Review The Dominion Bar - Auckland Central

A great experience! The food was filling and satisfying, and the customer service was AMAZING!! The waitress threw in a free dessert for me and my date at the end because I had a disappointing day, and she even allowed me to use my Groupon when I was supposed to use it before 3pm. Super impressed, will come again.

Excellent bar for lunch/branch . Food is delicious, good coffee and nice cold beer :) We recently returned for a lunch,and oh boy it was delicious!!! Lamb shank and salmon steak. Great service as always.

Cozy spot, yummy food, super polite staff. I like the Salmon steak and the chicken breast from their menu. Have been there couple of times so far and pretty sure will be there again. There are usually vouchers to buy from Groupon that you get one main food and a non-alcoholic drink for $15 per person. There's $3 extra charge for Salmon steak though and $4 for the fettuccini. You will get an awesome Flatwhite if you are a fan of FW. English breakfast, earl grey and cammomile are the available teas. Also there are nice beers on tap. That place is quite busy and crowded when there is z rugby or cricket game which will be playing on the large screen TVs and people enjoy watching sports and drinking cold beers. It's located right in front of countdown, so you can park your car in countdown to do your daily shopping and get yourself a feed burger with a fried egg added, like the photo that I've posted on this review, and then you can call it a day! 😉

Decent place. I really enjoyed my chicken burger. The ribs were good too. Wait staff were on to it.

Absolutely amazing. We bought a grab one voucher and have just had the most amazing experience. We shared a seafood platter for 4 and it came out with the freshest yummiest prawns calamari fish and prawn twisters. Will definitely be back. Good value quality and quantity.

Great place for me to meet friends over a drink or cup of coffee. Their beer battered chips are the best chips I have ever tasted. The staff are very friendly and helpful. I avoid Tuesday quiz night as it's not my scene! But other week nights are peaceful. I go there at least once a week.

We had our sons 21st at The Dominion and it was a great night. Mark and Celeste were amazing to deal with and helped us with everything we needed. The bar staff made the night so easy. Would definitely recommend this bar for any celebrations.

We went there April 2018 and had a brunch with the kids. The food was tasty and we loved it. The food portions are not big but was nice. The ambience with music selection was good. The service was good as well and the staff were really helpful and polite. We loved the place and will sure visit again. Recommended resto to dine and relax.

Went to The Dominion's event room upstairs for a 21st birthday celebration. We had about 70 people there and there was ample room for everyone to enjoy themselves. We had finger food from the restaurant and there was plenty of variety. To hire the room which has an outside covered balcony is $500. The night went off very well and we would definitely go back.

Had our Xmas Dinner here for our office. And was very pleased with the food, venue and overall atmosphere of the place. Loved how there was sports playing on the tv and it wasn't too crowded as I expected. Staff were friendly and served us well.

My partner and I celebrated our engagement here at The Dominion, upstairs in the bridgeman room. Without a doubt, one the best nights we've shared together, made even better by The Dominion and their fantastic staff. From the initial contact to the end of the night, the staff were absolutely fantastic! The venue is perfect for anyone looking to host a party, especially with the outside rooftop terrace available as well! Cannot recommend enough and will definitely be back in the future!

Really great little pub! Food is good, lots of drinks on offer and the weekly quiz is always a good time (love ya Steve). Great customer service too. Highly recommend checking out this place!

We just passing by on our beautiful scenic road trip, north NZ, stayed at Bavaria BB. So we came for steaks at The Dominion. Was the best steak since last time we had at Wanaka, and very friendly staffs. Shame it too far for next meal of steak 0_o

Pretty simple fare but all tasty stuff. Actually that doesn’t sound good enough, maybe the flavors weren’t the most exciting But everything was cooked perfect. Squid rings were crispy but tender and the fries, simple but supper crunchy on the outside but soft and fluffy inside. The “nachos” we’re nice and good for the lower carb option but it didn’t really taste like Mexican. Maybe more Rememisant of a Spanish mince on toast. <br/>Good value, nice price, friendly staff, and tolerant of two screaming under 5s

