Review Whitby's Restaurant & Bar - Wellington

Still the greatest buffets. Great for family, group and couples. My kids enjoy it with so much selection of ice creams and deserts. Wife enjoyed the sea food chowder and the prawns. Beautiful pork ribs. We had to roll ourselves out. Lol. Kids eat half price too.

Another good buffet dinner. Sure, there are things that aren't perfect, but then it's $65 for all you can eat. This ain't Ramsey's at the Langham - what you get, for what you pay, is perfectly acceptable, and we'll keep going back every couple of months until such time that it isn't. The staff are always pleasant and personable, and the only negative is the cost of parking in the building. It would be good if Whitby's could somehow negotiate a better rate for its diners.

1st time here. Seems most buffet have not survived covid. Probably the only buffet left in the capital. Personal experience enjoyed the food. Decent variety, won't be everyone's cup of tea. Waiters were awesome, environment subtle and cosy. Felt very welcomed. Good place for a family buffet dinner depending on how busy it gets. Sunday buffet wasn't too busy so food was always plenty and didn't have to wait long to food items to be replaced. Well done James Cook hotel.

We celebrated my mother's birthday here. We had a group of 14, buffet dinner, and kids eat for free special. $65.00 per adult. It was well worth it and we stayed over 2 hours. Highly recommended.

Did the Chocolate High Tea here and it’s absolutely wonderful! The varieties of chocolate and also savoury is so good. The staffs were very friendly and accommodating. Highly recommend it.

I enjoyed my time at Whibys, was welcomed by the staff and was served by a lovely waitress who’s name I believe was Kelly. She served me the majority of the night and was constantly checking on not only me but the surrounding customers. She is also an amazing barista I ordered a mocha that was one of if not the best I’ve had in a while. The food was really good for it being a buffet some of the meat was dry but still had great flavour, lots of variety of foods to choose from. There is also a blind man who plays piano and he is very good but it does really make it feel as if the place is a little to fancy and wouldn’t mind just listing to some random music because when he stops it’s dead silent I would recommend giving it a visit

We had a fantastic family birthday celebration at the buffet. Great service and excellent food. Highly recommended. Thanks so much for a memorable evening.

Stayed in the hotel and breaky was included. Nice crispy bacon and hashbrowns. Perfect poached eggs from the chef.

We had booked our table in advance (I would absolutely recommend doing this). Buffet-style meal. Very busy restaurant but there was plenty of food to go around and it was replenished quickly by kitchen staff. As the restaurant is so popular, we had to queue up to select the foods we wanted but the quality of the food was excellent. The waiting staff were very polite and friendly. Would definitely recommend to others!

Not a huge selection at the buffet but good range and everything is so delicious and worth the price. I love this place.

When you miss your flight from Hamilton, for being five measly minutes late for stupid check in, then have to sit there with no cafe or bar open while you wait for the next flight to Wellington, arriving at the hotel at like 8.55pm and then break-neck-speeding it to the 17th floor of the James Cook Grand Chancellor before 9.30pm when they stop taking orders, you will be overjoyed to have made it to Whitbys. The service is friendly and relaxed, and super helpful. Don't sit in the breakfast part where the tables have cups and saucers on them! Yes, you can have another glass of rose'! The scallops were perfect, the risotto delicious and the steak just nicely done. Thanks Whitbys. Happy to recommend!

We had the high tea, hosted by Moira (who was so fantastic!!!) All the lovely loose leaf teas you can drink, which she brewed for us throughout the experience. Excellent food, not sure how they managed strawberries in June. Highly recommend if you want a cute date. 🏳️‍🌈

The mothers day Buffet was great as usual. The food selection and deserts were awesome. Very professional and friendly staff. The best place to take mum on mothers day. I will be back next year with Mum again. Thanks

We had my sisters 50th birthday, she booked the room for her buffet breakfast birthday celebration. Everything was on point from the time we walked in to the time we left. The lady at the reception was amazing and so friendly, the room was beautifully set up they way my sister wanted it. Everyone enjoyed the buffet breakfast and the morning celebration as the staff there, made us feel very welcomed and their service was amazing. Thank you so much for your awesome hospitality. You all made my sisters day feel very special.

