Review The Phoenix - Tauranga

Very happy with our meals. Came out in good time and were delicious. The chicken snitzel was one of the best I had. Very juicy and tender. If we didn’t live so far away we definitely would be back again.

Went here with work for dinner. The food was amazing, and the service was great. Would recommend going here.

Just Wow. The restaurant was quiet for a Monday afternoon, and we had no booking when a large group of us turned up. They were very accommodating with turning on heat and closing doors. We were constantly asked if we needed drinks and if everything was okay. Outstanding service. Excellent gluten-free options also, which was a bonus with 3 of us being gluten-free. Photo is gluten-free 5 spice chicken and the cheeseboard, which was also gluten-free. Highly recommend.

Food was amazing, decorations were fantastic, loved the curly fries, waiters were friendly and patient. Only reason service was 4 stars and not 5 was because of how busy they were. Would highly recommend coming on a Friday night for the cheeper pizzas which are delicious.

came here for my best friends birthday (we didn’t tell the restaurant) and the food was delicious! we sat outside in the sun - beware of any seagulls!

Just wanted to leave a positive review. I was on holidays in NZ for the first time and a friend took me to this place for dinner. Firstly the food was amazing, the atmosphere was very relaxing but mostly the service of the beautiful waitress Ravi was absolutely 💯 outstanding. Her efforts and service were second to none and she definitely made my stay a memorable one 😁 I cant recommend her enough and the phoenix bar 😉✌️ will definitely come back if I ever get to go to NZ again 😉 Kind regards Andrew

We went on Wednesday night and had the steak and seafood chowder. Both were amazing. Highly recommend!

The Phoenix is a very nice restaurant on The Strand in Tauranga. It has a vibrant interior and exterior, with some cool wall designs. The food and drinks (especially the cocktails) were excellent and the service provided by the staff was very efficient, polite and professional. We were a large group and they looked after us all very well. I would recommend this venue to anyone and will definitely go again next time I am in town.

Beautiful place to dine in, lovely yummy meal, awesome service. Definitely recommend this restaurant for dining out👌

Easy-going eatery with a pleasant atmosphere and friendly staff. The food was pretty tasty and reasonably priced, perhaps on the steep side for some grilled seasonal vegetables. 4 stars due to some staff inexperience with a couple orders missed and incorrect, and a few meals brought out much earlier than the rest of the table although I would imagine this is an outlier

Really Good food and service :) The view is amazing as well.

Decided on coming here for a quick lunch before a family activity. No one there to greet or seat so walked up to the bar and was told to pick wherever. Didn't see too many servers walking around so when we were looking for outdoor seating and saw a free table I asked a passing waitress if someone could clean off that table. The vibe I got was that she was not happy at all about me asking her about it and it took a bit for anyone to come around after we were settled and take our orders.<br/><br/>The actually restaurant was well designed and had a good vibe to it. Indoor and outdoor seating. Could easily see the water from our table. We ordered the calamari salad, two angus burgers and a chicken burger. It was edging on 25 minutes for our food with a not quite half full amount of customers when we finally got our food, although we had to wait on two of the meals for a few minutes that were lagging behind.<br/><br/>Once we started eating the food was great. Chicken wasn't dry, fries were well seasoned and perfect crispiness. I heard the burgers were juicy and my Dad enjoyed his salad with the large pieces of calamari. Although we did have some regrets about not having the pizza when the smells wafted from other tables.<br/><br/>Overall, okay experience. Wouldn't be opposed to going back but wouldn't go out of my way either.

It is a great place for a work or out of work catch up. Great vibe if you are after a lively venue! Food is a bit of a hit an miss. This is more of a location for drink catch up with friends. Always busy.

Love this place for a quick easy lunch! Salads are delicious and fresh. Can sit outside and watch the world go by on a nice day. Can get a bit too busy on a Friday, prefer to go mid week.

They have pretty good daily specials on during the week but apart from that it is quite noisy and I feel like the food and drinks are a bit overpriced. Nice place for a dinner out but nothing special.

Amazing evening with family for my 60th. Food was great and staff really went the extra mile. Even chance to practise my beginners French. The lamb was exceptional and who can't resist curly fries!

Met with a few mates on the weekend at The Phoenix on The Strand. A huge thank you for a great time. Well done to all the staff as the service was excellent. Ordered a variety of sharing plates and meals even meals from the old menu and the Chef was only too pleased to make these dishes for us.<br/>The presentation and quality of the meals outstanding. Drinks were on par and cocktails were prepared to perfection. Once again. "Well done".<br/>A definate must try.