Absolutely unhappy with this place.. we bought grab one $50 deal for food that didn’t suffice what we had.. but we had no other option. <br/>There was a false misrepresentation of the menu not only online on Zomato but also on the grabone page and also in the menu at the front door of this restaurant. <br/>Initially went into that place because chicken schnitzel and the lamb dishes intrigued us hence why we bought the grab one deal. It’s a trap. <br/>The fish from the fish and chips was off. And yes we didn’t judge only on the smell but also on the taste of that fish IT WAS OFF. <br/>Secondly we ordered a chicken pizza which claimed to have apple chutney but they put BANANAS in the pizza. <br/><br/>The thing is if you have things on your menu you should have the meats available. Secondly I understand your creating new menus according to the staff but if you cannot provide then you simply should stick to basic meals done well. <br/><br/>Now I’m not sure how things are going to go from here onwards because we have had a bit of that fish but if either of us do fall sick I will follow it up. <br/><br/>I would very much appreciate a return of that grab one voucher.. I’m not here to put the business down but I was very very disappointed considering we were hungry as well.

Considering we were literally the only ones in the restaurant, waiting for an hour for our food is unacceptable. Explains why we were the ones in the restaurant! The chef apparently went on a break which caused the delay but what chef goes on break at 6.30pm is beyond me. We were comped a small beer and cider for the delay which was appreciated but food still took another 25 mins after we were told it would be 10 mins. Food, once arrived was rubbish. Chicken schnitzel soggy and lamb shank wasn’t cooked enough. It’s also freezing so if your hungry and want to sit in a warm restaurant I’d look elsewhere. To be fair I’d look anywhere else. Guess they’re trying to save money but not using heaters due to no patrons. Absolute crap

Mark kindly rang and warned us about the Quiz night but we decided to still attend. The food was great! Chicken burger was brilliant and my sons steak was cooked perfectly. Apple crumble we shared and wished we hadn't. Service was great. A definite call again! Well done guys, maybe next time we may avoid quiz night though<br/>

We came here with group of friend to celebrate my partner birthday. The foods are great and came in large portions that we could hardly finish it. The service is exceptional and our server of the night is fantastic! The restaurant is always full so booking is essential. <br/><br/>Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️<br/>Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️<br/>Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

Another Mt Eden joint which leaves me a bit flat<br/>The food is OK<br/>Great spot<br/>Used to be GPK Pizzas and was fabulous<br/>Good spot for rugby fans<br/>But could do better

Came here for some dinner and beer. The entrees were only $10 as it was Thursday. We got the pork belly and chicken wings and ordered some loaded wedges. The food was good pub food and the jug of beer was really reasonable $26.50 from memory. It was cozy inside and quiet. They took drink orders and food orders from the table and we paid at the end. The guy serving was lovely.

I loved getting Breakfast there this morning. The eggs Benedict was yummy and they have Friendly staff. 😀 it was a great start to my day. Thank you. ✌️✌️<br/>

Great sized portions, delicious food and wonderful staff - had eggs Benedict, a big breakfast, and a lambshank meal. Coffee was good too. Highly recommend.

Came here because of a Groupon voucher and so glad we did! Amazing food and really good service! Will definitely be coming back here with the family.

We ordered the lamb shank and the ribs. Both portions were quite large but fairly tasteless, the ribs were dry (no sauce or coating) and just everything lacked seasoning overall. That being said, the service was good and they allowed us to swap our coffees for soft drinks (as we had a Groupon voucher).

The service is utterly professional, friendly and the music and ambiance fits beautifully. 5 star recommendation from me, the food was lovely!

Customer Service was amazing even though we came in on a groupon coupon. Even let me try the different beers to see which one I liked, which I thought was super nice of them. Even though they had a quiz night still managed to accomodate us with great service and speed. Food tasted amazing as we went for the chefs grill, from the meat to the sides everything tasted great.Would 100% recommend and will definitely be going back.

