The Falls Restaurant

Very poor service and underwhelming food. 10am on a Saturday and they’re telling people to seat themselves outside and haven’t even set up, uncollected plates and closed umbrellas everywhere. For the price you’d expect better service. The food is plain verging on unpleasant, everything reeks of vinegar. General snobby attitude with no redeeming qualities.

My partner and I decided to go out for breakfast at The Falls Restaurant on a Sunday a few weeks ago. When we arrived they had the option to sit inside and outside, so we decided to sit outside as the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. The falls had an overall great atmosphere with a friendly staff, putting me in a good mood. My partner ordered the Bacon & Eggs for $ 15.90 and I ordered the French toast for $ 17.00 and we both got mochaccinos for $ 4.60. We both found the food to be delicious and were extremely satisfied with our meals, beverages and overall price of our breakfast. I will definitely be back again.

The best thing about The Falls is that you can sit out the back in their conservatory and imagine Henderson the way it used to be sixty years or so ago — full of orchards, and vineyards, and big old houses, and rivers you could splash about in without contracting some terrible illness — and you can pretend you’re a character in a Maurice Gee novel. (For the time being, just ignore all the miserable things that happened in Henderson in his works as well).
It’s a great old building here, my only wish for it would be that the owners would be confident enough in the architecture to take down some of the more garish paintings and TVs and the like and just keep it as a lovely old building.
I’ve only been here for morning or afternoon teas, which are perfectly nice. The staff seemed reasonably onto it and friendly which is always good — they seem to do table service here even if you’re only having a drink and something small, which is appreciated. I’d second the wish for a few more vego options though!

I’ve been here for a special treat lunch and sat alfresco with a lovely view of the park. The food was brilliant and the service was first class so they don’t get all of those awards for nothing!
I have also been here for a special occasion booking, upstairs in the function room. This was an intimate space for our celebration and we were well looked after. Again the food — a three course meal — was outstanding and the wine list excellent.
The Falls do great coffee any time of day, take out in the mornings but make sure to pay for parking in the adjacent ‘pay and display’ area as you would not want to be stung with a ticket like I was!

I admit when I went to The Falls recently for breakfast, I had no idea it was an award-​winning restaurant. I just thought it was a cute old building on the edge of a nice reserve. Though this is true, it wasn’t until I told my boyfriend I’d been there that I learnt it is famous.
Having won awards for their quality meat and presentation, as well as peoples’ choice awards including the ‘Gold Plate’ in 2012, The Falls is known to the majority of West Aucklanders as the best place to eat.
I’m not sure if I would go quite so far as to say it was my best meal ever, but I did really enjoy my experience at The Falls. I sat out in the newly renovated courtyard with a pot of tea and a ham cheese and tomato omelette. The ambience was lovely, the wait-​service was brilliant and the food was delicious — what more could you ask for?
Tip: The Falls also caters for large groups and business meetings, and though I cannot say this from personal experience, I believe they would do a brilliant job at hosting such events and can’t imagine anyone being disappointed with the food or the service.

A beautiful heritage building located in Henderson. It’s a lovely venue as there are grounds right next to it and you can go for a stroll here or let your kids play. We actually considered it for our wedding but went with another venue in the end. They do brunch/​lunch and dinner or you can just stop in for a coffee if you like. The standard of the coffee is very good and it is nice relaxing place to catch up with a friend. As regards the food, I am a little miffed that there is no vegetarian option on the dinner menu. This happens with quite a few of the restaurants in West Auckland and it’s quite frustrating when your other half is vegetarian. I have had the brunch there and I must say it was quite good. One thing that intrigued me was the ‘Ulster Breakfast’ — I have certainly heard of a full Irish breakfast (a fry up) but Ulster breakfast was a new one on me. A pleasant place to eat and drink if you happen to be out West but I wish there was a vegetarian dinner option.