Food was overall great. Service was amazing and the wait staff took our empty plates quickly. Ambiance was great. Only very slight downfall was the dessert options, there was apple pie as the only hot option and all the cakes and custard were sub par. Also the seafood was a let down, prawns were obviously defrostes and had zero flavour. Everything else was fab. Defdinatly going back!

We booked when they had a seafood special evening a few months back, the seafood selection as such did not have and Kina or Crayish (Crayfish the king of the sea and it wasn’t offered) <br/>the oysters were only provided at the start and you weren’t able to help yourself to any more, <br/>The meal selection was reasonable, presentation is always well done, we have attended this place a few times now and will come again.

Food was bland. Basic and really expensive. 47 dollars for a meal with basic foods, Sadly. If it was 30 dollars id understand. Not worth sorry.

We ate here on Saturday evening at 7pm.<br/>Parents with young children who want to get drunk and let their kids run around unsupervised, then this is the place for you. 5 stars!<br/>If you want some adult time as a couple or with adult friends then it's not going to work. Unless you enjoy having children constantly banging into your chair and screaming. Don't worry about the staff intervening as they don't care.<br/>The food quality was average, and not very warm. One positive, the freshly made dish (Beef Stroganoff) was excellent.<br/>The table service was very poor. I had to ask the manager to clear our dirty plates from our table, and very slow generally to clear used plates and dishes.

Went for lunch used a GrabOne voucher - nice restaurant, nice staff, nice view. Food was ok for buffet- limited choices for lunch from the hot section but all were tasty. The quiche was dry tho. My friends were happy with the ribs and steak from the grill. Seafood limited but ok. Loved the apple crumble with vanilla custard & mini pav. Give it a go if you are looking for a buffet in Wellington that isn’t a valentines.

Came here for high tea once last year (2017) with a group of about 10 people. Service was impeccable & there was a good variety of teas and almost everyone found something to enjoy. The food I gotta say was very average. There were a few classics on the tiers (scones for eg). but the rest was fairly bland IMHO, just pieces filling in the gaps. I might give this place another go one day, but probably not high tea.<br/>

We took advantage of a grabone offer for the buffet lunch and were really excited about it. But after today, we won't bother going back again. Very limited options and even worse for vegetarians. The only redeeming factor was that our 3 year old ate for free.

Reading the other reviews I was a little worried about dining here. We were a large group that came here for the Xmas dinner advertised for the month of December. There was plenty of food choices and although there were a lot that wasn't quite to my personal taste , I still managed to find some delicious food. All food looked fresh and inviting especially desserts. Service was great. Only down side was that we were quoted less than what they tried to charge us at the end but they were quick to rectify the situation and all was good.

Went for the pre-christmas buffet, and what a disappointment! At $55 each the food was poor - examples: pasta, sausages, boiled eggs, fish in white sauce, chicken in white sauce, shepards pie, boiled vege, ice cream, creme caramel and choc fudge. No one was there carving the turkey or ham. There were no live cooking demos as advertised. Food wasn't replenished often, was cold and one of the chefs was touching the food with his bare hands! Not a good look for JCGC or Whitbys.

Went for lunch based on recommendations of friend, needless to say this person is no longer our friend. <br/><br/>To start, the decor was dated and grim, I was expecting to find cigarette smoke stained mesh curtains to go along with the theme. <br/><br/>The food was bland and uninspiring and most certainly not worth $35 a head. <br/><br/>I have had considerably better food at the Waiouru all ranks mess. <br/><br/>The only redeeming feature was the warm and pleasant staff.

