Regatta

To be fair, this isn’t a review of their food, more their beer selection, or lack of it as the case may be.
Been meaning to check the place out for a bit since watching them first build, then open in an envious spot overlooking the beach. Found ourselves hungry after a late arvo dip so, thought we’d give it a crack.
Popped up the steps (don’t get me started on the design/​floor level/​relationship of building to street, as that’s another discussion), spoke to a friendly enough, but not exactly the sharpest waitress and nabbed a table right out front. Stoked.
Nothing really grabbed us from the menu as we weren’t in the mood for $ 35+ mains… But we eventually decided to flag it after realising that our cold refreshing beer appetite was not going to be sated by their overly corporate selection.
I guess DB/​Montieths must offer some handy incentives to an operator for it to solely offer only their beers, even with token ‘craft’ selection from their stable. Not even room for 2 or 3 independent breweries… In 2016… Cmon?!
Funny, guess I’ve turned into a beer snob or at least realised that if I’m going to spend $ 35+ on a main, and am not in a wine mood, then I want a bloody good beer to go with.
Politely informed waitress of said situation, she nodded politely in return (I think she got my point) and we headed off for other options.
Btw…Looked at adjacent eateries, suspected same corporate overlords… gave wide berth.

I’ve been twice in the past couple of weeks, first on a whim while walking past one quiet late Saturday afternoon, second time for dinner on a busy Friday evening.
Both times I was pleasantly surprised by the menus (simple fish & chips the first visit, steak and shrimp the second), the atmosphere, and the service. The food was excellent with a strong seafood showing as you’d expect from a nautically-​themed venue; service was perfectly pleasant and just the right level of attentive from the young and enthusiastic wait staff.
Pair the venue, views, and service up with a great menu and you’ve got a great spot for an impromptu night out on the seaside.

The Regatta deserves only 1 star for the ineptly slow service, unprofessional and non-​punctual table service. My four friends and I sat down outside on a beautiful day recently, and no one came to attend us for 10 minutes. I proceeded to walk inside the Regatta for menus from a waitress and she said she would be right out. This place was NOT busy at all, and about 80% of the establishment was empty. But this time, we waited for 15 minutes more, and with our car being timed in parking, AGAIN, I had to get up and this time ask a rather clueless male staff for the menus. At this stage, we only had time for drinks and not the full-​on meal we hoped to enjoy. (But in looking at the menu, the food didn’t seem pleasing or appetizing at all.)
If you ever find yourself in Takapuna, AVOID going to the Regatta! Their staff is immensely slow and evidently discourteous to customers.

Yet again went to regatta this evening for dinner and yet again it disappoints
New Menu so we were looking forward to trying the new dishes.
The Sardines were very average (my fishing bait is of better quality)
the flounder Once we found it under all the extras there was no room on the plate to enjoy the fish so my friend did not eat it.
I had the rack of lamb The dish was interesting to say the least I am not sure you could call it a lamb rack, it was tuff and under cooked.
But the vegetable sides were superb.
All in all we will not be going back even the location won’t entice me

This is the second time I’ve visited Regatta. The first was for lunch, I had the pan-​fried fish and it was delish. Service was great, and the other dishes coming out of the kitchen looked amazing, so when we needed a nice dinner location I recommended Regatta.
It wasn’t as good as I remembered. Service was a little bit slow, we seemed to wait quite a bit in between seeing our server, and I found myself looking around more than once during the evening because we wanted to order, needed another drink, etc.
I ordered the crispy pork belly for an entrée. The pork was cooked well, and there was some crackling on top, but in between the two was ½ inch of un-​rendered, lukewarm fat. Ugh. Not tasty. But, all the flavors on the plate worked well together.
For main, I had the OP steak, what a gorgeous piece of meat! I saw this when we had lunch there and made it a point to come back for it. I ordered it cooked to chef’s recommendation which was supposed to be med-​rare. It was much closer to med, and it was a bit dry towards the edges and the outside seemed to be over-​seared. But, once again, the flavors saved it. Whatever they used to season the steak was incredible, and the fat was rendered and crispy. I think that 30 seconds less on the grill would have been perfect.
For dessert we had the chocolate fondant which was yummy! We got one for the table, won’t do that again. I’m getting my own. The fondant was nice and runny on the inside, the way it should be, and the peanut brittle was a brilliant addition, adding a bit of texture to the dish.

A new development in Takapuna overlooking the beach, in an area that formerly was a carpark. The best of the 3 is Regatta so my group of 10 went here on Friday. We sat just inside from the large balcony but the view was not lost as the whole side of the restaurant opened right up.
Owners Andy and Steve have done a fantastic job of decking out the space, I love the staff in their navy and white stripe tops. I can’t say much for the bathrooms. It’s like you have walked down a shopping mall corridor and into a container park. I’m not sure I am sold on the weird tap and hand dryer combo.
This is primarily a seafood restaurant but there are a few other options including a great Charcuterie Tasting platter that I shared with my friend for our entrée. Perfect cured meats and a lovely Fennel and apple slaw with plenty of bread and mustard.
I had a hankering for fish tonight so I had 3 choices between Pan-​fried, Roasted or Wood fired, I chose Pan-​fried. It came with crab, broccoli and roasted tomatoes, and pinenuts. Absolutely delightful with a perfectly crispy skin. Next time I’m having the raved about spatchcock poussin.
I wasn’t going to order dessert, but I succumbed and it was a shame I was slightly disappointed. It was over cooked by about 1 minute. A little too crispy on the outside and not so runny in the centre. The accompaniments were great, vanilla-​pod ice-​cream, sticks of caramelised banana and a crunchy peanut brittle shard.
I highly recommend this place as your choice of restaurant when over the shore.

