dragonfly

came in expecting a fusion foodmenubut it was dominated by curry influences.

we ordered a bunch of starters including carpaccio, soft shell crab, dumplings, octopus balls, squid and spring rolls. the crab was excellent and the squid and octopus tasty but the carpaccio was smothered with salad with little meat.

the main course selection was very limited. we ordered the special fish (salmon), duck, beef ribs and pork and prawns. most of the flavours were dominated by curry flavours and tended to blend into one. of the mains the beef was clearly the best while the salmon was disappointing being cold and overcooked.

the meal cost nearly $300 which i didn't think was good value. we will not be returning.

i dined here with a group of ten and we had such a great night. the service was 10/10, our waiter connor was attentive without being intrusive. our water glasses were always full and he remembered ten drink orders without writing anything down. he made sound recommendations for cocktails too! all i can say is give this man a raise!! as for the food, again everything was great. we ordered everything on the entree menuand it was all so yummy. my personal fave was the tuna, the sauce was so tasty. everything was well portioned too. we shared a few of the mains, the beef curry being the unanimous favourite. great flavours although my meat tasted a little fatty. the pork and prawns were really tasty but we only had two prawns which was disappointing.
the interior was awesome, and the decor went so well with the theme of the menu.

our favourite restaurant in wellington. love the atmosphere, the outdoor bar, the staff, the wide array of delicious cocktails and of course the delicious food. we come here about once a month and my favourites are the china girl, the dumplings and the delicious eggplant salad. we have eaten everything on themenuand recommend it all! best restaurant in wellington.

i went here for a 21st dinner and it was the perfect place for it, there was a food banquet where my friend picked a setmenuand the food all came out, amazing variety and delicious flavours! it was a great setting and we had our own section of the restaurant so it didn’t interfere with other customers. great service.

an outstanding creativemenuand an excellent wine list, delivered by fantastic, caring people in a gorgeous atmosphere. what more can one ask for? for girls night out we made hotel zaza's restaurant, dragonfly, our destination. the wine list (even by the glass) were all outstanding choices - all high quality standards, yet fairly priced for fine wine a la carte. the dinner items were all perfectly prepared and presented - delicious, farm to table, with an emphasis on nutritious (great high quality and high food value ingredients; creative use of spices) - another wonderful benefit. we will be back again soon!

wellington's most racist bar and restaurant.

even if the food was michelin star-worthy (which it certainly was not - the spring rolls and dumplings tasted pre-made), you simply do not operate a pan-asian restaurant (or any restaurant for that matter) in 2018 with a cocktail on themenunamed 'ching chong bing bong'.

everyone who either works at or supports this establishment should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

4 of us went to dinner on friday night. we did book and were advised we would be in the courtyard. after being a little apprehensive about were we would be placed we were pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the courtyard is. the entire place was full. it appears to be a great place to go to after work for wonderful food.

the service was great, very attentive and helpful. themenuselection was awesome. when the food arrived we were all over the moon with the quality and flavours

highly recommend this as a place to eat

after dinner tonight me and my friend wandered in because we'd always walked passed it but had never been inside. restaurant was fully booked but thankfully we didn't have an appetite this time.

as for a few local bars like bodega, fat angel's and monsoon poon i'm always surprised how deep bars can be. as for dragonfly, the bar was located all the way at the back and featured a nice outdoor space with a large projector screen and a small army of waitstaff.

we were seated with water and a few menu's one with bar meals, wine & beers as well as a cocktail list. we agreed on getting the cocktail taster set which came with three concoctions: amondo, samuri sake and a ginger creme. my friend and i both favored different drinks with my choice being the sake because of its sweet sugary cheeriliscious reverb towards the end and right at the start. there was something about its balanced nodes and blunt sake rivalry that made the drink pretty dynamic. after this we brought two more of each the samuri sake and the amondo. the amondo was a bit lemony and basic for my tasting but after sipping the last few drops the drink is uplifted by a huge sugary syrup that kicks it to another place.


overall left feeling tipsy which was great, waitstaff were rather attractive and worked effectively as a team. the barmenufoldout was a cool party trick and the deep, dark and loomy bar was pretty good but of course was left light walleted. will return to check out the dinnermenuvery shortly, stay tuned.

my second trip to dragonfly was on 2/13/16 for dinner....i have to give the staff props for working their tails off with as big of a valentines dinner crowd as they had; and the food was exactly as i had anticipated, huge serving sizes for the price (good value), and very unique in the flavor arena.  i describe this place to my non-foodie friends as the closest thing in the corpus christi area we have to a fusion typemenuas unique flavor's are fused with classic texas gulf coast staple ingredients.

my recommendation for people looking to try out this restaurant is that when you go; don't show up trying to see if there food is better than whatever you favorite place is, go have a meal there and allow yourself to enjoy something you may have had before, but served in a completely new flavor realm.  don't expect a "fine dining" atmosphere, but enjoy the uniqueness and comfortableness of this place.