It was a Mexican theme buffet at the Whitby with Day of the Dead decoration around the perimeter of the room and a display table of skulls and dolls. Perhaps the staff can dressup with Mexican music to add to the dining experience too?? There were a few tables celebrating here like ourselves. It is a popular restaurant. The most memorable dishes were the marinated mussels and the tomato based fish. Our party of 16 had a great time. Our boys really enjoyed themselves with the rare beef, baked potatoes, kumera, pasta, salads, chocolate turkey, chicken, fish, tortillas with pork and avocado, soups. Lots to choose from the dessert station with 3 milk cake, cakes, plans, fruit and cheeses. Our party gave it a 3/5. We felt it was a toned down version of Mexican food which lacked the authentic fire and punch. We would need to think very hard before coming back for lack-lustre value, food and atmosphere.

Crap and way over priced for what it is at $48 per person. You should think of putting the price down and providing better quality of foods. You should visit Fortuna at the Sky City in Auckland and see how it's done. Fortuna charge $30.90 per person and unlimited fizzy drinks at $5 per person. Way better quality and selection of food. It's a shame because you could do really well as there are no other buffets in Wellington city.

The worst food I have ever had. DO NOT EAT HERE. I do not write reviews but could not pass up this opportunity. The decor is horendous. The food was flavorless, bland, and very poor quality not to mention the limited selection one would expect in a buffet. It is 6 hours after leaving White restaurant and it still bothers me at how something can be so bad. ABORT and do not go here.

I never leave reviews on sites, but I felt this was necessary.  The WORST meal I have had in my life.  Took my teen daughters for a birthday lunch buffet and we left hungry!The food was luke warm and very bland.  All of the food could have been made by a 9 year old.  There was no fine dining here that's for sure.  There was a very limited selection of food. The desserts did not look fresh.  In general the food was very unappetising and I would not recommend anyone go to this place period. Definitely not value for money. I would have been happier taking my family to McDonalds where at least you know the food will be hot and fresh. We didn't eat very much at all and I am absolutely gutted that my daughters birthday was spoiled by this so called food.  I wouldn't feed it to my dog.

We had a lovely dining experience at the Whitbys Buffet, still one of the best value meals in town.  We were seated thoughtfully and our waitress was so kind and attentive she really made our occasion special.  The food was divine, seasonal and well cooked. The steak that the chef was preparing at his station was done to perfection as I like it.  The highlight of the meal was the selection of desserts, one of the best desserts I have had in my life, namely the cream brulee and the sinful strawberry tart. We look forward to coming back.

I wanted to treat my parents and sister to a nice family dinner. At $48 per person I was expecting high quality food, a large selection and beautiful decor.<br/><br/>Unfortunately my family and I were extremely disappointed. The atmosphere and decor was very dated and the view from the restaurant was disappointing.<br/><br/>Most of the food was luke warm and very bland. A lot of the food lacked basic seasoning - for example the only green vegetables were a tray of green beans that had been boiled to death....no seasoning at all, no salt, pepper, butter or herbs. The "hot" meats were luke warm and extremely tough. The potatoes were again very bland. There was a limited selection of food. The desserts did not look fresh. The apple crumble was appalling (very sweet with what seemed like 90% raisins).<br/><br/>In general the food was very unappetising and I would not recommend anyone go to this place period. Definitely not value for money. I would have been happier taking my family to Mc Donalds where at least you know the food will be hot and fresh. At best I think the price should be $15 per person.<br/><br/>I didn't eat very much at all and I am absolutely gutted that I wasn't offered a substantial discount when it came to pay although I politely said that I was overall disappointed and that I do not normally ever complain at restaurants.

Attended the Christmas Eve buffet. Mediocre fare for the price paid. Turkey was dried out, as was the ham. Quality was on par with a Valentines or Fisherman's restaurant standard but with hotel prices.

@<br/><br/>Great service and excellent value !<br/>Took our two mothers their for Christmas lunch on Friday <br/><br/>Clean tidy , staff attentive and whilst their were no surprises on the buffet menu, we were no let down <br/><br/>Thank you James cook !

