gusto at the grand

went to gusto’s for my birthday dinner. a lovely night. had housemade ricotta with pine nuts with the pizzetta and perfect salty prosciutto. main was mushroom gnocchi. the gnocchi were the lightest dumplings i have ever eaten. our waitress was casual but very informative. service was perfect. the best italian in auckland by far.

my favorite italian restaurant... i perceived it to be the best in auckland. sheek and street style italian place.

warm vibrant and relaxed ambience... love the restaurant decor too. service is good could be wee bit better. i have been to this place couple of times with friends.

fancy the elaborate choices of wines especially from italy. love the pasta especially the gnocchi and ravioli preparations. and oh the desserts love zupa inglese and tiramisu etc.

a must go dine in place.

i have to admit that i was at gusto quite some time ago, closer to the beginning of the year. thoroughly enjoyed the meal though. they had a 2 course lunch special at that time, so i went with my friend. between us we had the gnocchi and crudo for entree and for the main, we had tuna pasta and wood-fire chicken. all the dishes were good, the gnocchi and the chicken were sublime. i'll be going back here.

make it a 4.5 as almost perfect.  the only negative was having to wait for someone to take my order for a glass of wine despite them knowing i would order one. other than that, the service was exemplary and friendly.

i was there for a business lunch so we only had mains. a limited selection (unless you want to share!) of mains and i'm not sure why on zomato it says $90 for 2 as that only covers 2 mains and no sides or drink. try $170 for 2 !!

my colleague had the snapper and i the venison. both absolutely superb in presentation and flavours. portions a little on the small size, but nevertheless adequate and delicious. quality, not quantity !!! the green beans we shared were thankfully actually cooked and not, as is the current fad, raw ! nobody wants soggy vegies, but i'm not a rabbit and prefer them cooked and these were perfection; firm and tasty. duckfat chips (not sure that i can tell the difference of what fat is used!) were also perfectly cooked; crispy and not greasy. 

so, if your company expense account or personal wallet runs to the upper end of the price range, then i highly recomment gusto.

came here for dinner mid week. restaurant was busy and had good friendly vibe. could not fault the service which was friendly, informed and attentive. we started with olives and cold meats with a good glass of chianti.
these were excellent and was the chunks of parmesan that accompanied them.
the main was duck ragu with papardelle and the pasta was like silk, the duck soft and melt in the mouth gorgeous.

a small whiskey to finish off - a small criticism here - not a wide range of single malts in an international hotel but only a small gripe.

overall a very good meal and we will be back.

we dined here on friday night, arriving at 7.30pm. there seemed to be a little confusion over our booking but we were shown to a table quickly and seated. on this point i would have to say they are certainly ensuring the person per square metre ratio is high... we were in very close proximity to our dining neighbours as is oft the way, unfortunately.

we ordered the pea, mint and ricotta bruschetta to share and it was a revelation - an explosion of flavour, to die for. worth going for that alone! this was followed by the spinach ricotta gnudi with fresh tomato and basil sauce for me, and the papardelle with wild boar ragu for my husband. he pronounced it delicious and proceeded to devour every last bit. my gnudi was delightful - full of bursting flavours and fresh, clean taste - not at all heavy, it was perfectly executed and i would have it again in a moment.

the fit out is stylish, and reminds me of our recent trip to melbourne where everything oozes chic and sophistication, however unlike our dining experiences across the ditch gusto seems to have got it just a bit wrong in terms of ambience, with music too loud, too upbeat, and just a bit too 20 something. that combined with the tightly squeezed tables disappointed me, but the food is most definitely very, very good. a little more engagement from the waiter would have been nice too, he was perfectly good at the technical aspect of his role, but could have been a touch more friendly. all in all, a great addition to our dining scene.

a really lovely place with great food and service. had my dad’s birthday dinner and ordered a few dishes to share. the octopus carpaccio was amazing and the eggplant parmigiana was divine!
the clam spaghetti was good, but quite salty for my liking (i think thats just a personal preference though). the mushroom risotto was very rich so it was a good idea to share. we ordered a few desserts to share and all were lovely. the staff were friendly and very attentive to our needs.
this would have been a 5/5 if it weren’t for the manager. she came to our table with the portable eftpos machine at the end and while she was friendly, it was clear from her tone and speech that she wanted us to pay on the spot and leave.
we would’ve left soon anyway and she really should’ve told us earlier if the table was going to be used after us.
perhaps she needs a bit more training instead of her staff?

we came here on valentine's day and has the valentine's day set menu.

since it was our first time here having a set menu was a good idea since we had no idea what to order.

the cloudy bay clams and lamb was amazing.
actually all the courses were delicious except the dessert. it was cute but it's taste did not live up to its previous courses.

we definitely will be coming back again though!!

dined here with my partner tonight. love the decor & ambiance of this place it's very intimate & perfect for a date night. the staff are all lovely & from the minute you arrive you are made to feel welcome. our waitress took the time to explain the menu to us & we ordered plates too share. to start we had the garlic pizza which came served in a pizza box which was a cute touch. it was crispy, full of flavour & a perfect way to start a meal. for mains we shared half a fried chicken, steak & duck fat potatoes. all of these dishes were absolutely delicious & we thoroughly enjoyed them all. this place is extremely reasonably priced considering the quality of food served. i will definitely return to try some more of the delicious options on offer

having been to the grill a few times and being a fan of italian food i took my family to gusto. we arrived after a comedy show and the service was great - they fixed up a booking mix up which was my fault. the bread was really tasty but could have been served with some quality olive oil.for mains we had a variety  (there was 5 of us) and the pappardelle was a standout.deserts were pleasant but presentation was lacking.

