Review Tinakori Bistro - Wellington

Had a lovely meal here. Had the ceviche (was super flavourful annd included fennel to give it a bit of a kick), short ribs with excellent kimchi, chicken (moist but skin not crispy), salad and frites (best frites I have had in ages). Loved the dessert - milk pie and chocolate mousse. Left feeling full and pretty wholesome. Was a nice atmosphere. A little on the costly side, but it was a treat, no an every-day meal, so wasn’t expecting it to be cheap.

If I had to sum up in one word..GORGEOUS!… the restaurant, staff (including their aprons), ambience, food, decor, restrooms, music… all gorgeous. Food was fresh and healthy portion sizes. Their home made butter was delicious as was the hand made gnocchi. What a wonderful find this place was and I will definitely be a repeat customer.

Delicious! We had the dinner party option, lovely food, adequate portions however maybe a little pricey at $89 which was made up by BYO option. Lovely decor and athmosphere

Fell in love from the outside already. Finally had the chance to come here with my partner and it was absolutely beautiful.the food was delicious. The service super nice and attentative. Even their drinks tasted unique and amazing at the same time. Will definitely be back! Thanks Team!

Fancy! Had the dinner party experience as a group of six, which included 7 courses. They catered thoughfully for various dietary requirements. Food was exquisite, waiter was really lovely and friendly. We were the only group there which made us sad as it's a great place with lovely ambience. Will go back again I hope!

This small removed restaurant is a culinary gem. The food was exquisite. Every bite was a dimension of flavor immersed in the main event. We ordered the château Briand, which was cooked tender and flavorful. The Butterfish was my favorite which included pumpkin, gnocchi, kale, and sweet potato. The house salad was light and cleansing. The chicken was falling off the bone and had a great flavor. We ended the dinner with homemade chocolate mints and the night was complete. Thank you Daisy!

Very welcoming, friendly staff and excellent service. Lovely cosy decor inside and we were blown away by the incredibly tasty food. The bread and home-made butter to start was divine. We had the Chateaubriand fillet with a couple of veg options on the side and it was incredible. The apple panna cotta and milk pie desserts could've been better. Highly recommend the place.

Absolutely delicious! Great service. Travelling through Wellington and staying nearby for 2 nights - we loved it so much we ate there BOTH nights! Thanks Henry and staff for some incredible food!

Massive thank you to the Daisy's team for a fabulous night. Our group of old hornbags haven't laughed so hard in a long time. The food was wonderful and the service exceptional. Thanks for catering to our various food needs without hassle. We had a wonderful night. Thank you!

One of my favourite restaurants, I’m omnivore but they do great vegan dishes too, great place!

We had a lovely dinner last night, great staff, tasty steak cooked to perfection

Just fantastic. Extremely tasty, well priced European fare (which let you BYO a nice bottle of wine, which you may not be a good enough cook to do justice to at home) with a level of service and attentiveness usually found in restaurants with an extra '0' in the price. Favourite restaurant in Wellington

Wasn't sure what to expect but my companion read about it online so we decided to brave the stupid protesters at Parliament (bus route blocked) and head to Thorndon. Worth the trip. From the moment we arrived the staff were friendly and engaging, even the young person who wasn't as familiar with the menu as others went out of their way to get us information. Chose the 5 course Daisy's choice ($85) as we couldn't decide what to have. Fantastic experience and the way to go. Buckwheat balls, Tuna, Courgette (to die for), chicken and finally the dessert. I'm not a dessert person but, oh my! The the dark chocolate to finish. Had a lovely bottle of Syrah to match. We spent the evening discussing ingredients and asking about the process. The chef came out three times and had a conversation with us, and explained some of the dishes. That was a bonus. One of the best nights I've had in Wellington for food.

Amazing tasting food with very knowledgeable and polite front of house. Would recommend to anyone

Delicious, such yummy flavours. All the dishes ordered were superb. Staff amazing despite few being on and more walk ins than expected. Yum!

Mmmmmmmmm loved it. Really loved the asian twist on the flavours. My Korean chicken main, tempura prawns entree were fantastic. The only downer was that the dessert was too rich and hard to fit in. Liked it so much I purchased another voucher off Grabone. See you soon again!

