Review Citizen Q - Auckland Central

Fabulous dinner :) We came for a meal before a show at the Q theatre, and enjoyed the best burgers in town! Great presentation, flavour and price, thanks so much!

There was no food service (lack of staff) but I did enjoy a glass of wine and very helpful, kind bar service.

Excellent service, fun, friendly, queer vibe, love it! Food is good too!

I love this place first time I are here... Indeed a great surprise..

Fantastic experience. Awesome venue

Fun atmosphere, friendly team.

The prawns with chorizo are amazing! 👌🏻

Shows are great

I had dinner here

Gay as Dixie

Menu perfect had breakfest verry nice , verry nice staf and people . Heerlijk ontbijt vanaf 08uur open zalige gepocheerde eieren , zalig brood met liefde gezette koffie . Heerlijke rustig muziek op de achtergrond , een groot pluspunt een fles koud water op tafel .so nice nice Today de smashed avocado with poached eggs so nice one of the best places for breakfest

We have dined here often since the theatre opened as it is convenient to have a quick bite to eat before you see a show. This restaurant started off really well and everyone in our theatre group could always find something they enjoyed. Over the years the menu has changed and, in my opinion, gone downhill big time. Having to go up and order from the bar now seems a bit ridiculous. I get there are savings on wages but they are definitely losing on drinks orders, as who is going to stand up mid-meal and leave the table to go up to the bar to order another wine? Well, we didn't anyway. The food is ok but really only just ok. My halloumi and winter vegetable salad was very disappointing to be honest. Had there been a waiter in attendance, I would have told them there was no dressing on it AT ALL. It was dry as a bone, but I just picked at bits and left the rest because I couldn't be bothered leaving my group to go up in search of said dressing. Others said their meals were flavourless although chips were good! On a positive note, the bar staff are really, really nice and helpful. I do hope Citizen Q up their game because they were such a welcome addition to the Auckland theatre dining scene but are average at best now.

We had an early dinner here before a show and was surprised by how busy they were. You have to order and pay at the bar before they seat you somewhere.<br/><br/>The menu is small with a few options available. We got the lamb meatballs which were average at best. There were about 6 meatballs on a bed of couscous and salad. Quite a small portion for $22. The sticky wings were OK at $18, the tamarind sauce was a pleasant surprise. The chips were a bit stale and a small serving.<br/><br/>The food was served pretty quickly but service was a bit slow. I probably wouldn't dine here again.

This is my local coffee spot on the week days -generally coffee is good, nice and strong. Also, it’s a good spot for one-to-one meetings with your boss:) <br/>Their ham and cheese croissants are very filling and flavoursome and recently I tried Caesar salad with chicken. The portion was big, filling but I thought there a little too many anchovies that overpowered the flavour of the salad. Will be back to try more food off the lunch menu.

Big group of us went. Staff serving was great. But what spoiled it was the up herself snob getting our payments. What do you break ice with? No smile and could tell she had her favourites. You can work for a real classy joint but if you have crap service like that it spoils the experience. She needs to learn basic customer service skills. She gives the place a bad look.

It was about lunch time when I walked through the doors of this cafe, I was really feeling like breakfast menu :-( when I walked in I was great by a girl and sat down at the table. A young polite gentleman came over and said did she explain what the specials where I said. No... then I just asked him if they where doing breakfast he said no. :-( so I asked if there was a salmon bagel left he said we have one. I had it was nothing special there was not enough flavour more dill and more cheese would of been nice. The iced coffee was really strong just what I needed. I will go back to try the proper breakfast or lunch menu. <br/><br/>

Inattentive wait staff, the table wasn't cleaned when the dishes were cleared and we had to call the waitress over,  when we did she seemed super put out.<br/>Sold out of a lot of items on the menu and the drinks were poorly made. I had the souffle, which was OK, but needed more fruit to balance out the pickled vegies. The choices of dessert were basically ice cream or panna cotta, no Dairy free options at all. I ordered a Mocha and got an overly sweet hot chocolate with hardly a hint of coffee.

I went to Citizen in a event by Zomato, so the experience is probably not the same I'd have in a regular day.<br/><br/>But the food they were serving was the same in the menu, and I'd say most of it was quite good: the bread, the shrimp, the salad, the ribs and the squid.<br/><br/>The only two things that weren't very good were the curry and the cheesecake.<br/>

I love Q Theatre!! And was stoked when I was invited to Citizen Q for a Zomato foodie meet up! All profits from the restaurant and bar are used to support the budding community of musicians, start up filmmakers and performing artists.<br/>On our visit we were treated to a tasting platter of chicken wings, lamb cutlets, salad, mushroom arancini, prawn twisters and a pesto cob loaf. My favourite part of the platter would have been the succulent rare lamb cutlets and arancini risotto. The cob loaf maybe was a bit dry for my liking - I would have loved more pesto spread all over the insides rather than just a dollop in the centre as the loaf was very large. Maybe the salad could have used more dressing or balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes and leaves but I'm also not much of a salad person.<br/>Our chef kindly treated us to three desserts: warm sticky date pudding with icecream, chocolate mousse, and cheesecake cups. The cheesecake and mousse were very rich (probably best to share these between 2) but the sticky date totally hit the spot. I would totally recommend this, even if you don't like dates.<br/>Overall great experience and I look forward to stopping for dinner before the next concert at Q.

