Gladstones Café Restaurant 12 Gladstone Road, Parnell, Auckland 1052

"Overall quite bad. Some staff dependant on who is on are really nice and some are the complete opposite or clueless. There are many problems with food and the way the restaurant operates. Pricing needs to be reworked and equalised a little better as some of it does not match what they put out. Firstly food: Where to start. Quality and price do not match by far. Big buffet breakfast has dry overcooked poached eggs, soggy rubbery toast like its been steamed for 2 hours, old tasting jam, and soggy hash browns. Very inconsistent with what you get as well. If you order a pie. You may get salad one day but the next its just the pie. Also they forget orders are out on the counter and it will get cold before you get it Fruit bowl is not a fruit bowl really. Its just porridge (which they also have as a seperate item on the menu) with some type pf blended berry smoothie and cream on top. Toast is good but thats because you basically are in control of making it yourself during continental breakfast. Dinner wise portion control is very inconsistent. Sometimes you get fish finger size for kids like they had half a fillet and cut it up into little bits in the fish of the day and other days you get like 2 big fillets. Chips taste old and overcooked. Soup with Roast pumpkin and ginger/honey is pretty nice. The pineapple in the burger is a bit too hard and had to remove because it was super thick. Coffees taste good but froth is generally half of the coffee so you are paying for a fluffy on top. Wait times can be hours even when not busy. Service: On a general note staff are pleasant and kind and easy to talk to. 1 in particular was very difficult to converse with and she wanted room number and everything to charge my room even though I tried to explain that my company isn’t paying for my food and they have my details of my room. Not to mention all the other difficulties of trying to charge a room with multiple people in it. When I came back for lunch she was also very hard to work with. I asked for a table and the menu and had to repeat it 4 times and basically just said by the end. “I will take the menu and sit down.” I was very respectful but unsure why she couldn’t understand a basic request. The atmosphere is pretty nice and its easily situated and easy to get to. For these reasons 1 star is the most I can give. If you are wanting something easy, this is the place. But you will not find the price matching the quality can be very expensive for low quality."

"We were staying at the adjoining hotel and ate here due to flooding in Auckland making it unsafe to drive elsewhere. We had tomato soup with white beans, a Thai beef salad, and gratin potatoes as a side. The soup was quite good, and the potatoes were pretty good. After having had a fantastic Thai Beef Salad at another restaurant a few days earlier, I chose that here, and it paled in comparison. It was on the small side and seemed minimal, with just a few bites of beef, and the dressing didn’t taste like what I’ve had on other Thai Beef Salads. It’s my fault that I didn’t notice until I finished that the peanuts had been left off completely. The chef apologized and sent some that I took to my room as a snack. We had the pecan torte and the chocolate torte for dessert. These were ok. Our server was very nice, and he did a great job, but the overall experience was underwhelming — a forgettable meal in a place lacking much atmosphere in a dreary rainy evening."

"Luke the waiter was informative about menu options, friendly, helpful and professional. The food was full of flavor, lovely early dinner sitting on the deck in the late afternoon sun. Would definitely come again."

"Was busy, but managed to fit us in without a reservation. Fantastic & professional service from our waitress. Kids meals were good, nicely cooked and value for money. Son very much enjoyed his burger. Hubby enjoyed his pork belly, but my steak although cooked to perfection, was under seasoned and a little bland. Potato gratin was good. Quite a long wait for dessert, but dessert was exceptional. Apple tart tatin was out of this world. We would return to both the restaurant and the hotel again."