Had a wedding lunch here one wet day in February. Everything about Tinakori Bistro was fantastic. The service was attentive and friendly, the food was delicious and generous (and innovative!), and the atmosphere was relaxed but special. Katy and her staff made us feel so welcome - even with several kids in tow - and it really made the wedding for us. Thank you sincerely, we couldn't have hoped for anything more, and I can't recommend this restaurant enough!

A lovely place with great food and service. We came here for dinner. I had the beetroot tartare with feta and walnuts to start, and my partner had the five spice duck salad. Both starters were larger than expected, and the duck salad was especially tasty. If it is still on the menu, I wholeheartedly recommend it. Our mains were also of a decent size - my duck was perfect, and the eggplant that accompanied it was delicious (not normally a word I would use when describing eggplant). My only complaint would be the fact that our desserts took a very long time to come out - much longer than the starters or mains. <br/><br/>A great place to come for a nice date or to celebrate an anniversary.

Awesome service and very delicious food. I enjoyed the duck breast so much and beef steak was also very tasty. I love the interior and the whole ambiance in tinakori village. Will definitely go back next time when I am in town.

This is the first time we have been back since the restaurant changed hands.<br/><br/>The style is now Asian Fusion, and my overall feeling is that the restaurant is suffering from an identity crisis. When you change the menu of a long established, popular restaurant it is important to ensure that the menu makes sense, that the flavour combinations work and that the food is well cooked with great service - this experience failed on all levels.<br/><br/>My entree was the beetroot tartare which was bland, my husband had the octopus which was very over cooked and tough. My main was the lamb, the meat itself was well cooked, but it sat on a clump of white onion, which made no sense, there was no jus or sauce and the crust on the lamb had an overall unpleasant flavour. My husband had the steak, which was very tough and sinnewy - again with no sauce or jus - so it was very underwhelming. The duck fat potatoes were swimming in fat.<br/><br/>My husband had the coconut cake - which was overcooked and tasteless, the custard was also tasteless - but the highlight of this dish was the coconut ice cream which was nice. I had a chocolate desert - which did taste nice - but was sooo tiny. <br/><br/>The wine list was quite limited.<br/><br/>The prices have gone up and the quality has gone down. We had three different waiters, and despite the charm of our Irish waiter the service overall was incredibly slow with really long waits - even to get a menu - let alone get our food.<br/><br/>They had double booked us two weeks before, so we had to re-book (which I did over the phone with a waiter) for this meal. When I rang to confirm the time we were coming they had no record of our booking.<br/><br/>We won't be going back

Most people may not know that Tinakori Bistro has been under new ownership since April 2016. The new chef owner, Aaron, has worked in top restaurants around the world, including Nobu. We are very lucky to have Aaron in Wellington. Aaron is a master in Asian inspired flavours combined with classical European techniques.  Combined with attentive service and generous portions, it was one of the best meals I've had in a long time.  Highly recommended.

My partner and I went here for dinner with a Groupon voucher which turned out to be amazing value. We had an entree, main and dessert each. I can't fault any of the food, with the beef and Manuka smoked mushrooms being an absolute highlight! Service was friendly and efficient and although plain, the decor suited the relaxed feel to the place. I will definitely be coming back and recommending this place to everyone!

Fabulous date night! Very friendly staff with a stunning atmosphere. Beautifully presented food, the cheese cake is to die for. Would absolutely recommend.

This restaurant is apparently under new management and we had an amazing experience. <br/><br/>The food was incredible, with surprising taste combinations. <br/>Our waitress was so friendly and helpful, without hanging around too much and the manager was also very accommodating. <br/><br/>We were impressed with a visit from the chef, who was happy to chat about the food, what was in season, where it was sourced. <br/><br/>I would definitely say this is my new favourite restaurant.