$10 lunch special on a Friday. Delicious steak, polenta and broccoli. The polenta was absolutely delicious, could have had a tub of this to take home with me. Steak was cooked well and cut nicely. Just can't beat this for the special of the week. Meals were served quickly, and all staff are very friendly.

Love to come to shows here and little did I know that there was also great food. The sharing platter is a good option but there are limited vegetarian options, if you're vege would be best to order off the main menu. The chocolate mousse kills, don't know if it's on the menu but might pop up as a special. I could eat litres of it. Krishna the head chef is doing a fine job!

Dined here the other night as part of a Zomato event, enjoyed some great food and some great theatre!<br/><br/> We enjoyed Q Nibble Board, the calamari was made to perfection 😍 accompanied with some great lemon sauce and another sauce, hands down best portion on the Q Nibble Board. The mushroom arancini was interesting, laid well with the curry paste underneath. Chicken wings were good, and the lamb cutlets were nicely seasoned.<br/><br/> The sticky date pudding was good, went well with everything on the dish, wasn't the biggest fan of the cheesecake as I'm not a cheesecake person, but the chocolate mousse was delicious!<br/><br/> Overall, I did enjoy my experience here at the Citizen Q, friendly and attentive staff despite such a busy night. Great theatre show and it's fabulous to know the proceeds go toward the perform.<br/>

It's great to have a theatre-run restaurant knowing that all proceeds go towards the Arts. <br/>The ambience is great, although some of the spotlights were too bright for me in some areas. But the food made up for it. <br/><br/>We got a sharing platter that had some amazing flavours (Indian inspired roast lamb racks and chicken), prawn twisters and unique bread with pesto and to balance it a healthy side salad. <br/><br/>Dessert however was on a whole different level. Chocolate mousse with choc biscotti was delicious! Also tried a passionfruit cheesecake which I thought was average but my my... you must try the sticky date pudding. The show can wait, while I finish up this plate of deliciousness!!!

I was kindly invited by Zomato to Citizen-Q on Friday night for a Foodie meetup. The vibe was really nice! It was busy and bustling and the atmosphere was very lively.<br/><br/>We were introduced to the main team behind the management of the Q-Theatre, along with a backstage tour coupled with tickets to watch the Elephant Thief. I really enjoyed this along with getting to know more of the foodie community!<br/><br/>We had drinks to start the evening off and then got to try a range of different dishes on their nibble boards. The prawn twisters when paired with the aioli was so yum!! I love my calamari so this hit it off for me too. Ive never tried pesto on bread before but I surprisingly loved the two together and everything was served in cute portions with plenty of generous servings enough to fill up everyone. They bought more rounds and kept checking up on us throughout the night.<br/><br/>The head chef later introduced himself to us and ran us through the dessert menu which was a whole other ball game. They were presented so well and looked incredible! The cheesecake was a little plain for me but the sticky date pudding was delicious. It was warm and light. But what really hit it home was the chocolate mousse. It was soo creamy and rich and served with crispy biscotti = Happiness in a dish!!!<br/><br/>Whats also great about Citizen Q is that 100% of the profit made, goes towards the work done on the stages in the theatre. I'd recommend dropping by here for pre/post drinks & nibbles if youre watching any of the shows or if you happen to be wandering through this part of Queen Street. Thank you again for a wonderful night!!<br/><br/>

I was lucky enough to be apart of the Zomato meet up here last night at the Q Theatre. We were treated to a special backstage tour, drinks, dinner and tickets to The Elephant thief, which overall was a very enjoyable night! Love the vibe and atmosphere about this place. <br/><br/>The service was great! The staff were very efficient throughout the night and made our dining experience run as smoothly as possible. Our waiters kept us informed on when the food would arrive and how long till the show started.<br/><br/>The group of us were served with a selection of nibbles - all well presented on rustic wooden boards. There was definitely enough food to get round and we were all left satisfied and full. The Q nibbles board had a good selection and consisted of Harissa chicken wings, lemon pepper calamari, mushroom arancini, tandoori lamb cutlets, prawn twisters, bread and salad. My favourite element for the night was definitely the calamari - thick, tender and well seasoned. I also enjoyed the mushroom arancini, which was served in a pool of rich tomato based sauce.<br/><br/>The head chef was very accommodating and made several visits to our table to ensure we were all happy with our meals and if we had any feedback for him. It was nice to meet and speak briefly with chef Krishna Kandasamy, as not often do the chefs step out of the kitchen. He even surprised us with a selection of desserts – Sticky date pudding, Cheesecake and Chocolate mousse. I found the cheesecake a little too big and sweet to finish on my own, but would be perfect to share between two. The Sticky date was delicious, served hot with gooey sauce and melting ice-cream. The Chocolate mousse would be the best option if your already quite full after the main meal as it is light and not too rich in flavour.<br/> <br/>If you are after great service, food and drinks I would definitely recommend visiting here before heading to a show at the Q Theatre! Would be worth booking though as this place fills up fast. Thanks again for a great night guys.

