The Cav

Firstly, let me say the location and outlook are fantastic. Parking was not difficult with 2 hour street parking and off road parking readily available.
Inside it was clean, fresh and light. People were starting to gather at midday so my colleague and I thought we were onto a winner.
But
The drink service was slow. The table was dirty and we asked for it to be wiped. The waiter joked that we had picked the only dirty table in the house and that he would return with a cloth. He never did. We had to make do with a napkin ourselves.
The menu looked promising. A good selection of meals and light options. I thought they seemed a little expensive but it is central Auckland so not a big deal.
We ordered food at the bar as nobody came near the table and it took longer than it should. Especially as we were the second or third order and the busy time was still to come.
Upshot is, the food was ordinary. My fish tacos lacked flavour and the shoestring fries were cold and limp.
My colleague is a local business man and his comment was ‘I know not to come here again’
Sad really when it promised so much.

The Cavalier Tavern has been serving people since 1866. One can only hope it did so with more grace, style and value than it does in 2015.
My friend and I ordered — a burger for $ 22.50, and a meatloaf and mash for $ 25.00. The burger was 80% bun. The meatloaf was a small sliver of meat on a small plate of mash, with a tiny tin cup of what tasted like Bisto packet gravy.
This place gets an A+ where the A is for average, and the plus is for plus 1000% mark up.
It’s a shame, because it’s a good venue with lots of potential. I don’t mind paying Ponsonby prices, but not for Pak n’ Save produce.
Smarten up, Cavalier. One star.

Difficult to o not love that place with such a view of Auckland and the sky tower. The pub is also very tidy and clean, with that modern touch and look which makes it perfect for a Sunday brunch or an after drink after work. Service is good and the dishes also pretty good pubby taste and more elaborated depending on what you choose. A bit of an hidden gem in ponsonby.

Firstly, kudos to the team who’ve done a good job of the makeover to a far less tavern-​esque finish of the new Cav. The décor is almost quirky but still tasteful and bright. The space is great with raised bar seating, dining tables, casual areas, large sheltered space for outdoor seating on a super deck.
It caters particularly well for sport fans with an abundance of TVs and certainly attracts a lively crowd for live games.
The environment is casual and the Cav proved a good choice for a cosy Sunday catch-​up in front of the faux fireplace which kept us toasty and warm.
Expect lots of deep fried and greasy options alongside a number of «winter warmers». The menu is a little confusing and doesn’t have an overwhelming «pub» theme.
The Rueben was excellent — pastrami, ham, beef, grilled cheese, pickles, sauerkraut on toasted brioche. My fellow diners enjoyed their meals.
Service, unfortunately, was only so-​so. Orders were taken and delivered promptly and table service was provided.

Great place for relax catch up for drink! Reasonable selection of wines and great food choices. Had relaxing sunday lunch… not too busy, but just enough to feel the vibe. Outside areas are exceptional during non-​rainy weather and especially good on sunny days. Recommend for afterwork get together and group outing. The food was simple, but good portion and delicious. Good crowd, spacious interior and prompt & good service. Highly recommend the burger. Filling, reasonable price and best of all, tasty! You can’t go wrong with 100% beef burger. Fish burger is also recommended. Some interesting items in the menu like fish taco. Kids menu is available as well for those who likes to bring their kids while having few drinks. Also, easy to find parking around the street. Easier to find parking during weekends.

I’m not loving the new Cav. I’m not saying it was stunning before but I feel like they are doing too many things at once.
The décor is really light, like white, which is fine but there’s a lot going on with the fit out, lots of different textures that are a little confusing. The menu is really big, and covers a lot of bases, i’m not sure it’s enough for them to be calling themselves a «Gastro-​pub». I would have liked them to choose some pub classics and do them with a twist really well. Really 90’s dishes like a asian noodle salad and «mugs» of soup, lamp rump with mint sauce and macaroni and cheese.
What is good about The Cav is the outdoor area, more leaners and seating areas and more TV’s for watching the rugby. Good spot for an after work drink and it’s always full. Wish people would stop abbreviating things. The Cavalier Tavern has a way better ring to it than The Cav.

