gusto at the grand

beautiful interior, great service & delicious food. i loved every single dishes we had tonight. the gnocchi was outstanding as they have reinvented to next level. modern & sophisticated italian food which were not over loaded with carbs. i have to go back to try other dishes.

staff were great. food was hit and miss. bread was stale, i would guess it was several days old, similar to what you might buy from a low end supermarket. beef cheeks were very tender and large portions, but lacked flavor, just tasted like plain unseasoned beef. raw tuna also had zero flavor, it was literally just thin tuna with a bit of apple grated on top. no seasoning at all once again. i don't know how they can call it a dish when it isn't even cooked or seasoned in any way?

duck pasta was tasty. tiramasu was great. rest of food was not fit for a restaurant backed by a famous chef.

delicious, modern italian food. the girls day out $49 pp menu was excellent value. staff were friendly and helpful, multiple staff waited our tables

favourite items were the octopus carpaccio, barley-broccoli salad and rocket-pear salads that was well seasoned. gnocchi was similar texture to the mozzarella, but i don't have gnocchi often enough to know how it's supposed to be.

shared dessert was an ice cream log coated in caramel popcorn and meringue clouds with yummy chocolate bark that were sweet and balanced off the menu. hummingbird celebration cake was a bit moist but well decorated as a naked cake and a gorgeous looking finish to the lunch.

set lunch menu @ $45 is a bargain and shared plates was ideal for our group. definitely recommend the bruschetta, beef cheeks and the salted caramel popcorn dessert gets a big thumbs up too. we were in the private dining room so can't comment on the atmosphere in the main restaurant but i would go back and would definitely recommend if you're in the mood for italian.

loved the buffalo mozzarella w/ fennel salad & the duck and pea parpadelle was amazing. the tattooed hostess was a nightmare-ridiculously funny, directionless, lost.

it has been some time since visiting gusto and i was looking forward to the tasty italian fare i had come to know and love. how disappointed i was. the first sign should have been an italian restaurant full of indian chefs. there is a whole other story here about the need for immigration in our restaurants in auckland but surely it is not much to ask for italian chefs in an italian restaurant. consequently the food was bland, actually beyond bland. ...i have no idea how you can take prime fresh ingredients and serve up a tasteless dish but they managed it. rarely do i add salt and pepper to my food but by golly i needed to this time just to give it some taste. will not be returning in a hurry.

fine dining but one of the very best. we started the evening with cocktails of which they had a wide range of beer, wine, moctails and cocktails. the chillie margarita is absolutely delicious 💛 for mains, i had the lamb rack - well done with duck fat fries and my friends had vegetarian meals and it all tasted fantastic. well prepared with lots of flavor. would visit again. 🌟

let's start with the squid ink risotto. the risotto was beautifully cooked and tasted wonderful. the spaghetti had plenty of clams but i did find the dish to be a little too salty. the penne pasta was fantastically cooked. the fried chicken was ok...it was nice but nothing new. the lamb was so tender!! it was so superbly cooked if only it wasn't so salty in some areas. my friend did tell me they aren't usually this salty so maybe it was a bad night. will have to try out again

i’ve only been to gusto once (back in 2015). i was impressed with the quality of food and had no real complaints about service.

my favourite dish was the pappardelle with lamb ragout and peas – very flavourful, and reminded me of a hearty mince pie (in a good way). the spaghetti with clams was a good dish, but quite salty for my palate. the snapper went down well with my dining party, although i personally felt it was a bit bland. i didn’t find their beef cheeks tender enough; they tasted like brisket.

next time i’d like to try their octopus dish and get more of their delicious calamari (which gets bonus points for not being greasy).

not a 5 due to service, but first the food.
wow their house bread is incredible- such a lovely texture and perfect to dip into the orgy mushroom sauce or meatballs. def recommend

for me the standout dish was the gnocci and orgy mushrooms! the gnocci is not traditional in that the texture is softer and has ricotta in it. it has a beautifully rich cheesy flavour. the sauce was good to dip the bread too
the veal was interesting-came looking donkatsu but sure didnt taste like one. was my boyfriends favourite

the clam spaghetti was okay- the juicy clams were good and the house made pasta was incredible. but a bit on the bland side
would definitely return for the food!

now the service
the waitress was very attentive but overly "nosy"
she first told us to drop the bread as we ordered too much food :s and when we finished it she commented by saying it is impressive and going "wow"
also no one took my jacket when there was clearly a coat hanger behind the kitchen
for a place like this i expected better service
we felt very judged :-( but we just enjoyed your food too much!
service: 3/5
food: 4.5/5

thoroughly enjoyed the food here!
top recommendations:
- the bread, they kept it coming all night! thank you!
- puttanesca, loved the sauce. it was so tasty, mopped it up with my bread :)
- broccoli, simple yet, delicious.
thank you for having more than 2-3 vegetarian dishes on the menu. loved it all!

had a really lovely dinner at gusto tonight, it was my first time at this restaurant and i leave with a desire to return to try the rest of the menu - i wanted to try everything on the menu!! i had the beef cheek, duck fat potatoes and the house bread. the duck fat potatoes were on point with that perfect amount of crunch and the fluffy potato inside, the beef cheek just fell apart and melted in your mouth and the fresh house bread with the olive oil and balsamic served at the table what's not to love! service was fantastic and we were well looked after without overstepping the mark. the restaurant has a modern and elegant style and felt inviting. we started dinner early so was relatively quiet when we arrived but picked up not long after which added to the atmosphere.

flawless evening. service was impeccable, very helpful wait staff. i really liked this place, my first visit and i will definately return. they encourage sharing meals although some diners around us didn't. we had the pizette and meatballs to start. meatballs were divine, pork and veal. we shared the lamb and orgy of mushrooms for main with duck fat potatoes. too many potatoes for 2 people, just a note. we couldn't finish them. i'd heard good things about thier ricotta so was looking forward to the mushrooms with ricotta gnocchi. oh my words.... it was superb, so tasty. no wonder diners weren't sharing it!!! i hope it's a menu staple. so good.

10/10 for service, good food and wine. both lamb and pasta dishes were cooked to perfection. food came out quickly. our waitress, saara was outstanding. made suggestions from the menu, explained what ingredients were used in dishes, created a dish to cater for dietary/fussy eaters requirements, she even knew where the wine i was drinking was sourced from! just too good! highly recommended. i'm definitely going back, especially for the foxes pinot noir!

nottt quite the best service
i was sitting at the table for a long time and wasnt asked if i wanted to order a drink and it felt like staff were avoiding me for no particular reason. other than that, what is your recipe for lentils? theyre amazing.