gusto (pronounced guh-stoh, definitely not goose-toh) at the grand is sean connolly’s latest restaurant in the skycity complex (after the superb the grill). gusto is marketed as a cucina (italian for kitchen) and bar, and is the renowned chef’s take on a rustic italian restaurant. they have a pasta station where if you’re lucky you can see the deft chefs at work, and there is a parmagiano-reggiano wheel taking centre stage where delicious morsels are cut from. bl and i took my mum here as we wanted somewhere where we could talk (tick), great service (tick), nice ambience (tick), and above average food (sort-of tick).

we started with the pork veal meatballs which was served with tomato sauce and pecorino ($12). while this was tasty, we have been spoilt by some very excellent meatballs at other establishments, and found the sauce not savoury enough and the meatball slightly rubbery. the fried calamari ($21) was tender, but on the oily side and the garlic aioli was bland and unmemorable.

the next two dishes were excellent though. the linguini fruits of the sea ($29) was beautiful; perfectly al dente fresh pasta, and perfectly cooked and seasoned fresh seafood. and the hapuka tail saltimbocca ($42) lived up to the hype. the sage, capers and prosciutto lifted the taste of the succulent hapuka. this is a huge dish, which the three of us struggled to get through.

disappointedly, the chocolate fondant was undercooked and cold in the centre. as with an establishment of this calibre, once we told the staff, the apologies was swift and genuine, and the price was taken off the final total.

i loved the surroundings, décor and service. so many places are too cramped with poor acoustics, it was great to go somewhere and be able to have a conversation. the food was good, but could have been better.

the food was excellent, we started with the mussels, and moved on to lamb cutlets, snapper and the king prawns, the duck fat roasted potatoes were awesome. the food service was excellent and well timed. staff are very friendly and helpful. the restaurant has a nice atmosphere, and is not over the top. all in all, a good evening out.

the back story : i first encountered gusto when visiting skycity grand hotel. mesmerised by its grand decor, the chandeliers outside and the spacious open plan restaurant setting, i was tempted to try this. located in the old premises of dine by peter gordon, it has retained its classy decor and grand interior, and with the name sean connolly attached to the food - i made it my next place to visit for a dinner out.

setting: walking through the revolving doors of skycity grand, i am taken into a world of luxury with chandeliers from the ceiling, floral art on the walls then at the end, a bright sign proudly announcing gusto. i was tempted. past the white pillars with green ivy vine lay the spacious interior of gusto. we are promptly taken to a table along the wall with brown leather looking seats. our wait staff enthusiastically introduced the menu.

food: tapas style dishes litter the menu from the cheapest item on the menu - the house bread- to more substantial items of meatballs, eggplant and calamari. fresh handmade pasta dishes are the signature dishes here though other scrumptious sounding options of baby chicken , beef brisket and lamb cutlets are on offer. we end up ordering the calamari and pork and veal meatballs with a garlic pizetta on the side. the meatballs did not disappoint - juicy and flavoursome in a tomato sauce with cheese. the calamari was crispy though slightly on the salty side. the pizetta was presented in a cute little pizza box though the serving size was probably a bit small for price especially considering how much bread we got for the house bread - which was definitely value for money. all in all the entrees were great. next were the mains - baby chicken, king prawns, slow cooked beef brisket and the duck ragu pappardelle. unfortunately these were less convincing. although the beef brisket was very tender - melting in the mouth - as was the baby chicken - both lacked the spark in flavour to bring it up a notch. there also seemed to be a preponderance of parsley in the dishes - either in the form of gremolata or as garnish - parsley was a noticeable part of all the dishes! the winning main this time was the pappardelle and judging from other reviews, it would have been safer to stick to the pasta dishes. the chicken was pink towards the bones; and whilst we were reassured it was perfectly safe - i didn't want to risk it. this was handled very well though and gusto wins points in that regard in handling feedback. the chicken was swiftly replaced by another dish of our choosing after checking with the chef. and although the mains were not as exceptional as the entrees - we did end up with a happy ending with delicious desserts. my pick here is definitely the nutella bomboli - warm crunchy sugar coated donuts filled with nutella oozing out from the centre. i couldn't help but have more - and for $10 it's a steal. definitely could come back just for the bomboli!

occasion : for a fine dining night out where atmosphere and service is high on the want list or for a group wanting the opportunity to share dishes. a bit of a mixed review on the food but there were definitely signature dishes that were done well. would have scored a 4 at least otherwise.

revisit potential : 8/10

awesome place. came here for dinner once and we were really impressed. the food tasted great and the portions were pretty decent. a little disappointed about the potatoes roasted in duck fat, because i had heard great things about it, but overall loved the food. especially the poached peach dessert.

nice ambience (although i saw one table using their phone flashlights to read the menu 😅 so i guess it depends on where you sit). the staff were all very kind and friendly. definitely worth it for a fancy evening out.

had mother's day lunch - started off with meatballs which were tender and yummy followed by duck pappardelle...and braised cuttlefish. food very good. the open kitchen was way too noisy compared to others i have experienced. being in a table close to it didn't help.