage Jambalaya with five pieces of sausage and almost NO chicken. I see a lot of people here have bagged the décor…. not such a big prob. for me but if you can’t get the décor 100% right how about playing some authentic music from New Orleans instead of generic 80s BB King and the soundtrack from ‘Brother, Where Art Thou’? Not that hard to do I would’ve thought – and a REAL MOOD SETTER? Unimpressed. Oh, and I wasn’t on any voucher thing, like some here, I was full paying, walk-up customer. I left 2/3 of my warm beer and half my (very average) meal on the table, paid, and left. Never again.

UPDATE:
That’s right, mate. The customer is never right around here, and it’s always their fault it seems…. ha ha – no need to get personal bro, I’m happy enough – I just know bulls**t when I see it and I called it. That beer WAS warm and I had to ask again for AFTER my main arrived – I ate about half of my meal and left almost all but a couple mouthfuls of the beer. On a positive note your staff dealt with my complaints very well – but I think they probably get a fair bit of practice.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 21/01/2012    Hide »

Beer 3 degree’s, You complained at the counter that it only had 8…    More »

Beer 3 degree’s, You complained at the counter that it only had 8 sausages and you ate MOST of a very large portion which I checked and it was up to standard. The real problem is you came in with a bad attitude, maybe someone stood you up? Or maybe your just not a happy person. either way thank you for promising never to come back. Try and have a better day tomorrow! Cheers Don

by Kelly
18th January 2012

I’m not a chef and I don’t know what the food is like in New Orleans, but I came there Saturday night with a friend and we had the vouchers. I couldn’t wait to try the food. Ive heard really good things about the food.
I have read the reviews on here and I think a lot of them are made up or people who are rude and think they are chefs and they know how to run a restaurant. I had to write a review because people who write bad reviews think they are experts in food and service.
But anyway, Saturday night they looked busy, and we had the owner Don seated us to our table. He suggested the chicken wings as entrees, and boy he was right! I loved it! Spicy and hot! I wanted more! It was a good vibe that night and also new Orleans music it was awesome!
For our mains I got the chicken Rac (can’t spell it) and my friend got the ribs. I asked for no ham cos I don’t eat pork. And no ham in my meal very happy. my friend she ate all her ribs , came with coleslaw and curly fries, damn the fries were nice. she really liked the ribs the BBQ sauce he makes it himself cos we asked him. We tried to get recipe of him. My chicken really great no over cooked. I never tried anything like that before, it had croissant on the bottom, had gravy, the chicken and beans bearnaise sauce and veges on the side. I enjoyed my meal.
The owner he was really nice and tried to be funny with us, but it was good. So it came to desert and boy I have had beignets from other places and they are usually not cooked in the middle or horrible. We both had beignets like yum! Nicely coated with icing sugar and light. We decided to buy extra beignets cos they were really nice!
All I can say we both enjoyed our meals and we will be back!
Thank you Don for making our night. We left very full!
Good luck to you! Dont let the wannabes who think they know everything about your food let you down!

by L
16th January 2012

My fiancé and I are regular visitors to Wellington, and look forward to dining in new and exciting venues within the city. If we find a place we love, we return many times… unfortunately this was not the case with Voodoo, we will not be returning!!

When people purchase vouchers, they generally do so to scope a place out and see whether it is worth returning to. That does not mean these diners should be treated differently, and as if they are unwelcome, they too are paying customers and deserve a top notch dining experience… If you don’t want these customers then don’t advertise vouchers!!!! Simple really.

We had booked ahead online, and were disappointed when we arrived and our table was not set. The waiter sat us down, placed a wine glass, knife and fork down and disappeared for 15 minutes (I timed it!). When he came back he asked for our orders, BUT we had not seen a single Menu!!! He then verbally told us what was on offer, it would have been nice to have been able to read the descriptions of what each dish was but he didn’t get us a menu. It was very confusing. We then asked to see a drinks menu, and then finally got to see what we had ordered.

When your EFTPOS machine is down, ensure all diners are aware of this before you seat them. We were unimpressed when asked to go down to Manners Mall use the ATM machine, as we were late meeting friends as it was. Then you didn’t have enough money in the till to give us correct change, we waited quite awhile before the change was sorted. It shouldn’t take 15+ minutes to pay for a meal!