the food here is great because it is cooked in a unique style and in a unique method that (from my two experiences) doesn't disappoint. 

personally; i'm a huge fan of their goat cheese ravioli and the fried green tomatoes with fried goat cheese served with a type candied "citrusy" tomatoes with toast that is extremely great.  my first trip there my wife ordered a red snapper plate off their specials menu; when it hit the table i was in awe; the head hung off one side of the plate, the tail off the other, and both the flavor & texture's were amazing.  last night she had the nut encrusted flounder that was also great.  

i'm a "foodie" but not one of those types that eat out at a place looking to critique it; but rather enjoy it for what it is.   so if you don't like this place for what it is, more than likely you went there with a predetermined expectation of something this place is not.

i really wish i would have been able to consume all themenuitems i wanted to try; because i regret not ordering the "piggy cheeks simmered in guajillo sauce, over bacon waffle, red pickle onions" as it just sounds amazing!
( rated this experience a 3.5; but my previous one for which i didn't write a review for would have been a 4.5 as it was an amazing experience during the non-tourist season with crowds that the staff could easily spend a lot of time with making it an amazing experience, the restaurants lack of floor space during a valentines dinner night made for a challenging night on both patron's and staff.)

do you have a place, you could've been there yesterday and the day before and you would still eat there again today? dragonfly is that place for me. i used to live here, often coming twice in one evening, especially on two for one cocktail night (tuesday's) or mystery wine night (wednesday). all of the food is delicious. one note: they haven't changed theremenumuch since opening. which doesn't bother me- as i like to be able to be sure that my favourites are going to always be there but it does mean there's no elements of surprise when it comes to the mains. my suggestion? the duck spring rolls, pork shu mai, salmon two way, beef rib or the lemongrass chicken.

our group of 5 had a fantastic meal on a saturday night. arriving late-ish with no reservation, we were seated out the back in the funky courtyard. the food was terrific, a fantastic range of fresh asian flavours. we enjoyed every dish. good drinksmenutoo, including some great cocktails. and all this at a very reasonable price!

a dark rabbit warren / bordello of a place - constructed by a dyslexic architect with agrophobia - in other words unexpected little cosy spaces that are warm and delicious in themselves. 

thursday night dinner for five, and fortunately we booked as they were turning people away. clearly it's popular. 

our group had drinks at the bar first - beer (reasonable list), methode (choice of two) and a sake - all reasonably priced. 

staff were lovely - attentive friendly and helpful.

a very cute origamimenu- clever / good idea.

food: we chose five different entrees, five mains and five desserts. 

stand out interesting dishes were the main duck and the entree cheese parcels. i struggle to differentiate the rest as being in any way exceptional. i thought accompanying dips were rather crude and fell well short of the complex liquids presented at restaurant 88 round the corner.

i use a simple criteria to decide whether a dish is ordinary or worthwhile - basically can i use the word "delicious" in its true sense to describe the dish? if not - and that applies to most dishes at most restaurants, so please don't overuse the word - then i regard it as ordinary and may feel slightly irritated that i've paid money for it. "luscious" is one notch up and is very rare in my vocabulary. 

anyway two dishes were clearly "delicious" - the duck and the cheese parcels - you may disagree. that's a low proportion but i have to say everything else was at least pleasant and therefore worth trying.

two white wines were good - maude pinot gris and an alsatian giselbrecht pinot gris. i especially liked the second, it had a bit more of an edge with the maude seeming a bit flabby as we approached the bottom of the bottle. 

would i go back? i'm not sure what it would be for though - there is so much good competition in the asian fusion scene that for food i'd probably go elsewhere. but i did like (i loved) the ambience and for a group it is great, good company, hunger, conversation and laughter inject an otherwise ordinary meal with a degree of artificial deliciousness. 

kids - yes, especially teenagers
groups: definitely
date night: yes
foodies: yes at least once
take your parents: yes
take out of towners: yes
the elderly : hmmm it's pretty noisy at the back of the restaurant, front by the entrance isn't so bad

high prices, mediocre food, bad service. went on a friday night, around 9:00. waitress made a point of telling us how tired she was because they were really busy earlier & another waitress had just quit (here's a tip: it's not how you start, it's how you finish, and i don't want to hear your drama.).

the first room was apparently the curacao bar, a fun nod to the island locale. the second room was the dragonfly restaurant, whose decor was cheesy & a little creepy - disturbing art work & dozens of marionettes hanging from the ceiling. i'm all for artsy & eclectic, but this was overkill.

we were immediately given big glasses of ice water, which was a good thing because the waitress didn't reappear to take our drink order for another 15 minutes. surprisingly high drink prices. ordered the white sangria which sounded tasty, but it arrived in a mason jar crammed full of ice and was very weak & watered down.

