Review Denny's - Wellington

Food was great. Service excellent. Everything was just as I expected

Came here for dinner tonight and the food was incredible!! Staff were nice the food was definitely the highlight! My partner and I had the honey chicken and garlic and her chicken with chips and salad the chicken was juicy and fresh, chips were delicious and not oily! When visiting Wellington next time we will definitely pop in! Wish we had of came in sooner before our trip was over would have loved to try more items on their menu!

Excellent meal, friendly staff and restaurant was clean and tidy.

Great service. Food was good as well.

I always enjoy the food at Denny's, many times came here and have never been disappointed. Huge portions, tasty food, and good services.

Place looks a bit bland, but the food was great. A bit pricy but the service, and the meal was worth it.

Surprisingly excellent food. Everything was sooo delicious! It brought back a lot of memories of eating at an American diner.

Having not been there for several years, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, can I say I was happy with the food ,service, and the atmosphere that had a lovely surf and turf followed by a yummy dessert

In the past we've found this Denny's to be hit and miss but the place has improved immensely over the past couple of years. There is something on the menu for everyone from vegetarian options, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, Gold Card specials, kids and more! It's pretty good value for money if you have a large group.

Good food, milkshake was pretty good. Decent service we will definitely be back again

To start off with I'm actually surprised that place is still open and making money. My partner and I went to the Porirua store today for lunch it was first time for us trying Denny's. We where planing to have lunch with our friends over there next week so we thought we should go today and try out the food ,I ordered garlic & Herb chicken and my partner got the buffalo wings and some curly fries. My garlic & herb chicken was tasteless mind you it tasted like boiled chicken, there was no seasoning or anything that you can imagine a dish called garlic and herb would have, it was straight pan fried and thrown on the plate. Hence I took one bite and left it as it is. Wings were cold too. It didn't take us long to get to the counter hoping to see the manager. When I told the guy on the counter that We didn't liked our food at all (he could actually see the food on the table that we didn't eat) surprisingly he didn't even care about it and replayed " aww I'm sorry about that but ANYWAYS it's $53 for today " (the way he was talking so casually I guess he must get these complaints very often). Like really is there anything your employers know about customer satisfaction? He didn't even wanted to know that what was wrong with the food? Every thing looked quite hopeless on that moment knowing that no one cares so we paid the bill and left. Basically paid a $53 for just having one bite of that disgusting food. Lucky we went there today, I guess we might just go to KFC down the road at least there food worth the money. Very disappointed, will never go back again.

Took my granddaughter along as a treat before heading to the Pulse netball game last night. Pleasantly surprised with the tenderness of the T bone steak I ordered - definitely one of the better-cooked steaks I've had from Wellington eateries. Service was great - the young lady who served us was polite and prompt - she even informed me that the kid's meal would be free. Nice service!

Dennys used to do great food but this year the food has been bland and dry every visit. My family member got food poisoning after our meal also. I do think the service from the staff is awesome and very inviting besides the food issue.

Terrible food. It is simultaneously over and under cooked, bland tasting, and reminds me of something you peal the cellophane off and nuke the hell out of in the microwave. What makes it worse is you tell the staff it is bad whilst you hand back a barely touched meal and they clearly expect this response and just wordlessly take the plate away without any feedback or apology.

Denny's never disappoints the t bone sizzling steak is Amazing milkshakes are do die for truly a remarkable Experience

Really disappointed tonight. First place we’ve been to that doesn’t swap the fries for us. When we go out we ask to swap the chips for veges and haven’t had any problems before. Denny’s though you have to get the Veges as a side which is an extra cost. Such a rip off, won’t be back or recommending to others, especially those that have to avoid carbs.

as expected fast efficient and bland, very poor selection on platter overcooked fish on my main

Today I went to Denny's for breakfast. The coffee was terrible, and they screwed up my breakfast order. After tasting, the food it was awful and I couldn't eat it. I would not recommend this restaurant.

I highly recommend the Oreo shake with the hot fudge cake ���

Attempted to go to your "restaurant" for dinner tonight. Felt like we where harassed by the waiting staff to order as we where asked 3 times in the space of 2 minutes if we were ready to order when it was obvious we where not. Ordered pizza then one of the wait staff told us you had run out of pizza ... at 6pm on a Saturday night? honestly?? What I found most rude was when we were told there was no pizza the waitress told us "the Indian girl just told me we ran out of pizza". You would think you would train your staff to at least know each others name and some some basic respect for each other. We will not be back. Which is a shame as there are not a lot of child friendly restaurants around Wellington.