The food was good, but not good enough to be the prices they had if the food wasn’t discounted by our voucher. Highly disappointed in the service at this place. And by the responses by Don, you should use criticism constructively, not attack people! We simply want to help you improve your business.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 17/01/2012    Hide »

Hi L. Sorry about your dinning at Voodoo. On the night you came in…    More »

Hi L. Sorry about your dinning at Voodoo. On the night you came in two of our staff failed to report to work and has you would have seen we where packed to the point of turning people away. We don’t treat our voucher customers any different than our normal clients and to assume that is just wrong. Everyone had a bad night although must people could see what was happening and where very understanding. The menu you wished you had was in fact available on the grabone advert from the site. There was a sign by the Eftpos terminal and the walk to manners street was just to bottom of our stairs. The reason we ran out of change was because we had to resort to taking cash. P.S. L ,I do take our clients constructive criticism. Its just that some are fair and some or full of it. Cheers Don

by colleen w.
22nd December 2011

A friend and i with her sons took advantage of the grab one voucher for a meal at Voodoo earlier in the month. We stayed the weekend in Wellington and dined there on Saturday 3rd of December. We had a terrific night and were extremely well looked after by all the staff. The food was great and the place had a nice atmosphere. We were there when the earth quake hit at 7.20pm and all the staff handled the situation well, making sure all guests were OK. I would definitely eat there again and can’t wait till I am in Wellington again…

by N. C.
21st December 2011

I was in New Zealand on a working tour. We were wanting some good ol southern food and we could not have picked the more PERFECT place. Took me back to New Orleans at right bite. The Hush-puppies WOW, The Ribs , making my mouth water again. I can’t wait to come back to your place next year The service was top notch and the staff were not only friendly but great on the eyes. . . See you in Nov/Dec 2012 =)

by Sasha
13th December 2011

We booked online via Voodoos online booking – no problems at all. Arrived at the restaurant to be greated by a lovely french lad behind the bar and let us know someone would be with us shortly.

Services staff were prompt and constantly topped up the water glasses, which was fantastic. Drink orders taken and staff were constantly passing by to make sure we had everything – this was great!

Food was amazing & arrived promptly after ordering, which was a suprise as the place was packed, so we were happy to wait. There were 7 of us so we covered quite a bit; ordering each something different. I was unsure of what to expect as this was something a little different and my mind was amazed by the delicious foods that we had.

We all had a fantastic time and we will be back for sure! Thanks so much for an amazing dining experience, thanks to all the staff/Chefs/Owners for a wonderful and pleasent evening.

by Sam D.
12th December 2011

Summary – bad start but once we got there, things were great.

We had a Grabone voucher so I rang up and asked to make a booking. I was next asked “for how many people?”. I said “two” and the response was that they were fully booked for two weeks. We were prepared to go at any time, so I went to the website and made a reservation online for Sunday night => no problem. This annoyed me and I’ll allow you to draw your own conclusions about why I may have been told that there were no spaces for the $60 (or whatever it cost) voucher, particularly given there was only one other table there by the time we left.

Anyway, once we got there, things were very good from my perspective. The service was great, the waitresses very helpful, the food came out promptly and it was really interesting food for me. My wife thought it could have been a tad warmer, but we’re not fussy people so overall, we were very pleased.

Would I go back? Yeah, probably. After reading reviews on this site and some of the responses this guy makes, I didn’t get a good first impression of the place, but the food was great. My wife’s suggestion was a good one – take the hits on the review site and don’t be sarcastic as it’s a poor look – stick to producing good quality food!

by Kim P.
11th December 2011

We went tonight with a Grabone voucher and I ordered the Caesar Salad for main. I know it’s an odd choice when going to a New Orleans restaurant but I was quite full from the sampling platter (which was good). The Caesar Salad was described as “Caesar Salad as we all know and love but with a New Orleans twist – deep fried crispy prawns”

I have been to New Orleans so we all know how great the Caesar Salad is in the US.. Lots of bacon, parmesan, egg etc. This Caesar Salad came with COS LETTUCE, 3 croutons and PRAWNS. Certainly not a ‘Caesar Salad’ that I know and love. I did ask the waitress where the part of the salad that I ‘love’ was.. was it still in the kitchen. The waitress had no idea about this or much else to be honest but went to the chef who said – this is how it comes! I had to argue that if they ‘googled’ Caesar Salad then they would find that it normally had a few more ingredients besides my bed of lettuce with prawns on the top. They did agree that I could reorder but I was dining with 5 other family members and by the time my new dish would have come out, I would have been eating by myself.

The most disappointing – that a CHEF thinks that lettuce and prawns on the top is a Caesar.

I will never return to this restaurant as I prefer to pay for food that is described the same as the menu and where customer service is paramount. Both were lacking. There are certainly better places to eat in Wellington.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 11/12/2011    Hide »

Hi Kim, Gee you grabone people certainly are hard to please! First…    More »

Hi Kim, Gee you grabone people certainly are hard to please! First let me say maybe you should Google a caesar salad yourself. It comes with cos lettuce, croutons and parmesan cheese. There is no egg, bacon or other stuff that people chunk in it. Besides this is my concept of a cajun caesar salad. We did in fact offer you a replacement meal which would of only taken a few minutes to make. the problem is you people buy these vouchers at a severly discounted price and are always the first to complain. Perhaps if you paid full price you would appectate the food much more. The young waitness who severed you tonight was nervous because our matre ‘d was off with his wife having a baby. As far as you returning it’s probably for the best that you don’t because we really don’t need the headaches brought on by customers like yourself. You could have asked to see me when you weren’t satisfied with your choice but instead tried to damage our good name by placing a review on a silly web site. We have served thousands of very happy customers who don’t place reviews. So good luck with your ill will. WE won’t miss it.

by rose
8th December 2011

We went to Voodoo shortly after it opened and loved it. The food and the service were great, and it was busy suggesting a very promising start.

