Review Five Stags - Auckland Central

Everything here was lovely! The waiter was super nice. It seemed like she did everything from taking our orders, bartending, serving, and cleaning with a smile on her face. The fish sandwich was hearty and the beet just made the dish feel complete. The pork belly was not only crispy, but juicy and cooked to perfection. The lemon tart also had a amazing citrus flavor that will linger in your mouth which I love. My only regret was not trying the duck appetizer here. I can't wait to go back. 😍 I'd definitely recommend this place to friends and family because I know they won't be disappointed.

Stopped by for a birthday dinner and it looked like they were understaffed, one person covering the whole place and a second a bit later. So after being seated we made drink orders and then took a bit later to put through food order. The food though was nicely presented and quite nice. We had ordered the duck breast entree to share (which is also available as a main) and was blown away. I had the beef rib main and it was good but then got a bit dry near the end since there wasn't enough sauce on the plate. Decent pub food. They do have a specials board which presumably changes. The interior was decorated quite nicely, hunting themed with a few tree trunks scattered around the dining area. The name sake is behind the bar, five stags.

Awesome to have so many gluten free options. The food was great. Lovely atmosphere.

its extremely rare that a restaurant menu that lists fresh fish actually serves fresh fish.i must congratulate "Five Stags" chef staff and management for serving up a perfect fillet of grilled tarakihi this evening 🤗

Called to check when the kitchen closed, call was answered quickly and politely. Arrived just before they closed the kitchen and ordered the Sunday roast. Looked good when it arrived, forgot to take a photo, and tasted even better. Deserts followed and disappeared rather swifttly as we enjoyed those too. The place was not very busy with more empty tables than taken allowing us to have a quiet conversation during our meal. A very nice evening we left two happy customers.

Such a fantastic find. We left home and drove without direction and ended up in Valhalla. It's the most gorgeous fantasy / hipster / hunting / vintage / hippie / kiwi place ever and it's awesome. The food was fantastic. The old lady who greeted us and seated us was so kind. We chose the specials of mussels and guiness pie and we nearly died of happiness after eating it. It blew our minds. Gordon Ramsay would give the owner and the chef and everyone an award. It's the best place. The food was just to die for. Fresh and flavourful and had us licking the plates and eating the crumbs and fishing through the mussel sauce for a smidge of bonus fry, but alas. I want to live here. I want to host nerdy fantasy events here. Maybe I will. Well done!!!!!! Faith in humanity restored.

The food was absolutely delicious ! I had the gnocchi and I can’t wait to go back to have it again. Others had the fish and chips, and one person had a bar snack platter. Everyone’s food was divine. All food was also presented in a way that made you want to dive in. The service was outstanding.

I hadn't enjoyed an honest pub meal of the steak and mashed potato variety for a while and decided to pop in and check this place out. While the staff are friendly and even accommodated cooking a steak from the dinner menu at lunch time I must admit I was a little shocked at the price tag for the small portion that was sitting in front of me. So if you're in the mood for a tasty steak go ahead and check out this place but make sure you packed your wallet.

Got outdoor seats midday, took less than a minute for waitress to find us. Ordered wedges and fries; overall all really good. If the sides and entrees speak anything for the mains, they ought to be good too.

Had a double dinner date here with my two flatmates and my partner😊 two of us are chefs, and my partner a bartender.. gotta say the service was amazing with great atmosphere. Meals however were to die for!! God that was amazing!! Topped it off with cocktails❤❤❤❤💯👌 thank you to the amazing staff front and back of house for an unforgettable sunday night💕 specially our waiteress😊 sorry forgot your name darls😂 but we still love you👍 cant wait to come back for more💕💯👌meat platter👌

Was a sunny day, everyone was happy and in a good mood. I love this place, definitely a favorite for a beer after riding at whiford forest or a meal. Service was good. So was the food. Beer was my favorite.

