Review Joe's Garage - Hamilton

Our meals were nice, but not overly flavoured. It felt a little underwhelming. Service was friendly, but not very polished.

As I was new in town ,I really wanted to try a good pizzeria .And this one met with everything I want ♥️ Good food ,Good atmosphere,Good service 👏 Nb - Dont forget to get the garlic butter with pizza 😉

Had a party of 6, visiting from the U.S. Great experience. Food was excellent, as was the service. Server recommended two wines: Durvillea Marlborough Pinot Noir and Maren Hawkes Bay Riesling. Great wines - loved them both. All said, we really enjoyed the evening.

Absolutely delicious food, lovely staff. Highly recommend

Best Italian food we've had in New Zealand. We had the pasta special, lasagne and a pizza, and they were all excellent authentic Italian food. Great service, plus excellent Italian beer, a must visit if you are in Hamilton.

Our service from Tracy was great. Food came out fast and was absolutely delicious. First time here, and I know I’ll be back.

Excellent service, great food. No problems. Claudio, the host was very professional. Moved us to a window table when one came available. Highly recommend.

This is the second time I've been to this cafe for dinner. The last night the restaurant was fully booked when I entered instead of turning me away. Asked if I would be happy to serve it the bar for a meal since I was by myself. I was more than happy to do this I think that this was just an incredible level of service considering most places would have just said sorry Asics available and showed me the door. Put on trial are garlic bread covered with olive oil marinated tomatoes and basil was wonderful followed by medium rare sirloin steak covered in mushrooms with a side of chips and seasonal vegetables. The vegetables in this main dish were superb. They were the best vegetables I have tasted with a meal for quite some time. As a coincidence I ended up in this restaurant by mistake I was supposed to go to the Italian restaurant next door and try their steak. I will have to go there tomorrow. Highly recommended and I will be back for a third time.

Omg, this is something fantastic. It feels like little Italia in Hamilton. Such a delicious cuisine. We've got a brilliant pizza with a great balanced taste and pasta with a fabulous sauce. Book a table ahead:)

Good food, but quite overpriced. Anyway, it's waaaaaaaaay better than the other Italian restaurant we went to here in Hamilton (Portofino - worst restaurant I've been to in NZ - this place is outrageous). So, I haven't tried Adriana's yet, but, so far, Caffe' Centrale is the best Italian in Hamilton in my opinion.

Reasonable Italian restaurant in town. Booking is recommended. Cosy table and seating arrangements and nice warm meals. Enough to satisfy your Italian cravings.

Tracey and the team have hosted my 30th and also my Mum’s 60th and have done the most amazing job. They make you feel super special with their personalised and warm approach and the food is always magnificent. Such efficient service and also patient with big groups. Thanks for the consistency and being the best team!

Easily the best Italian I've had in years since I was last in Florence! Traditional Italian flavours, great friendly service with a smile, reasonably priced too. Definitely recommend trying it out if you are staying across the road.

The best Italian spot in Hamilton. Authentic, great selection of food. Highly recommended.

I was here a month or so ago, I really liked it. I had the Veggi Nochi which i really enjoyed. It was nice and quiet inside so not to claustrophobic. Enjoyed my meal. I would recommend.

Don't be fooled by its quite outlook.The inside is always full house. Their appetisers and main courses are the 'go to' options if you want some authentic Italian meals.

This is our favourite restaurant! Always great, authentic food and friendly service. The gnocchi is SO good.. but then, so is everything I have tried here. Thanks Caffé Centralé! We will see you again soon.

I don't often feel urged to give a 5 star rating, but couldn't give anything less. My wife and I had a reservation here last night. We were treated by Tracey and her team so warmly, we felt so welcomed as soon as we entered the door - a part of the family even. We were blown away yet again with the service here, they are so consistent and sold out for their customers, it's rare to experience it so genuinely like this. I enjoyed thoroughly, the tortellini and my wife and the carbonara - which both were beyond exceptional. Words fall short for our experience, we both cannot wait to come back! Bless your Tracey and your team! See you soon!

