Grand Harbour

Oh Grand Harbor you missed on the key ingredient, speed.
We were seated for lunch kinda in an awkward corner that the trolleys didn’t bother passing down. seamed like there was very little food actually being served and I wasn’t overly impressed with the food we did end up ordering of the menu. The fried squid was rubbery, beans were cold, dumplings average. I did enjoy the steamed greens in oyster sauce.
We ordered icecream to finish but after waiting 10−15mins for a sweet cart to pass by we gave in an ordered but after that another wait forced us to pay and leave before icecream :(
With such a large dinning room make sure you are seated closer to the kitchen, there was a long wait for food and some dishes that were meant to be hot where cold before the cart made its way down to the end. Also weirdly, there was a few gents smoking cigars outside that you could totally smell inside while eating. no open windows that I could tell.
I think I will be sticking to China yum char in the future.

The food was mediocre they never came by to see how our dinner was or to replenish our water and to add insult injury as we paid the bill they didn’t even ask how the dinner was so they know the food is mediocre would not recommend this place

I’ve been to a few different Yum Cha in Auckland & I would rate this the best one yet.
This is based on the variety of dishes, service and the cleanliness of the restaurant.
You never can go wrong with Yum Cha. There’s those times when nothing else will quench your lunch hunger but yum cha. When you’re full to the brim its that kind of food that never makes you feel icky afterwards but you always feel wonderfully satisfied. Must be the loads of green tea that help wash down the great food too that does the job!

Grand Habour is at the top of my list when I’m in the mood for Yum Cha. It’s always packed in the weekend but the place runs like a well-​oiled machine. I’ve never had to wait more than 20mins.
I like to mix it up every time I go but they make a mean pork bun and of course, dumplings are a must. As is the bok choy — got to get some greens in there somewhere.
All up our feasts (incl. beers) end up being around $ 20 – 25 each — not bad if you ask me!

Food is standard Yum Char fair, so I haven’t posted any photos.
This place is very busy on a Sunday, so unless you are disparate to stand around waiting for a table (even after booking, which is a must do on a Sunday) and happy with pretty slack service then I would say going somewhere else is probably a good call.

Must admit that I’m a bit of a yum char novice, this only being my second time in general but first time at this restaurant. I went here for a birthday Sunday lunch with a very large group of over 25. For a group that big Grand Harbour is well suited as it is a central location and can definitely accommodate large® groups. One of the best things about it is that there is a great variety of options except if you are a vegetarian in which case your options are very limited to a few. Yes it is chaotic and yes you will have to be patient in riding with the waves of food trays and trolleys strolling past your table, but that is yum char in general so you can’t really make a fuss about it because it just comes with the territory. I’m only giving 3 stars because of the lack of vegetarian options and the other yum char place I’ve been to was way more delicious!

Less Grand Harbour and more Grand Central Station, it took us 30 minutes to be seated despite making a reservation.
Food was average by yum Cha standards for Auckland, really, but where this place truly failed was in the feckless, useless service provided by the entirely disinterested staff. Six requests for tea, requests for clean plates unheeded. We gave up after seven attempts.
I cannot recommend this restaurant unless you are desperate. We only came here because our usual and favourite was closed for renovations, and we will not be returning.
Like an Auckland property auction — an inflated view of itself, with barely any substance to support it, and a million sheeple at the door.

Had Yum Char for lunch today — this place was very chaotic! Service was not good and variety was minimal (maybe because it was a week day??). We also kept getting directed to different staff when we wanted something. Not a pleasant experience at all.

Took a large team from work to Grand Harbour, booking the private dining room. The food was authentic and quite good. The sweet and sour fish was a hit with everyone, followed by the Peking Duck. I would go again, but it would be nice to see faster and friendlier service.

Perfect for dim sum or for dinners. This place is always full of people and sometimes you do have to wait for tables to be available if you haven’t made a reservation, but this is a testament to how good this restaurant is! It’s worth going to an great for gatherings and family get togethers! I always leave having eaten too much because there are just too many yummy things to eat! Delicious little parcels of dim sum and a wonderful range of dishes!

Grand harbour is a great place to go for Dim Sum. Wide variety of food, and their dumplings are amazing. Do note, it is very popular and so you often have to wait for a table, especially if in a big group!

Si vous cherchez un restaurant chinois qui sert le dimsum un jour de semaine, le restaurant grand harbour est le bon choix. Nous y sommes déjà allé plusieurs fois et le choix des plats est excellent. Nous étions à peine assis que déjà le thé était sur la table et le chariot des raviolis prêt devant nous. Grand choix de raviolis, très bon canard laqué mais la qualité a un peu baissé. Les crevettes au sel étaient cuits depuis un moment, la poitrine de porc n’était pas croustillante. Un peu déçu cette fois ci, à réessayer une prochaine fois

Some days you just need yum cha and it’s usually a Sunday. If your looking for a quiet place the day after a big night out then this place won’t fit the bill but if your looking for a buzzing atmosphere and lots of delicious dishes to try then immerse yourself into grand harbour and soak up the sounds and smells. Yum cha was fresh and tasty, beer was cold, what more do you need for a lazy yum cha lunch on a Sunday apart from good company to gather round the lazy Susan with.