themenuseemed a bit pretentious, especially telling us that they will only cook your ground beef rare or medium rare. call it short rib or whatever makes you feel better about those prices - it's still ground beef. i like my steak medium rare, but not my burgers. i just can't enjoy eating a potential e-coli outbreak.

after our waitress finally reappeared, she answered questions about themenu& said that she wasn't going to bother telling us the specials because they were all gone. okaaay... she also told us that the chef is from france & that he was very particular in how he prepares the food. translation: the chef, not the customer, is always right.

we both ordered the ribeye that comes with an herbed garlic butter, french fries (really?) and a garlic vinaigrette salad. my companion substituted sauteed vegetables for the salad - for a $2 charge. the food here arrives quickly, the only trick is finding your waitress to place your order. the plates that arrived were huge with massive portions of food. personally, i would rather pay less & have a manageable portion than take home half a steak as a very expensive meal for my pets.

the meat was on top of the french fries, so i ate those first before they got soggy with beef juices. they were ordinary fries with no seasoning. don't bother asking for ketchup - wouldn't want to insult the chef's ego... the vegetables were very good, while the lettuce in my salad was very bitter and no hint of garlic vinaigrette anywhere. we discovered that our steaks were switched - my medium rare steak being on my dining companion's plate & my plate held their rare steak. although, my medium rare was more on the medium well side. gave up trying to find our waitress to send it back. it was quite good, with the obscene amount of herbed butter on top, but very tough and stringy. we finished with a delicious creme brulee, and an agonizingly long wait for the high bill.

i'm not one of those phony people who pretends to be impressed with something just because it's foreign. when the waitress tells you that the chef will be so pleased to hear that you're ordering your steaks rare or mid rare, i know that i'm in the wrong place. it's the restaurant's job to please me, not the other way around.

for exotic asian fusion cuisine that's a refreshing mix of traditional and contemporary influences, i absolutely love dragonfly. a restaurant, bar & courtyard, dragonfly features gorgeous and elegant decor throughout all three spacious venues. i recently dined here for the first time in a year and absolutely loved it!

having previously dined in the main restaurant, which features dim, romantic lighting, this time my friends and i dined in the courtyard - a bright, refreshing outdoor space featuring wooden furniture, a garden and pretty fairy lights. the atmosphere was lively, energetic but relaxed - i loved the ambience! it was tuesday and i was delighted that it just so happened to be 2 for 1 cocktail night. i ordered coconut berry colada and beijing bellini, and my friends ordered gingerboy. for our mains, we ordered the salmon 2 ways, lemongrass chicken, and pork & prawn, with two bowls of jasmine rice for the table.

i personally loved my coconut berry colada as it was a delightfully sweet blend of malibu, lychee, raspberry & cream, and while tasting subtly sweet and creamy, was not too strong at all. the beijing bellini is a unique take on wine, with lychee liqueur and methode champenoise, but it was little strong for my liking that night. however, i'd recommend it to someone who wants the taste and strength of white wine with an added fruity lychee twist. gingerboy, like coconut berry colada, wasn't too strong and tasted mostly like a blend of fruit juice.

our mains were absolutely delicious and were also of huge portion sizes! i enjoyed my salmon 2 ways; the meaty salmon fillet with the very fresh taste salad reminded me of chow's salad dishes. however my favourite was my partner's lemongrass chicken, which was juicy, succulent and well flavoured.

for dessert, i ordered coconut sticky rice pudding. after loving chow's coconut sticky rice dessert, i was curious to compare. i loved this more - it was a delicious, not too sweet dessert that blended together the coconut, pineapple & caramel flavours flawlessly.

overall, i thoroughly enjoyed my experience at dragonfly, and would highly recommend it for the decor, service, and quality of food & drinks. on top of that, everything was very beautifully presented. however, while the cocktailmenuhas a large variety, the foodmenualso features variety but has not changed in the past year, which was a little disappointing - they have hardly introduced any new dishes at all. so while delicious, it'd be exciting to see dragonfly release some new dishes and be more inventive with its food menu! :)

consistently good quality food.. i really don't want to tell you because we islanders don't like to share, especially a place this good. everything we have had here, and we have had a lot; has been delicious. the best thing ever on themenuwas salmon carpaccio (sp?) but the chef is so picky about his salmon he quit serving it. the lamb meatloaf stuffed with ricotta cheese is delicious, juicy and perfectly seasoned. don't try to diet at this place; dominique is a french chef and takes it seriously. if the food requires butter, your going to get real butter, not some nasty margarine. don't expect a bunch of salt and over-seasoning - if that is what you are used to - then the food will be bland. you can't go wrong with the special; it is usually the largest meal on the menu. you can share a few tapas with friends and not spend a lot; or you can have a gourmet meal for two - with good wine and spend $75. we called ahead and asked rick if he could arrange one meal with no salt, sugar or dairy and the chef made it up special - our family was very impressed. regardless of what we order, we never regret going to the dragonfly/curacao!