Our first visit. We ordered a sambal chicken and fish and chips. Nice food, especially the fish and chips and quite a cosy setting. The male staff that attended to us was very pleasant. The sambal chicken seemed to be a bit overpriced as the portion wasn’t that big for a main but sufficient for lunch. I believe the menu is an ‘all day menu’. Overall a nice experience. Recommended. 👍

Stopped in for lunch, service was top notch our waiter was very attentive which made our dining experience that much better. We used a Groupon voucher too! Had the ribs, carbonara and big breakfast, pasta was the best along with the ribs, would highly recommend this place even if you just want to stop for a few quiet ones with friends 👌

Wow wow wow... we were not expecting the portion size to be this big!! Amazing!! The food was good, the atmosphere good, the two staff were very friendly and cheerful - thank you!! We got the ribs and lamb shank - both $24 each - good value!!! The chips were so yummy too!! Would come back :)

I give The Dominion pubs ZERO rate. Their loyalty card program just fails. Every time I spent money at this place, they told me I will get loyalty credit, so i keep going there. However every time i want to redeem my loyalty credit they told me there is no credit in my card and will contact their back office to fix. I have been told all these in the last 11 months, I went there to check my loyalty card again today, they told me my card has nothing in there. WTF!! Not recommend this place from now on. Keep lying you just lose all your customers.

Got breakfast/lunch voucher for two <br/><br/>Place is definitely more like a pub setting for a pint and you kinda expect your shoe soles to stick to the carpet (like good Old fashioned pub) it was lucking some ambience... for the "breakfast " time indeed! <br/>Unfortunately Coffee only had option of dairy milk, but despite that the coffee blend was very good and it was made very well " + "<br/>Ordered eggs bene n big breakfast, I I don't like pork, so I asked if bacon and sausages can be replaced with salmon - I was given thumbs up .<br/>Breakfast was served and what a shame I got 2 tiny slices of salmon - I would not exaggerate if I say these slices would not be bigger that my pinky finger-considering that it replaced bacon and sausages- I was disappointed especially because salmon was very nice- I would say it's been freshly salted over night or two by chef ... <br/>Overall good was ok.<br/>I wouldn't pay full price for big breakfast that's for sure ($22.50 I think) eggs bene was worth $14 .<br/><br/>What else I have to say... I was asked on arrival if I have the voucher - witch made me think that the quality / quantity of food will drop .<br/>Just small piece of mind.<br/><br/>When you run promotion with any deals website: 1st do not ask customers on arrival if they have purchased the deal- instantly it gives impression that food will be degraded.<br/>2nd during promotion- you are building your potential returning customer base- you have to provide best customer service and best quality of food(as it would of been done at all times)<br/>3rd by using these vouchers I see the way how to explore new places and if I enjoy the experience I would definitely come back and pay full price for the next visit- just piece of mind peeps ;)

Came here a while ago with friends, The Dominion has a nice atmosphere and friendly staff. <br/><br/>It has many options on the menu to suit different taste buds and the price is good too. The alcohol portions are generous too, definitely worth the money.

Neat and tidy bar, and was pleasantly surprised to find food of this quality at a bar. <br/><br/>Only been here once, and had the Pulled Pork mini croquettes as a snack. It was so good! Highly recommend trying it.

Wonderful experience!!<br/>Food = sensational.. especially the pork ribs thursday special. (Slaw is the best!!)<br/>Staff = exceptionl service, very warm and welcoming.. couldn't ask for better 10/10<br/><br/>Ambiance = just great. Mood lighting had been switched on within minutes after arriving, very tidy and like the for room away from the punters.

I really enjoyed the food, although I do feel that the choice of dips provide with the bread could be better. That was the only turn off for me. Other than that. I loved the food and service. The staff was very nice, they made sure if we are enjoying the food or if we need something else. Overall, I liked this place and will definitely visit this place again.

Nice spot to get a grab and have a drink. Very cozy, friendly, pocket friendly and most off all, friendly service and great food for affordable prices. They have indoors and outdoor seating as well. Ordered for a main that came as fast as a starter. Will surely come back here! Jay the manager is the to go man when you are here. Made me feel home. Keep up the good work guys. :)

Had not been to The Dominion for a while, but it had recently changed hands so was great to try their new menu.<br/>The wine & beer menu was good with several popular options. Currently no cocktails but they advised they would create a menu for these soon.<br/>We tried the garlic & caramelised onion bread, the eye fillet & the beef pie. All were delicious, well presented & perfectly balanced. The only issue was that they took ages to arrive but our waiter did apologise & followed this up. They took a lot of time plating. Once they did arrive they were worth the wait thank goodness. No room for dessert although the menu looked yum.<br/>Overall service was good & the fit out was good too with bench seats & high seats too.