Was surprised that it was not open 24 hours like other branches around the country, but as always Denny's staff were friendly, quick service & no issues with the food.

Friendly service and food is on point to me and my daughter whom have been stalling out there after and before work lols. Thanks Dennys 😊

I've been there alot and always loved the food and the service that I have been provided with. Meals for the whole family at a reasonable price. 5 stars any day

Lots of options thought it might of been cheaper but the meal was a reasonable size friendly staff the meals took a lot of time to arrive but overall I'd probably go again

Good customer service smily n friendly!! We enjoyed our breakfast no different to any other Dennys in NZ..��

Me and my family came for dinner the wait wasnt long and food was okay can t complain but do feel price was pretty dear for what you get.

I just have to put one star they don't even deserve that. Can't even get my tables orders correct everyone's order was wrong. One friend waited for water for 10 minutes #pissed

Kids enjoyed their meals and the staff were really nice. I think asking every 2 minutes if we were ready to order was excessive though, we clearly weren't ready

I found this place quite dirty. <br/>The food was alright though. <br/>The service was slack and it took them long to serve us <br/><br/>For more follow @wellymunchers on the gram

As usual, the ambiance is nice. For the main course, I highly recommend their Meat Lovers Pizza and their famous Oreo shake. <br/><br/>For sides, try the curly fries. They are lightly seasoned and you get the aioli dip as well.<br/><br/>The dining area and the restrooms are clean and tidy.

Food is disgusting. Everything tastes like it has gone from the freezer, to the microwave, to your table. The menu is way too big for any of the food to actually be made fresh. Strongly urge anyone who hasnt been here not to waste your time.

Danny's has changed so much! The foods actually gotten better!! I went in for a quick brunch yesterday with the fam and honestly the food was so good! I really didn't like their hash browns before but now they're so good!! I had to eat my partners one too hehe 😁 Danny's definitely have made a huge improvement! Everything was so lovely and waiters definitely made us feel welcome! Thanks guys!

Staff and service was fine . Ordered 2 burger and dessert, beef patty was very dry, food was below average. Really disappointed. Not going again

Ok, food not that great, but my kids think it’s great only because they like to order the millennium burger and then feel sick afterwards🤢😂

First time coming here and was amazing! Friendly service, our waitress was helpful with reccomendations for me. My daughter looooves the mac and cheese. Was alot bigger then expected. Only downfall was my lamb was done well done when i asked for medium. But im not going to let that damper our visit :) will definatly be back!!!!

Pricey restaurant for what is essentially plastic tasting food.  We had the pancake stack which had a plastic after taste, crumbed mushrooms which had a fatty breadcrumb and sour aftertaste, the 3 pattie beef burger which also had a plastic taste and curly fries which essentially just tasted like batter with hardly any potato.  The service is great and the staff are really attentive but I would never eat here again.

Very expensive and the food certainly isn't that impressive for the money you're paying. At least the atmosphere is nice and the drinks they make are quite nice too and fit with the theme they're going for.

The food looks advertising the pictures on menu when you get it on your plate first view it's small and expensive site is great but the food has to be affordable to keep going back to spend more money as a treat to someone special you want to take out.

We dined at dennys on the 28th may 2017 there were 12 of us we found the atmosphere very pleasant our waitress very friendly and polite and took our orders about 5 to 10 mins after seating us. we waited no more than 15mins for all our meals to arrive and we found the meals to be of a good standard. remember this is a diner not a restaurant so don't go expecting high end food then you won't be disappointed. we were ok with the price for me and my wife it was $65 for 2 mains 2 milkshakes and 2 deserts , all I can say to all the haters is that we will return.