Was super highly recommend great night friendly staff loved it will definitely be interested in coming back hopefully with a bigger crowd 😊 thanks jamescook

We had a lovely experience.  The staff were so polite, and so friendly, especially towards the children.  The "tea guy" was obviously very passionate about his job and made sure we never had an empty cup!  The food was delicious, and we were seated at a table by the window with a lovely view.  Thank you!

High Tea is not only about the food, but the decor plays a major part in the experience.  I have yet to come across a place for high tea that is quite like the experience at the Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong.<br/><br/>Decor wise it is slightly better than One80° on Oriental Parade.  The High Tea stack is well presented, this is subjective but I find it too sweet and rich for my liking.  Which is not to say it's a bad thing, so far there has only been two High Tea places that I have been where I would say the food is not too sweet.<br/>You get a generous tea pot for your selected tea, service is attentive.  However with High Tea, usually they bring you your tea, and the stack and leave you to your own devices :)  The tea timer, whilst fairly useless, added to the presentation, a positive touch.<br/><br/>Let me say again, my preference of food is not to have too much sugar.  I like 70% cocoa chocolate, I will always select the dark chocolate given the choice.  The experience was fine, I believe I would have rated this high if I like sweet food.....I question why I bother with High Tea :)

Took advantage of a Grabone voucher and had high tea with bubbles as a weekend treat. The restaurant was busy with big tables occupied, however we had a lovely table for two overlooking Wellington.<br/><br/>The glass of bubbles arrived promptly and soon after the tea trolley with a lively assortment of teas. The food then arrived and it was lovely, presentation was stock standard high tea form but everything was fresh and delicious. The only bone I would pick is the sausage rolls were not hot.<br/><br/>We were offered tea refills often and the person on the tea trolley was fabulous, very helpful and welcoming. <br/><br/>Would come back for sure!

I would not say that it was the worse experience I have had, but simply it was a good experience but the meal does not make me want to return

A great way to celebrate my sisters 40th Birthday. We had an awesome first time at Whitby's Restaurant and Bar. Awesome food, Awesome people, we were well looked after. Even had the TV to watch the Hurricanes Semi Finals. Had an amazing time there. Planning to hold Mums next bday here. Guests loved it...everybody was thinking of the great food the next day, can't stop thinking and talking about this night at a great restaurant. You won't know how it is until you try it. DA BOMB!!!!! THANK YOU TO THE BEAUTIFUL STAFF AT WHITBY'S RESTAURANT, YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!!!

Loved the food. Great variety. The buffet for dinner was very lovely. I hope to be back soon for dinner. Me and the wife treated ourselves. It is a good value meal.

Service was exceptional. Buffet was good but had a limited choices. Some of the hot food was dry and bland. However, the salad bar was great.

very disappointig food below standard used to be a great place to eat never again  ripped off over drinks  not at all good would not recommend it to any one  food tasteless desserts awful apart from ice cream cant believe a hotel of this stature would allow food  of this standard to be served

I've been to a few of the Buffet lunches with a Grabone voucher and its always great with a wide range of hot and cold selections. with rotating soups and desserts. A cheese and crackers board also. Instant tea and coffee. I don't like the bread and butter pudding though. Staff are very attentive even when busy. Overall a great lunch experience

Great buffet dinner! <br/><br/>Amazing selection of food, attentive staff who made sure the food was never empty. <br/><br/>The chef who made the "to order" tortillas was great and put so much care into his work. They tasted delicious. <br/><br/>Fantastic selection of food for my very picky group of 6. <br/><br/>Would recommend this to all!

Had a delicious high tea where the food was superb, but we struggled with the service for most of the meal. After being seated, we waited a long time to be seen, and ended up borrowing a carafe of water and menus from other tables. We spoke to a nearby table who was there well before us who had had an similar experience. Towards the end of the meal we were overwhelmed with visit from the staff, as the restaurant was almost empty by then. But given they had six staff on and no more than a dozen seated tables, it is a mystery why we didn't get better service. Food was yum though!