Terrible the foods average and I seriously ordered the bangers and mash and could believe how small it was for $28. It was so small it was a long thin layer of potato it looked like a purée and it was nearly one and a half heaped dessert spoons and that's being generous. Im not a big eater and I had to get take always on the way home, it was a joke. Owners have gotten greedy murder burger across the road is a much better option. There's a bar further along if you walk past the Thai restaurant basil. that bar is award winning for its meals and basil itself isn't too bad. In sum I was highly disappointed and felt ripped off and would Much rather go to Prego for those prices. <br/>

This is my go to place when I'm stumped to what to book for dinner,it's a bar and restaurant,they don't disappoint, good food,friendly staff,good discounts,worth a try if ur in the area

Came here for some food and drinks before the rugby. The pizzas ordered were the pulled pork, margarita and jafa. They were decent but nothing overly exciting. We also ordered some antipasto platters that were cold when they got to the table which was a little disappointing.

We walked in through the door, not greeted by any staff. We waited by the bar, and finally the bartender asked if he could help. He said, "look, we are busy, find a seat anywhere there is a clear table". Initial waitstaff was attentive. Mains arrived after a 20 minute wait. Ordered the parmigiano and the linguini. Parmigiano was okay, didn't blow us away. The linguini was actually fettuccine and the creamy garlic sauce was missing the garlic. We had creme Brule for dessert. This was by far the highlight of the night. It had an amazingly hard top and creamy inside. Overall it was average. Don't have a reason to come back unless I have a massive craving for creme Brule

Came here for dinner one night and my dining companion and after a quick browse of the comprehensive menu (they have a really good variety here!), we decided to share the fried squid as an entree, and an eye fillet steak each for mains.<br/><br/>Serving sizes are really well portioned, the squid wasn't very crispy outside but quite tender and well spiced nevertheless, and the steaks were cooked perfectly medium rare as requested. I found the eye fillet wasn't as tender as that cut usually should be but overall we quite enjoyed our meal here with its classic pub style.

Called the venue to make a booking, I was told to book online. Got a confirmed email booking the next day and that I can take a birthday cake to the venue- Awesome. Friendly staff all round. Got our table of over 10 people for my nephews 25th birthday. The assistant that looked after us was superb right through the night, until we left. Thank you for looking after us. All our meals we ordered had great presentation with big portion and tasted fantastic. After we ate, we had our cake brought to us and even had side plates for us to eat them. Felt a bit guilty eating the cake as they had delicious dessert on the menu. But it was a one off. As I would go here again for another dining. Thank you for allowing us to have the birthday cake. Service is great. Food is so ever great. Thank you, we All had a fantastic evening

I have been here a couple of times not expecting much but pub grub, but I was blown away with the dishes I had. They have daily specials which are great value for money, with good portion sizes. The items on the regular menu were amazing, my friend and I got the calamari, seafood linguine and pork belly, and for dessert pecan pie and coconut panna cotta. Service is really good with attentive staff and the indoor seating area at the back is a very intimate dining space that doesn't make it feel like you are in a bar at all. Would definitely recommend and come back again

My partner and I have tried this bar couple times and the food has failed us every time. The meat is shit quality. The sauce is cheap quality. The produce is cheap quality. We love the location but hate the food! Anyone who has any taste buds must surely agree that this food is cheap so they can make extra money. Again disappointed. I hope this goes to the owner so they can make changes and invest in good quality food.

This has become my local , great bar food, some of the most tender, delicious calamari I have had in a while, great selection of tap beers & cider , great for a reasonably priced Neal and a few cold drinks.GideonMarisa MasterchefNz2015

My family dinners usually take place every Monday at the Dominion, good food for half price ? Why would you go anywhere else? It usually takes a while for food to arrive, but for the price and quantity I guess I'm not really complaining. Food is usually great, portions are as big as the plate, but flavours can sometimes be inconsistent I have a feeling they change around their ingredients from time to time. I would not hesitate to dine here on a Monday night when they have their half price deal, but would I go on a normal night? Hmmmmm

