cazador

slightly ashamed to admit that i had no idea that cazador existed since a few days ago, when i was invited to a birthday dinner during the weekend. located on a quiet section of dominion road, there isn’t many other restaurants nearby, which could explain why i never noticed cazador existed in the first place. with an emphasis on game meat, cazador has been part of auckland’s dining scene for over 25 years and is currently on metro’s top 50 restaurants in auckland.

there were several different options for entrees including a couple of specials for the night. i opted for a light meatless start and ordered the courgette flower stuffed with a ricotta and anchovy filling. i seldom see courgette flowers on the menu, which is a shame because it is such a delicious vegetable which can be stuffed with so many different types of fillings. the ricotta mixture in this dish was rich and cheesy which worked well with the flower but i could not taste the anchovy. the crispy coating kept everything intact and i enjoyed the light airy crunch.

for my choice of main, i went with a conservative choice of venison and i was not disappointed. char grilled venison loin, cooked to slightly over medium rare, served with roasted carrots, beetroot and radish. this is some of the best venison i have eaten in auckland. this lean cut of meat was tender, juicy and seasoned to perfection. the finishing touch of freshly cracked pepper sealed the deal.

being the only specialised game restaurant in auckland, be expected to see meat like guinea fowl, rabbit and pheasant on the menu, most of them hunted and prepared by the staff who run cazador. they do have a fish special, but it’s not an idealplaceto bring a dining companion who doesn’t eat meat. you will see things on the menu that you have never seen before and can be quite a surprise for the faint hearted. poussin hearts, calf tongue and rabbit lungs, this is the perfectplacefor one to open their culinary mind.

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great place, great food, great atmosphere and great service. thisplaceis a little gem.

love love love this restaurant . food was amazing, staff even more so. we didn’t want to order mains privately so ended up ordering a whole heap of plates and sharing them. was best experience ever. no wonder it’s been going for 30years. thisplacerocks!!!

hands down the most amazing dining experience i’ve had in new zealand.

i’d heard a lot of good things about thisplacefrom many foodies and bloggers, so i knew i had to secure a booking at cazador. yes, thisplaceis pricey, but i wanted to make sure i lives the full fantasy, and let me tell you it was worth every penny.

my wife and i both shared a small chartussier plater which had the best duck pâté and assorted meats i’ve had since i was in france. then we shared a bone marrow dish. this was the most buttery and tasty marrow ever.

i ordered the venison and my wife ordered the pork chop, we shared the roasted potatoes, but to be honest we shared everything. the venison was cooked to perfect and the best i’ve ever had, i’m not a big fan of venison. the pork chop was also cooked to perfection and the potatoes were perfectly golden. at this point i was soo fully and didn’t need anything else, or did i?

we topped the night off with a chocolate mousse between the two of us, it was rich dark chocolate with salt flakes!

i couldn’t fault my dining experience it was seriously the best start to 2021!

thisplaceis devine! the decor is awesomely unique- i came with a friend, but this would be the perfect date spot!
we have amazing service, our waitress was fantastic with her recommendations of both wine and food and also provided some good banter
we had the charcuterie board and some other nibbles..... the charcuterie board was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! their pâtés, etc they make in-house - yum!!
we loved their wine too!
can’t wait to come back!

perfection. food that makes you smile ear to ear, giving you happiness in each bite, because it’s that delicious. so much love has gone into this food that you can taste it. cazador know what they’re doing with their food, especially their game meat!
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the road to happiness:
• charcuterie board for 2 - i always love finding aplacethat does a good charcuterie as it says a lot about their quality, and this one tops the charts. duck liver parfait was out of this world, so smooth and velvety and a tennis ball size serving of it to go with everything. venison pistachio terrine and hare/rabbit terrine both melt in your mouth and pack a punch with their delicate flavours, and the venison prosciutto is one of the most tender cured meats ever. add a bit of the wicked mustard seed sauce to hit the ball out of the park. huge selection of equally tasty toast and crackers to go with it all. i could literally have this for dinner, stop there, and be happy.
• chargrilled quail - whole quail cooked to perfection, this meat is so easy to overcook but this was tender, juicy, and packed intense flavour balanced out with the bed of corn mash underneath.
• grilled venison - again with the tender flavourful meat, eat it together with the labneh and sourdough crumb and be transported to food heaven.
• potatoes - pure gold, crispy on the outside fluffy on the inside.
• wild boar salami - this was the amuse bouche, really delicately flavoured despite being made of boar!
• fresh baked madelines - pinch me because i’m still dreaming about these, beautiful warm pillowy madelines straight from the oven, eaten together with the salty buffalo curd and fresh strawberries is like a whole new world. super light and fresh, could i have this for dessert every night?
• dark chocolate & brandy mousse - the texture is ultra thick, but when you taste it, it’s super light?! as if you could just eat it by the bucket, the rich chocolate flavour is all there but you don’t get the groggy feeling after. there’s an element of salt in there together with the nuts which makes it that much better.
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what an experience. i might have a new favourite!