We recommended it to a number of friends. Unfortunately most of them (4/5 who have been there on our recommendation) have had complaints which have embarrassed us. This has included difficulties in getting bookings from Grab-One vouchers (people who want to check the place out!) or being located very close to large groups of people who are very loud (and often very drunk).

I was so pleased that Voodoo had opened for a style of cuisine that Wellington doesn’t have much of. But I think it needs to make up its mind about whether it wants to be cheap and cheerful or offering a quality dining experience. At the moment it doesn’t do either very well.

by Brad B.
7th December 2011

Severley dissapointed

I had high hopes for this place!
Having experienced dining at other New Orleans inspired restaurants and the real deal New Orleans cuisine i was really excited about a new New orleans restaurant.
My excitement dwindled quickly…
Walking in I noticed it had used the decor from the previous restaurant, which is interesting if your on acid, otherwise its a real eye sore.
It was a realtively quiet night, only 2 tables in use, one of which was a group of 14 who were rather loud. Wanting a table for 2, and hoping for soemthing intimate, were seated at a table so close to the group we might as well have joined them. Upon questioning the wait staff if antoher table was available, a polite no was given (probably the best part of the experience) however no explanation was given. odd?
This was all after a quick interrogation from the maitre d who had determined we were full paying customers and not using a grab one voucher.
We ordered a drink, from a fairly lacking drinks list, and waited and waited and waited. The drinks arrived and then the waiter was gone, not a chance to ask to order.
We waited again, and waited some more.
Frustrated I approached the wait staff talking between themselves to see if we could order food.which we managed to with some perservation.
Admittedly, when the food did arrive it looked good. But looks can be decieving and this time it was true.
The food lacked any real punch of flavour I was expecting from the New Orleans cuisine.
Despite trying both mine and my dates food this opinion did not change.
When we were leaving we finally got all the service possible to relieve me of my money!!

The good:
The beer was served cold

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 7/12/2011    Hide »

Thank you for your high hopes. First of all what night did you…    More »

Thank you for your high hopes. First of all what night did you come in? Because if you had asked to be moved,you would have.Our drink list has over 100 choices plus 15 cocktails.I normally go out and personally check the customers and I had no complaints.WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO EAT? ARE YOU SURE YOUR NOT A FRIEND OF CAT? (SEE BELOW) SILLY GUY, iF YOU HAVE A REAL ISSUE IN A RESTAURANT,LET THEM KNOW.If you want to help friends don’t waste our time.

by Cat
6th December 2011

I have never been so digusted with a restaurant in my life, and I did not even get to experience the food.

I used Voodoo’s online booking system to make a reservation for a Monday night. It allowed me to do so and I even got an email confirming my reservation. Unfortunately, when I arrived at the restaurant it was closed.

I called the restaurant and left a voice message. I received a call from the owner Don the next day. He was honestly the rudest man I have ever spoken to! I explained to him that I purchased the voucher from Grabone for a 3 course meal for 2 people and that I had booked in to use it following the guidelines that were prescribed. I booked in more than 24 hours in advance and the voucher said that the restaurant was open Monday to Sunday. he simply said that it was my fault that I didn’t read the restaurant’s opening hours on the website. I explained to him that his response was unfair as his booking system AND the voucher both said I could go on a Monday. I tried to book in for tonight but he said that I could not come because they were fully booked.

The voucher expires on 13 December so I asked him to extend it for me since it was not my problem that the restaurant allowed me to make a reservation on a night that it ws closed. He simply said that he would make no concessions for me and that it was stupid of me to leave the booking so late.

Throughout the whole conversation he spoke to me with such attitude and disdain. I do not care how good the food at this restaurant is. He does not deserve your money. Do not go to this restaurant. I was truly disgusted at how horrible he was to me.

A word of advice to the owner Don – A good business is based on repeat customers. People will never come back to your restaurant if you talk to them like they are dirt.

Also, judging by the rude comments Don has left on other negative reviews on this site I will also get a nasty little note back. I look forward to reading it.

Update:

Not at all impressed with the owner’s comments to negative reviews on this site. It seems everything is the customer’s fault and never a problem with the restaurant or attitude of the owner. A think that for Don a little introspection would go a long way.