Just had the Sunday roast, and it was awful.  What's up with the beef?  Extremely well done, tough, one thick slice (think gammon), and it looked like that slice had been browned in a pan.  Trimmings were nothing special either (bland spuds, freezer Yorkshire pud?).<br/><br/>We hadn't eaten today, so we ate it.  The smarter move was to return it, which we saw two other parties do.<br/><br/>I don't like leaving bad reviews, but the new owner needs to get on top of this.  There's been a problem here for a while, as the last time we were there (sometime mid-2018) I had to send back the risotto (undercooked and crunchy), which was only the second time in my life I've sent back a meal.<br/>So if I wasn't so hungry today, 2 out of 3 of my returns would have been at the Whitford Five Stags!  This is not, IMO, a case of just revamping the menu.  Hopefully the new chap is up to the task: we'll give it another go down the line, as this place was excellent back in 2017.

Had a lovely meal here last week. I wanted something light fresh and healthy and that’s what I got. The salmon was spot on and the vegetables and salad were perfectly cooked. Simple but right. Think my brother enjoyed his burger, it was all gone! The staff were super friendly and it was a nice place for a summer meal.

I have been here 2wice and love the rustic - country feel.<br/><br/>I always get good friendly service here from everyone.<br/><br/>The food is presented well and overall a good place to be especially in a large group.<br/><br/>They dont have good wifi coverage inside so dont bother and just enjoy your company.

Thank you for a lovely christmas dinner. The non christmas menu looked amazing as well, and i will be looking at coming back to you. Food was good service was good.

The atmosphere is great but the service was slow, clearing plates took half an hour. Wait staff were friendly so made it ok.<br/>Would be good if they warned you to order vegetables as the steak mains didn’t really come with any.<br/>Will be back for the Sunday Roast

Would give 3.5 stars if I could. Busy evening and they coped- just!<br/>Venison ribs were ok - steak special with 3 prawns chips and salad was lovely.<br/>The entree of bread and dips seemed a large portion for the hungry.

Just wish there was some consistency. I had the pasta and I shld have sent it back. It was rubbery, overcooked prawns and I don’t know where the creamy tomato sauce was. VERY disappointed. Not overly busy when we came in, other meals were ok, but comment on the burger was “not the best chicken burger I’ve had” (yes subjective), and no offer of a drinks top up or the desert menu. I just don’t get it. Awesome spot but service and food are just not consistent.

Great location and setting. Delicious tasty food at a great price. Amazing friendly helpful staff! Had a great time and would highly recommend.

Absolutely appalling, went to the all you could eat rib night to break the record. They ran out of ribs, which were not very good anyway but that was cool, no offer of compensation etc. The service was SHOCKING, we got sat.at a table after waiting 15 minutes to be seated, even though we had a booking, and then got forgotten about. And when I left a comment on their Facebook page voicing my issue it was deleted. I wouldn't be caught dead back in this place

Very disappointing - this has always been a favorite for us. I have never been in a restaurant where they have not been able to serve a glass of wine because they had run out of glasses. And they weren’t busy. <br/>The initial greet was great but then petered out completely - had to go to the bar to order more drinks, then bartender couldn’t remember what we had ordered after hunting for wine glasses. <br/>The lamb in the lamb salad was cold, the aged scotch was cold and cut in half, however, the food overall was good, the pork belly amazing, and the ribs, but service was appalling. Smoking outside was apparently more important than serving paying customers - all 3 tables.

Thought we would go and try the roast that you have been advertising, bookings essential you say, only 3 tables with people on them, the roast advertised didn’t even have roast potatoes, only roast kumra, who has heard of a roast without potatoes, we decided we would go with something else off the menu, well that was a disaster in it self, tempura prawns, thick batter, chicken burger, chips absolutely disgusting, all brown and rotten, surely the chef would think when dishing up that is it that something I would like to be served”NO” - will not be returning for a while

Enjoyed the food, Specially duck breast...Nice place to spend good time with family and friends.<br/>thanks and keep it up. <br/>will be back for sure to try special board and the drinks...

Great ambiance and good food on special board. <br/>Ordered salmon, perfectly cooked. Worth spending time and money. <br/>Thank you guys for making our night so special.