very interesting experience, thisplaceoffer great service and good selection of drink. most of all if you want to try quail, venison and liver parfait this is the place!

hate to say it team cazador but your service really let me down when i came through. i made a booking and arrived on time. i clearly had a coat and was never asked to check it in at all. yes i am still annoyed by the lack of service for such a renowned restaurant. i ordered the pheasant and it was well done and the flavours did not gel well, the mashed vegetable was heavy and made me feel abit too full, whilst the green verge was salty. my friends meals were average, if not below average for the type of food that was served with it. i finished my meal and my plate was not cleared and took a bloody long time to get cleared. i felt like i wasn't worthy enough of being given amazing service, no one came to ask if the food was ok, no one came to top up our water, our dessert and tea took forever to arrive at one point thinking they forgot.. the waitresses just looked like they weren't into it and was far too occupied gasbagging behind the bar. i watched the waitress open doors for other guests and i had to do this myself... being petty here but isn't this restaurant known for serving amazing food and the experience of service should come with its territory. i definitely will not be coming back here again, which is really disappointing as thisplacewas recommended by all my work mates.

definitely aplaceto try if your "game"... not quite the place/atmosphere for a romantic dinner... friendly service. but really the food is pretty amazing.... we chose:
grilled venison heart
braised goat shank
whole quail
sides: potato & kale
finished with dessert: dark chocolate mousse and persimmon something which actually was very refreshing and yum.
did start with a vishnofka.... brandy..yum

as a persian i have always grown up knowing about the reputation cazador entails. they are specialists in game cooking so it does have a specific taste. i love how the flavours blend together! definitely a greatplaceto go to- theres a reason why it always tops the metro rankings!

my favorite auckland restaurant. no ocean views to be fair, but a lovely little garden area out the back, and an intimate, cozy feel. beautiful food. presented well, good portions, super-fresh ingredients and cheap for what it is. the service is perfect. the dishes dynamic, showcasing the incredible ingredients. it is clean, game themed but modern, and the bathrooms are a real delight. if you are vegetarian thisplaceis not a great choice though, if only due to the decor. other than that, if you have not been then you are missing out.

i cannot get over how amazing thisplaceis! a true hidden gem! took a chance on thisplaceas i'm a vegetarian! they accommodated me brilliantly and it was without a doubt the best pasta dish i've ever had! my partner is the biggest meat eater and had the venison and he was blown away as well by how great his dish was! i tried some of his sauce and it was so good! proportion was just enough to satiate us. can't stop raving about this place! having my birthday dinner there next month! xoxox

yum! thisplaceis amazing! if you like game meats and trying something different come here! i had the game meat entree, hare main and the chocolate mousse for dessert. the entree was big enough to have shared and the main was so tasty the hare so tender and the chocolate mousse, well i cant stop thinking how good it was - rich and silky. service here was really friendly as well the whole experience was great.

what cazador does for nz is very important. showing that giving value to offal is crucial in a world where we need to use each and every part of animals is crucial for our environment. and, above all, all these part we usually don't care about can be delicious.

for that reason thisplacewas in my list for some months. i was expecting too much, and it was good, but not as much as i thought it would be.

i tried, the squid, which was very good, as well as the quail, but the wild boar cheek wasn't very good. too dry and the pasta was a bit overcooked.

still wanna come back to try other things, but i hope next time their execution can meet my expectations.

celebrated a birthday dinner here on a friday night. must say theplacewas packed for a friday! super easy parking and ambiance is lovely and cosy. we started off with babaganoush and braised squid both were packed full of flavours and executed nicely. for main we ordered quail and venison were very good dishes. the only dish that i found was pretty average was their dessert pear tart was okay. overall great food and great selection of drinks! service was great and will be back for sure.