Also, after investigating the matter Grabone happily refunded my money in full. They agreed that I was treated unfairly by the owner and that I was in the right.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 6/12/2011    Hide »

Well lets get the facts straight Cat, If you had bothered to check…    More »

Well lets get the facts straight Cat, If you had bothered to check the times on the web site you would have noticed that we do not open on Mondays. Simply because the system let you book isn’t much of an excuse because has I have previously mentioned the opening times ARE ON THE SITE.Oh Cat, you paint a very hard picture of me, being the rudest man you have ever spoken to, but fact of matter is I am one charming SOB when you get to know me. Maybe, just maybe it had something to do with your RUDE attitude when you started trying to be a lawyer with me. Fact is, if you had asked nicely we probably would have extended the voucher past its use by date has we did with a few others today.The problem with you is that despite having the voucher for SIX WEEKS you waited for the last few days to book. Not really my problem. Has far has making rude comments, like with so many others, as you mentioned, in your case I’m not. It would be just to easy. Love your work, Don

by Tania G.
30th October 2011

I love this restaurant. The grotto up to the reception area is unique and promises a sense of fun. Once inside the decor is mesmerizing too. When we dined there, we found the service attentive. But what really blew me away was the food. The flavors were amazing – like nothing I’ve ever tasted. We’ll definitely be going again.

by samantha
27th October 2011

Do you want to leave a restaurant and know what it means to actually have experienced eating the most amazing and delicious comfort food.

I am not big on decor but I love food, have eaten nearly all over the world and let me say the food is the dining experience it should be.

Went out to dinner with my partner and 7 year old. Started the night out with the $45 sample platter. When my daughter picked up the ribs the meat literally fell off the bone and back onto the plate, the meat was succulent and delicious. The Gris Gris chicken wings were a bit too spicy for me (definitely not for the faint of heart) but if you like hot and spicy as my partner does then this is the dish for you, I have never seen my partner lick his fingers until Voodoo.
Dessert was next we ordered the Mississippi mud cake both the cake and the ice cream were delicious and as we all had very full tummies it is saying a lot that we ate all the dessert too.
Prices do seem quite high but the portions are pretty big and in all honesty the platter practically stuffed 2 adults and a child. The only thing I would change and this is purely because of my taste buds, was that I found the curly fries a bit too salty, but that isn’t going to put me off.
The decor isn’t voodoo but it just fits the live music in the background set the atmosphere to perfect and the waiting staff were so friendly and seemed to be genuinely proud of the fact that they got to serve such wonderful food.
I am not a tipper by any standard but at this restaurant with these staff felt it was only right to show my appreciation for a great night.
Have recommended this restaurant to everyone I know who thought that Lonestar was out of this world especially if they are rib lovers VOODOO is 10 times better than lonestar on their best day.
Will definitely be a weekly regular for our family of 3 while we try each and every item on the menu.

by Paul
30th September 2011

Awesome staircase really set the mood for the night. Cool environment. At first I wasn’t sure about the food as I’ve never had New Orleans Cuisine before. Now Cajun and Creole are firmly in my meal making decisions.

After some hush puppies which were recommended by a friend I was eager to see how CHICKEN ROCHAMBEAU would turn out. One word…..AMAZING. Margaritas were pretty go as well….

I can’t wait to go back.

by Kate
26th September 2011

We dined at Voodoo on a busy Friday night. The atmosphere was awesome and the live music was great. The quirky decor makes it a very interesting place to dine.

I had the ribs and the were amazing!

Two small complaints – service was quite slow & waitstaff started getting a bit grumpy (I think this was because everyone had grabone coupons) and they had run out of the one bottle of savignon blanc on the menu.

Owner Don is awesome and we will definitely be back

by Kathleen
25th September 2011

Key lime pie melted in my mouth! Amazing!!and I ate it on a very full tummy so that is saying alot. Service was brilliant very attentive and friendly without being intrusive. Sample platter was nice – especially liked the spicy wings- will definitely order those next time. Didnt love the gumbo and jambalaya but it was still nice but probably wouldn’t order it again. Mains were great- I ordered the lamb- potatoes were yummy and so were the veges- lamb cutlets were delicious really good and the other lamb was nice too not as yummy as the cutlets but still good and lots of it def worth the price. My husband ordered baby back ribs- it was huge!! He couldn’t finish coleslaw and curly fries he concentrated on the ribs which awesome – he thought it could have done with a little more BBQ sauce however he really really likes alot of sauce. He said it was the best ribs he ever tasted- meat fell off the bones perfectly. Cocktails were good too I had the long island ice tea- very very yummy. Definitely going back- don’t agree with other reviews over the price – it is not even fine dining prices those are around $50 a main- the most expensive main here is $34 and is def worth the price.atmosphere is great! We think it would be cool if the had a rib, wing and beer and cocktail night like they do in Canada and the states. Decor is interesting and I get the voodoo theme- it matches the relaxed atmosphere perfectly.