Went for my sons birthday. Everything was as expected. My partner an I ordered the Ribeye steak, I thought it was very fatty. Wouldn't order it again, but that won't stop me from going again. All the starters were very nice

Just down from the place I was staying here in Tauranga (trinity wharf) and i liked the look of the menu so stopped in for dinner and a couple drinks with my boyfriend. Very busy place on the Saturday night, we got the last table luckily. All blacks were playing and the place had a cool vibe. <br/>Food was a bit pricey, but it is on the waterfront and was kind of expected. Cocktails were cheap but wasn't too impressed with mine, didn't taste that great. <br/>Food was awesome though, good amount on the plate, I had the beef salad which was flavoursome and filling and the all the different flavours within it worked so well. Boyfriend had the steak which he liked, was quite fatty but cooked well and the sides that came with it were pretty good. He got the blue cheese sauce with it, fries and a coleslaw. Just a bit pricey still especially with the amount of fat on the steak. <br/>A girl on the table next to us ordered a couple of the pizzas, they looked bloody good. Would definitely be back just to try their pizza here. Would be very interested to try.

Service here is 5/5! From the moment I walked in we were greeted by the staff. We popped in to get takeaway on a Friday night (which is amazing as some bar and restaurants don't offer such service). The waitress was really helpful with food choices and we ended up ordering the meat lovers pizza and curly fries. The pizza was delicious! The base was perfect and the toppings were even better, incredibly cheesy and packed with meat. Curly fries with their aioli was cooked to perfection as it<br/>was so crispy.<br/>Also the atmosphere here was amazing! We ended up grabbing a few drinks here while we waited. They have a great variety of craft beers which I haven't quite seen in many bars I've been. The bartender was incredibly nice and helped my partner out with the perfect craft beer to suit his tastebuds. I also ordered a few cocktails which were so delish 👌<br/><br/>This will definitely be my go to if I'm ever in tauranga. Highly recommended<br/><br/>

Great location to begin with, just by the waterside and train tracks. Ambience is nice and pleasant. Not overly done or loud. <br/>We ordered fish and chips, BBQ chicken wings, onion rings and some drinks. Fish n chips were excellent, wings were just okay and so were the onion rings. Place was bustling even for a Wednesday night. <br/>

Just stopped in here out of the rain for a cocktail .... barman didn't have any personality just stood in front of us while we looked at the drinks menu... he brought our drinks over and Jeeze the most underwhelming looking cocktails ever, yes they're cheap really but....<br/>P.S-Then I saw him jump on the bar to change a lightbulb with his grubby shoes and he actually didn't wipe the bar afterwards.

Reached here late on the Friday of the labor day weekend. One of the three places serving dinner. The food was not over the top. It was good food. <br/><br/>Our order:<br/>Fried Calamari<br/>Fries<br/>Mex tex pizza<br/>Monteiths black from tap<br/>Gin and tonic<br/><br/>The staff was great. Came to us to check with our order as they were closing soon. However did not push us. <br/><br/>Returns: probably for breakfast or lunch<br/>Pricewise: $65 for 2

Came here on a Saturday night for dinner. Was pretty busy but we got a table straight away. More of a relaxed chilled atmosphere in here. Had a few cocktails which were pretty nice but quite expensive. For my main I had Steak Sirloin with side of veges and salad. Steak was a bit to fatty for my liking but the pieces that wernt were nice and the veges and salad were seasoned pretty well. Had the cheesecake for dessert which was DELISH! would recommend this place for a casual dinner

Very friendly and attentive staff members, checking in right frequent for more drinks. Also one of the very few places to get food after 9:15pm on Tuesdays.<br/><br/>Our platter for two and Pizza Garlic bread were served in short time. Was a pleasure to spent the eve there. <br/><br/>Highly recommended!

