Review Carpe Diem - Whangaparaoa

Lovely quiet and cozy restaurant with a beautiful view of the inner Marina, good food and wine.

AMAZING! This place definitely gives fine dining a run for their money! The quality of food, value for money, picturesque location, family environment, culinary skills, ambience and service is nothing less than OUTSTANDING! We had the most beautiful meal, Salt and pepper squid as an entrée made from scratch and 100% gluten free (not like the frozen box kind you get in most places), I had the chefs special dish of Lamb rump that was to die for! It was cooked to absolute perfection and generous portion sizing! My daughter had trouble selecting from the kids menu she wanted everything and she is a fussy eater! I have been to almost every restaurant on the Coast, North shore and Auckland city (a family of chefs and being in the trade myself) Carpe Diem is by far the best place I have been and well worth the trip. Thank you so much for your fantastic food and great service, we will definitely be back with all of our friends and family!

Awesome thanks. Best waiter with great vibe n humour. Meals were delicious and better than expected. Good entertainment on. Just a wonderful place for a night out.

Good selection of food with reasonable prices. We found the kids meals quite generous, and the service, while average, was friendly.

The best restaurant we have been to on the coast, lovely fresh quality cuisine with good portions, never left there still hungry like some places excellent service and a great atmosphere.

Had a wonderful lunch here today. The food was great and the service excellent. Lovely staff.

had dinner here a few weeks back the food was great sadly the bar is lacking some decent staff

Simple, tasty food. Casual outdoor dining - perfect for a sunny day. Very good prices.

Consistently good food & service. I am bewildered why it isn't much busier. The view & location is great.

Had lunch here on Sunday Band with light music outside Very good food service and price was not too high. Thank you

Brilliant service and food. We recommend this restaurant. Enjoy your experience!

Highly under rated restaurant. Slightly expensive considering the location and the low amount of demand but definitely worth a visit.

Great food very slow waited an hour but was worth it.

Not what it use to be. Pizza ok beer cold and that's about it. Much better now with big in prove mentioned on the entertainment.

The atmosphere here is really nice as you can sit outside on the deck and enjoy the sunshine while dining. The actual food is ok. Nothing too impressive but I did order snack food like fries and pizza.

Absolutely amazing meal. Very nice place to eat and atmosphere was so relaxing. Can't wait to come back and I love the fact that you are in the heart of gulf harbour close to where we live.

As KK is not in the restaurant as much anymore the new guy Jimmy is not up to standard.  Food has gone down badly and portion size a joke. Waitress Kerry is the only reason to go there now she is doing fantastic considering what she has to work with.

We went here on 25th of March 2017 after the 3 of us had worked hard all day at my new home. I recently moved into in the neighbourhood. We were looking forward to a good meal and enjoyable time out. The service was slow as there was visibly only one waitress and it was very busy. I ordered the lamb rack meal for $35 for myself which consisted of 3 tiny chops and one vegetable. The chops were tasteless, not even sprinkled with salt and pepper before cooking. The worst fact however was that there was only a few mouthfuls of food, and my friends meals weren't much better. I've never paid $35 for a meal that turned out to be the size of an entrée. They could have filled the plate with some potato, green veggies or other, but as my friend said, the look on my face when the meal was placed in front of me would be unforgettable. 3 tiny chops with one mouthful on each for $35 is pure theft. A "rack" of lamb, is not 3 tiny chops. We left as soon as we put down our knives and forks starving, and brought hot chips at the local take-away across the road on Gulf Harbour Drive on the way home to fulfil our hunger. We will never go here again.  You don't pay near $100 for 3 people and feel you've only eaten a pre-dinner snack. We got more satisfaction out of our huge tasty bags of chips for less than $10 and finally had fully tummy's. p.s. We weren't asked if we wanted drinks, so we just accepted their water.  I had been looking forward to trying this restaurant. BIG BIG MISTAKE, especially after working hard all day, and being ready for a hearty meal. :(

Awful. Food on menu unavailable. I ordered the fettucine marinra. Was presented with packet spaghetti. When I asked why I was served spaghetti I was told they had no fettucine yet there was a grocery shop nearby. I was looking forward to a nice Itallian meal but they don't even make their own pasta. The calamari (on menu) was missing from the marinara so to compensate they brought me a free side of what was supposed to be "really famous" salt n pepper calamari. It was chewy, rubbery squid. Won't be going to Carpe Diem ever again.

Absolutely terrible. We waited over an hour for our food and it was just us and another small table in the whole place. There was no communication, we weren't asked if we wanted a drink. The highchair was faulty and my son nearly fell out. The food wasn't worth the wait, greasy and soggy. Will never go back and will not encourage others to go there.