by Chris C.
24th September 2011

Undoubtedly the worst restaurant I’ve ever been to and an appallingly bad ‘dining’ experience … we had a grabone half-price voucher ‘special’ but the experience wasn’t – the dark entrance with the fake plastic decoration made it more reminiscent of a grotty grotto and the bamboo lined ‘couch area’ with short seats and tables made it difficult to eat what crappy food we actually got to eat there, all the while having to endure the awful karaoke-esque background music. The SAMPLER PLATTER was very disappointing with it’s cold CAJUN DEVILED EGGS, overcooked/burnt and very dry HUSH PUPPIES and minuscule tepid GRIS GRIS CHICKEN WINGS, the starters of JAMBALAYA and GUMBO were tasteless and could have done with at least some spices. We then waited and waited … and waited – an hour and a half after ordering, the mains still hadn’t arrived and then the bullsht started … the waiter told us that the cook was ‘slightly overwhelmed’ despite it being half empty and no-one else seemed to be eating either! then one of our ‘product(s) was not available’, he offered us a voucher for a return visit – we refused as we would never ever return there … and then he started waffling, we asked to see the manager. We spoke to the chef and he was unapologetic, repeating that the cook was not having a good night – he wasn’t the only one. He refused to give us refund and referred us to grabone. The friendly waitress was the only positive part of the unpleasant experience, we left angry and hungry so went to the Bristol for a lovely pizza.

by Laura M.
24th September 2011

We had a late meal at Voodoo on a Friday night. Friendly waiter. Thought the hush puppies were overcooked as they were dark, dry and hard.
My main was quite delicious though, had the duck and rice.
Peach cobbler was disappointing as it didn’t contain much peach and was over-sweet.
Overall ok

by Fizzy B.
16th September 2011

Have been twice. Nice but not mind-blowing food, pleasant service apart from one waiter who was a bit try-hard with the jokes and matey-ness. Pleasant enough and better than grumpy, but I preferred the dry ironic-type guy we had previously. Guy behind the bar is nice.

Chef being a classic chef bellowing complaints about our order, despite our table being right next to the kitchen. Not really a problem — more amusing than anything, like the fact that the cutlery allocation is one of each piece per person throughout: the waiter took the fork I’d used for my entree off my plate and said I’d need it for the main! Ha ha!

I like the decor, despite it being not at all Voodooish to my mind, and more a mish-mash of the various prior tenants’ decor. The flashing palm trees are fun, as are the glowing rocks up the stairs.

The first time we went they seemed to have taken heed of previous reviews saying it was too dark, and each table was lit by a blazing light that burned my retinas. I do prefer it not too dark when I eat, but that was a little over the top. It didn’t seem so bad the next time, but we were in a different part of the restaurant.

All in all, quirky and friendly atmosphere (if you ignore the chef ha ha), and nice food … but probably not nice enough to justify the price. I can think of places with better food for less dosh. So I guess I’m unlikely to go back, but you never know. If they institute some sort of 2 for 1 mains deal one night of the week I’ll be in.

by Nick C.
14th September 2011

Undoubtedly the worst meal I have had in a long time. We had Grab One vouchers so we had to have the meal specified which was Jambalaya. We had an entrée as described on menu “GRIS GRIS CHICKEN WINGS – Six large flappers covered in our Louisiana hot wing sauce”. Not only were these the tiniest chicken pieces, half of them were drumsticks and I swear you not, one drumstick looked like it was off a 5 day old chicken (basically these came from a frozen chicken nibbles packet you buy in the supermarket). I said to the waiter exactly this and he said “shoot the chef” embarrassed to be serving us stuff like this. We had the Jambalaya again described in the menu as “A New Orleans iconic dish it is made with chicken, andouille sausages and the most amazing prawns you have ever tasted. All cooked in a deep rich tomato base sauce, served with rice”. Well there were no sausages in the dish, the 2 prawns were tasteless and the rice was basmati rice served with canned tomatoes.

Sure we had the vouchers for the main only but these are used to entice customers back not to frighten them away. I can only think based on the other reviews here that the usual chef was away sick or something and the kitchen hand stepped in.

I repeat – this meal was just awful

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 20/09/2011    Hide »

I will slam someone when they spout a bunch of BS, However this is…    More »

I will slam someone when they spout a bunch of BS, However this is not the case with you. I was actually away sick and was horrified when I read this review. Most people would not respond to this but I do believe you had a bad dinner here and have sent you a private email.The waiter who made these comments is no longer with us and the chefs on duty have been severely cautioned. Let me assure you that this is not what VOODOO is about. I personally take great pride in this restaurant and the food we serve and I never want to hear stories like yours. It want happen again. Cheers Don

by Mel P.
6th September 2011

Went here on Saturday night with 2 friends when down for the Wearable Art Awards.