The highest concentration of good-​looking men in Auckland, hands down. I’ll concede, I haven’t eaten at the new Cav but it’s a fun environment for an after-​work drink. There’s a great deck with plenty of bar leaners and more comfortable bench seats.
My only wish is that there were less TV’s. I know it’s a sports bar but they just seem out of place now that it’s had a fancy reno. The wine list and beer list also leave a lot to be desired with all your usual mainstream options — clearly these guys have a contract with the one of the big guys (DB, Lion or Pernod is my guess).

The newly opened Freeman’s Bay eatery has a very comfortable atmosphere, with plenty of seating inside and out. The outside is great for winter with clear roll down windows with plenty of heaters. The high tables are done right with hooks for bags — Big Tick!
If your a foodie like myself I would recommend this place as more of drinking hole, then somewhere to opt to eat. The menu is extensive with a southern american theme however is wonders off with offering a jap dish, a chinese dish, a bit of french, etc. It needs to pick one theme and cuisine and do it really well. Just a couple of fix ups needed — on the menu its titled «Sandwiches» however a sandwich is not a taco or a burger — if they are going to do sandwiches then offer sandwiches or maybe just remove the word sandwiches to avoid misleading information.
I was really pleased with the portion size, for $ 18-​$ 19 its good for value. However its sad to say the pics I have taken portray the food maybe too well. Everything was really lacking in seasoning and had no real flavour. I also go for healthier options but these days most places deep fried food is less greasy tasty, again this was not the case. The slaw also was also not very fresh tasting and the taco which is suppose to be soft was either toasted or not fresh, because it was quite hard which was a real shame. The best thing on both dishes were the hand cut chips — really crisp on the outside and deliciously soft on the inside!
Just one more tip Cav — We were asked 4x in 2mins from 4 diff waiters whether we wanted another drink which was a bit frustrating — so I think being a new place some kinks are still there and need wrinkling out.
Other than that — Quick food and service but def a place to visit for a chilled afternoon or evening drink and a great atmosphere.
Rating
Food: 4.5÷10
Service: ⁶⁄₁₀
Value for Money: Good

The Cavalier Tavern is a good ol’ Pub with a capital P. The best feature here is the huge deck, which is bathed in late afternoon/​early evening sun, making it the perfect spot for a post-​work bevvy as you ease into the night.
It’s a big space so we sometimes frequent this pub in summer when a large group of us want to meet up after work and we all work/​live in fairly close proximity.
It’s got a sporty vibe so if a big game is on it’ll definitely be showing on one of the TVs.
I haven’t eaten here but from what I’ve seen the food looks like good, standard pub grub!

Best deck in Auckland without a doubt. If you want a pub that you can sit outside of on sunny days, enjoy a beautiful view and good beer, Cavalier Tavern is the place for you. It can get quite busy when there are important sports games on (as I guess any pub does) but go there on any other weekend afternoon and it’s quiet enough for you to inevitably get the large deck all to yourself.
It has the perfect balance of being traditional (it kind of reminds me of an old western saloon) but still really modern (bright and spacious with pale wood floors and light walls and sells a wide selection of Marlborough sauvignon blancs… which for me is the benchmark for how good any pub is!

Where I was on 23^rd October 2011, this venue is likely to always have a special place in my heart. The most packed I have seen this pub was on this date, although this probably applied to most venues all over New Zealand.
The All Blacks beat France in the final and the place was packed. The staff seemed to have coped surprisingly well with the event, even though they were flat out with their service all night. We had a nice lunch on the deck, which proves to be invaluable for the Cavalier, overlooking Victoria Park and towards the city from College Hill. It is one of the nicest, biggest decks you will see, with it almost as big as the area indoors.
We have visited on multiple occasions since, and each time thoroughly enjoy our visit.
The spacious areas for dining and around the bar are a welcome respite from inner city places. This is ideal for watching big events such as boxing and the State of Origin which are regularly and annually televised, respectively.