We live in Gulf Harbour so come here occasionally for a drink and hot chips with the kids. Last night we decided to attempt taking them out for dinner. We arrived early as we knew it would be quiet at that time and were greeted and the girls given activity sheets to keep them occupied. As usual the staff were amazing with the girls. Our food was all really good! I had the fish which came with potatoes, I loved the flakes of salt. It could have done with some greens (I should have asked for this) but the girls kids meals both came with a yummy salad which I ate. We also had pudding after. Tiramsu was really good, cheese cake and the girls icecream also went down a treat. Thank you to the staff who go the extra mile.

Fantastic food 5/5,service awesome 5/5.<br/>Great choice of wines and a real pint of beer. Wonderful live music on saturday nights and Sunday days. More people should be trying this restaurant. If you haven't - why not?!<br/> Such a beautiful location, viaduct quality food at gulf harbour prices. Fantastic new owner that goes out of his way to make you welcome as do all the staff! What an amazing transformation!!

What a wonderful time we had! From our first impressions warm greeting to paying the extremely reasonable bill as we left. I'm afraid I'm going to do a rave. The service was outstanding. The food was plentiful and delicious. The staff were ever-present, friendly and helpful.<br/>And something most unusual in cafes around town - the coffee was excellent!<br/><br/>We travelled an hour to reach Gulf Harbour and we can't wait to go back. (I haven't said that about a cafe for years!)<br/><br/>Thanks very much team for making our Sunday special.

We've had two meals here in the last 2 weeks.  We hadn't been in for years but had heard great things lately so decided to give it a go.  Honestly the best meal we've had in a while.  It was quite busy but the service was still good.  Will be back again soon for sure.  Well worth a visit.

Awesome menu and food is always 5* great Marina location wether it be lunch or evening meal we have always been blown away by the quality and quantity of our meals.<br/>Staff are friendly.<br/>Well worth a visit!

Had brunch recently with friends here.  Nice setting and the service was hospitable enough, however, took a very long to order drinks, nothing further asked of us in regards to second drinks or any more food required, no condiments or s&p at table and it took an age to clear tables despite being not overly busy at all, in fact we were the only table there for the first half of our meal on a sunny Sunday earlier this month. The food was OK, however a very limited menu was on offer. The servings of  "vege" fritters were very small we thought with hardly any corn in them at all, more flour than anything else, I had a side of bacon costing $4 if I remember rightly, and this consisted of one small slice of streaky bacon, quite disappointed, wasn't worth the bother of getting it, or the cost.  The mushrooms and roasted tomatoes were fab however and my other half enjoyed his steak sandwich, but it was rather "plain", as the ciabatta was barely grilled and a little soggy, and the steak well over also. A nice setting and I'm sure locals frequent; I am not sure we will be back, but would consider trying the lunch/dinner menu as it looked more substantial.

We have been several times in the last couple of months for both brunch & dinner (Groupon vouchers), the food & the service has been excellent every time.

Lovely little place, and the reviews dont seem to give it justice.  We went  for a brunch on a groupon voucher.  55 dollars for 6 people.  To be honest I wasnt expecting much for that cost and the reviews but we were very  pleasantly surprised.  Most of our table ordered the eggs Benedict type dish.  It looked divine when it arrived, and  it got rave reviews from everyone eating it.  You could tell the food had been made with love and care and was cooked to perfection.  Well done to the chefs.  I had the fish and chips which again was cooked perfectly.  Good sized portions and the service was great.  No complaints from us at all.  Even on a voucher type deal they still accommodated my sisters fussy habits who asked for  ciabatta instead of the potato hash for the eggs benedict.   The environment is also very nice with tables looking right out on the marina. Will  definatley come again and highly recommend to others.

Waited for more than an hour for our food. No waiting staff offered an explanation for the wait. No one offered to take an order for another round of drinks. In the end we left. Absolutely appalling service. Such a beautiful setting deserves better.

The location is quite beautiful on a lovely day. We took mum there for mothers day and one of the wait staff was a real grouch. She must've been having a really bad morning. The 2 Asian waiter/waitress were both very pleasant. The mothers day brunch menu was very uninspiring, small and bland. I had eggs benedict which had a lovely lemony hollandaise, my partner had the seafood chowder which he said was pretty average. I think in this revival of Auckland food culture, eateries need to really up their game in terms of food. more needs to be done to be memorable for all the good points, and word of mouth is the most powerful advertising.

Not a restaurant I would choose as my first choice as the service and value of the meals are not up to par. But on the other hand the feel of the whole place on the waters edge is quite something.

The owners of this restaurant also run a bar right next door, which plays music so loud, you can't have a conversation. So, unless you want to scream over the noise, its better to eat elsewhere. Not to mention Friday nights, with drunken slurring karoke singers, its pretty awful.<br/><br/>I saw that there are apartments and a hotel above and around the restaurant, with the noise going until 1 in the morning, its pretty inconsiderate and ignorant to say the least. We won't be going back and the food was so bad, its a wonder they are still in business, I don't think they will be for long.