Went to five stags as my partner had been there before and enjoyed it. Our experience however did not live up to what he had experienced before. <br/><br/>While waiting for our order (we all got sirloin steaks, 3 in total) we got the garlic bread. <br/>It was very oily and we were unable to finish it as the oil was so strong. We told the server this and she took it back. <br/><br/>When we finally got our steaks, they looked very nice, but once we started eating them we realised they had a lot of fat. And we were not given steak knives, only butter knifes. Removing all the fat was difficult and the remaining fat was excessive for the price of the steak. <br/><br/>Overall, we were quite disappointed and it is very unlikely we will be back. <br/><br/>

Lovely ambience. Rustic country meets slightly eclectic. Greeted at the door by the waitress. Wasn't too full which was nice. Seated inside where a call breeze from the open doors met us.<br/>The waitress brought the specials board over. Very reasonable prices and the portions are massive. Partner was in awe of his eye fillet cooked to perfection could have been a bit more jus but tasted Devine. My chicken was huge but missing the tomatoes sauce which should have come with it but tasty none the less.<br/>Staff very friendly and know the locals which always hits the mark for me.

Dined here tonight with my husband and daughter. First off I highly recommend ordering of the kids menu as the portions are twice the size of the meals on the regular menu and half the price! Ordered the pork ribs, was hardly half a rack and one scoop of chips. While the sauce was nice the meat itself was dry not worth anywhere near the price, when it was placed down on the table I said to my husband “is that an entree size” for the price you would want at least a side salad to go with. My daughters cheeseburger was massive, filled with salad and a nice thick patty and a large amount of chips. The halloumi salad was also tiny, I think the smallest salad I’ve ever seen for $21, while it was nice it only had a small amount of dressing and needed more seasoning. The girl behind the bar kept slamming the empties into the bin excessively, making unpleasant smashing sounds. I can understand a bit of clanging but you could tell it was done with intent. Other than that the service was good. Probably won’t go back for a while, I don’t particularly enjoy walking out of a restaurant feeling hungry especially after spending nearly $90.

Pork ribs were disappointing as dry & rather small amount for $30, rude bar girl, over priced for the quality of th food, unfortunately wouldn't go back 😔

Great place for dinner. The decor is different, the ambience superb, the staff are friendly and efficient and the food is absolutely brilliant. Couldn't ask for more 😊😊🍽🥂

Appreciate the thought of offering "all you can eat ribs" night, they are pretty good.  <br/><br/>The "finish your fries or you can't get anymore" rule is really tacky though.  We get why you do it but it is rude to deliberately ignore half of the party when you go around offering more food just because they have some fries left on their plate and it made things really awkward. <br/><br/>We were made to feel like we were 5 years old again when the manager said 'you can't have more ribs until you finish your fries'!<br/><br/>We have been to other places that offer the same thing and never encountered such rule...  your fries are good so don't worry we will finish it eventually, 'mom'!

Jacqui and pat came to the restaurant last Friday May 19th . not enough waiting staff totally disorganized we ere with a party of 24 which was pre booked we had to reorganize tables our selves, along wait for our meals which we were not impressed with . Also a long wait at the bar to get drinks and no water on the table .All in all very disappointing and will certainly not be returning there for another meal.

Five Stags is a beautiful restaurant in Whitford. The atmosphere of this restaurant is beautiful, it really goes with the name. <br/>My partner and I were seated in the main area and we ordered our meals. This has actually been our second time coming here. The first time we had a good experience but wasn’t the best so we wanted to see if this visit would change our thoughts.<br/><br/>We ordered <br/> • Chicken liver Parfait <br/> • The Salmon <br/> • The Ostrich Burger<br/><br/>The liver Parfait came with a basil spread and that really helped with the flavours of the Parfait however my partner and I did not enjoy it as much. <br/><br/>My partners Ostrich burger was lovely. I had some and it tasted really good. Good flavours and lovely meat. <br/><br/>The Salmon I received was quite disappointing. It was below warm, pretty much cold in temperature. The vegetables that came with it were cold. It seemed like it was cooked and left to wait while my partners meal was beginning cooked? I was expecting it to be the temper is should be. <br/><br/>My experience here has definitely changed and I don’t think I would want to come here again. <br/><br/>The service however was fine by the ladies that night. I think we came across the owner or manager of the restaurant at one point and she was very lovely and beautiful the way she spoke. Very service she gave. <br/><br/>The ambience of this place is beautiful. Definitely different from any other restaurant I’ve been to. It’s a must see. <br/><br/>However I came here for the food and I was extremely disappointed. I definitely won’t be coming here again. I have shared my thoughts but that does not mean others should not try this place out. It’s somewhere for everyone to experience and have a feel of there own. <br/><br/>Food 2/5<br/>Service 3/5<br/>Ambience 4/5

We found our meals quite average, the descriptions sound amazing but I think they find cheap ways of doing things, for example I had the chicken stuffed with bacon but the bacon tasted like bacon hock it was not pleasant. My partner had venison ribs and they were covered in a tomato sauce which just had no love in it. The duck shooting meal was the only nice meal on the table but at a whopping $38 I don't think was worth it. We won't be back, kind of wish we never bothered.

