cbk craft bar and kitchen

loved the atmosphere . service was good not too long of a wait considering it was quite busy as well.
food was fantastic, everything on the stone grills are delicious as well as the sides.

after the rotorua marathon we enjoyed some very friendly service and great hospitality here. tended to adequately and politely.

that’s where the compliments stop unfortunately. we ordered the chicken bacon burger and the five-plus-a-day burger. very bland burgers with excessive unflavourful sauces. en route to the restaurant i saw a white dog poo perched on the grass. i regret not taking it back to fry up with some garlic and butter - would’ve been much more enjoyable not to mention cheaper.

although the food is really good the wait time is ridiculous, we've waited 45 mins for starters when it wasnt overly busy and then another 40mins for mains. the food is lovely though, but i wouldnt want to wait that long anywhere. most the staff seem friendly enough.

awesome breakfast here! my partner had the butchers breakfast and i had scrambled eggs on toast with coffees.
coffees were excellent, butchers breakfast was delicious and sausages were top notch. the basil pesto was addictive. eggs on toast were spot on.
lovely service despite a super busy morning due to the marathon being in town. would love to go again for dinner and try that skillet cookie thing :-)

after reviewing several lacklustre zomato recommendations for various restaurants, i ventured down to eat street and came across this little gem. had a burger, cauliflower poppers and a “beer tasting flight”.
poppers: fantastic tapas dish. great balance of flavours. the burger was succulent, with a perfectly cooked patty, smokey bacon and just the right amount of sauce upon crisp lettuce.
the beer flight was a suggestion of my waiter and is well worth it (and i am not usually a beer drinker!). there is a great choice of local beers not to be sampled anywhere else.
service was attentive and friendly. the place had a good mix of locals and tourists.
if you are in a mood for some honest kiwi food whilst in rotorua, add this place to your list.

the back story: cbk caught my eye on the eat streat of rotorua as it was bustling with activity. with a large outdoor courtyard area plus a spacious interior with a wood fireplace, it was warm and inviting - tempting us to try.

setting: the place was buzzing with activity when we walked in. we were promptly met by wait staff and told there was a 45 minute wait. obviously was very popular. we agreed and were seated. the atmosphere was warm with a spacious interior; the white brick walls adding the illusion of vast space and elegance. their black and white menu complemented the setting well.

food : their menu was vast with lots of choices from all day small dishes to more substantial mains and stonegrill options, and pages of drink choices too. whilst we were waiting for food, i ordered a chocolate liquer - a coconut rough - somwthing certainly unique to the restaurant. i did enjoy the coconut chocolate combo but was put off by the large amount of alcohol taste and the lukewarm temperature. i turned to the food choices. i was tempted by the small plates - sliders, wings bucket, mac and cheese, aracini balls, popcorn chicken... i didn't know where to start. the prices were on the high side though - not unreasonable for an upmarket place - averaging around $10 -$15 for their small plates. i ended up ordering 2 x 6 wings bucket, the crumbed mac and cheese, and scallop and bacon sliders.

unfortunately despite how tempting the menu sounded and the great setting , i was disappointed by the food. the wings came first with two side sauces. the wings were not marinated and had a frozen chicken taste to it, which without any sauce was very bland. when described as teriyaki wings and honey soy wings , i expected them to be marinated. they were not. we were just give two 5cm ramekins of sauces - barely enough to flavour one wing, let alone the six. i felt i was paying for frozen baked chicken . the mac and cheese was up next. this was presented innovatively as 4 squares of crumbed mac and cheese. these were not too bad but again a bit bland on taste. the chorizo and cream cheese promised as part of the mac and cheese was given as a sauce on the side. this did not work well - the cream cheese being too heavy on an already calorie rich dish and difficult to incorporate into the pasta; the chorizo bits were a welcome addition for flavour but should have been in the pasta packets. the best meal of that night were the bacon-wrapped scallop sliders. these did have enough taste but the dousing of mayo didn't do the creative dish justice.

occasion : casual upbeat night out, be aware of busy nights as you'll need to wait.

revisit potential : 5/10 for the atmosphere, uncertain about the food especially for the price.

not bad, but very underwhelmed for the price point. the entree came out at the same time as our mains/burgers and the beef burgers pattie was a little undercooked making it a bit chewy. the kaarange chicken burger was average, and my favourite part of the meal was probably the curly fries ($2 extra to upgrade to curly fries). overall probably wouldn’t come back, better places for less the price.

we waited 50 minutes for our food. both chicken and beef burgers lacked sauce as they were pretty dry. but pork belly burnt ends and fried chicken was very tasty.

went here with a group of 15 adults & kids and we all loved it! the staff were super nice and attentive accomodating us without a booking for dinner on a busy saturday night. food was great! we had the salmon and steak sandwich. steak was cooked perfectly, melt in your mouth, and salmon cooked perfectly too, really really good! others had the ribs and burgers, all rated them highly. great drinks selection too. def recommend!

the squid is with too much oil and bad dressing. the sauce is greasy.

my partner was violently ill 15 minutes after eating the chowder that came with the prawn burger. i accept this can happen, but when i informed the chef, they defended the food's freshness and made no change. i wonder how many others were violently ill tonight? eat at your own risk!

we ordered 4 meals but waited for an hour the waiter explained it’s the stone grilled steak takes longer time but while other table all been served but just not us. quite disappointed about the taste as well. chicken burger was fine. but fish and chips kinda tasteless. overall not recommend.

we ordered the beef and chicken bao buns. the buns were so old and stale, the meat was chewy and tasted old. no effort was put into making them at all, the were so bad i couldn’t eat them!!!!!! i ordered a cocktail, what i got was so far from a cocktail, it was a rum and water with some lemon in it, service was slack. the lady chucked our menus on the table. didn’t offer us drinks and had a frown on her face the whole time. sad as you have the potential to be a great restaurant and bar.

we went there and asked if sunday was 2 for 1 desserts, the lady agreed and said basically you can order two and they're half price each. we get to the counter and get told by another waitress it's only after 3pm so have to pay full price. not happy. we ordered onion rings that cost $12.90, and didn't even receive 10 rings. at least they took it back and took it off the bill. and the waitress was nice, overall though, won't go back. not happy at all. portions and price are so not fair. and false advertising, they shouldn't have charged us for both.

amazing!! the 20$ stone grill was tops! both waitresses so helpful and great humour! will definitely return next time we are in the area! food and drink atmosphere everything was perfect thank you!