I came here with some friends from the office, wasn't a pleasing experience even though it is one of the best establishments we have in Wellington. The buffet was a great offer and was reasonably priced but the quality of the food really needs to be picked up. It has dropped over the years and we really hope it picks itself back up. Most of the food we are was lacking flavor and could've been stepped up. <br/>Our office is close by so we will return, but hope the food is picked up. <br/>Lovely Service though :)

Came in over the weekend to celebrate my Aunt's 50th with family. The food looked tasty enough - can't fault them on aesthetics - but the taste of it wasn't great. Not in the sense that it was bad, more that it didn't taste like anything at all. If I'd been blindfolded and taste tested that food, I'd honestly have had no idea what I was supposed to be tasting. As an example, they had these beaute looking beef medallions - just the right amount of pink, plenty of juice. But as I'm chewing through it, I'm having to imagine and remember what beef actually tastes like - because what I had in my mouth had basically nil taste to it. The rest of the food was much of the same. I ate what I'd put on my plate, but that'll be the first time in my existence that I've eaten at a buffet restaurant and actively avoided going back for seconds.<br/>More puzzling was when someone there told me that the food was supposed to have a Mexican theme - say whaaaaat! If it was supposed to be Mexican, then it'd been whitewashed and watered down so bad Carlos became Kyle. I would not have in a million years guessed that that food had a Mexican theme.<br/>The service was pretty awful, too. You shouldn't have to yell out across a restaurant just to get attention so you can actually pay the grossly overpriced fee for such terrible food.<br/><br/>The moral of the story, folks - just because it's in a nice hotel, don't expect the restaurant to be nice too!

Met a friend for breakfast. Buffet is pretty stock standard with hot and cold selections juices as you expect at a hotel buffet. Asked a waiter for items he pointed me in the direction of the buffet which didn't have the things we needed, so we set our own table and "borrow" basics like cups, napkins, cutlery and milk from other tables all good, but he wasn't busy???Then as soon as you take your last bite from your plate it gets snatched away by ninja like waiter who appears out of no-where. Such is the snatching action the cutlery flies off the plate into the back of another diner - nothing like a sticky knife don't your back before work. It was like I was on the set of faulty towers I just had to laugh it was that bad. We did have such fun making fun of the situation we were in.

I've been here before for breakfast and it hasn't really changed much over the years. For $25 the buffet offered all the usual suspects - a cooked range, a fruit salad range, make your own toast (with a selection of packet spreads), pastries, porridge, eggs poached upon request, cold meats, juices, french toast, yoghurt & cereals. So breakfast is what you make it from a selection of foods that don't have any special finesse. It's great if you don't know quite what you feel like or want a bit of everything and is slightly cheaper than Chameleon. The staff are friendly and attentive, and were there to top up hot drinks as required. Nice decor and clean environment.

Came here for an awesome buffet lunch. There was so much selection, I didn't know where to start. However, I did wish there was more hot food to choose from. But, great flavours, everything cooked beautifully and presented wonderfully. The desserts were great, i could see that the pastry chef was being experimental as there was bubblegum sponge cake :) overall I enjoyed my time at Whitbys Restaurant the staff were very welcoming and attentive. A great place to try. Give it a go. :)

We came in for the Easter High Tea, We left feeling full and satisfied.<br/>The portions were lovely, and the staff very friendly.  At first my friend and I lamented that no relish was provided for the savory tier, (which had spinach and feta rolls- sausage roll format, and croquettes) but they were moist and flavorful enough that we didn't actually miss it.<br/><br/>The only bad thing I have to say is that one of the tea's (they one we went to order) is currently on back-order so not available which would've been nice to have been told when they gave us the tea menu.<br/><br/>I would definitely go back for high tea again the atmosphere was pleasant the food filling and the staff lovely which is all one can ask for really.

