gustav's

went here as part of the jazz festival, so it was a different experience, set menu etc. very expensive at $150 a head, ( including matched wines and 4 courses) but it was a special occasion. i had never eaten there before and was a little nervous about paying this kind of money as the place has got lots of bad reviews. the food was excellent- the steak was huge and melt in your mouth. theservicewas fantastic. i wasn't so sure about the lay out of the restaurant- it is so long and parts of it seem very detached form others. this was different as it was a private function but we were sitting right in front of the 'stage' and it was great. i would have been annoyed if i had paid all that money to go to a jazz show and not see the performers.

very disappointing. waitress was rather snotty,servicetook too long and although the venison 'osso bucco' was very nice the portions were miserly. the risotto was barely three to four tablespoons and the osso bucco were tiny. not good value at all. we visit christchurch from kerikeri fairly frequently but will not go back to gustav's at any price. and they don't cater for children, which is appalling.

i like this place a lot, disappointed the tapa menu is gone (was great last time i ventured over this side of town). woolston platter nice, but needed spreads and more bread for $30 but nice all the same.servicevery good can't fault nice people. i will be back.

went here for a late lunch today after hearing some nice things. told to sit at the table for two by the door which was "pointed" out to us. we went and seated ourselves and like the little girl on the world vision ad - we waited ... after approx 15 mins could've been more we tired of waiting on a waiter or even the maitre d to acknowledge our presence we walked out, past the afore mentioned maitre d and another staff member who had been standing having a lovely old chat behind the bar. they didn't even acknowledge we were there or that we were walking out for obvious reasons.
wouldn't waste my time going back there.
however we did lunch at the brewery next door as we often do and theservicethere was as always fantastic along with the atmosphere and food. when we discussed our dilemma we were advised they had been busy due to the public holiday. yes the brewery was still humming but gustav's was not!
#dissappointed #notrated #dontgothere hannah falconer

service was brilliant, the waitress & maître d were a brilliant pair, funny, helpful & informative. the chefs worked away nearby on the big aga and were also good value. the atmosphere was very good, i felt the decor a little thin, but the view to the hills, the open kitchen easily compensated. i had the beef rib roast, it was huge & magic, the horse radish (we think) was fabulous. the pop corn creme brûlée was very good. love the beer except they were out of exactly what i wanted , the price of popularity i suppose. all up, great night, not overly expensive, excellent food, brilliantservicehappy man!

my wife and i plus another couple visited gustavs kitchen between christmas 2013 and new year for dinner. i was reluctant given some of the reviews i had read regarding this establishment.
all i can say is that all four of us were extremely impressed with both theserviceand the food. i consider myself to be a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to preparation and cooking of steak. the slow cooked aged steak i had that night was without a doubt the best i have ever experienced in my life, my wife and friends felt the same about their meals.
theservicewas exemplary. our waitress, anne marie, could not have been more attentive, friendly, or helpful. following our meal we moved through to the bar area and enjoyed our evening further with a couple of cocktails, ports and coffee, still experiencing the professional friendlyservicethat we enjoyed in the restaurant.
i suggest to those who take time to read the reviews on this site prior to deciding whether or not to dine at gustav's, that you visit and experience theserviceand food for yourself. our party will most certainly be returning to gustav's and we will be telling our friends of our experience and recommending that they also visit.

not a pleasant experience

on a wet friday lunch time we took friends from london (uk) to show them the wonderful and exciting tannery shopping centre and decided to have lunch at gustav’s kitchen and wine bar. we had to wait as it was very busy and were finally seated but we were abandoned without menus or even an enquiry if we required drinks. we gave up waiting and went to the bar to order drinks but were told we could not order at the bar and would have to wait until someone served us! eventually a waitress arrived to take our food order and realised that we had not been given menus so left to get some. we stopped her and asked if we could place our drinks order with her as we knew what we required. drinks arrived and she advised the lunch menu had been sold out and gave us the bar food snack menus (she could only find 4 menus - for party of 6!!).
food arrived but minus one meal and with no explanation why all 6 snacks were not served together. another waitress came and said they had sold out of the choice of the missing meal so that guest made a 2nd request. sometime later a 3rd waiter came out and advised that that choice had now also sold out! having made his 3rd choice it finally arrived but the rest of us had almost finished our food. the snacks were tasty however my choice of pork gordita was warm pork served on a cold stainless steel platter!
after we finished our ‘bar snacks’ we decided to leave as although the table behind us was offered the deserts menu we were not offered thisserviceand neither were we offered coffee or even refills of our drinks.
such a nice environment but so disappointing to have such a bad experience and embarrassing for overseas visitors.