My wife and I went for dinner despite some so-so reviews. The menu was a bit limited and the prices getting on the high side. The service was fine, our waitress was friendly and efficient. Parts of the pork belly were nice other parts were dry and tasted like they had it sitting in the fridge for a couple of weeks before serving. The "crackling" was rock hard and inedible. Vegetables were 4 soggy kumara chips, 2 pieces of broccoli, 5 beans and 3 slices of carrot with everything covered in a salty packet-tasting gravy- $30. The other main was a "seafood" surprise that consisted of reheated pre cooked "prawns and scallops" on skewers and kiwifruit couscous with a lettuce salad..$30. No one came to check on our meal so we decided to cut and run without risking dessert. We wont be back.

We had dinner at Carpe Diem restaurant on New Years Eve, with a new chef and management it was an all round great dining experience. The staff were fantastic and the meal, my husband had pork belly and myself the chicken, was excellent. For $65.00 on New Years Eve this was brilliant value for money. The party at the venue that followed was well organised and it looked like everyone had a fantastic time including us. We highly recommend and by the way my husband is a UK qualified chef! Well done Carpe Diem we will be back.

Went here for New Years Eve dinner. The restaurant had a set menu in place (totally understandable, but would have been nice to have been told prior to sitting down). Food was average (veges hard, fillet mignon resembled more of a schnitzel, pork belly dry, and desserts nothing to rave about); service was equally as average. Wouldn't recommend for the fact that the food is not great, prices are high and service is so-so. Much better restaurants to be found in Albany/East Coast Bays and definitely worth the drive!

Booked online and never received any confirmation. disappointing the menu was only burgers and pizzas and not a full lunch menu. Pizzas were nice though. All in all, pretty average but nice location.

Had lunch, my wife and I. Chicken burger and a beef burger.<br/>The chicken Burger had brown avocado which we complained about .The beef burger was more like mince on toast. The buns were replaced with ciabatta bread which after toasting was impossible to eat. All in all a very disappointing meal.<br/>Locatin great, chef not so.

We booked online for Sunday lunch, and the resturant never received it, there was a table for two available which was good. The food we ordered didn't reflect the menu and was of a standard that I make at home.

This restaurant is in a beautiful location and has recently had a new menu and new chefs. The food has improved ten fold and I would highly recommend booking here for a delicious meal and glass of wine.lovely atmosphere and professional restaurant. Very good experience. Highly recommend

Firstly I would like to say my daughter got married on sat 21st Jan 2012 and she had her reception at Carpe Diem, it was the perfect setting, the food was fantastic and plenty of it. The service was outstanding, so friendly and so help full. They really went the extra mile for us and made life so much easier. I cant thank Mel and the crew for the wonderful job they did for us. We will be going back for many meals now we know where they are.<br/>Thanks Mel and the team for going that extra mile, we love you for what you did and appreciate the time you put aside to make my daughters wedding a very special occasion.

We came in for dinner last Saturday and walked away very happy.<br/>We started with a tasting platter of items from the menu, the plate was huge for the amount we payed for it. Followed by a perfectly cooked steak, the Mr's had the duck, both of which were superb.<br/>It was a busy night and the waitresses all seemed to be training (and very young) so the service wasn't as great as it could be, but the food came out in good time.<br/>One gripe was our server didn't seem to know anything about wine and so couldn't help recommend anything to match our meals, which was a bit disappointing. Also the music was weird - dining out to trance, rock'n'roll and hip hop isn't exactly romantic.<br/>Overall we had a great night, will definitely be back to try the rest of the menu!

I had dinner there a few weeks ago and found the food to be delicious.<br/><br/>It was on the expensive side of dining out but all the meals were full of flavour. We ordered four mains and tried a bit of each to find them all really good. My only problem is that the duck was a little too rare. I understand it is meant to be served that way but it made it quite tough to eat.<br/><br/>Other than that it was a great night, if your in the region check it out.

We had lunch there today and it was not up to standard at all. I ordered the chicken burger which was served on bread as they obviously run out of bread rolls but did not bother to explain or apologize. We were told that there was a 25 minute wait for food which was fine but the beverage service was poor and it took forever to clear our plates. Staff were friendly but unprofessional and nobody asked if we enjoyed our meal. The only thing this restaurant has in is favor is the location!

Saturday 12 March 2011 we had a very wonderful evening dining at our favourite restaurant again. One thing for sure is we are never unhappy with the quality of food or entertainment. The restaurant is a very busy one and sometimes the service is a little slow but the food is guaranteed to be well worth the wait and always fresh, attractively presented with enough detail. Our host has always been charming, polite and attentive without being invasive so we would give this restaurant the big thumbs up and always recommend this to visitors and those wanting a special night out. Among my husband's favourites are the crumbed &amp; deep fried Camembert cheese, lamb shanks,steaks and Moussaka,whilst I prefer the fish, calamari, mussels and scallops accompanied with salads. But such a variety to choice from and guaranteed to be fresh and tasty. Always a fun time to look forward to anytime day (cruisy Sunday Brunch) or night with added entertainment.