prego

i have travelled in italy and to be honest prego's food was better then a lot of food i tried in italy. the service was excellent we went for a friends birthday there was quite a few of us and we all got amazing service by the friendly staff. i had the fettuccine which was bloody brilliant! all my friends loved their food. i would recommend to book though as it was super busy (saturday night). i will defiantly be coming back here!

after dining at prego a few times, we were impressed by their food (mainly pizza and tiramisu). however, our last visit was so awful i don't think we will ever go back there again.

the restaurant was quite busy when we walked in, but there were a few tables free. three or four waitresses walked past us without guiding us to a table; not knowing what to do, we sat down at one of the free tables inside, and we managed to get a waitress to take our order.

we remembered from previous experience that the pizzas took a long time to arrive at the table, so we decided to order a pizza first, before choosing what else we were getting.

i was looking through the menu when a man who looked like the manager walked over to our table and rudely told us to leave, as apparently there was a long waiting list of people who wanted to get a table, and we did not put our name down. this would have been understandable (although it still doesn't justify the rudeness), had it not been for the empty seats we could see around us. it was also very strange that the manager (?) didn't even try to put our name down on the waiting list, and simply walked away, leaving us feeling very embarrassed and awkward, since other diners were trying to see what was happening.

it was clear that they just wanted to kick us out because they thought we weren't ordering enough food. this was a terrible experience, especially since all the good restaurants in ponsonby were fully booked for dinner by this time, and we had to go back to the cbd.

it's such a shame, as good italian restaurants are rare in auckland... we will not be going back since a restaurant that is so obsessed with making money can't be providing you with the best food possible for the price.

i recommend toto, barolo (in the langham) or da vinci if you are looking for an italian restaurant for dinner in/near the cbd with good food and great service.

nice restaurant but i was pretty annoyed that i was told via facebook message by one of their staff that i could make a large booking but then when i called and spoke to someone (manager) i believe, i was then told that they won't take my booking as they are a walk in restaurant.. and i would definitely be able to get a large table by 5:30pm. however when we arrived at 5:15pm, we were told that we will have to wait for an hour to an hour and a half at least to be seated. the bar area wasn't even spacious for 10 of us to be standing around too. when we decided to go to another restaurant, we were told we can have one of the table. (that was after 40 mins of waiting)
portion of the food was just ok and we all felt very thirsty afterwards. probably cause of the msg added to the pizza / pasta ..
the girl who served us was really nice but we won't be back again..

i'd put more rating just because the food was good but our experience was so unpleasant that it made the food taste bitter. we had to wait for quite a while because the maître d forgot about us, after getting a table it took ages to get some food and they even forgot our starter. when i complained to the manager and maître d, it was really hard to get a humble apology, they blamed the delayed on being busy... man i've been to busier restaurants, they just handle it better.

with all the distractions of the new and exciting restaurant openings, i had forgotten about an old favourite. a voucher from zomato was the perfect incentive when a blogger friend came to town. while you can choose to sit indoors, dining in the courtyard under the fairy light spheres on a balmy evening is an idyllic way to catch up with friends. prego’s longevity is not only built on the rustic italian food they serve but also on the attentive and friendly (if slightly cheeky) service.

we shared a antipasto misto with a selection of caprese insalata, salmon lasagne, duck liver parfait, olives, crumbed artichokes, cotechino sausage, truffle & white bean dip and flatbreads. each morsel was a delight and it was the perfect way to segue into the main meal.

for the mains, we shared a risotto ai gamberi (with prawns), a snapper with mediterranean vegetables and a side dish of polenta. the risotto was creamy and light. the snapper was perfectly cooked and well flavoured by the herbs, but my favourite was the polenta. crispy on the outside, so buttery, cheesy and light on the inside. the texture was superb.

for dessert, we managed the crème brulee, a nice sweet end to the meal. for the 3 of us, with non-alcoholic drinks, the total came to ~$150 which was excellent value.

was expecting this to be a casual dining experience based on what i had read and the prices but wow i was amazed this place is fine dining with affordable prices to the max! we had kina as our waitress and she was so attentive and welcoming made the night so much more enjoyable. food was delicious and blew me out of the water! 10/10 recommended this place

all too often when you order italian in nz you get a balls up that is often no where near what you would get in italy. not at prego in ponsonby. i was a late night diner and ordered fettuccine alfredo.
have to say it was the best i had eaten outside italy. the pasta was obviously fresh and al dente. the chicken was fresh and beautifully cooked. mushrooms tasted as if they had come straight from the field and the creamy sauce was other worldly. absolutely excellent meal. highly recommended

i never thought too much of italian food, i always believed it to be rustic home cooking, but prego definitely shows you how great italian cuisine can really be. i highly recommend all their pasta dishes which are full of deep and rich flavours.

the decor is modern and slick, and the wait staff are some of the best in auckland.

it's definitely more on the expensive side, and unfortunately can be overun by pretentious clientele with unruly children from time to time, but it's definitely a great relaxed lunch option.

prego never disappoints. returned for my birthday and the servicing was amazing. they even came out with a candle on my dessert which i thought was really cute. food was delicious as always and came to the table within a reasonable time even when it was very busy. if you love oysters would definitely recommend to get them from prego. i also had the gnocchi which was a 10/10.

nice food and atmosphere, think will come and sit outside in summer. most importantly, really enjoy the service! recommend italian foodies to come!

prego is the closest thing to an institution of the auckland dining scene having been in business at the same site since 1986! consistency of service, food, standards is what makes this place so special and the sort of place you end up taking family, friends, and meetings along for a meal, drink and laughter.

staff are wonderful, friendly but totally professional, the food is always of great consistency and the quality of the food is across the menu.

prego was on my list of restaurants to go and i finally tried it out today. maybe i had a high expectation after reading positive reviews on the restaurant. i was actually quite disappointed at their food.

first of all, it took almost half an hour for the food to be served despite the fact that it was not busy when i ordered them.

steak was perfectly cooked but nothing special. everything on the place had no flavour. potato gratin had nice texture but no flavour no season. steak was cooked to perfect medium rare but i somehow felt that the meat was rather not fresh and the steak almost tasted like a good rump steak, not eye fillet. red wine jus was plain too. i had to put quite a lot of salt and pepper.

pasta was yummy but again it wasn't surprisingly good. it was just okay. only a bit better than other places because they use fresh pasta.

i was mostly disappointed at their pizza. i ordered mushroom and ham pizza (bianco) it was not the taste i was expecting. i didn't personally like this pizza.

service was good. all staff were prompt and attentive although the place got quite busy later on.

i think i would come back to try different menu but since it is quite pricy and it didn't worth the price this time. it will take me sometime to visit her again.

was invited to dinner at prego with a group of friends and we all absolutely loved it! the calamari is delicious and the calzone is a must try!
excellent staff, beautiful decor and food to match and complete the experience.
will be back!

the service and food we received at the restaurant were great. our waiter was quick with his service and he constantly made sure everything was going good for us. he accommodated to our every request with a warm, friendly manner. really enjoyed my dining experience here, will definitely go back again!

recently i finally made it to the prego restaurant, for the very first time. they offer an impressive menu with so many dishes to choose from, it actually took me a little while to decide which one to pick.

my friends ended up ordering different pasta dishes, that looked great, and as per their feedback tasted even better. i ordered gnocchi, with a beautiful combination of sage butter, butternut pumpkin, spinach, gorgonzola and walnuts. rich, creamy and full of northern italy flavours. loved every bit of this dish, and would highly recommend for you to try.

overall - great food, attentive and friendly staff and a complimentary cheese is a massive bonus, especially if you like your pasta extra cheesy!