Popped in for lunch. Used to come here frequently but its been a few years. Wonderful staff who arranged vegan meals for a friend. Tried the reuben they had on special quite good. Really came for the gravy chips. Classic!!

Dinner for two, on a quiet December night. I love the decor, a mixture of rustic industrial? Such a cool setup with an awesome outside area. The service was good, very polite and tentative. We ordered the pork belly which was pretty good. A big serving with lots of yummy mash and coleslaw. The chips with gravy was good but the cheese and garlic flatbread was delicious. We shared a fruit crumble for dessert which was ok. At least it was freshly made which doesn't happen often.

Nice experience . Went once with 4 others . Portions were a bit small but tasty enough to enjoy . Appreciated the service . Thanks a bunch a

Good food. Good beer. Good service. Good atmosphere at a reasonable price. Do yourself a favour and check it out if you’re looking for that relaxed place to eat drink and relax.

I got the beef burger there with fries on the side, it was a good size for its price during lunch. The food looked very pleasant but it was quite an average burger. The atmosphere is quite nice and in a place that isn't so busy so can enjoy the quiet surrounding although there is music. Service was quick and the waitress that served us was very friendly.

Nice atmosphere although we have to shoo flies a number of times flying around our side of the table, good iced coffees, child-friendly, service and food was just okay. We had The Local (version of big breakfast), kid’s pikelets with bacon and banana, iced coffee and iced mocha. The bacon and tomatoes with The Local were nicely cooked and the pikelets were fluffy and nice. First time to dine here and had a good dining experience especially with the kids therefore all good to come back next time.

Couple of friends and I came here for New Years brunch. Unfortunately the food looked better than it tasted, the flavours just did not seem to work well together. I got the cheeky joe which was the hotpot, the chips and pastry was nice but the actual hotpot tasted quite strange, the spices and seasoning just did not work for me. However the restaurant itself is super cool! I loved the ‘garagey’ feel and the decor inside :)

Having lived in Hamilton a couple of years I thought I found all the best eateries but i hadn't come across Joe's garage before. Anyways, we came here for brunch with some girlfriends I had the pancakes with cream and jam ... oh and a burger lol The food was divine!!! Pancakes were nice and fluffy with whipped cream, the burger was full of flavour with the freshest meat. Staff were friendly price wise... it was affordable for the service you got and the food you received.

Shrewd, clever decor - it has taken time and care. Splendid, friendly staff. Great food ... Especially Pizzas. It has 'special' events scheduled. I'll be back. 😄

Had a casual dine! Wasnt the best but wasnt the worst! Average customer service. However, one time this lady that was serving us never gave us serviettes with our meals which was odd. She also sounded very monotone, as if she wasn't showing compassion to her customers?

Upon entering the place, it has a very chill vibe to it. Staff were accomodating and always ensured that everything was fine. Ordered the Friday Flash and the New York Baked Cheesecake. The meals were served promptly and generous serving sizes. They were very filling and delectable. Definitely worth the price and coming back to.

Casual dining food tasty but nothing spectacular!, nice atmosphere, clean snd good parking available. Prices are medium to high, not somewhere i would run back to

Joes Garage has a decent sized selection of great food and beer, complimented by quick and friendly service. At a reasonable price no less! The 1960's era British Invasion music served as a wonderful stimulus to the ear to contrast the stimulus to the taste buds. I Would absolutely recommend taking a burger and beer out to the patio to relax and converse with your compatriots in this chill environment.

Had brunch with my toddler and mother-in-law. Kids menu was reasonably priced and portion size was good. I ordered the vegetarian local which was first delivered with bacon on it! But they took it straight back, she said they'd remake it. Didn't take that long to do. They weren't very busy luckily. Portion sizes seemed to match the prices and everyone enjoyed their dishes. Service was friendly and accommodating.

Great meals and brews. I have been here for lunch a couple of times and walked out happy and full. Service was great when we pre ordered with a large group.