The staff are just lovely, the food was delicious, the decor is really cool. The margaritas are also rather delicious, and served with a flourish.

I was a bit worried as fish and chili are not my bailiwick but nothing was over-spiced. I ordered the Hush Puppies which went down very well with my Sour Apple Martini, then the Spare Ribs. They were meaty and succulent, not treated like a by-product with all the meat cut away like a lot of places in NZ. My friend had the devilled eggs and they were hotter than I would normally eat but not overpoweringly so. Cleared out the sinuses.

If we had the stamina after the Wearable Arts, I would have gone back for the second night.

by Hannah
5th September 2011

I LOVE the food at Voodoo, have been there a few times now and have NEVER had a bad experience. My one Critisism (and I know I will get slammed for this as Don.C has done to other people with differing opinions – yes I can see you are passionate about Voodoo) is that the prices are far too steep. don’t get me wrong the food is awesome but it is no way a fine dining restaurant and those are deffinately fine dinning prices – I would be back nearly every week if the prices were reasonable but unfortunately Voodoo is only a place we can go to on very special occasions.

by paul r.
22nd August 2011

we arrived on a busy Saturday night without a reservation. by the time we got a drink,a table had been made ready for us.our server was wonderful,with great recommendations and very attentive.really enjoyed the south American cuisine,service and unusual ambiance.would make it a point to return.if you haven’t visited voodoo i suggest you doo

by J h.
21st August 2011

We went for dinner friday night, they were very busy. It felt really awesome the atmosphere there.
My partner ordered the jambalaya and I had the ribs. The jambalaya was piping hot and beautiful, just right. The ribs were so yummy with curly fries. Curly fries were yummy, my kids would of loved them.
We had desserts I had the peach cobbler, wow yum! I wanted more but I didn’t want to seem greedy. My partner he had the banana Forster, of course I had to try his and it was beautiful. I ate all of his dessert.
Overall we both enjoyed our meals and the place. The staff were excellent, they didn’t rush us.
I came for the food I heard from friends they been over and glad we did. We didn’t care about what the place look like (ex Turkish restaurant).
We will be back with our kids and spread the word.
Thanks voodoo.

by Reviewer007
19th August 2011

Me, my partner and my toddler went here for a Friday lunch during a weekday with 2 grabone specials ($5 for Jambalaya instead if $24.90).

Pretty disappointed, since we were forgotten about when seated and waited 10 minutes before my partner went to get some service. They were apologetic and said that they were really busy with the grabone deal…. the restaurant was under half full??? They still had the tacky décor up from the previous restaurant. Not too sure how that relates to New Orleans?

Anyway, the Jambalaya was really disappointing. Its not a dish that I would pay $24.90 for, even if this was on the cheap. I was trying to look at the menu, because I thought I would like to buy something else, like some curly fries that I have heard some people mention, but they had sold out the night before.

They have cheap wine ($12 average) but the dinner meals were very expensive.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 21/08/2011    Hide »

OMG!!! You had to wait ten minutes for service in a smart casual…    More »

OMG!!! You had to wait ten minutes for service in a smart casual restaurant!!! I’m so sorry, I will send my four star wait staff, not my words, but (David Burtons) immediately to Burger King for retraining. As far as the tacky interior is concerned, I assume you meant the 680.000 fit out that took two years to complete, it has nothing to do with New Orleans, but we like to think of it as more of a Voodoo Palace.
Finally I am truly sorry that you did not like the 5 dollar Jambalaya but over the years thousands have. You my good friend have a good day!!!

by Jacqi B.
13th August 2011

I’d not heard of this place before but saw an offer for it on one of the deal sites and popped in for an early meal with two friends before going on to something else. Although their website is disappointing (one static page, no menu or indication of prices or opening hours) the food and our experience was not.
The service was excellent and speedy – we explained that we were going on somewhere. I was not very hungry and they were happy for me to have a starter brought out when my friends had their main course. I can’t tell you the names of the dishes – no online menu to which to refer – but I had a ‘shrimp’ dish billed as ‘the best shrimp dish you’ll eat’. It certainly was tasty. Marinated prawns on bread that had been soaked in a delicious oil/dressing/marinade (I could have licked the plate but it would have been rude) which came with salad greens and olives. I tried my friends’ main dishes of duck leg on dirty rice – very crisp and flavourful duck, tasty rice; the glazed pork chop mashed yam was also tasty. All the food tasted very fresh.
We had time for dessert and shared a bananas foster and a peach cobbler both served with a good vanilla ice cream – the staff happily brought three spoons. They were generous portions and as delicious as the savoury courses.
The music was good, loud enough to enjoy but low enough for conversation and the placement of the tables was roomy enough.
The atmosphere felt good. I’ll certainly go back, hopefully with more time and a bigger appetite.