Buffets are a hit and miss, and this is a miss. There was a healthy diversity in the selection of meats and salads, but sadly the quality of the food was overall disappointing. The roast veges and potatoes and salads were my favourite part, but the meat was dry and the bread was not very fresh.

Thoroughly enjoyed everything here! Have been here twice and on both occasions, food was spectacular, service was awesome and just the atmosphere in general was amazing, also very kid-friendly!!! Will definitely be visiting again soon, absolutely loved it!!!

I celebrated my birthday there. I had heard about this restaurant from my sister and her partner who have been before and said it was a smorgasbord which was a good option as well as a set menu. The atmosphere was really good, the music wasn't too loud which is a plus as it is good to actually hear what the other person is saying and you don't need to shout at them across the table. The food was amazing!! really yummy. It would have been nice to have some different options as I am lactose intolerant and there wasn't much of a variety of options for me as it hard to choose what I can have and cant have. Especially the desserts. The waiters were very pleasant although I didn't like them hovering over us as it put me off and you felt like you had to rush and I don't like being watched while I am eating it puts me off. I would definitely come back and recommend it to my family and friends.

Each visit to Whitby's is a total dinning experience from the minute you pass through the front door to the minute you leave .<br/>The atmosphere, the food, the service are all beyond excellent .<br/>We had an amazing dinner in November. The food &amp; the service were outstanding!

I celebrated my 48th birthday here. We were on holiday in wellington so decided to come here. I thought the food was fantastic, really tasty and well presented. The guy on the piano was marvelous and even played some of our favourite songs for us. The staff were friendly. I enjoyed the meal and everything was enjoyable. We will be back next time in Wellington. Cheers

The kai was great and our group had a great time. The piano was exceptionally lovely and not like other restaurants where music can be really loud this was just right. We would certainly go back to Whitby's. <br/><br/>The other comment I wish to make is booking online. This is very simple and easy but there was no acknowledgement from either the restaurant that our booking was confirmed. This is not good because I then had to ring the restaurant and find out if we were booked in. Online needs to respond with a confirmation or the restaurant needs to. Do you see where I am going. <br/><br/>I have selected September 2013, however, we will visit again when the opportunity arises. We are on a mission to visit as many restaurants in the Wellington area and to see which is the best and which we will not visit again. <br/><br/>Thank you for your service and kai very ka pai

My partner and I have just got back from our very rare child free weekend away in Wellington (we are from Christchurch) we stayed at the Grand Chancellor and for the most part we were happy with the service and happy with our room. As part of the package we got a $50 voucher for either Whitbys or the other cafe situated at the Hotel. We decided that for our one evening meal in Wellington we would take advantage of our voucher and try this so called Wellington famous buffet. The staff were great. Very friendly the food however was not... at all!!!! I eat almost everything and I'm not fussy and the only thing I really enjoyed was the soup. There was only one choice of carved meat which was lamb but the lady im charge of the food was out back the whole time we were there so the lamb was left on a plate wrapped in tin foil. The lamb was stone cold and gravy also cold. The prawns were not fresh tasting at all and the selection of food was not good at all. All the food resembled something I would get from my local chinese takeaway. There was only mashed potato and beans to go with lamb. My partner is a fussy eater and he was so incredibly dissappinted on dinner that after dinner we went for a walk and he got Macdonalds because he was so hungry. To say this buffet is worth $45 per person is ridiculous. There is no way in hell the slop we ate was worth $90 between us. So disappointed that we spent our only evening meal in Wellington at this restaurant that I joined this site and wrote this my first ever restaurant review.

HI,<br/>This restaurant is lovely, the food is very good, it's a shame that this website didn't book the reservation, after waiting two weeks for a confirmation, I rang the restaurant only to be told that they hadn't got our booking so done it was done over the phone, very lucky that I rang as it was for a special occasion that wouldn't have been

We have been going to the Christmas Eve buffet for the last 3 years but this year the buffet was a disappointment. The food bowls were not refilled and the service at the cavery and stirfry stations was poor. Cleaning the tables was very slow and the staff concentrated more in resetting the vacant tables then serving the guests. No excuses as the buffet had to be prebooked and we were there at 7:30, so not even late at night that they can say it was the end of dinner time.