The last few times I've been here, the water tasted very bad. Something must have changed, because today the water was fine.<br/><br/>Very good and fast service. Usually have my food less than fifteen minutes after ordering. The waitresses don't seem to mind if you want things made a certain way. Very happy to make a custom pizza. I've been here four or five times now and seen different employees every time, but service still always on point. <br/><br/>Had pizza today that was top notch. Crust was fantastic, asked for fresh tomatoes that seemed like they were right off the vine. The chips weren't the best but the salad and fish were spot on. <br/><br/>The only other complaint other than the water was that one time when I ordered the lamb about two visits ago, it came with some kind of chilli rice, which wasn't mentioned on the menu. Not my favourite but still pretty good. The decor and atmosphere is nice but can get a bit noisy. Food is also nice but not the place to go if you're wanting a quiet sit down dinner. Otherwise, I fully recommend this place.<br/><br/>As you can see in the pictures below, the presentation of the food is fantastic.

My family from Tga have been here a number of times over the years for lunch, dinner & a couple of special birthday events and have always enjoyed their time here. I have only been a couple of times but can see why they enjoy it. My Mum, sis & I had things to share including buffalo wings, pizza breads, curly fries and both times items were hot and delicious. Really recommend those blue cheese walnut & pear pizza breads. Great value if moneys a bit tight or you don't want a big meal. Staff always friendly and attentive. Nice outlook and good seating for both in and outdoor enjoyment. Thank you, I will be back next time I'm in town.

A great place to bring friends for a drink and some nibbles, but I wouldn't plan a dinner here. The food is very pricey considering it's essentially just a well-designed bar. While there was nothing extraordinarily wrong with the experience, most of the menu items are traditional pub dishes with some presentation. However, the food did taste good and the service complemented it well, which managed to get them an above-average score. I want to love this place but I'm not seeing any justification on the price

Really impressed with this place!! Would definitely be coming back here for more in the future!! And will def be recommending to friends and family! The food we had was delicious, pricey but worth it. Definitely $60 for two people including drinks.

Wanted a nice quiet Sunday morning with a nice brunch and seaside view. So went to the Pheonix. Food choices we're great with good variety. I had a very big breakfast which I shared with my friend. Plenty for two. Food was yummy but the coffee rather weak and overextracted. Still great spot try it out.

After a long drive from Auckland to Tauranga, my family and I decided to have dinner here due to the special where children eat free when you purchase a main. The staff was lovely and attentive, we had the fish and chips, panfried and the beef salad. The childern choose to have hotdogs. We were all pleased with our food and the atmosphere was nice. Although the price we paid for the fish and chips, $24.50 each was steep.

The Phoenix is just fantastic, friendly staff, nice decor & atmosphere and great food. We have been there half a dozen times and never been disappointed.

Went in for Saturday lunch, ordered the Angus burger and kids got cheese burger sliders. Service was great, food and drinks came out in reasonable time. Burgers really tasty and juicy but fries were cold. All up really good.

It's Friday night and I've just been sitting another four hours on my bum after work, getting myself transported from Auckland down to Tauranga. I need a stretch. My butt needs a stretch. First stop, the Phoenix. I plan to do a taster of all the available Monteith's beers on menu here, one day. Just a pint for tonight will do, its a been a long drive. No sliders here, but a blue cheese pizza with pear slices and caramelised onion. It's quite an unusual menu offering, since I find that there aren't many Kiwis enjoy strong smelly blue cheese. Maybe the Tauranga crowd are a different lot. I love the blue cheese and sweetness combo, my favourite being Italian gorgonzola and runny honey. The local kayaking club hangs here on a regular basis, I hear. So will I, I think.

We had the Angus burger and the beef salad. Both very good meals! The burger was especially tasty and very much gourmet. The staff weren't too friendly though, which was a little disappointing.

My angus burger was fine. The ladies had under cooked, soggy crumbed calamari. They were disappointed that the sous chef didn't use a hot enough pan to cook it.

Visited on Saturday 4th April for early evening drinks and dinner with a few friends and family.  The bar service was excellent despite being so busy with the jazz festival that had been running that day.  Meals were ordered and everyone happy.  Great atmosphere.  However the wheels fell off when we were instructed to move tables, which we were happy to do, as the area was being closed due to the jazz festival finishing and by-laws coming into play (we were told quite gruffly to move, and were also not guaranteed another table for dinner - which had already been ordered for 12 people, and we had already been waiting for a good 50 mins for our meals). When the meals finally did turn up, unfortunately they weren't accurately recorded and in fact some meals had been left off the order entirely... including 2 kids meals and a main - which made for quite a long wait for some people at our table (again).  We weren't offered to set up a tab, which would have made the night easier, and received no table service for drinks, the table was also not cleared for a very long time - making chatting, or the opportunity of ordering sweets a bit difficult.  Overall, I thought the Phoenix was a nice place to visit and I would perhaps go again when visiting Tga for drinks in the late arvo.  Generous servings and well made food made up for waits and slightly gruff treatment.  I would recommend the calamari salad, but did not rate the arancini at all.