Had a really nice dinner at Tinakori Bistro the other night, but this place does need to make some improvements here and there. I really liked the complimentary bubbles on arrival, this was a really nice touch. My dining companion and I both enjoyed a entree, main and dessert each. For entree I had the calamari and my companion had the chowder. My calamari were perfectly cooked and were accompanied by a fragrant and tasty pesto. The chowder was excellent, full-bodied and delicious. There was plenty of salmon strewn through the chowder but hardly any other seafood. I wasn’t complaining as salmon is one of my absolute favourite foods. However, I did expect it to have some calamari, mussels and prawns in it. For main I had the seared salmon which came with bok choy and mashed potato. The dish was enjoyable but not perfect. The mash was creamy and flavoursome. I am not really a fan of bok choy and thought green beans would have been more enjoyable, but that’s just my personal preference. Seared, implies rare, but my salmon was cooked well-done which was heart-breaking. Why people cook salmon for more than a couple of minutes on each side is beyond me. The salmon did taste very good though. My pal had the venison for her main and it was absolutely divine. The meat was cooked perfectly and was succulent and juicy. The rosti was fantastic. I’d give the venison dish a 5/5. For dessert I had the passionfruit cheesecake and my friend had the ice-cream selection. The cheesecake was absolutely perfect. I savoured every mouthful. The ice cream was average, nothing special. We ordered some tea and it didn’t arrive until we had nearly finished our desserts. When we were eating our mains, I had to remind our waitress twice about my glass of wine that I had ordered. All the wait staff here, apart from one, are very friendly and attentive. We had about three different people serve us throughout the evening which wasn’t great, consistency is important and it’s evident from things being forgotten, that this system isn’t working. I also noticed that the plates had a lot of fingerprints on them. Perhaps I have rated this place a bit harshly but all the little things start to add up after a while. Overall though, I did enjoy dinning here and my goodness these people know how to make Cheesecake. Alright, you've won me over (changes rating from a 3.5 to a 4 whilst dreaming of that cheesecake.)

A little disappointed with this place, I was hoping it would turn into a regular as we have recently moved into the area. We went for lunch and whilst the food was tasty, the portions were very small for the price and we were left wanting more. The coffee was well prepared though, the service was friendly and the location on Tinikori Rd is fairly handy for locals. Just not the value for money that can be found at other places though. I may try it again in a few months to see if things have picked up...

30 of us arrived at 7:30pm for our work Christmas function here last night. The restaurant was packed with people enjoying their meals as we took our seats. Staff promptly took our drinks orders as we chose from the enticing set menu. Entrees came out about 20mins later and I thoroughly enjoyed the goats cheese soufflé while hubby had the prawns in a delicious tabasco sauce. Our mains arrived about 30mins after that and, to be honest, we were all surprised with how small they were. I had the turkey which was tasty but I was left hungry along with everyone else. The majority of us went with the baked white chocolate and passionfruit cheesecake which was really good and just about filled the gap. The service throughout the night was lacklustre but sufficient.Overall, nice experience and I would happily return to try the a la carte menu.

Great atmosphere, attentive and thoughtful service. A neat menu, with clever choices, all of which were nicely executed. A lovely way to spend a Sunday night.

A more than respectable local restaurant. I went here with a large group and everyone was very happy with their meals (no small achievement in itself). I started with the calimari - beautifully presented and perfectly cooked - and then had the steak. Again, very nicely cooked. We were upstairs as we were a big group - a little lacking in atmosphere but otherwise fine.

I don't recommend to eat soups in this restaurant; they are oily<br/> Sea food chauder was with small peace of salmon, portions are very small, main was ok but small, it's not french restaurant, it' completly nz style meal, deseart was served with ice crem which had terrible extra taste. I want money back.

Very disappointing. Was not allowed to order the express menu for reasons still not very clear, ordered the chicken main instead, which was nothing more than some chicken breast with mash potatoes (apparently I didn't notice the side dishes, but staff could have at least pointed it out). Had expected more from a $30 main. Left hungry and disappointed, not even a thank-you after paying. Will not return.

Came here with my wife for dinner. The staff were polite and attentive. We ordered entrees and mains off the express menu, they arrived in no time at all. I ordered the seafood chowder and coq au vin. Food was great. Could not be happier.

Went here for dinner Saturday night was looking forward to it after hearing good things and having a good previous experience. Got to say both my husband and I left disappointed. Both our entrees were over cooked. His pork and my calamari were dry and quite tasteless. Mains again were not very good his fish was dry and my chicken was tasting enough but surrounded by gravy that was cool and beginning to conjeal. Another persons scallops were over cooked. All dishes seemed to have some form of mash. Honeyed yam's were yummy and desserts looked good. Overall quite disappointing for the price.

