Review The White Rabbit On The Park - Auckland Central

First time at Libertine so did not know what to expect, not having heard of this restaurant previously but bought a Trade Me voucher, so into the unknown? Found the entrance marked with a shaft of flame at the door, what struck me initially was 'is this the right place'? the scene was amazing not like the run of the mill restaurant floor plan, the subterranean cocktail bar was viewed from an elevated walkway leading to the main dining area served by its own bar and social area nearby. The place was alive, various groups of all ages and cultures seated enjoying their meals others standing around the bars catching up with friends and family. The greeting was as warm as the flames at the door, once at the table our host Chelsea explained what the voucher included and details of the cocktail and dinner menus. Chelsea had extensive knowledge of both menus and gave sound advice in response to our queries. The atmosphere was convivial, with minimal background noise which made conversation easy but we were aware of people having fun and enjoying their evening. The starter was very impressive full of a variety of flavors which complimented each other, we commented how good the first course had been. The main course was at another level the generous serving of John Dory was cooked to perfection served with roasted fennel the taste was exquisite. . The desert was again superb with a flavor combination to compliment the entire meal. Although the restaurant and the bars were in full Saturday night mode the service remained at the impeccable high standard establish on our arrival,Chelsea was attentive and genuinely ensured that our satisfaction was her prime goal. This was the finest dining experience that I have had in New Zealand and to say that I highly recommend the Libertine to others is an understatement. The opportunity to experience world class cuisine at Auckland prices should not be overlooked. I would like to congratulate the owners and staff of the Libertine for creating a unique and fascinating social oasis and I sincerely wish them every success and long may they continue to set the standards so that others may try to emulate. Thank you Libertine for a most memorable experience and I look forward to a long term gastronomic relationship. Regards Duncan Wales

To all the people who want to have the best service and wonderful tasting food and the Best ever Avocado dessert yes I said Avocado dessert then this is the place to go. Just see how amazing these chefs are if they can make Avocado taste that GREAT. I went with my best friend for my 50th Birthday and it is the best service I have ever had that I was blown away that I had to make time to write this. Apart from the great food and very yummy cocktails the staff made it one of the most special times of my 50 years. The lamb ribs I wanted to order more and take home for my husband but then I thought they will never make it home. To the Chefs and the waiting Staff Thank you for Making my night with my BEST FRIEND so special. Brilliant service and Wonderful tasting flavored food is not dead. Go to Libertine. WE WILL BE BACK A BIG Thank you.

The service at this bar is second to none - Rudy and the team always go the extra mile to ensure you are happy and comfortable. Their knowledge of cocktails is amazing and will happily whip something up to your liking. The interior is dark and moody and the outdoor bar area is toasty warm and provides a nice atmosphere with plenty of breathing space. We normally normally only stop in for a few drinks when it is quieter so can only speak from the bar side of things. Highly recommend.

Great tasting meal last night. Thanks to all the 50 chefs that must have been involved. The meal tasted wonderful and each course looked amazing.

Fancy place, romantic, great for dinner, small portions for the price though

Awesome atmosphere, New York chic, great service, cocktails and menu, without pretension.

We had an anniversary celebration in here just two of us went for dinner. The food was amazing and yummy. The waitress was very friendly to us and we were happy. � Just maybe the sauce for steak for us was bit expensive compared the quantity.... but yummy.

Thank you for the excellent and the warm hospitality we received from your staff on Monday. Definitely worth trying. Recommend it 100%.

Had a great breakfast here on Saturday -was awesome food.

Good menu, friendly owners and champagne by the glass. It has everything I need. We will be back.

food are great! Wonderful place! Nice service!

We throughly enjoyed dining at The White Rabbit on the Park last night. The food was fantastic and the service outstanding!!! Will see you soon!!!

Have been wanting to try out this place for quite some time now. After seeing great posts about it on FB I made my mind to celebrate Valentine's early with my wife.<br/><br/>Love the rustic decoration and the atmosphere at the steakhouse. The music wasn't too loud and set the mood nicely (as we cannot stand loud music). The lady that served us was very friendly.<br/><br/>The prawn entree we ordered was fab and the rib eye steak was nicely done.<br/><br/>Overall it was a great experience. I only gave it a 4 as I was surprised to see the restaurant a bit empty, therefore a bit cold - we both think this place is a hidden gem yet to be discovered.