Great venue felt like we had a choice of 3 different settings in the same place. nice grassy reserve outside dining while food was of great quality with professional and polite service most of all enjoyed the casual yet classy feeling of the Phoenix .<br/>

We went to The Phoenix to celebrate a birthday and had an overall mediocre night. When we arrived the waitress told us to take a seat wherever - we selected outside, but it then took an overly long time for someone to reappear to take our drinks order. After our drinks were ordered the waitress asked for the drinks menu and removed it from the table (normally we all have more than one drink so that was unusual, strange and mildly irritating). Drinks were slow to appear and the waitress seemed to be either poorly trained or just disinterested in the whole situation as she didn't seem to know what she was talking about confusing everyone at the table.<br/><br/>Our food came out relatively promptly and it was amazing, there was no faulting the chef and their team - it was great all round. However we were not one of us was asked prior to ordering if we wanted an entree.<br/><br/>After we had eaten we were left awkwardly waiting for the waitress to return with a dessert menu. She never appeared so I went to the bar to ask for one (saw our waitress wrapping cutlery for the next day at a table nearby) where the barmaid directed me to the 'Snack' menu - realising half way out the door that it wasn't what I asked for, I returned to question another of the bar staff who told me the kitchen was closing soon and therefore we were too late. It would have been nice for the waitress to have actually told us this, or at least given us the option of ordering our desserts earlier (if she had come to our table when we were finished eating I believe the kitchen would still have been open). <br/><br/>I've spent a lot of time dining in resturants and I must admit although the food was quite nice, the service was well below expectations leaving us very disappointed.

cool place with a nice bit of open grass space beside it. The presentation of all the tucker is a beaut. The chips may have been a tad fancy but I enjoyed them all the same. <br/>You staff were friendly. Always makes for a good pleasant visit aye. cheers

I've consistently walked in and enjoyed a beer with a friend here.<br/>Your Monteiths glasses are classy. (Don't know if you're still using them)<br/>and the beer taps are a lot more appealing with presentation than usual!

Awesome. Had a surprise birthday last night there. Staff were brilliant, food fantastic, all meals came out at the same time. The place was completely full with happy campers. This place was buzzing. Amenities were spotless. What a neat atmosphere. Have been before and never been disappointed but hadn't been on a Saturday night. Well done all of the team. Will highly recommend. Thank you for making my birthday the best one yet!

Went for brunch during Jazz festival with grandchildren. Very impressed. Staff great and accommodated one 8yr with hotcakes as a child portion. Ordered coffee afterwards and as it was a long wait staff came out with crayons and a poster to colour in etc. for the 3 children.<br/>Food was lovely and well presented.<br/>Couldn't fault it.

This is a great place to socialize the food is terrific, but expensive. It is in the end a pub selling good food. I go to Auckland quite a bit and you would expect prices to be higher but they are not.

Our favorite restaurant in Tauranga, the staff are great the food is fantastic and its a great place to take kids for dinner as they seem to really make it fun for the kids and they keep the food and drinks coming promptly so everyone can enjoy their meal. Highly recommended never disappoints.

The meal took a very very long time to come out, but at least they acknowledged it without prompting and offered us a free round. Good response for when things go wrong and waitress was nice and engaging.

Great service, great food, great value and reasonably priced. I wouldn't go past this place and eat there most weeks. I have also taken staff there for drinks and nibbles on several occasions. The food is consistent, the staff welcoming and everyone goes the extra mile to make sure it is a great experience. I used to go there weekly as the Horny Bull, before it became The Phoenix. Mark the owner deserves to do well. I have never been disappointed.

Was down in Tauranga recently with my family and we decided to go out for dinner and ended up here. The decor was amazing.<br/><br/>I ordered the ribs, and the meat fell off the bone and was absolutely delicious. Didn't even need to pick them up in my hands.<br/><br/>The staff were still in need of a bit more training, however it was still a very pleasant evening and I would head back here if I was back in Tauranga.

We have been twice now since it's re-incarnation. (previously the Horny Bull which we were regulars at). The food is as great as ever but we have found the service just okay and both visits we left early as we couldn't hear ourselves over the music and other noise. The noise is the reason we have decided not to re-visit for an evening meal but we are going to give lunch a go. We guess Mark is after a younger clientele so good luck.