Staff service is ok i guess.<br/>Could be better if they had more training, but in order to do this you need good management.....and trust me Denny's porirua doesn't have even average management.<br/><br/>ISSUES:<br/><br/>Our waitress takes down our order and informs us that she will be back with our water<br/><br/>After ordering our meals and starters, our waitress returns 12 minutes later just to inform us that there is only enough for 1 SOUP instead of 3.. i let it slide<br/><br/>Our waitress returns 22 minutes, right after telling us there is not enough soup for 3 people, to tell us that there is not enough chicken for our satay starters x2, a satay role and a satay with rice meal. it's been over 30 minutes since we have made our order.... we still have not received our water.<br/><br/>We ask for manager who says "it is out of his control" ...he doesn't apologise at all. we tell him to put a sign up or ask his waiters to inform customers before they order that they are short on some things.<br/><br/>He returns to the front desk as we are preparing to leave and walk past him he give us a dirty glare, trust when i say that i did not raise my voice i informed him that we were leaving and he has the nerve, despite the fact that i could of popped a fuse, to glare at us.<br/><br/>Would rate the food but....oh wait we didn't get our food nor our water!!!

The service is one of the worst. Unfriendly and rude manager who told us customers are not right. On last Thursday night we want to get 2 take away pizza's from dennys porirua . So we were told it will be ready in 15 minutes. We came back in 15 minutes and were told to wait another 5 minutes so i sit there and waited for another 20 min and everytime we ask the manager on duty Hardeep sindhu keeps telling us 5 minutes.. and almost an hour later we get the pizza and GUESS WHAT ? IT WAS NOT EVEN OUT PIZZA ..??I LOST MY PAITENCE NOW.. WE WERE TOLD BY THE MANAGER HE CANNOT DO MUCH if WE WANT THE CORRECT ORDER WE HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER 1 HOUR.. no apologise and when I asked the manager for explanation he said he does not have to give us one..😖😖WORST CUDTOMER SERVICE EVER!! DO THINK WE USED TO GO THERE REGULARLY. .. .I HATE THAT PLACE NOW. .

This is a nice family orientated restaurant its underrated and i think people forget it is Porirua and it is Denny's ... its an american diner not a "high end" restaurant ... i really enjoy Denny's and the kids meals are on point it didnt get a 5 because last time we went we had to wait a very long time for food in a pretty empty restaurant but we have been there plenty of times to know these things dont happen all the time :-) ... Also free meal on your birthday !!!

Not a high end restaurant so wasnt expecting to get a 5 star meal, but the food really is well below average and really expensive for what you get. Batter on the fish was not cooked properly. It was still runny underneath😩

The food is well below average. Prices expensive for what you get and service terrible. I'm.surprised this place is still running. It needs better chefs, properly trained wait staff.

Just deleted my review from last year so I could post another one.  Last year service was terrible.  <br/><br/>We went again in Feb - our child's choice for her birthday - and the service was great.  The food was nice and we left full and satisfied.  Thanks Denny's for getting it back together.

We're fans of Denny's in Auckland but can't say the same for this one. Food is kiiinda reasonably priced for what it is but don't expect the nostalgic meals you knew as a kid. On a positive note: our hot fudge cakes arrived within 4 minutes of ordering...win!

This food is absolute crap. Not only that, it's overpriced crap. $12 for a shrimp cocktail that consists of about 12 shrimps and some insipid sauce. If you want cheap food go anywhere but this place, in fact, Fishermans Table is a 1000 times better, and cheaper.<br/>Last time I went to Dennys i asked for a Malbec/Merlot wine. The receipt said it was a Cab/Merlot. The halfwit at the counter said they didn't put on the menu it was a Cab/Malbec/Merlot because it was too long, flaming ludicrous. I wrote to Dennys to complain and they didn't even have the decency to reply. Their customer service is as crappy as their food

Very disappointed,  every friday night we would have someone look after our 3 boys and try somewhere different in Wellington to eat ... now Denny's isn't a romantic night out but we both enjoy a good hamburger and eventually you run out of places to try so we gave it a whirl ... the Waitress waltzed us past all these nice empty tables with a window view and shoved us literally into an area near the kitchen where they stored their high chairs and cleaning gear. I don't generally like to make a fuss but my partner swapped places with me at the table because if I stared at the Bloody Mop a minute longer I was going to blow my top !<br/><br/>We waited what seemed a ridiculous amount of time for our meals, as I say the place was pretty empty ... while staff jabbering to each other in the kitchen ruined any illusion of it being "Our Night Out"<br/><br/>Food was passable but not spectacular and although the prices are not huge they are too big for what you get ... a burger and a cup full of fries $16 hmmmmm !!<br/><br/>A good mate of mine is a bonafide Yankee and just shakes his head .... It aint like that in the States !!<br/><br/>I doubt we will be back

I have had mixed experiences at Dennys. I like Dennys for the deserts, curly fries and everything that doesnt require a high standard of cooking skills. If you know what to expect from the menu you wont be disappointed at Dennys Porirua. If there is something missing or wrong with your food then send it back as staff are happy to fix any issues. I suggest going in when its not busy to get the best service and the staff can take extra care of you and your food.