Our group had a meal here. Prices good and most seemed happy enough with meal. I had the pork belly and while two others had it and theirs was fine, mine was over 50 percent fat. Spoke to waiter but little reaction. Waiter was super busy and high energy, but maybe under resourced. Most of us ended up having to go to the bar themselves to get drinks. Atmosphere good though and open plan kitchen gave visual 'entertainment' in background. Not sure I would return as meal high salt taste and largely uneaten

Went for dinner tonight.<br/>We had garlic pizza was delicious. Perfect garlic and base. <br/><br/>However the mains were not so great.<br/>I got the lamb and haloumi burger and they had no haloumi. The lamb patty as a dry mince and the sauce wasn't very nice .. <br/>Then for desert I wanted the cheese cake and more than 10 minutes after ordering they said they didn't have any ..... <br/>They weren't that busy and it's that start of the week it's not too much to ask to have the menu available. <br/>

Ordered the baked veggie salad, out came this small bowl of minimal veggies smothered in aiolo for near $20. Ordered the new yorker pizza and panaforte pizza which were very bland and lacked so much flavour. Very dissapointed! No atmosphere whatsoever.

Great service at Joes and the food never disappoints.<br/>I often ask to change my meal - there's a few things I can't eat - and this is never an issue. This sort of thing keeps me coming back again and again. <br/>The guys reckon Big Helga needs a bit of bacon but considering they both ate 75% of their pizza, she's pretty good as she is.

We’ve been avoiding the Joe’s Garage franchise after a rather underwhelming experience with their mains at the Christchurch branch several years ago; fortunately (for us) we changed our minds and decided to give the Hamilton branch a shot. It was fairly empty on a late Saturday afternoon, but that was probably due to the weather. Good service right off the bat – we were greeted, offered menus, and had our orders taken in no time at all (just the way we like it!).

So good here! The staff are always so chill, there's complementary on tap sparkling water, and I find it isn't too bad for vegans. We come here a lot

Had a group gather for dinner at Joes garage on a quieter Friday night. <br/><br/>Staff were really chilled and nice, it was obvious that the staff were all friends! We weren't rushed or felt rushed to order (and there is bound to be at least one person who cannot decide when we're in a group!) which I appreciated!<br/><br/>The wait for food was reasonable, especially as there weren't many other diners. From memory we waited approx 30 minutes for the food. <br/><br/>I ordered the Margherita Pizza which was one of the best pizza's I've every had dinning out! The base was very thin yet very delicious and the crust was so fluffy and crunchy. The only comment I have is that there were so little basil leaves and tomatoes, it would've been nice for a few more handfuls. <br/><br/>The service was great, we were left alone to enjoy our meals, and from what I could see, so were the other customers. <br/><br/>I enjoyed ambiance of giving the customer space, the cool decor and the staff whom weren't rushed. However, it would have been nice if the staff gave enough glasses for everyone and refilled our glass of water. <br/><br/>The sever offered for us to take our pizzas for take away which was nice. <br/><br/>Overall good food and an enjoyable night. I already crave that pizza!

Anywhere that gives the option to buy jugs of craft beer is a winner. Joes clay oven pizzas are to die for. The bases are perfect and toppings delicious. If im ordering off the menu you can't go past their succulent t-bone steak with juicy garlic mushrooms and creamy mash. Im getting hungry just thinking about my next visit!

Amazing customer service, super friendly staff! And so pleased with our food we ordered it was definitely great quality and we will definitely be back again! So impressed 😁

Great little spot in the city. Service was excellent, drinks orders taken as soon as we were seated. Food arrived quickly and was delicious. <br/>

Unexpected gem in central Hamilton, real shame they don't have a bit more on site parking during the week for easy access. Had lunch here a couple of weeks ago and all was very good. Nice ambience with a truly open kitchen, well priced menu, a little baking on the counter if that's how you roll but the highlight for me is the coffee. They serve Swiss Rescue from Queenstown and they do it well, good enough that I have stopped back several times. Really nice staff, always welcoming .