For many years we have dined on the Sunday lunch buffet at least once a year. This Sunday were were very disappointed- things have gone back badly. Admittedly it was coming up to Christmas with several large parties present, but is no excuse for the poor selection of poorly-cooked food and non-existent service. The choice of carvery meat was between turkey roll and ham, and the turkey was mostly stuffing, with the small pieces of meat so dry and overcooked as to be inedible- only fit for soling your shoes. The "christmas pudding" was puggy and undercooked. The restaurant seems to be feeling the credit squeeze but if this is the best that Whitby's chefs can do for a hefty set menu price, they need to be sacked and replaced before they do further damage to a once-proud reputation.

We've just had dinner tonight (five of us) for my husband's birthday and our host was excellent, very attentive and friendly, thanks Nicholas (Nick). Food was good and the coffee was excellent!! Will go again!! From table 21..booked for 6.30pm :)

James Cook has always been my daughters and my favourite place for high tea. In the recent holiday break we returned for another special high tea and were highly disappointed. The cakes were either too sweet or too dry, the sandwhiches uninventive and the cupcakes a tad tacky Im sorry to say. bring back the mousse, cheescake, lovely mince savouries and fresh sandwiches. James Cook used to do one of the best high teas in Wellington and believe me, I have tried them all and my waisteline proves it.<br/><br/>The service - you can never fault that, always great service.

went for dinner last night, fantastic service and lovely staff, we are enjoyed everything except their food, meat are overcooked, prawn is not fresh and the quality of the food is not worth $45pp.

Went for dinner last weekend.Fantastic buffet, good value for money, they have this 20 dishes from 20 rugby playing nation promotion on,very delicious. Great meal with great service.

Not our choice but joined friends for a Sunday evening buffet. Very disappointing overall. The food was lukewarm at best or cold, the night seemed to be Indian themed but there was no difference in taste between the vindaloo &amp; rogan josh and certainly no 'fire' in the food. Dessert options were mediocre although others in the party enjoyed the ice cream selection. The cheese selection was good but the accompaniments were basic. Service was okay &amp; pleasant, initially very pushy but once wine was purchased the staff lost interest.The extra bottle discussed had no-one interested to take that order. I considered it very overpriced and disappointing against other dining options, not likely to return or recommend to others.

Went for dinner at Whitby's few days ago and really loved both food and service.<br/>Place was packed and yet the buffet looked lovely and the service was very attentive.<br/>The young English maitre'd at the desk was absolutely lovely, very polite.<br/>Keep it up.......

Took the whole family here...around 20 of us. The food was fine, some a bit bland, but overall everyone was really happy. Felt that we could have received better service. I put a bar tab on, yet I had to be the one that kept getting up and asking everyone if they wanted a drink. Was quite disappointed about this because I couldn't see why a waiter couldn't have done this for us. The bar bill was only around $100 (for 20 people!) - to me this is a reflection of the service we received. I would dine here again though because I enjoyed the food and the setting.

It's been quite a while since I've dined at a smorgasbord restaurant. A large group of us went to Whitby's last night for a birthday dinner. Everything looked great; the entrees, mains and desserts were creatively presented in the buffet area. However, the flavours were less appealing with overcooked meat, dry fish and tasteless side dishes. Having a chef cook a stir fry in front of diners is a great idea, but the result was an overly salty concoction swimming in watered-down soy sauce. The same went for desserts; they looked fantastic but the ice cream and the cheese selection were the best parts. The service was average at best. We ordered drinks shortly after we arrived. We enquired half an hour later about our drinks and the reply was along the lines of, "we are extremely busy tonight. You will get your drinks eventually." (Yes, they were busy and we eventually did get our drinks, but surely you'd want to encourage customers to buy more drinks?) Our tables were quite cramped and, as it took a long time for plates to be cleared in between courses, we ended up trying to eat among piles of used crockery. A disappointing meal for the price you pay (the post GST-rise price is far more than 2.2%).