We’ve been here many times, always at weekends. We were introduced to this place years ago by Asian friends who really know their yum cha. I have been to other yum cha restaurants in Auckland in the past and this is definitely be right up there in terms of its central location and the quality of food, service, décor and of course price.
It is always packed to the gunnels and there are queues out the door, of mostly Asian people who know a good thing. Fortunately we’ve never had to wait long because our friends know someone who works at Grand Harbour and, bless ‘em, they always magically find us a table!
Like all Asian restaurants it’s very kid-​friendly. There’s always a ton of food coming out and the beauty of yum cha is that you don’t have to wait so kids can stuff themselves silly without getting antsy and annoying/​terrorising fellow diners. The fish tanks are always a great source of entertainment for kids with the crayfish eyeballing and waving at you through the glass…
There are definitely other perfectly good (and probably cheaper) yum cha restaurants in Auckland but if you are looking for consistent, quality yum cha in upmarket surroundings you can’t go past Grand Harbour.

If you like yum cha in the slightest and you haven’t been to grand harbour yet then you are truly missing out! This place has established itself as the best in auckland and if you want a table in the weekend make sure you jump on their website and book one in advanve. Dumplings, shumai, beans, sticky rice, crispy pork, duck, panfried pork dumplings, spring rolls you name it — you won’t find better anywhere else. And if you can squeeze in a few treats. try out the apple custard rolls, pineapple buns, coconut buns, and/​or icecream balls. YUM!

Good food but terrible service! If you want to queue up for above average yum cha then get the most abysmal service you have ever experienced come to Grand harbour. They are usually really busy and don’t give you the time of day. Asked for water 4 times and was ignored. Felt very disrespected after a session at this place.

This is by the far one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had in New Zealand. Went for Yum Char one Sunday when the restaurant was full and very busy. Firstly, there was simply not enough food circulating around the room. We spent much of the time waiting and looking for food that didn’t arrive. It was so bad that a guy at a nearby table was literally chasing after the trolley as it wheeled off into the horizon. We saw no pork spare ribs, tripe, beef tendon or chicken feet the entire time we were there. I particularly wanted chicken feet, a common enough dish on any dim sum menu. I asked three different wait staff passing my table if I could please have chicken feet but it never materialised. I eventually asked the manager if I could please have the chicken feet a la carte but that never materialised either. After one final failed attempt we gave up and left the restaurant hungry and disappointed. Chaotic, over-​priced, and with extremely poor service.

I do dig a good Yum Char, and as far as food and surroundings go, this one is one of the best you’ll find. It’s very generously sized, impeccably tasteful in its decoration, and always very clean. This, along with its Viaduct location, make it very pricey for a Yum Char place and that’s what I don’t like about it — my favourite part about eating Asian is bang for buck. While this place is a cut above most others, the price point means it sort of misses the point for me. I did enjoy the food though — great pork buns and dumplings as you;d expect, and all sorts of adventurous stuff which I wasn’t necessarily able to identify.

Grand Harbour is the Rolls Royce of Yum Char restaurants. Being of the Asian persuasion, it’s pretty easy for me to go there and order and be served what I want. I think it’s a little more difficult for others at times. The language barrier can be pretty stressful to deal with when you have no idea what you’re eating. You’ve got to be kind of adventurous with Yum Cha.
They do fried squid well, as well as steamed dumplings and the steamed greens with oyster sauce. People love the BBQ pork buns but I think I ate too many of them as a kid so I’m over it. Same with the ice-​cream balls.
Probably the priciest Yum Cha restaurant you’ll go to, but you’re paying for the cleanliness and Viaduct location.

I like the idea of Yum Cha. The idea that freshly cooked food gets delivered to your table and you can pick and choose your treats, sounds good to me.
The thing is, I’m just not adventurous. Sitting with an equally blonde female friend, we soon discovered the waiters did not even venture near our table most of the time, as they were carrying delicacies such as chicken’s feet or some kind of meat porridge during many of their food deliveries.
What I did try, I have to say was not very adventurous, except for the «Yum» dumplings with unidentifiable filling that did not live up to its name.
If you have exotic and adventurous tastes I think Grand Harbour would be great. If, like me, you don’t, then it’s probably not for you.

My mum always says you can judge a good restaurant by how many people are inside eating. And if this is the case, Grand Harbour should be a 5 star. It’s never not busy. Every time I’ve been there, people have been lined up waiting to sit in the waiting area. Most people would just turn around and go somewhere else. But let me assure you, the wait is definitely worth it.
This is Yum Cha at its finest. Dumplings, pork buns, duck, and of course the odd pair of chicken feet and sheep testicles (it wouldn’t be Yum Cha without them). Every thing feels fresh, unlike a lot of Yum Chas, and delicious.
They do however serve Shark Fin soup, which is illegal in most countries, so I would strongly recommend you don’t order that.
I’ve been there for work dos, birthdays, farewells, and just because we’ve had a severe craving for Yum Cha. If you haven’t been you should definitely go, even if Chinese food isn’t your thing, the experience is something not to be missed.