I really like a good old fashioned hamburger that you usually get at a diner or old cafe in the U.S. The burgers here at Denny's have that same taste. Great for breakfast too.

Worst dining experience ever. Dining with 4 others we waited 10 mins for our order to be taken and then another 50 before we got our meals. Well 3 of them anyway two meals never arrived till we reminded them 15 mins later. The meals were bland and cold. The burger that was forgotten was made with 3 bun lids!?? They even stuffed up the drink order. I can't believe I had to pay for that experience. Very disappointed, staff were like robots, didn't care..Definately  will never go there again.

Been here a few times now, recently ordered a burger that on arrival stank of blood. No surprises here, sorry Dennys but 3 strikes and you're out

Updated Review :<br/><br/>I visited today with my partner. He had the $15 Satay roll and chips and I had the Spicy Chicken Salad with a Banana Berry Smootie, then we decided to squeeze in some dessert. He got the hot fudge cake which has always been my family's favourite pick, though it is rich. I decided to have the banana split. They were YUMM! We both enjoyed our meals. The service was fast, very friendly and professional. The meals tasted great and the portion sizes are excellent. Keep up the great work Denny's Porirua

I have been a few times now and experience has been consistent. Service is average and so is the food. Menu is good / extensive and reasonably priced i.e. you get what you pay for. Will be going again.

Horrible customer service. Food not very nice.

We love to go to Denny's, we went to Denny's Sunday morning. To start of the food wasn't nice and well presented and one of our meal was cold and upon complaining one of waitress was told about it but no action was taken and no one responded to our complaint so eventually we had to leave unsatisfied as we were only checked back once in 45 mins of our dinning time. Definitely we are not coming back here as Denny's was recommended by one of our friends. We are terribly disappointed.

I go to Denny's often - and did just this last weekend. It's the place I go when I'm feeling really hungry but am not quite sure what I feel like - the menu is huge so there is plenty of choice (photo of Buffalo Winger added). Now with pizza which pretty much completes it. I don't expect much more than what I get there - it's not fine dining - it's just a place to go for a good feed on a rainy weekend that is slightly cheaper than most other diners. It's simple, hearty food that lacks finesse, but it is generally always satisfying despite the tendency of some staff to be inattentive at times (ie: the waitress who seated us just walked off when we got to the table, but the one who took our order was awesome). The burgers are quite good and have an American diner feel to them, especially the mushroom cheeseburger - I can't help but re-enact the diner scene from "Pulp Fiction" when there! You get a good portion of shrimps in the shrimp cocktail (with bog-standard shredded lettuce & thousand island sauce); the steaks are fairly good for a restaurant of this type - they come with choices of veges, salad, fries or potato); the pizzas can be a bit wizzened at times & there is only a choice of two. Pancakes - superb! My breakfast item of choice is the Crackerjack (real fried grated potato hash brown, sausages, eggs the way you want them, tomato, mushrooms, bacon & toast with spreads all included). It used to include a small pot of tea, but that's now extra. I asked for maple syrup to go on my bacon and a jug was provided at no extra charge. Always a good experience. The toilets are starting to look old and used - the lock on the door of the one I used was busted. The bathroom was 'clean' but smelled 'unfresh'.<br/>December 2013: Returned to Denny's a few days ago to try the Hobbit meals - there isn't really much about them that is specifically Hobbity, but they are quaint. I had the 'Dwarves Roast Turkey Dinner' which consisted of slices of roast turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potato & gravy, broccoli, carrots & stuffing (you had the choice of potato/gravy & veges or salad & chips), served with a garlic bread roll. It wasn't any different from any other roast dinner but was very nice & filling. I also had the Bard's Pumpkin Pie milkshake - sounds terrible but was delicious (photo added). The Hobbit menu includes a Build Your Own Hobbit Slam that has choices of Honey Cake French Toast, Sweet Potato Pecan Pancakes and a Hearty Breakfast Sandwich. There’s a spicy Smaug’s Fire Burger, and Radagast’s Red Velvet Pancake Puppies. There is also the Hobbit Hole Breakfast, Bilbo's Breakfast Feast & Bowman's Brew Pumpkin Pie coffee. I'll comment on these if/as I try them. The novelty of it appeals to me but it could be done a lot better.