I went to the Dominion about a year ago on a Sunday afternoon. The food was amazing. I raved about it to a lot of people. We went back this year and it was during a trivia night. I ordered a beef burger. When I bit into it the beef patty it wasn't cooked through. I thought they are busy so I let it go. We went back recently. We ordered a couple of pizzas. When the chicken, avocado and cashew pizza arrived it looked and tasted like something I would expect from Pizza Hutt not a $20 pizza. The avocado was a sauce (can you believe it) and the chicken was brown and manky. The other chilli chicken pizza was slightly better. The mussels we ordered were tiny and gross. The chicken quinoa salad was just that. A bowl of red qunioa with about a quarter of a chicken breast diced and fried on top. No dressing. I was really surprised. No table service. Our squid entree (which was probably the only nice thing) sat empty on our table for about 15 minutes, no water at the table, no side plates for the entree, no service unless we went up and asked for things. Real shame it use to be really good.

So, time for an updated review. Our last visit back in 2012 was a cracking 4/5, so we decided to continue our great Sunday Roast tour for this year and dropped into the Dom for some fare.<br/><br/>We booked in advance as we were unable to get a table the previous week. Even though we had asked for a window table we ended up tucked away in the (slightly too bright) main dining area which has no street-level windows. This was a shame as we like watching the traffic from the comfort of the warm surroundings, but we weren't going to let that spoil things.<br/><br/>Our waitress was cheerful and very bubbly, and took our order promptly once we had finally got our menus – 5 roasts please. Apparently we were the 'easiest table she had served that evening' - which was good to hear... she probably jinxed it. The food (roast beef) came in an orderly fashion and was well prepared, plenty of horse-radish sauce (hoorah) but the veges were slightly under and lacked a bit of love, which was a shame as the meat was spot on – plenty of it too.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, that is kind of where it ended. We sat with dirty plates in front of us for a good 20mins after finishing - almost to the point where it got embarrassing. There seemed to be plenty of horseplay from the staff behind the bar – but it would appear our 'naughty corner' positioning was a bit of a stretch and we had been forgotten about. We wouldn't mind, but there was only two other tables of people in the place. Our waitress was finally prompted, when we (loudly) stacked the plates ourselves and placed them onto one of the other empty tables.<br/><br/>With apologies our waitress offered us desserts. We ordered another round of drinks and I ordered the apple crumble. Probably the worst crumble I have ever had the honour of being presented with. Dry sawdust-like crumb laying on top of sliced luke-warm apples with no liquid to speak of – in fact I am not actually sure it had been cooked at all. At least the ice-cream was good.<br/><br/>After one uncomfortable spoonful, I politely let the waitress know and in their defense they were more than happy to leave it off the bill for me. For that I am very appreciative and it definitely made a difference to what was a disappointing end to the visit.<br/><br/>Not quite reaching the heady heights of 2012 for us I am afraid, but the staff (the one we saw) were cheerful, if not slightly pre-ocuppied.

My friend told us about Dominion’s $7 dessert and $7 cocktail special on Fridays so three of us made a visit there last week.<br/><br/>The decor is warm and inviting, a nice change from the arctic weather outside. There were a few diners having dinner and some having drinks. Steady but not too busy on this Friday evening.<br/><br/>The specials are not advertised on the premises, but once we told them we were interested in dessert and cocktails, the staff advised us of their $7 specials.<br/><br/>We tried the Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee with shortbread; Chocolate Brownie with vanilla ice cream, berry compote, pistachio and brandy snap; and the Apple Crumble with pistachio ice cream. My favourite was the chocolate brownie which was very moist.<br/><br/>Their cocktail menu is unusual as it doesn’t feature any common cocktails but for $7 we were happy to try some new concoctions. The cocktails come in large mason jars, though the flavours are of candy and not too much booze.<br/><br/>A dessert and cocktail combo for $14. A bargain.

Came here on a saturday with a few friends and had the special $10 chicken & beef burgers, the beef and prawn salads. It was really nice food and the place was fairly quiet and relaxed and we could hang around as long as we wanted which was great for a mellow catch up with friends. The booth table corner seats were handy too as we have a baby and there was space for him to crawl/stand to entertain himself for a while! Service was great too.