Well cannot really judge as we couldn’t get inside. There was few tables on the terrace totally empty and some other busy with people drinking beers. We simply asked for a table to have a drink, and the response was straight forward. Those table are for food only. When I asked why the other tables people were having drinks. No answers given. Anyway we left. Very strange and bad feeling. Will certainly not come back

Takapuna residents have been screaming for a beachside bistro and I thought Regatta might just be the answer to our prayers.
First things first, they’ve absolutely nailed the décor. It’s beachside chic at it’s best. Outside, there’s big comfy booths with navy cushions, perfect for lounging cocktail in hand. The entire front of the restaurant opens up to spectacular beachside views, which I’m sure the chefs appreciate in this scorching AKL summer. They’ve thought about the details too; the fish and oyster of the day hang on wooden signs about the pass.
It was windy when we went so we nabbed a seat inside, close to the glass doors where the sun was streaming in. Shortly after being seated a waiter opened the door directly behind me, causing gusts of wind to funnel in. I asked it we could shut it and she said that there was too much smoke in the kitchen (isn’t that what extraction fans are for?) and that it was the only door you could open without having to open the entire front of the restaurant — slight design flaw. To her credit, she did offer to move us but fortunately the wind petered off.
Onto the food, we started with ½ doz Clevedon Coast oysters that were beautifully fresh but perhaps a little small, but to be fair, this is to be expected in Summer. For my main I choose Hapuka, p/​f with courgette, broccoli, salted lemon, crab and pinenuts ($ 32.50). The fish was well cooked but was very salty, whilst the rest of the dish had virtually no seasoning. The courgette came in the form of a smooth, but flavourless purée smeared across the plate. The broccoli was steamed in florets and served cold along with three roasted, also cold, cherry tomatoes. A few pinenuts, crab and a slice of preserved lemon were scattered throughout. There was nothing to tie the dish together, not even a touch of olive oil.
My dining partner faired better. He went for the roasted swordfish w grilled yeasted cauliflower, burnt butter, capers & watercress. There were also currants in there and it was a devine combination. The only problem was it was a rather thick piece of fish and it was completely raw in the middle, which personally, I think is strange for roasted fish. We called the waiter over and asked it this was how it was intended to be served. She didn’t know and offered to go ask, walking away without the dish. We quickly suggested she take the dish with her to show the chef. Now here’s the problem with open kitchens, you can see how people react. The waiter takes the dish over to the chef and you can see he is visibly angry, having stern words with the waiter. She soon returns and says yes, this is how it supposed to be cooked but they’ll pan fry the raw piece.
My issue here is 1) if you’re going to have an open kitchen, keep in mind that customers can see your reactions and temper your response. 2) Restaurants should have a procedure in place when a customer complains about a dish. Personally, I think the dish should be removed immediately and a manager should be notified so that they can smooth things over. More often than not, it’s not the issue that people remember but instead, how it was deal with and unfortunately Regatta did little to remedy the situation. They did return the raw fish, well-​cooked on a side plate, so that’s something.
Regatta is still very new and hopefully these issues will be ironed out over time. I have heard rave reviews from others so I am hoping we went on an off day!

Takapuna’s finally stepping it up with the opening of this place. Next door to Tokyo Bay and Franc’s, it’s as close to the water as you’re going to get. Beautifully decorated and quite big inside. You can sit at the bar end or down by the open kitchen. There’s a huge range of food on offer and not just seafood, there’s a charcuterie platter, duck liver parfait and pork belly. Small bites, shared platters, entrees or mains, take your pick. We had a selection of entrees — surf and turf carpaccio, seared scallops, citrus ceviche, crispy pork belly and the warm bread. That’s a lot of food, but it didn’t stop two desserts being ordered — the standout was chocolate fondant with caramelised banana and peanut brittle (a.m.a.z.i.n.g.).

You gotta try Regatta!
We stumbled on to this new gem on the beach while foodie hunting for dinner. It was literally Their first open nite! We had 12 peeps and they seated us within 30 mins right in front of the kitchen!
Dinner and a great show.
The food was great. The menu had a nice variety of options. They have several catches of the day on the board above the kitchen and they offer the catch cooked different ways: wood fired, pan seared or backed depending on paring of fish and cooking style.
Very cool.
I had the Ceviche, wedge salad and chips. The Ceviche was done differently — thin sliced fish with citrus base and a nice assortment of veggies on top. The flavors were incredible. Totally yummy.
One of our clan discovered a deconstructed oyster shot — oyster on half shell, shot of vodka and shot of spicy heaven. Of course I had one!
It was sooooohhhhh nice.
Other folks in our group had the wood fired tuna, pan fried snapper with crab and pine nuts, and the baked flounder. Everyone said the presentation and the prep was first rate. And of course, if the plates are empty and folks are smilin’ seems like that is all good!
Marina took excellent care of us all and if you live in Takapuna, check out Regatta. I believe you’ll be very glad you did!