had good expectations, even though word about town seems to be divided over gustav's: many people very positive, but many less so, with this mainly relating to service. our booking was for 8-30pm - as the restaurant was busy earlier in the evening. arriving at the agreed time, our table was not immediately available for us, so we were directed to the bar. sure - that's fine too. no one came to tell us if our table was ready, so we eventually moved through to it anyway. we settled in, enjoyed our wine (huge range of wines available) and ordered - but by the time our mains came out an hour or so later, there was a feeling at this later stage of the evening, that the restaurant overall had started to run out of steam -servicewas pretty average, and several items on the menu were no longer available. food was ok - though my choice of kai moana as a main was not wise, as the contents of the hotpot were pretty minimal - would have made a good entre. for some reason, the dessert options are not listed in the menu or written down anywhere else - so it requires the wait-staff to continually repeat the options as they moved around our group of diners, and for the diners to have a good memory. then there was a pretty lengthy wait for the said desserts to actually turn up - meanwhile other staff are by now making obvious 'cleaning up for the night' noises around us...not very hospitable, from a restaurant whose decor and prices are positioning themselves as a 'high end' dining experience. wouldn't be rushing to go back....

as a person who has worked in the hospitality industry i was appalled by theserviceat this restaurant. three of us including my 86 year old grandmother walked in and waited at the bar we were walked past and ignored by a staff member 3 times. we had tried to make a booking over the phone but after 2 days of unanswered phone calls we left a message asking if we could make a booking for lunch we did not hear back. when we finally were served by a staff member we were informed by a staff member that they do not do lunchtime bookings a fact which they neglect to convey in there phone message. needless to say we did not have lunch here instead we went to the brewery next door where despite being incredibly busy the staff were wonderful as was the food and atmosphere. i will not be returning to gustavs.

visited gustav's kitchen for the first time today for lunch, with family. very friendly greeting by staff. loved the decor and lighting. table setting was very good with an uncluttered feel. all meals were simply delicious. loved the very extensive wine list. wait staff were very friendly and ourservicewas excellent. a must for our next visit to christchurch.

heard through a friend that this place was rather good. went with family and the settings were really quite something! the lighting is intimate and the table arrangements were good. the open kitchen added to the experience to see how everything is prepared and to even talk with the chefs was great. now to the food we ordered a few entrees the blue vein crumble was amazing and easy to share as were most of the entrees. the mains were well portioned and tasted great the lamb melted in your mouth with a real sense of top quality home cooking and a nice gravy to go with it, i would recommend a main and a dessert depending on the size of the group. customerservicespot on and they were always ready to help and give advice. would dine here again great surrounds, great food and an all round great night

what a lovely surprise.
on a whim drove from prebbleton over to the tannery. no booking. friendly welcome by the staff, excellentserviceand really really good food. leek and blue cheese entree was delicious. the lamb was divine, and the desserts were perfect. watching the chefs work in front of us was fascinating......
the blokes said the beer was top notch.
great night.

i came here for lunch today with my mum and sister, and i wasn't overly impressed with the service.
three times within 15 mins i asked for a café of water to be told it was coming eventually!
the meal was ok, mum enjoyed hers.
wine is expensive even more so if you want a glass, though they do a petite glass which is a 1/2 of a 1/2 glass!!
theserviceby our waitress was crap and it was though she wasn't interested. when another group sat down they had their menu thoroughly explained - i had to ask...
no tables for three or 4 people you have to sit around a large table for six.
disappointed, and i wouldn't go back :( the piano music was ok - bit loud though!

phoned on a sat to make a booking for 3 pax & was told they don't take bookings but if we came after 8pm we shouldn't have a problem, we could have a drink then a table wouldn't be too far away. showed up at 8.15pm & the bar & restaurant was packed. waitress said she had a table, walked us over and it had no chairs, she then disappeared & we were left stranded standing in the middle of tables full of diners. we asked another passing waitress if she could help get some chairs, there were tables around us with extra chairs. some with coats over them but no people.

her words were "you can ask, i've got more important things to do."

i was gobsmacked and said "i'm the customer & you're the waitress i think this is your job". begrudgingly she then did go & ask people at a table if their chairs were spare, they said 'no' - i think they thought we wanted to join them not move the spare chairs to another table.

we were mortified at all of this, still standing stranded in the middle of diners & thought this wasn't a good omen so just left. went next door to cassell's brewery (same owners), also packed but immediately got a table, quickservice& great meal & drinks served by a friendly, helpful waiter.

can i suggest gustav's invest in a front of house / maitre' d who can take care of seating guests, maintaining a wait list, seating logistics & then the surly waitresses can get on with waiting on staff & serving food to guests. some customerservicetraining for staff wouldn't go amiss.

not sure if i want to give gustav's another chance based on this terrible experience.