Had my 21st birthday at The Dominion last weekend. Could not be happier with how everything turned out!The catering food menu was extensive and delicious. The staff were fantastic, very helpful and friendly. On the whole everything ran smoothly and I didn't have to worry about anything all night. The indoor and outdoor space is great and there is plenty of opportunity to decorate the place how you like.I would recommend this venue in a heartbeat. :)

Great place!! I was here for a 30th Birthday and didn't know there was a private function room upstairs before the event. Awesome nibbles and great outdoor space.

1.5 star. I came here with 3 other friends this Monday, it was my partners last night in NZ before he went overseas so we were looking forward to some good steak/kiwi grub. We were seated and adv by a friendly redhead staff that they were really short staffed tonight so apologised if we needed to get their attention for anything. All 3 of my friends had been here before apart from me. We ordered our mains, drinks and a starter of garlic pizza at 6:14 or 6.24pm. Basically what happened was the drinks and starter came, but the mains never did. I went up twice to ask staff how far the mains were to coming and both times were adv soon, 2nd time she said 8 min away and that was at 7.05pm. 8 min went and we decided to leave as it was almost an hour since we had ordered and we were starving. The redhead staff and (possibly the) GM at the counter both said that they do not start cooking the main until the starter plate has literally come back to the kitchen and that this is what all places in Auckland do. This made no sense to me as shouldn’t they make some kind of start to the main while we are having the starter so there is not such a long wait time in between starter and main? I have no experience in hospo but my partner and I eat out frequently, commonly with a starter too and there is not usually such a big wait time in between. My friend who was with us has worked in hospo for 7 years and she said that is absolutely not true, that that is not the way it works. Plus there were other customers around us who had come or ordered later than us who were already eating their main. Anyway we refused to pay the mains and just paid for drinks and starter, we didn't get ugly about it and I believe we were within reasonable grounds to not pay. I thought the way they handled it could've been more professional, the waitress serving us just avoided us and the GM looked annoyed. I feel bad we didn't pay but it was for good reason and we obviously had to go out of our way to look for another place to have dinner which isn't exactly convenient. They could have at least said sorry about it and acknowledged the feedback we gave. Will not be going back there or recommending it.

My partner and I arrived just before the kitchen closed the staff were very helpful the food was excellent, excellent all round love the decor such a relaxing place to dine will be back with friends next time.

A horrible experience at this bar/restaurant. The staff were horrendous. I have never met a staff so unwilling to practice polite and helpful customer service. I felt uncomfortable and unwanted, perhaps because we came in late and they were wishing to close. One barmaid with a short bob, in particular was quite rude. I will definitely not be returning and will urge anyone else to stay away.

Tried the chicken korma and got 3 pieces of chicken in a small bowl filled with mostly sauce/flavoring along with the nann bread and rice. Very disappointed at $25 for the dish - if I got this at a food court (for $8) I'd be taking it back. Other dishes served the rest of the table looked OK so maybe I just chose wrong. Why don't you have prices for the beers on the drinks menu BTW? Drinks seemed inordinately expensive when the bill was viewed.<br/><br/>Good, friendly service and atmosphere.

We have been here four of five times now - twice for the valentines day special. The food has always been delicious and the service has always been great. I highly recommend the steak!!

I really enjoy going to the Dominion for a light meal (pizza) to something more substantial. The chicken pizza (with cashew nuts) is truly delicious as is the steak with creamed potatoes - my piece was juicy and massive! Have also tried the scallop entree (perfectly cooked) and the Akaroa salmon entree as well which had really good flavours and was a nice light starter. I'm yet to try a dessert but I'll be back for sure. Good work guys!

I have been to the Dominion a number of times now and each time has been pleasant.<br/>The service is excellent and the food is delicious. We ordered a few pizzas, Dominion works (meatlovers) Tandoori Chicken and BBQ chicken. I give all 3 10/10, all bursting with mouth watering flavour. <br/>Half way through our meal our waitress came back to see if everything was o.k, which it was, she then asked us for another round of drinks as we were low.<br/><br/>The bar staff are very friendly and always make an effort in conversation. <br/><br/>Very prompt and friendly service.<br/>Delicious food.<br/>Great environment.<br/><br/>I recommend the Dominion.<br/>5 stars for me.

This place is cool to go for one of their daily specials and the atmosphere is not bad either. The food quality is not the greatest but you can have a good time on their Trivia Night.