by wellingtons f.
26th July 2011

Visited Voodoo on what i though would be a quite Tuesday night,but when we arrived up the stairs the joint was pumping!
were seated by the waterfall,and ordered the Gumbo yaya to start.It was so tasty! i then went on to order the BBQ Ribs which came out with curly fries and cowslaw which were absolutely the best i have ever had!! Will defiantly be returning with more of my friends and to try the Jambalaya.
I highly recommend this place to anyone

by Jo
14th July 2011

I’ve been wanting to try this place for awhile and bought voucher ($59 for 2 entrees, 2 mains and 2 drinks) and tried it out last night. They were very warm and friendly when we arrived. For our entrée’s we could choose Breads and Pizza’s. We ordered the Margherita pizza which was really tasty with fresh tomatoes and basil. However, the Hush Puppies were some type of deep friend corn bread nugget that was really dry and tasteless. It was $8 for four little pieces and I only managed to eat half of one. I wasn’t too fussed with complaining as I was deep in conversation with my friend and the pizza was good and filling anyway so I wouldn’t have had room for the main if I had replaced our hush puppy entrée.
For the main we each got Jambalaya and it was superb. Rich, warm, tasty flavours with succulent big prawns, smokey moist chicken pieces and sausage which were okay, I think I could’ve done without the sausage in it. The capsicum looked soggy but it still had a bit of crunch so it created a bit of freshness to the dish.
The other issue I had was that they brought out the mains even before we had finished our entrée. I thought they could have at least asked us before hand if we wanted our main to come out that soon but I guess they were in a rush to get us out. We went for a 5:30pm dinner, so not like it was peak time when we were there.

All in all, I would go back for the Jambalaya and possibly sample other dishes from the entrée menu.

I would have given it a 4 if it weren’t for some of the service; for main coming out before we had finished our entree and also when we went to leave to give our voucher, no one acknowledged us at the counter even though there were 2 people at the bar.

by Mark T.
25th June 2011

An old flatmate of ours took my partner and I here and we were just keen to taste some New Orleans style cuisine.

Entrees:Devilled eggs were OK, the prawns were big and spicy, but the crab cakes were hard and dry. Could’ve used one to prop up the wobbly table, but used the Dompost instead.

I had the bbq chicken, really well cooked…delicious. My partner had the pork and she loved the mash that came with it. Ex-flatty had the jambalaya and she continually said “c’est super super bon!” so I guess she liked it.

Huge servings so we got a doggy bag and the waiter asked what kind of dog we had. He was cool. Just a sign of how much we enjoyed the meal and the service was our tip – and we hardly ever tip.

Unfortunately they had a cock-up with relicensing and there was no booze. Would hate to think how much money they lose over that but we weren’t too bothered.

Our waiter convinced us to share the Pecan Pie for dessert after which we fair rolled down the stairs. The decor was quite undescribable. I’ll leave it at that.

If that’s sort of what New Orleans food is like-I’m going there!

We’ll be back to Voodoo with friends for sure.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 5/07/2011    Hide »

Thanks Mark. The fritters have been fixed and the wine is…    More »

Thanks Mark. The fritters have been fixed and the wine is following agian. Don

by Maggie P.
21st June 2011

In a word, disappointing. As an American living abroad, I was very excited to see this restaurant in Wellington, but it didn’t live up to expectations. I think (hope) the decor was left over from the previous restaurant, as there wasn’t anything New Orleans about it. Then there’s the menu. I could have over looked the pizzas on a cajun menu, but not when some Louisiana staples were clearly missing. Where is the A La Mer? Where is the Etouffee? Most disappointingly, where are the beignets? We started off with the hush puppies, which were very mediocre (I think it was just corn meal, not even any onion). Then for mains my fiancee ordered the Jambalaya and I ordered the Chicken Rochambeau. My chicken was alright, but for $28 I expected more (at least a side of veg). The Jambalaya was another disappointment. It didn’t taste cajun at all, there was no heat (you should be sweating bullets) and the andouille sausages were not authentic. I’m pretty sure it was salami from the grocery store. After that we didn’t dare try dessert. If we didn’t have a voucher it would have cost $76, which was way to much for the amount and quality. As for the service, there was only one waiter for the entire floor. He tried to sit us in a dark corner (the lights were burned out) and then he brought my date the wrong beer. We won’t be returning.

