Phoenix Tree

Three of us went here for dinner because I had received a voucher from a friend. After reading many reviews on the internet about Phoenix Tree, I was quite wary about the service, the food and the overall experience we would have.
My sister and I arrived at 6.30pm and my sister’s boyfriend about 10 minutes later. We were greeted with a friendly ‘hello’ by the manager and/​or boss and were led out past the kitchen, up some stairs and into their outdoor garden patio seating area, which was surrounded by a plastic marquee. It was very pretty as it looked out onto a beautiful lush green garden. However, it was cold even with the outdoor heaters on! The plastic walls were not exactly zipped up around the edges of the patio, leading us to having cold feet all night. This was the beginning of a not-​so-​enjoyable dining experience.
We first started with tea. We tried the Hibiscus Flower Tea ($ 9.50). It arrived served in a glass teapot. It was very pretty as the pot was filled with different flowers and the taste was lovely. This was one of the very few highlights of the night.
For entrées, we ordered the Money Bags ($ 9) which were tasty, and we could have eaten another plate of them! We also ordered the Dragon Rolls ($ 12) which were also nice. For mains, we ordered the Tom Yum Soup with prawns ($ 15), the Vietnamese Noodles with chicken ($ 15.50) and the Seafood Noodles with tomato sauce ($ 16.50).
The Tom Yum Soup arrived in the most beautiful looking pot, but when we started ladling the soup into the small bowls, we realised there was only a small amount of sauce and not many prawns at all. For $ 15, it was a complete rip-​off. It was only about 300mls in total, which would have been more suited as an entrée, rather than a main dish. The Seafood Noodles were terrible. The noodles tasted like the tinned spaghetti ones and we all agreed that noodles with a tomato sauce is definitely not an Asian-​fusion dish. The Vietnamese Noodles were okay, but only the chicken had flavour.
We also ordered the Gold Silver Bread on the side ($ 6) which consisted of three steamed buns and deep fried bread, which you could dip in condensed milk. It was definitely the highlight of the night. The bread was sweet and filling, so we did not order any desserts.
As for the service, well it was not great. All three of us have worked in restaurants and cafes /​studied hospitality and I hate to say this, but it was the worst customer service I have experienced in my life. The service was literally non-​existent. The waitress was nice, but not trained very well. The manager/​boss was friendly when we arrived, but we did not see him for the rest of the night. Below are a few examples:
When we arrived at the restaurant, the table was only set for two people, even though I had rang earlier to say there would be three of us dining tonight.
When my sister’s boyfriend arrived, the waitress did not ask him whether he wanted a drink or even a glass of water. After 20 minutes, I had to wave the waitress down to ask her for a glass of water. Instead she came over with a bottle of water. I was thinking… how is he going to drink water with no glass? She finally came back with a glass!
We had to wait at least 30 minutes for our entrées and main dishes. The entrées came out within a few minutes of each other, but the mains didn’t, so we were all eating at different times.
My sister’s boyfriend also noted that none of the other tables were set when we arrived. In fact, the waitress was setting up all the tables while the diners were seated before her!!! Our water glasses were also never topped up. We finished drinking all the water from the glass jug and this was never replaced.
I gave the Phoenix Tree restaurant a ²⁄₅ rating because we all agreed that the food was mediocre, the service the worst we had received and overall, a unmemorable experience. The only highlights of the night were the hibiscus flower tea, the money bags and the gold silver bread.
When you have such a bad experience, you can’t lie and say you enjoyed it. The food was definitely not authentic, compared to all the Asian restaurants we have tried over Auckland and beyond. To be honest, I will not be coming back. It was extremely disappointing.