Food was decent, but the service was terrible. Seriously, two stars off terrible. The only redeeming factor was when I realised they had only charged for one beer instead of the two my husband had. Right from the moment we walked in, two of us, to an almost completely empty giant restaurant(there was one other table of two there), and the snooty response to us saying ‘no’ to having had a reservation… I’m sorry, is it a problem that we want to eat in your empty restaurant? The rest of the time, the staff stood around behind the bar, talking in italian and doing everything they could to ignore attempts to get their attention — smiles, eye contact, nods, good lord, what did we have to do? Walked past one waitress on my way to find the bathroom, and she actually stopped walking and stared at me because I had dared to leave my seat. Won’t be back, in spite of the food, I don’t like being made to feel like I am inconveniencing people by attempting to purchase their services.
Sophie H.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Auckland, New Zealand
This seems to be quite the authentic little Italian eatery tucked away down City Road, which to be honest as a street I don’t frequent all that much after a certain hour as the ladies of the night tend to like to congregate here, towards the Symonds Street end anyway, so try and avoid that quarter if you can. But we’re here to talk about the food aren’t we, and the food was great! The restaurant can actually be a little difficult to find as its located on the basement level of the building, but its worth seeking out if its pasta you crave. I’m a fan of the cannelloni, which I tend not to make at home so much anymore as its quite difficult with all those tubes of pasta going on, so I enjoy ordering it when I see it on a menu. The offering here is a perfect mix of bechemel and tomato sauce and soft pasta. The service seemed to go from one extreme to the other when I was there(which was a few months ago) from overly attentive, it was almost annoying to I had to go and track down the server who seemed to have engaged In a heated argument with the chef. Italians who knows!
Sarah B.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Auckland, New Zealand
I used to work across the road from Da Vinci’s, and not liking to lunch alone, used to drag my fellow workmates over to Da Vinci’s at least once a week. There were few complaints, as you could get a tasty salad, pizza, pasta or risotto for only $ 10-$ 12 with the comfortable ambience of a restaurant thrown in. Also you could sneak in a cheeky beer or wine if the boss wasn’t around. I did walk past this place a few times before I noticed it, in fact I think it was recommended to me and I had to go hunting for the sign. That would be beacuse it sits in the basement of No 5 City Rd and you have to go down a staircase to the left of the big brother restaurant. Well worth the hunt for a tasy mid-week lunch.
Julian P.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Auckland, New Zealand
Great experience! The waiting staff are friendly and helpful. The menu is huge so it was good to get some tips when ordering. Orders were taken quickly and the food was fantastic. There is a huge menu full of Italian classics but if I was to go back I would definitely choose the chicken livers and the frangelico crepes. Lovely atmosphere and I would rate one of the best Italian restaurants in Auckland. Gone are the days of Enzo, the volatile chef who added some theatrics to the evening. Despite his departure the food is still excellent and you can now return anything not to your liking without fearing the wrath of the chef.