Having read Sophie D's review after having booked to eat here one week later, I wondered whether I had made a mistake? I ate here a lot in the 1980's but only occasionally since then. My husband and I chose to have the Buffet. The seafood salads where superb. My husband who is not adventurous when it comes to food really enjoyed what looked like a meat curry, very mildly spiced on rice from the hot meal selection. Food was well presented and well cooked. The only disappointment was the desserts. There were laming tons that were tasteless and chewy most likely commercial ones that had been frozen and The Pavlova was sickly sweet with tough meringue.However the Mango Mousse was delectable.<br/>As we spent the night at the James Cook we also had breakfast the next morning. There was very good range of breakfast foods including waffles and omelets made to order.<br/>Over all I felt we got value for money pleasant ambiance and friendly service.

I dined here last night with some colleagues from overseas, we were all a bit tired, and wanted a simple tasty meal, and I have happily dined here on many occasions with family over the years, so thought it would be a safe bet. Not so safe... We chose A La Carte, as the buffet looked a bit average. My friends ordered entrees _ pumpkin soup and seafood chowder - both of which were described as "the worst soup/chowder I have ever had" (not a good start). For mains I had the only vegetarian option on the menu shiitake mushroom pasta - while it had a couple of good moments (the garlic croutons were great) it really was something I would serve to the kids on a weekday (quick easy and cheap), not what you would expect from the James Cook. My friends had the lamb shanks and lamb rump, both were described as 'tough', and the 'lentil mash' that came with the rump was inedible. <br/>After waiting for about 40 mins after finishing the mains, (the wait staff were very busy setting up for breakfast) we helped ourselves to the buffet desserts, I had the worst looking excuse of a 'lemon meringue pie' (uncooked meringue and water at the bottom), the bread &amp; butter pudding with custard was ok, but the 'creme brule' was curdy and just not good. <br/>It was a disappointing meal all round. The staff were cheerful and helpful, but they all looked a bit disheveled, their uniforms were covered in food spots, and looked worn.<br/>As I said I have been here many times before, and have noticed a slow decline in standards, but last night it really felt like I'd eaten at Valentines, I wont be returning. Not good.

Our family party of thirteen (age ranges from 5 years to eighty three years) dined here on the 27th December 2008. We have celebrated many, many family occasions here - first communion celebrations, birthdays, fathers' and mothers' days, new year, Easter and Christmas festivities, and a couple of years ago a golden wedding anniversary. In the early 1980s I also annually went with my work colleagues for a Christmas lunch. We have regularly spanned a great many years of dining at the Whitby restaurant. It is always a pleasure to be at this location. It is decorated and maintained in a modern, spacious and clean style, with immaculate bathrooms. The food is of a very good buffet standard and suits our range of diners well, and it is consistently good value for money. The service is good. Well done for providing a reliable and pleasurable dining experience for so long.

Christmas Buffet at Whitby.<br/><br/>We arrived to find Christmas Crackers with the usual condiments of bad jokes and little plastic toys, as well as party hats you dont want to be caught wearing.<br/><br/>We asked for seating by the windows for the views, but the only views you really get are the logos of the major banks perched on big buildings. So you dine to the tune of ANZ, WestPac and the National Bank.<br/><br/>When you've dined at a Working Men's club you come to expect a lot out of buffet dinners - and to be honest I was a bit disappointed. There wasnt a huge selection and there were some odd things about the dinner too.<br/><br/>Service was average, having been seated at the wrong table and being moved some 15mins later. The waitress pouring glasses of wine when a bottle was requested, only to have her take the glasses away and return with a fresh bottle.<br/><br/>Its okay. Thats the best way to sum up Whitby. Its a nice place to dine and the food is edible, but disappinting as far as selection considering the price.