Stopped by for a birthday dinner and it looked like they were understaffed, one person covering the whole place and a second a bit later. So after being seated we made drink orders and then took a bit later to put through food order.<br/><br/>The food though was nicely presented and quite nice. We had ordered the duck breast entree to share (which is also available as a main) and was blown away. I had the beef rib main and it was good but then got a bit dry near the end since there wasn't enough sauce on the plate. Decent pub food.<br/><br/>They do have a specials board which presumably changes. The interior was decorated quite nicely, hunting themed with a few tree trunks scattered around the dining area. The name sake is behind the bar, five stags.

Dined here with family after hearing good things. Rustic feel, with deer antlers for chandeliers, strong wooden features that really resemble dining in a cabin. <br/><br/> We ordered a pork ribs, famous five stags chicken, and eye fillets x 3.<br/><br/> I enjoyed my meal, my chicken was on the dry side but did have sauce with it and counteracted the dryness. With the chicken I felt like the ratio of cheese to chicken to bacon was a off. The steaks were cooked well however seem under seasoned, but the sauce saved it. Veges were steamed well. <br/> In all I think the the sauces really needed to be there to save the dishes.<br/><br/> Staff were friendly, remembered our orders, except for one of our drinks which I had to remind them of. But other than that, it's a busy restaurant, decent food. . They just really need more car parking! <br/><br/>

Five Stags, as the name implies, specializes in venison. We started with nice garlic bread. Venison ribs were in generous portions; beef ribs used similar sauce as the venison; sauce was rather sour & side veggie was under-cooked. Seared king salmon which was served almost ten minutes later, was under-seasoned.    <br/>(Food - 3/5; Service - 3/5; Ambience - 3.5/5)

Took visitors from Wellington here service was okay however had the fish and chips and one of the pieces of fish smelt and tasted awful. Could not eat it. Asked for a side dish of vegetables and got a size that could fit on your hand.Not impressed at all

I love this place! Great atmosphere, especially with the 5 Stag heads behind the bar. It had a nice 'out of the way' feel to it, like I'm back in my hometown pub.<br/>The food is always amazing - the first time I went I had lamb shank, was beautifully tender, falling off the bone into gravy and potato. The second time I had the bangers and mash, the sausages taste like home kill and the onion is nicely sautéed and drowned in gravy (I love their gravy!)<br/>They have a nice range of Cider, which I was delighted about, usually there's only different types of apple on any menu.<br/><br/>Quite an impressive find, it's usually steady when we go on a Sunday, but service is always friendly and fast. I'm always happy to come back!

Went there for lunch today with Husband, daughter and grandson. We have been many times before.<br/>The meals were superb- hot dogs and chips, 5 Stags stuffed chicken, and veges, Fish and Chips and Pork belly with heaps of cracking and apple and berry sauce. <br/>There were plenty of food choices for our 3 generations!<br/>Service was prompt and cheerful. <br/>We especially appreciated potato mash being substituted (as requested) in place of kumera mash.<br/>The chips are really the best we have ever had.<br/>Husband (the birthday boy) was thrilled to be given a free glass of port to celebrate.<br/>We will be back again<br/><br/>many thanks<br/>Linda Hogg

I came here late Sunday afternoon with my family for a few drinks and had planned to stay for dinner. However after the rude and lack of service we received from bar staff we changed our minds on dinner. I would of had a little more understanding for the crap service if they place was full of people but no it was pretty much empty and the rude girls at the bar stood around all afternoon talking to one another.

Food was ok, I had fillet steak salad, very disappointing, tiny little strips of steak, desert was nice, I wouldn't rush back, been to better places

Dined here for Sunday lunch and was surprised at how busy it was, clearly a place where local families meet for Sunday lunch.<br/><br/>We received prompt service ans the meals arrived at the table only 10 minutes after ordering. We had a special cajun gurnard and the Barry Crump dish. Both portion sizes were good, the cajun fish had great flavour but the Barry Crump dish looked like it had been drowned in tomato sauce and the potatoes were undercooked.<br/><br/>The most disappointing part of the meal was the $12.00 mudcake, a tiny slice was served cold with cream and icecream. We will be back, just won't order the mudcake.