Lovely food, to die for creme brulee. Attentive service all in all a good evening, and for the quality of food the bill wasn't bad at all

I dined here with a group and we were given a good table near the window. We were given enough time to decide on our food and the service was good, unobtrusive, and they replaced our water when empty.<br/><br/>The meals were well presented, and delicious, however the portion size was smaller than what I would expect at a similar place. I had the salmon, as did two others, the rest of the group had the chicken, lamb and fish. My chargrilled salmon (good size) came with a dollop of mash and 2-3 leaves of wilted bok choy. I would expect more than a spoon of mash and a few bok choy leaves for $27!<br/><br/>The good thing was I still had room for dessert - I chose the white chocolate baked cheesecake, which was delicious. Served with passionfruit sorbet and anglaise, it was the highlight of the meal. I would return for their desserts, but wish they would be slightly more generous with the accompaniments to their mains.

Our office party of 15 were looking forward to the set Christmas menu at $50 per person. I think the paper, and not cloth napkins, should have been our cue to leave because what we got was not worthy of a restaurant with such a reputation. Perhaps the head chef was not in the kitchen on this particular night. And nor were the staff wearing mismatched coloured shorts. It was not a good look.<br/>The chowder resembled a weak corn soup, with no chunks of seafood except for a teaspoonful of smoked salmon in the centre of the bowl.<br/>Our main of turkey came out looking like some reconstituted 'log' of meat that was dry and thick. This was accompanied by an unimaginative boiled potato and two stalks of asparagus. I had to pay extra for the steamed vegetables.<br/>The meal finally came to an end however with a reasonable cheesecake.<br/>And to top it all off we so enjoyed the Maitre d' unceremoniously asking our table to pay for the meal "now". This was just rude!<br/>There's so much that needs improving at Tinakori Bistro<br/>If they spend a little time making the table look a little festive, add some music and much needed quality to the meals, then they would not have lost quite a number of clients on the night and future. <br/>Definitely do not recommend at this point.

Booked in for our staff Christmas function...3 didn't arrive which was just as well as they hadn't seated us comfortably for the 20 that were expected.<br/>We waited for ages to order and didn't get offered the choice of steamed veggies or salad as the menu offered.<br/>I declined to have mashed potato with my steak(?) and asked for fries and was told I'd have to pay extra...when my steak arrived the waiter asked if I'd pay for the fries 'NOW' instead of at the end of my meal (I had paid up front for my meal, but thought this a bit excessive for the $3 due). Portions were small....the twice cooked cheese souffle accompanied by a cherry tomato HALVED was an insult<br/>The place was noisy, needed decorating and was badly lit. there was no music and apart from the young man waiting table, the waitresses hovered round making sure we had no more BYO than we had stated and looked sullen and uninterested! I have to note too that had we not ordered from the 'SET' Christmas menu and ordered the same meal from the usual menu it would have worked out cheaper!!! Ahh NO, won't be going there again..

We walked in off the street and were accommodated well. However, the waitress did not seem to be very interested in us at all - she did not explain the rulesa round the express menu until we started ordering - so most of the table then had to re-think their choices.<br/><br/>The food was fantastic - but the portions seemed quite small.<br/><br/>We requested dessert menus which arrived - and then waited at least 15 minutes for the waitress to come back and take our orders - as she was busy taking orders from tables who had received their dessert menus after us! We stood up and left after waiting the 15 minutes - which was very disappointing as the desserts did look great.<br/><br/>3 of our party were still hungry, so needed to stop on our way back to our motel to buy more food.

We came as a large group for lunch. The waitstaff were very attentive.<br/>I thought the mains were reasonably priced, especially given the quality. <br/>The dessert menu had about six options, all of which looked amazing. Unfortunately too full to have one.<br/>I agree with the previous reviewer who noted the lack of atmosphere. Some background music would go a long way.<br/>Aside from that I really enjoyed the Tinakori Bistro. Will definitely go back.