What a disappointment. <br/>The food was vastly over priced and cold on arrival. The service was slow, we had to ask twice for water. <br/>The music wasn't ambient and we felt it would be more suitable for a rock bar. <br/>We did enjoy the wine we shared. <br/>We won't return. <br/>It's also very cold.

This is the second time I have  been to the white rabbit and I still gobble their food like crazy. My wife and I had a T-bone steak for two with pumpkin salad and potato mash. Absolutely delicious

1st time in this establishment last night. Very impressive with the decor. Very rustic. Quite "old fashioned" decor. 5 out of 5 for decor.<br/><br/>Service was excellent. The Asian server was very helpful, friendly, and attentive. Maybe because only 4 to 5 tables occupied when we were there. 5 out of 5 for the service.<br/><br/>The only reason we deducted 1.5 off is mainly of the food. Presentation is great. Flavour isn't our taste. Hope we are wrong but seems they have put any seasoning in their food. <br/><br/>Wth grabone voucher, we would go back again.

Bad dining experience. <br/><br/>We had the T Bone steak for two, it was cooked OK but was luke warm by the time it came out. The vegetable sides were cold. Staff were not well trained. Wrong cutlery was initially provided. The food was served incorrectly. The atmosphere was weird, the few customers there seemed to be friends of the owner, there were two guys at the front tables / entrance just sitting there on lap tops. We were offered a free meal next time but declined as we will not eat there again.

Booked the private dining area for a work event, the team at The White Rabbit were very friendly and efficient with communication and supplying the information I required. My colleagues and our guests enjoyed the food and the dining experience with a friendly team. The only feedback I have received is that some meals weren't big enough and that the layout of the dinner event was not executed to what we had asked for. Other than that, we would recommend using their services and definitely rate the food highly. Cheers.

Came here for lunch for the first time with a grabone voucher to see if it would be a good place to bring family and friends at a later date.  You can book online so I did, this place is the old Matterhorn.  The place was empty, I was the only one there.  This is not surprising as the place is new and out of the way of normal CBD lunch places.  It was clean and well presented.  They gave me complementary bread and butter at the table to start which was a nice touch.  The waitress was very nice and helpful<br/><br/>Ordered the rib eye steak 400g ($45) and the mac and cheese side ($8) as the voucher entitled $50 spending.<br/>To be very honest I was extremely disappointed in the steak.  I ordered medium rare and it was not cooked at all in the middle, it wasn't dry but it was not juicy.  I could really only eat the outside edges of the steak and rest was raw and cold in the middle. It was a big and thick steak but for $45 you expect the best in the world and this was definitely not good.  I gave the rest of the steak a good go by chopping it up and eating pieces but just ended up spitting out the cold tough uncooked middle.  Plus you get nothing else on the plate for that $45 except a small green garnish.  I do not complain in restaurants as it is embarrassing for me and I would assume the chef<br/><br/>The mac and cheese was nice it was freshly made and oven baked.  There was really no wow factor with it just mac and cheese.  Needed something else like ham, bacon, parsley or something.<br/><br/>Overall I mark this place for the food.  Especially the poorly cooked steak and low quality for the price. Very disappointing but thanks for the nice bread.

I found this restaurant via an online advertisement. The advertising recommended beef Wellington, wagyu and lobster which were definitely something I really wanted to try. <br/><br/>For entrée, we had the soup of the day which was celery, ginger and pumpkin soup. Chicken ballotine and risotto salad. My favourite was the salad. The risotto was very creamy, but since it has pomegranate and pistachio which was a very interesting combination. <br/><br/>For main, we had the beef Wellington and snapper. Beef Wellington was very juicy and tender. But it kinda fell apart when it was served. The snapper was just average. <br/><br/>Overall, i think the dishes were delicious and i will definitely visit again to try other dishes, even though they have a very small menu and there aren't many options. <br/><br/>I was going to give 4/5 for this place, but 0.5 was deducted because it was a hassle to make a booking. So I called the restaurant for 2 days, left voice message about my booking, nobody ever got back to me. So I made the booking via their website. The website advised that beef Wellington will require advance order, but it did not mention about the wagyu and lobster. So I assumed that I would be able to order these 2 dishes on the day. But when I was making my order, i was told wagyu and lobster require advance order as well... :/ I would strongly recommend the restaurant to update their website and menu as these two items are not on the menu on their website.