Comment from Don C. of Voodoo 22/06/2011    Hide »

Hi maggie I would like to answer a few of your comments on your…    More »

Hi maggie
I would like to answer a few of your comments on your review. Starting with the decor it is not meant to be New Orleans per say but more of a Voodoo theme. We do indeed have pizzas on our menu, mainly because of the equipment that was in the building when we got it. however we have designed our pizzas to reflex a New Orleans theme. Concerning the A La Mer and Etouffee I feel that fish is a over used resource in this country and do not want to tax existing fish stock, our little way of being a greeny. THe menu has creole shrimp which I feel is a better dish than Etouffee and lastly the biegnets which is a cafe dish NOT a restaurant.
The Jambalaya is not necesarily a hot dish, its meant to be spicy not HOT! This is a common misconception about cajun and creole food Its not meant to blow your head off as you put it.
The andouille sausage is custom made to a original recipe by our butcher and is certainly NOT STORE BOUGHT!
Perhaps you should have had the dessert perhaps you would of liked ONE thing about us. And a couple more points we allowed you to seat before we opened and the dining room was not finished, there are no lights burned out in this restaurant they were DIMMED! Our highly trained waiter did not need help on the floor considering was a Tuesday night and if he brought you the wrong beer I’m sure it was replaced immediatley. At the end of the day even without your voucher $76.00 is a resaonable amount for 2 people to pay in a restuarant. As far as you not returning, I’m sorry to hear that. But perhaps its best for all of us. You madam are proof postive that you can’t please all the people all the time. We stand by our reputation and dedication and loyalty of the hundreds of very satisfied customers who have been through our doors and continue to return. Also it would have been nice instead of keeping your opionions to yourself you could have mentioned your disappointment to us while you were here!
Have a nice day.

by teresa d.
11th June 2011

my daughter and i had an amazing dinning experience at voodoo.
i had the jambalaya and she had the bbque pork.
wow the tastes were out of this world compliments to the chef.
the band playing was world class and if we lived in wellington woul become followers. thank you for making our experience so special.

by Emma W.
5th June 2011

I walked by this restaurant on a day out shopping and was intrigued by the menu. It looked very original and something new in Wellington so I visited on the following Friday night at around 6.30pm.
To get to the restaurant, you need to go up the “grotto” staircase, a stone effect coloured with green and blue lights. The restaurant itself is not huge but the seating plan was not cramped as in other restaurants. There were already quite a few people there when we arrived and we were seated on a very nice table for two by the fountain. Our very friendly waitress brought us water as we considered the menu. Due to a seafood allergy, I asked whether the jambalaya could be come without prawns; we were advised this was not a problem as it is prepared freshly every time. My companion and me had the same and the jambalaya arrived piping hot, with very generous portions. It was absolutely delicious, with smoky sausage, tasty chicken and a just-right (for me) spicy sauce. For pudding, I had the peach cobbler, which was amazing and came with an unusual but delicious peach ice cream and my companion had key lime pie, a lime flavour cheesecake with the same peach ice cream; both went down a treat. The ambiance was lovely and I thought a nice touch was that the bathroom had actual flannels to dry your hands on, which were then left in a hamper to be collected. The decor was very interesting and original and staff attentive but not in-your-face. If you’re looking for something new with great service and lovely food, I can whole-heartedly recommend Voodoo.

by Peter G.
11th May 2011

Visited Voodoo earlier this evening, on only their second night.

The host was an older gentleman named Khem (spelling?) who was friendly, and professional. He informed me it was only their second night, but that the food was great and the chef originally from New Orleans.

To start with Khem made me a southern cocktail, and recommended the Barbecue Prawns entree, and the Jambalaya for the main.

I was curious to try especially the Jambalaya, as this really is the backbone of any creole restaurant worth its salt.

The cocktail was an excellent combination, and matched well with the food.

The prawns first – cooked absolutely right. Thick juicy prawns lightly barbecued with a tangy flavoursome sauce – just so. The salad was simply a bed of greens, with two juicy slices of lemon aside – everything was fresh, and cooked just right – recommended.

The Jambalaya next, and this was unfortunately not up to the standard of the first dish. A generous portion, the rice was cooked perfectly (its is quite hard to achieve this, many times Jambalaya rice is overcooked and mushy) but the sausages were clearly store bought, and the prawns were underdone. This was especially disappointing considering the excellence of the prawns in the first dish.

The decor is erm….a strange mixture of an old southern wooden cottage (nice) house together with paper mache stonework on the walls and fluro palm trees (garish). The closest parallel I could draw would be to the Indiana Jones ride at MGM Studios theme park in Florida. The music was really well suited to the theme, with slow blues and jazz tracks – I was enjoying this immensely until after twenty minutes I realised the same loop was being repeated – come on guys!

The chef (Don) came by to say hello and ask about the food, and I was pleased to be able to say that despite the idiosyncrasies, I enjoyed the evening, the service was excellent, and I would be back again – although I think next time I’d try a different main.

(Total paid $56.50)

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