Having dined at Tinakori Bistro many times, I was very disappointed when we visited last week. My family and I went to celebrate my daughters exam results. We booked in early and when arrived there was a table already on mains. Drinks orders were taken and took forever to come. The cokes were flat - which he replaced. The waiter did not explain the express menu option and when we ordered - which took forever for him to come and take our order, he snapped and said everyone had to have the express menu even when I tried to explain my 12 year old was not interested in having a mains only fries - so it was not an option. To make matters worse he came back later after he had taken our order and asked again who was having the express menu - by this time I was getting really annoyed as and told him he said it was not an option because everyone at the table was not having it.<br/>The meal arrived but we were not enjoying it due to the incredibly rude service we received. I was so incensed that we did not have dessert or coffee - usually one of my favourite I have when I go out for dinner. To top things off they charged us for 2 breads which we only ordered for one - never did he ask if it was bread for the table to share or bread for one - he just assumed. Dont think we'll be going back in a hurry.

Just the two of us went here on Friday night. We had a booking but there was plenty of space for people walking in off the street. <br/><br/>We both looooooved the food. We had entrees, mains and shared dessert. I ate the best venison I've ever had. <br/><br/>The service was also excellent. We never waited long to be spoken to, or for our food to arrive. The staff were friendly and polite.<br/><br/>However, the atmosphere was cold. They don't need to do much: a paint wouldn't hurt, or even a couple more pictures. It seems a little run down. Also the toilets (and the dirty curtain separating them from the dining room) could do with an upgrade. <br/><br/>But one thing would really help: you guys need some music! It was so quiet...<br/><br/>We had a lovely night though. The food was excellent!

Always seem to be good service and food. The Calamari rings are amazing!!!<br/><br/>Great mains too, never tried the dessert as I'm always too full by the end of the night

service has been great every time we've gone there. food has also been good.

Brilliant evening. We were a party of 18 and in hte back room upstairs. The service was very attentive, with one waitress assigned to us part-time. she was busy, but nobody waited a long time for anything.<br/>We all chose from the full menu and the staff handled that perfectly, with all meals being delivered one after the other without pauses.<br/><br/>Everybody in the party spoke highly of the food and the service.<br/><br/>What was even better was that the total bill was not exorbitant.<br/><br/>Would I recommend it to anybody else? Of course I would.<br/><br/>Peter

This was the first time I've ever walked out of a restaurant. <br/><br/>I can't comment on the food, as we did not order. It looked good on the menu. <br/><br/>We were seated then ignored for 20 minutes. We would have liked to have been told the specials, had some wine while we waited, perhaps been offered some bread, but this was not to be. I don't mind if a restaurant is busy and there's a long wait for food provided the staff communicate. It didn't seem busy but there may have been a function upstairs. Nevertheless... others were being waited on in our room, but not us. I didn't think it should be necessary to 'grab' the staff to hear about the specials so didn't - I expected them to visit our table within about 5 mins of being seated.<br/><br/>The atmosphere in our half-full dining room seemed a little stilted - perhaps others were experiencing the same thing. <br/><br/>We abondoned ship and went to Charlie Bill, a small bistro along Tinakori Road, which was superb - warm, welcoming, great service, delicious food. <br/><br/>We won't be returning to the Tinakori Bistro, or recommending it to our friends.

I have been here twice in the past two months, both times with large groups. The food is generally excellent, although portion sizes tend to vary greatly between dishes. I give the bitter chocolate cake with orange anglaise and raspberry sorbet 10/10 every time - truly food from the gods. The upstairs room gets incredibly noisy with a large group and, with a 90 minute wait between ordering and receiving food, I came away quite exhausted after trying to keep up with shouting through the 'dinner conversation'. Overall, good waiting service and delicious food.

Being wellingtonions this is one of our favourites. consistently great, and BYO means we can bring our own choice of great wines.

I hadn't heard of the Tinakori Bistro before we booked a work Christmas function there.<br/><br/>In the interim I heard some good word-of-mouth about it.<br/><br/>By the end of our meal we were all raving about how good it was. The food was cooked to perfection - creative recipes, great mixtures of flavours; tender, melt-in-your-mouth steaks etc. Presentation and service were both excellent.<br/><br/>There were three separate large groups in at the time and I never heard a single complaint. There was no delay in getting the large number of meals out, and they were all perfectly prepared. Everyone seemed to have a great time.<br/><br/>I highly recommend this place.