Usually do enjoy meals but went a few weeks ago and have been put off since. Food took almost half an hour to wait, vegetables were missing, staff were overly loud and talking amongst each other. Poor sense of style of food and professionalism. Fix it please

Denny's Porirua has the absolute worst service of any restaurant I have ever visited, and to make matters worse when you complain to head office they rubbish your complaint and don't take you seriously.

We've had two visits. The first time was reasonably good in terms of service. The food was borderline home cooked. The second time around was extremely disappointing. We went in to celebrate an occasion with our young kids. We were approached promptly but after 10mins our order was taken. A few mins shy of an hour the starter comes out. We complained so they sped up. Kids were beyond tired so we were considering walking out when it came. We asked to takeaway but demanded a discount. The cheeky manager offered kids meals for free.. Trouble was, that was already the deal. I just wanted to get out and never return so the wife negotiated further discount. Summary; Average meals, hit and miss service, would never recommend.

I have some old work colleagues that rave about this place so we thought we'd give it a shot. It was Sat late lunch, the place was pretty quiet. We ordered drinks (1 cocktail, 1 shake) so we weren't offered water, which is a pity because it was a warm day and the drinks were gone in minutes. We both had burgers - which I would have sworn had more ingredients on the menu! What we got were thick patties between thick bread with lots of cheese and a little flavouring. What I couldn't find was almost anything else. They were served with chips which looked no better than their photo (seriously, rib cuts done lengthwise may give more surface area for crisping, but makes them look sunken and old!) which were more than we needed but really needed more than the ketchup they bring with them!<br/>Overall truely disappointing - all I can assume is that if you're hungry enough to order more than a burger, maybe the quality's better? Otherwise I can't see the point.

Earlier this month, I visited Denny's Porirua for the first time since late 2011. The staff, including the manager, warmly welcomed my party of two on a cold, grey, wet, Monday morning. Our meals were fresh and tasty, and the staff were able to perform other tasks while still giving us the service we needed.<br/><br/>My only complaint would be the ten-minute wait for a cup of filter coffee. I knew they weren't brewing a fresh batch, because I could see a full pot on top of the dripolator behind the bar. I'm assuming there was plenty of top-up/restocking to do in the bar/dessert area, hence the delay.<br/><br/>Finally, a more streamlined system for those where some are eating from the breakfast buffet and others are choosing from the menu would be nice. I understand it would be very easy for customers to wolf down huge amounts of buffet food and then disappear without paying, but unless everyone in the group is there for the buffet, this 'pay for the buffet now and the rest later' thing creates unneccessary bottlenecks at the front door.

This Dennys is by far the worst I've ever been too. Been twice now in the space of 3 months (as there really isn't any other "family restaurant" in and around Porirua) ...<br/><br/>Food is absolute crap, twice and on two different occassions our food have come out with bits of plastic in them which only suggests that the food is frozen and processed (go figure) and then on both occassions when I asked to speak to the Manager, all I got was a rehearsed apology and nothing else .. not even a free soft-drink or a 1% discount to say the least!!!<br/><br/>Will never go to this Dennys (or any other Dennys again) and will be sure that I tell all my friends and family the same!!<br/><br/>And according to the other reviews on here that date back almost 3 years ago .. heck ... not much has changed!!<br/><br/>Hope it gets shut down by the Health Department soon and a decent family pizzeria goes in there ... but hopefully not a another bleepin chinese restaurant .. shucks .. theres enough of them in the Centre!!<br/><br/>

For a Dennys it's ok, our family comes every so often, partially because until recently there wasn't another dennys in Wellington Region. The feel is ok, the food is Dennys food, and the environment is Dennys.<br/><br/>It's an ok place for what it's there for.