Had dinner here last night for the first time. Staff were friendly and very attentive without being in your face. Food was served relatively quickly and was delicious. One of our group had then Salmon special with spinach and Lime rice and described as one of the best Salmon dishes they ever had. The Twice cooked pork belly and special pork ribs were also amazing. <br/>Will definitely be back again. Nice portions of good hearty food in a lovely environment. Perfect for a winters night.

Have you ever tasted sweet onion flavour disseminated into crisp golden batter, then filled your fork with a sweet sticky venison rib marinade with a smokey slice of beautifully cooked deer meat? You haven't lived. Come here to find out.

Beautiful little local eatery in a beautiful little town, just south of Auckland.<br/><br/>We didn't expect much as we stopped by, we thought we'll just be like your average pup food. But we're wrong ! The food was really good, everything was cooked with love! You can tell the chef loves about what he does and does it well! staffs were friendly and helpful, but not right in your face type. The atmosphere are nice classic but not pretentious. <br/><br/>We would love to return again :)

We only came here for dessert. The orange and almond cake was so delicious, moist and full of flavour. The chocolate mudcake was also very good. We will be back to try the rest of what the menu has to offer!

Not impressed and would never go back!  It was several months ago that I went so maybe things have improved??  I have dined here 3 times the first 2 were average, food wasn't great the only thing good about it was the waitress staff were lovely and the decor is really nice.  On our third visit (only reason we went again as it was a convenient location for us to meet family),  it took over around 3 hours before we got our mains, food was very average and quite inconsistent for different people with the same meal, the owner got shitty at us for asking when our meals were coming and made a smart comment!  Also alot of the food on the menu was not available. Wasn't really keen on the tin plates either not nice to eat off.  We felt sorry for the waitress staff as they were lovely and doing their best.

Five Stags was introduced by a good teaching friend last year and has remained one of my favourites around Whitford in South-East Auckland. The atmosphere leans more towards a bistro, better than your average pub and lavishly decorated like a camping lodge. Metal cups, pots and pans, and hanging lamps set up the scene. My favourite was the antler chandeliers that adorned the ceilings. Even the metal blue rimmed plates constantly reminded us of Girl Scout days.

If you want service at this restaurant, dont go on a Monday! We went this past Monday and there were a few tables outside of people drinking, and a couple inside of people eating. We wanted to sit outside and were told the menus are by the door.Look at them and come and order at the bar....excuse me? Are we at McDonalds? We had to pay in advance as we were outside...thats never been an issue before. After 10 minutes of waiting for our drinks my partner went back inside and the young barman was leaning on the counter flirting.We know your a good looking guy, but do you have to try and pick up female customers while people who have been made to pay in advance wait? He bought drinks out and said meals will be here soon...35 minutes later they arrived! My crispy,duck fat potatoes (1 small potato cut into 4 smaller ones) were anything but crispy. I couldnt get my fork into the carrots they were so hard! The camembert and bacon stuffed chicken breast had no camembert? The bacon was small cubes like you get at countdown? My partner enjoyed his chicken burger. It was too big so we asked for a container. Same young guy said he would bring it out straight away. 10 minutes later we fed what was left to the ducks on the footpath beside us and left. The young guy watched us leave...wonder if he finally remembered he was supposed to bring us a container? The only bright side was the very friendly girl who delivered our meal. We were going to go to Manukau and thought no we will support a local restaurant as we have been here before for lunch a few times. If thats the way the dinner guests are treated I can see why there were so few diners and lots of very loud, intoxicated old people blocking the door to the bar!

Bar snacks are good, did not enjoy menu at all been here three times now and I can't get my head around eating off tin plates, since we have not been back, like a few others. Bar prices are over the top we are in whitford not the viaduct. Really like the environment smart. Best of luck.

My partner and I went for dinner here tonight, we found the staff friendly but waited almost an hour for a Greek salad and bangers and mash. The bangers and mash lacked seasoning, the salad lacked flavour and the cheese was tastless. May return only for a beer.