We go to Q for drinks and shows often and usually enjoy ourselves. Staff typically friendly.  <br/><br/>Last Wednesday we decided to try the restaurant and were pretty disappointed. Food was okay, but expensive and very salty. The meatballs however were very good. <br/><br/>Service was mostly good, however while we were eating the chef come out of the kitchen to argue with one of the servers in the seating area. Not really a nice dinner atmosphere. <br/><br/>Like this place most of the time and hope the food gets better.

Visited this place for Friday lunch. <br/>Liked the decor and the feel of the place but found the service a bit slow as it was just 2 us of at the restaurant.<br/><br/>Ordered - seafood fettuccine and chicken ravioli both dishes were extremely salty and the flavour was overpowering.<br/><br/>Service - 3.5/5<br/>Quality - 3.5/5<br/>Taste -3/5<br/>Would I visit again? 30/70

Whenever there's a show on Q, we always grab something from the bar or the restaurant. Love their special drinks, catered to whatever show is on currently. Great atmosphere where you can sit back and enjoy, before or after shows. Service is quick and friendly. There's always something happening here so you'll be entertained, one way or another. One time there were people on costume and stilts at the front door.

Although my friends and I came in here just to hangout, staff are really nice and bubbly. The atmosphere is very chill and the music is just fine. Really recommend it for groups of friends who just want to hang.

This the first time we had tried eating here. We were told by the waitress behind the bar that we could sit anywhere we choose. We say by the window, when another waitress came over she said that the area we were sitting in, you had to up go to the bar to place your order and pay at the time. If we sat at the back it was normal waitress full service, we stayed put. <br/><br/>I had the Moroccan spiced lamb meatballs / tomato sauce / minted yoghurt, which was served in one of those little single person frying pans. My wife had the Satay chicken skewers / herbed yoghurt. <br/><br/>Both enjoyed our meals, but felt let down by the lack of communication at the beginning.<br/><br/>Worth a try if you are in that part of Queen Street.

Saw One day Moko last week at Q and then had dinner afterwards. Been at Q a few times before but only for coffee and sometimes drinks. The place is always packed and people like hanging out at The Q, may it be lunch or evening. There's always groups of people chilling and just having a good time there. <br/>We had brochetta and chicken skewers, loved the skewers a lot. The brochetta could have been perfect if not for the tough bread. It was a bit hard to manage and chew for both of us. The wine was nice and the coffee was delish. Very friendly staff! <br/>Overall had great night at the Q.

My partner and I were on our way to a show at the Civic, and thought we would try this “interesting and chic” looking restaurant on our way there. <br/><br/>When we arrived, the waitress could not wrap her head around the fact that we would like to have a drink outside first, and then be seated in a short while – no biggy, she got it sussed out, we ordered our drink (a glass of wine at the lowest price was $10.50). <br/><br/>When we were seated for dining, we were given a menu with a range of European styled food – Caesar Salad, Panini's, Steak meals, and those sorts. <br/><br/>I ordered the open steak sandwich, I was not asked how the steak was to be cooked, and when I cut into it I found it very rare, the portobello mushrooms looked like they had swigged at Alice’s Shrinking potion, they were tiny!The rest of the meal was ok – it was $23, I guess because of steak that this is reasonable, but it was rather simple for the description in the menu.<br/><br/>My partner ordered vegetarian nachos with Guacamole and Sour Cream and cheese. He got a plate full of plain corn chips with a dollop of the above,…. it was very plain, a small meal that left him hungry and unsatisfied. <br/><br/>Throughout the entire meal we battled with flies, sand flies – they were biting at me and resting on our glasses, and flying kamikaze style into our face. It was gross to be honest and very annoying. <br/><br/>Then a song came on…. it was like electronic fast speed drumming. That's all, it was very loud, and repetitive, and lasted over 5 minutes. The table in front of us was complaining and had to ask for it to be changed (we were all under 30 years old, so it isn't like we are fuddy duddys). <br/><br/>THEN the almost worst part was when my partner left for the loo, and I realized that I was defending our drinks on my own… I looked at his glass which had quickly accumulated a handful of flies in and around it… I looked towards the light and noticed the swarm of flies around me. It was time to go. <br/><br/>On the way to pay, a waiter came out with a take away coffee, he looked at me, then jumped in front of me without an “excuse me”, that pissed me off after having a pretty average meal and dealing with those stupid flies. <br/><br/>I mentioned to the waitress (who struggled to make eye contact, let alone a smile, and didn't even address us or ask how our meal was), that perhaps it would be a good idea to close the door as there are a lot of flies and the other table were getting it too. Her reply “Yea well there IS a river running under Queen St”. That was it, no bye, or sorry or anything. <br/><br/>So – overall, the only reason I have given two stars is the ciabatta bread was yum. The service and atmosphere, food and flies were gross and I would not recommend this place to anyone.