Great food, service and atmosphere. We went for a drink and a snack meal before the movies on a Thursday - perfect, yummy potato skins and pizza.<br/><br/>Took the family on Saturday night, had the Saturday steak special and the steaks were awesome (as was the dessert). Our teenage sons are still raving about their meal! <br/><br/>Great to have a place to go that feels relaxed with really modern and welcoming decor. Suits all occasions, out with friends or family, an occasion or just a drink. The food is delicious and the staff are great.<br/><br/>We can't wait to go again, soon.

I've had the pleasure of eating at this lovely restaurant.<br/>At very short notice for the staff we turned up and asked for a table for 15 and possibly outside. The waiter came out and reassembled all of the tables so we could sit together. Service was great, drinks were great and food exceeded expectations for everyone within our group. I really must recommend the fish and chips!!<br/>Thank you staff.<br/>Will definitely be returning with another big group soon enough.

Brunch 19/4/2014 - EASTER WEEKEND. good big breaky, good value for money, brilliant service especially considering it was Jazz Festival. Staff went out of their way during rain downpours to ensure that all patrons were taken care of as best as they could.<br/>Well done Team Phoenix.<br/><br/>Dinner on 24/1/2013 - GREAT IMPROVEMENT ! Staff were wonderful, service was very good and food was delicious ! The tasting plate for desert was wonderful ! Congrats to owner who has obviously taken feedback onboard.<br/>Will dine again.<br/><br/>Dinner - 8/12/2012<br/>Very nice atmosphere, quite busy ! <br/>Ordered Entrees (Shrimp cocktail with sauce on the side please and Garlic bread for me) and Mains (Eye Fillets wrapped in bacon, one without any salt please) for my husband and I.<br/>Waiter (male) advised us of the Steak &amp; Ale deal which was brilliant !<br/>Entrees - his arrived as requested but mine took antoher 15 minutes to come out. It arrived - with a very big apology from another older male waiter.<br/>Mains arrived as requested and we delicious.<br/><br/>Went to pay the bill - very big apology from 'older male waiter' who happened to be the owner - and a hefty discount for our troubles - thanks for looking out for us !!!<br/><br/>As a very regular visitor of Horny Bull (both Lunch and Dinner), I think they have done well with the refit, but there were definately some menu items and prices that keep us all being regulars ! <br/>The new prices are in line with any other restaurant in town and at the moment, the food, service and menu options are all on on par too.<br/><br/>I will happily dine her again, but I'm just saying

We went on a Sunday night, they were about 70% full.<br/><br/>We asked for a table and the guy pointed outside and said "there was one over there" and left us to find our own way.<br/><br/>The two blonde waitresses were ok, but the brunette - you'd swear her face would break if she tried to smile.<br/><br/>The main was average, the desert was delicious. Everything took a very long time to come out to us, and the last main arrived about 3 mins after everyone else's mains were served.<br/><br/>Recommend getting bubblier staff, they all seemed really shy.

Went in recently for drinks and nibbles and had a ball. We ordered a platter and a beer selection. The service was friendly and prompt and food was delicious (so was the beer..)

Just had the best beef salad at The Phoenix - absolutely delicious with lots of different textures and tastes. Wonderful service and a great place to sit and while away an hour!

We've been regulars of this restaurant's former incarnation (the Horny Bull) for years and had reserved a table at the newly reopened and renamed Phoenix. What a disaster. Got seated at a horrible table right in the doorway despite other tables being available and were told bluntly we couldn't sit elsewhere.<br/><br/>Waitress didn't ask us if we wanted breads or entrees, and removed the drinks menu from the table (somehow assuming we didn't want to drink). Ended up only ordering mains. After a long wait (they weren't that busy) the 2 steaks ordered medium were delivered past well done. They were boot leather. My fish was fried to death, and smelt strongly (bad fish smell). The sides were tiny compared to previous portions. Green peppercorn sauce was just a load of peppercorns in a thin liquid - not nice. <br/><br/>We complained about the steak and fish, only to be told that the poor food was because they were busy (!!!). Manager said he'd come back and talk to us, then never reappeared. Paid the bill and got the feeling they just wanted us out of there - they didn't want to know about poor service or bad food at this place it seems. Won't be going back and definitely not recommended.