My husband and I haven't been back to Denny's since 2008 and I have to say, the SLOW service hasn't improved over the years! The restaurant wasn't full - about 8 tables were taken up but we still had to wait a while for our food and when it arrived (sorry to say) it was average and over priced! Go to Murphy's Steakhouse if you want a decent steak!

* Poor customer service - they really didn't make you feel welcome. Don't expect a smile as they don't have any. <br/>* Waited long periods of time (15-30mins)before orders were taken. Don't bother pushing the button for service, I pushed it 10 times and still didn't get a response.<br/>* Waiting long periods of time for food to arrive (20-40mins). Order your food the day before if you want it on time, I guess this is why they are open 24-7.<br/>* Don't bother giving feedback to staff - they only care about the end of their shift.

found this place when we did the ‘rock to wellington’ concert in 08,(breaky)have to say the service was above average, the food was quick and delicious and there were quite a few diners looking quite content with their visit.

Service is appalling here! When asked how my meal was at the end, I said "actually, I really didn't enjoy mine, found the eggs really bland" my reply was a grin, bit of a laugh and then the cost of the meals!<br/>Shocking....<br/>Denny's get your staff trained in customer service. The least your staff member could've said is "I'm sorry to hear that!" Visited again just for dessert. Extremely dissapointed in the service. They just forgot about us! We had to try wave service down or walk around to find staff. They brought our desserts to the table without spoons, we then had to wait for what felt like 10 min while they go get a spoon. They brought our milkshake out in a hot glass so we sent it back......then we never got any milkshake after that. The lady was at least apologetic and gave me a free cup of tea - which i did get.

Unable to Cater for Big Group, extremely slow in the department (that was for 6+) Service was slow, and food not freshly cooked, were unable to take mushrooms out of pasta, due to the fact that its not freshly cooked, Wouldn't return

Great restaurant but abit too expensive!!!!!!!!!!

i, with friends and/or family have had lunch here several times, we have always found the service and food to be good, cheap and cheerful, much better than fastfood places but with similar prices,(and the food is a lot better!) would recommend it to anyone who wants a tidy,cheap place to eat,

This place is the pits, unles you want to lose weight as you will get sick. <br/>The prices are way to high, considering the quality alternatives in Porirua. Dont fall for the marketing hype. Find a good local resturant and avoid this place.<br/>If you sent back what you ordered then you would be there all day as all the food is poor.

i work in a dennys in canada, and they are not as poor as some people pesive them to be!!!! If your meal is not the way that you would like it then you should tell the server even if that means getting up from your table becasue no one is perfect!!!

Dennys is the best! Me and my family go there often to have a nice meal in a laid back environment. The service is always good and they make sure your meal is fine.

Denny's is possibly the best restaurant on the planet the service was absolutely brilliant i ordered honey roasted chicken and it was the best thing i have ever tasted the other people are telling lies my restaurant is nice i mean the restuarant is nice it has won over 100 awards absolutely fantastic would recommend to any one

First time at Denny's was with my husband and our 4 children. We thought we could just head on in but was rudely stopped by an over chatty hostess who told us to take a seat until they could find us a seat inside. Waited for a good 10 minutes then was finally taken to our table. Noting that there were only about 3 other tables with customers I could not see why we had to wait for seats. We finally ordered soup and rolls as our entree in which our soup was all gone by the time our buns were served to us. Then my husband and I received our steak meals while our children sat by waiting a good half hour for their meals to arrive. I was appalled by the lack timing on our food. Service sucked big time. Meal was not enjoyed as staff were walking around giggling out load and making rude remarks towards each other. At the end of this terrible dining out fiasco we still had to wait out front to eventually pay for our meals!!Not happy with their service very poor. That goes same with the food we ask for well done steaks get bloody steaks then tell the waitress she goes on saying oops my fault.....What a total nightmare. Will NEVER dine there again

We tried Dennys for a family breakfast, a huge mistake. The service was poor from the start, it took over 30mins to get a coffee on a day when the place was not busy. No refills were offered. After 65 mins our food arrived. The pancakes were pure stodge, the kids could not eat them. The bacon was indescribable, we wondered where such rubbish was made! We wrote to Dennys head office to complain, no reply has been received. Our kids begged us never to return, we will have no problem obliging them.