We love this place - always a welcoming greeting coupled with exceptional service - We always return  - and often as it is the perfect end to a date night ride - thank you :)

I do not recommend this restaurant. Poor service. Long wait for food. We waited for at least one hour to get our main! Owner very brash and not helpful.<br/>Very disappointing. Never go back.

Came with my two friends today i had the fish and chips. Lovely staff, beautiful food and a fantastic atmosphere. Will definitely be coming back ❤️👍🏼

Just had date night here tonight with my husband and another couple of friends of ours. The atmosphere was very nice, busy, ur average friday night pub when walked in, but not rowdy. Then we were escorted into restaurant area by a nice waiter to our table. Menu is very ladish, but gr8 variety. We had the hunters munch mixed platter and bread n dips, defin8ly nice combination worked well with both platters. Mains was ordered 2 × Wild boar sausages and mash (my husband requested chips as he doesnt do mash and they were very accomadating)also doesnt like gravy but oh my he was delighted with it and the caramelised onions. I was stuck as none of them floated my boat but i picked the corn fed chicken burger and chips, for a burger it was very tasty and chips were very rustic just what was needed (only downside is would of liked a proper plate, tin plate/bowl is not what i like to eat my dinner off). I get there is a hunting theme spectacular, but nice plate with antlers logo on like glasses would of been perfect. My friend ordered ribs, she loved them i do agree with the bucket of ribs very cool. Desserts, well i asked were they had got the sausages from as my husband and his friend loved them, but i really wanted recipe for Gluten free Orange and Almond cake, oh my that was very flavoursome and the vanilla bean ice cream devine. The decor is stunning, loved the blanket back rest on bench seats with shells off bullets for buttons, antler chandeliers very nice. The staff were very friendly, efficient and didnt stop from start to finish. Defin8ly will go back again.... Keep up the good work and buy some lady plates please :-)

Had lunch there yesterday for the second time as we live locally,upon arrival it was busy,and we were told it maybe 20 or so minutes wait for our meal.Thats fine we sat outside and ordered coffees,20 minutes later the first cup arrived,followed FIVE minutes later by the second.We ordered lunch,beef roll for me, special tarakihi for my wife.45 minutes later the fish arrived,followed 5 minutes later by the beef.The beef was crap to say the least,the fish was ok, what little there was.On a bright note the chips were fine, but not hot.Coffee was good,staff were good.

Been there twice and the food has been absolutely delicious and at a reasonable price. Lots of customers giving their "complements to the chef"<br/>The Manager and his wife are very attentive and spent time chatting with us, nothing was too much trouble. A lovely ambience, warm, low lighting and really good music played at just the right sound level. Lots of artefacts decorate the walls and the five stags are mesmerising.<br/>Now our favourite restaurant.

Wasn't impressed.  They seemed to have enough staff on but we after waiting for ages, I found it easier to get up and approach a waitress for more drinks etc.  Some of our order didn't show up for a while, guy at the bar pouring was unhelpful, and quite rude when I went over to enquire about our missing drinks.<br/><br/>Then they got our meals wrong, we ordered two beef ribs and a salmon, what we got was two beef ribs and a venison ribs.  The waitress tried to tell us that's what we had ordered, we wern't offered an apology or a free drink or anything.  <br/><br/>Then paying - I was ignored by three staff for several minutes as they argued among themselves over taxis for patrons and various other things.  <br/><br/>Didn't feel welcome, or that they gave a crap they had mucked up our order. The guy pouring drinks was downright rude and unhelpful.<br/><br/>The food is nothing special.  Service is average.  Won't be back.

Amazing local bistro/pub. Really enjoys the stag/hunting themes decor. The menu is very unique, unfortunately did not get to try out much of the food except the wedge. It was absolutely Devine. Completed covered in cheese, bacon pieces and sour cream. Can't wait to go back and try the food!

Wow! What a fantastic bar and new edition to East Auckland. The atmosphere was just fantastic, we were there on a Tuesday night and they were booked out. The food was good and the bar staff really friendly. You could tell they were trying hard to get it right. I realise they are new and would like the bar staff to keep more of an eye empty glasses on our table - a minor gripe however. Just fantastic overall. Easily the best fit out if any bar out this way. Will be make this place a regular.