UPDATE: Upon my second visit I was impressed with the overall experience. I took advantage of their BYO option which is great as there were no corkage fees. I love how they serve breakfast all day/night with their dinner menu aswel! Huge improvement :)<br/><br/>Seeing as I more or less live right next door I thought i'd give it a try. Ordered a burger which was less than average, I think i'd rather of just had McDonalds which kind of speaks for itself. Nice venue though :)

Joe's garage is one of my favorite spots for Sunday breakfast! The service is always very good and the food is yum! My only gripe is the thick shakes, They suck. Don't get one. Get everything else though :)

Service good, Food- had schnitzel and it was a little tough at times, but still very tasty. Atmosphere - very funky decor, was dead when I visited

First time I've been here. I wish I had read reviews before going... firstly, one waitress said they were out of a particular drink, another said particular drink was available... food choice was minimal and the burgers/chip meals are way over priced. I ordered the grilled chicken salad, chicken was a little too grilled and really hard to cut, with a steak knife! tasted the chips...they tasted so horrible that two of our guests didn't touch theirs. A separate waitress came to our table with drinks we didn't order, then another with a pizza that we didn't order.... then upon paying there was $60 in extra things that we didn't even order! I also didn't realise it was a family restaurant. There was a screaming baby and another kid dragging toys, leaving them in the middle of the floor to trip over.

Ate here for lunch and absolutely disappointed. Ordered thai beef salad and a caeser salad and these took nearly an hour to come out. The dressing on the thao beef salad was hideous and inedible by either of us at the table. Was really looking forward to going as have had a good experience at the Christchurch one.<br/>Will not be back.

First night dining here, service was great,food took a little longer than expected as it wasn't busy but was very good, especially choc brownies and cheesecake. Will certainly dine here again :-)

Went there for the third time. Service was average. No mention of the specials board and the food was average. Crowds have deserted it and now, so will we. There's better on offer and plenty to chose from in town.

Been here twice this year and both times they haven't let us down, service has been awesome, waitress serves you with a :) so yeah very happy so far. Prices for meals very reasonable. Keep Smiling Joes Garage...

A complete balls up. Service was terrible and the food choice very minimal. The food quality was not good at all. Ended up leaving and getting desert elsewhere. First time I have been at Joe's Garage and will not be back.

Recently discovered this place in Hamilton and loved it! Great atmosphere and friendly staff. Tried the pikelets and one of the big breakfast plates. Lovely food and coffee.

Second time back to Joes. First time was OK but fought with the flies. This time for Mothers Day. Seated outside. Took a while for drinks and 45 minutes for lunch to arrive from ordering. Asked for The Local at $21.80 and extra of mushrooms. Eight deep dried offerings of mushroom appeared on the plate, an extra $4.70 for 4 mushrooms about 3.5 cm across? I can get a bowl of large ones @ Smith &amp; McKenzies for $6! The Hash brown under the eggs on toast was a dried up offering. Disappointed but a great location.

Great service and great food. Handy location. Loved it

Awesome building and inside has plenty of style, love the wrench's for door handles and the valves instead of traditional taps are a nice touch, industrial and modern but not cold or harsh and the soft lighting allows for a more relaxed atmosphere.<br/>We've enjoyed a relaxed pizza and beer on the balcony here several times. Usually on a Sunday afternoon.. last time ordered a half n half pizza, James last with sirloin, caramelized onion etc and Smokin Joes my fav with smoked salmon, cream cheese n capers. Joe's base is thin n crispy and the pizzas are a good size plenty for two. <br/>Good for a group wanting after work for  pizza n drinks and the large outdoor TV screen means you can watch the game while you eat. . .all for a reasonable price.<br/>We have found the staff to have a good energy that matches the environment only once on a very busy night our waitress seemed a little over-whelmed but she was still polite and friendly.<br/>A great options for a group for drinks and snacks, meals or celebrations or a perhaps a date night

Food consistently good. Never had a bad meal. One of our favorite spots for a casual dinner. Better beer selection than previous options, but would prefer expanded on tap beer range...