onemata

customer service in onemata can be greatly improved especially on a very competitive restaurant market these days. the food menu is not diverse- it’s the same menu with little bit of changes in the garnish, there is no consistency in flavour and taste. fried chicken with daikon- some days daikon taste fine but the last few times daikon was so sour.

the new menu changes also wasn’t appetisingly pleasant to look at ( chicken liver pâté) the chicken huli huli is salty with lots of soy a little close to raw side and flies was on the chicken luckily i already finished eating. i couldn’t even finish my tuna tataki due to this unhygienic views of flies in the food. we raised this to one of your waitress and to the manager but you only said next time will improve it that is the last straw as we don’t want our friends and family to experience bad service and food.

we used to like this restaurant but the service and food really become so bad. so far pantry is the only consistent restaurant in park hyatt when it comes to food and service.

4 of us had a long lunch here yesterday
the food was divine
shared plates
fried chicken salmon poke and lamb adobo all stand outs
also cauliflower caponata green pea risotto and sides of grilled asparagus & brocollini
great drinks menu
service very good
magical spot by viaduct in wynyard quarter
park hyatt and brent martin (head chef) congrats

elaborate menu featuring the best of new zealand seafood, meat and produce. must try dish would be the chocolate based dessert and the cocktail menu! love the open kitchen and grea atmosphere, with a location/view that’s perfect.

we came with very high expectation. the atmosphere and scenery was lovely. the lamb was too tough for my liking. server was not trained which we felt was not appropriate response.

dined here the first week they opened - the atmosphere and scenery was lovely, very suitable for a date. the highlight was definitely the cauliflower on sourdough entrée, i had the least expectation for this dish but it turned out to be the best and most unique. for my main course i had the salmon, it was too oily for my liking where you could see the oil all over the plate (and of course, taste the oil). when asked how our meal was, we gave feedback that the salmon dish was too oily and the response was "that's the style" which we we felt was not an appropriate response, especially for a brand new opening restaurant that should take all feedback seriously. however in saying that, after leaving a google review, the staff did contact me and address that comment which i thought was very professional. i would still return to try other dishes.

we came with very high expectations and guess what? onemata exceeded all our expectations in every single aspect.

apart from the rather odd entrance from the hotel side (you feel that you are entering from the back of the restaurant), the moment you are greeted, seated and served, to the presentation, quality and flavour of all the dishes, the whole experience was consistently outstanding.

this restaurant places a very strong focus on representing the diversity of culture and the high quality ingredients nz has to offer, and it did not disappoint. all dishes are made to share, and even though this is not a 'traditional' fine dining venue, this is not really a problem for us. authenticity may restrict creativity, and what they have to offer here is simply remarkable.

for drinks we ordered cocktail #4 and a mocktail "like a margarita" - the cocktail is very creative and the mocktail was simply pleasant. both were definitely a positive surprise and paved the way for what was going to be a great night out.

for starters we ordered the cauliflower caponata and the 'curd' - octopus. cauliflower caponata may appear humble but the freshness of the dish was unquestionable - it was literally flavour explosion. the octopus is cooked in an extremely interesting way. traditionally they are either grilled, charred or boiled for salads however whatever they did here turned the octopus into something that'll almost melt in your mouth. unbelievable, in a good way.

for the mains, we ordered a bavette steak from the hearth oven with hasselback potatoes and the paua risotto. bavette steak is certainly interesting as we haven't really seen them served alot but the meat was cooked to perfection, is lean and very tender. the potatoes albeit slightly too salty to our looking, was crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. the paua risotto is certainly the highlight here - it's served with a 60 mins onsen egg that's meant to be broken and mixed with the risotto. serving risotto with an onsen egg to some may be sacrilege to risotto purist but this is exactly the beauty of new world fusion cuisine. the end result, oh boy, this is surely one of the best risotto i've ever had, right up there with those we've had in italy. period.

for dessert we ordered the honey thyme cake and a goat cheese sponge (cheese)cake. the coffee sorbet and the chocolate ganache served with the honey thyme cake compliments each other very well for a dessert that's more 'substantial' in profile. whereas my personal favourite is definitely the goat cheese sponge cake with keffir lime served with milk sorbet. this is very refreshing and although personally i'm a fan of strong goat cheese, the flavour here is very balanced, even, and refreshing. we have absolutely no qualms with any of them.

in summary, everything was cooked to absolute perfection.

this is no regular hotel restaurant. this restaurant is right up there and will be a disruptor to what is already a bustling f&b scene, and is definitely a rightful challenger to the more entrenched establishment here.

well done onemata, and well done to all the crews involved!

onemata is set in the new park hyatt auckland but this is not a hotel restaurant. the menu is well thought out and shines a spotlight on local nz ingredients and their origins.

the lamb was so tender yet still had texture, such a delight to eat. the sauce really brought out the lamb taste in the best way. the paua risotto was cooked to perfection and the paua to risotto to leaf ratio was perfect. the desserts brought unique combinations to life. with the chocolate bar there was a hint of gingerbread and the slightly savoury ice cream brought it all together. the honey and thyme cake had hints of coffee and cream cheese and it all came together beautifully.

breakfast was mind blowing. the pancakes were cooked in their special hearth oven and were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, a delicious reinvention of a classic. this restaurant balances savoury and sweet with talent and the kumara rosti was no surprise. the bacon was thick but still managed to have some crispiness.

overall, 10/10 would recommend