The Lumsden Freehouse

People say it was a nice place full of selections. However, the service is terrible.
The bar tender didn’t have time to take care of us, seemed quite busy talking with another customer by the bar.
When he had time for us, he brought two bottles of beer without asking my order. I didn’t ask to drink beer! The beer was just fine however he should have brought us at least one glass.
And he didn’t explain anything about the beer here.
When we left after paying to another waitress, he shouted to us, You can’t leave without paying your beer. OMG
Terribly treated place, which is rarely met in New Zealand.
Terrible service could ruin all the impression. Yes, it does.

This place seems to be struggling in the kitchen at the moment. Got a Grabone for pizza but it was only for weekends — the management wouldn’t accommodate us on a Thursday which I thought was kind of weak — we came anyway because we were going to the cinema next door. The pizza crust wasn’t great and for the price it was pretty small. Redeemed the Grabone during an All Blacks game. The host said she gave away our booking and promised to look after us. We sat outside (it was winter, mind) and were expecting a free drink or snack or something to make up for losing our booking but nothing. The pizza was better this time but the chicken wings were dry and the sauce was straight up mayonnaise, and the truffle chips had nice flavour but no sauce. We couldn’t get poutine because they ran out. There was also a 40 minute wait. Clearly they were overwhelmed but should have been better prepared because they knew it would be super busy. It’s too bad because the beer selection is awesome but I will definitely not be eating here again especially with Doolan Brothers just down the road. They need to up their standards, it’s Newmarket!

Given the other reviews tend to be high I’m decided to try this place out again, but our first experience there, to be delicate, f***ing sucked.
I gave a second star because the gravy/​aus jus kinda thing that (inexplicably) comes with the sliders was good to dip the chips in. I got the calamari, which wasn’t unlike chewing on rubber bands (oh, childhood, and its many quirks.) I left well more than half of my food behind and so did my partner, unfortunate purchaser of the slider trio… one of which was a fish neither of us could ever hope to identify, as it tasted like shame and was drier than english wit.
They do have a very large selection of drinks, many of which cost more than the meals so remain tantalizingly out of our financial reach, but sure, given a decent meal I can choke down an $ 8 cider (probably Isaacs or Speights, the names in «ciders not to drink unless no other options exist,») but the lack of good food just meant the heartburn from d-​rate cider kicked in almost immediately.
Shoulda stuck with coke, but alas. We may try it another day.
**edited to update**
Partner vetoed the concept of ever going back. So nevermind.

The people behind the bar make this place what it is! They are all amazing, super friendly, and really passionate about their craft beers.
Incredible selection of craft beers that change regularly. Don’t skip the snacks: the insane wings are all they’re cracked up to be and the steak sandwich is a great classic take on the usual. The chicken lettuce parcels are light and yummy, and the vegetarian platter is the best value for money.
Tuesday night pub quiz! I think Team At The Bar cheat.

You can’t beat the selection of NZ craft beers. Service can be hit and miss however the bartenders are always willing to give you a taste. They are always on GrabOne, which makes it easy to try.

BEER ON TAP — one of the best selections of craft beer on tap in Auckland
BOTTLED BEER — A pretty good selection of bottled craft and imported beers, incase you have tried everything on tap
BOURBON — A fantastic selection of Bourbon. Love to know all the places in New Zealand with a better list than this
HOT WINGS — Totally Insane Wings. If you like it hot, then you have to try the Hot Wings. You have to sign a disclaimer to eat them and they serve them with safety gear on.
NACHOS — The Nachos are on par with some of the best Nachos I’ve had in New Zealand. Plenty of beans, meat, jalapenos. Maybe a little more cheese would be nice.
So for New Zealand I’ll give it a 9.5÷10
Jalapeño Poppers — second place I have found these. The other place is Hallertau.
A few other cool things to know about the Lumsden.
— get your cell phone charged
— get free WiFi, you need to tell the staff a funny joke to get the password, the dirtier the better
— there are assortment of board games on the tables inside
— there is chalk on the tables outside and each table is a blackboard
— when it is cold in the winter months, there are free blankets and hot water bottles so — you can still sit outside
— free popcorn
— secret build your own salad menu

After a great massage, friend and I went to The Lumsden for a pizza. It was a cozy bar which has comfy chairs and even a pool table at the side.
We ordered a Cajun Chicken Pizza ($ 23) and a Bacon and Sour cream Wedges ($ 14) which were plenty for two of us. Pizza was pretty nice with a bit of chili flavour. Caramelised onion and sweet chilli sauce was a bit of a too sweet combination though. Will love to try their Pecking Duck one next time! Refreshing!
Wedges were okay — I don’t really like it when bacon bits are stuck together which stops them from being crispy.
They have a fantastic beer selection including many craft beer. It’s great that they give you a sample glass to try so that you know exactly what you are getting. I had a nice dark beer from Hallertau Brewery. Pizza and a beer — what a lovely combination!
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Spent the afternoon on Saturday here doing birthday drinks with a friend. He was able to reserve the comfy seats and tables on the far side of the bar which was fantastic for being able to accommodate all of us.
The food selection at The Lumsden is quite varied and pretty decent. The owner has offered a good selection and it has been consistently decent food each time I have been there. The real highlight of The Lumsden, though, is their selection of beers. Both on tap and in the bottle they have a great rotation of craft beers which makes it a fantastic place for a session.
Finally, I give true props to The Lumsden for having a popcorn machine and offering free popcorn to the patrons. This is a common tradition in pubs and sport bars in North American that I really miss. It’s a simple thing that doesn’t really cost the bar much money (popcorn is cheap) and makes me feel like the owner is making an effort to go above and beyond.

The Lumsden has risen like a phoenix out of the constraints of big brewery tiedship, and emerged from the chrysalis as a freehouse. If you like me have no idea what a freehouse is, Wikipedia describes it as:
A free house is a pub that is owned independently of the brewery (or breweries) that supply it. As a result, a free house can stock whichever beers it chooses from whichever breweries it chooses. Free houses are rare, the majority of pubs are tied-​houses.“
Cool story Bro.
Anyway the grand opening was today, but a friend of mine and I were there for the sneak peak on wednesday night which was pretty cool. Swinging live beats, cool company, awesome setup and heaps of different craft beers to choose from. If you were a fan of the Lumsden in its previous form, don’t worry it still has all the old elements you love, the old wingback leather chairs, cool pool table etc.
We tried one of the tasting paddles at $ 22 for five different beers which was a good way to try a few.

Aptly named, The Lumsden is situated near The Lumsden green taking up some prime real estate on the corner of Khyber Pass and Broadway. What drew my attention to this place were the old fashioned (or rather just old) french style sofas and leather wingback chairs outside, a little bit different and not your typical bar. The guys here are great, very friendly and on a couple of occasions have had the coffee machine put back into action at 10pm.
It is a nice place to just hang out, a section of the bar for any occasion. Late in the evening, dim lighting and intimate seating for the post movie date drink. There is bar seating outside with large tables or if in a group, the leather chairs and comfy sofas. The Lumsden also has a pool table! which is a bit of fun, whether you can play or not and a gaming room. Happy hour is from 4 – 7 pm every day, so really happy 3 hours and there is free wifi, even more to be happy about.

The Lumsden is a great balance between a Kiwi sports bar and Newmarket snobbery. Catching you eye on the corner of Broadway and Kyber Pass, you’ll rapidly remember just how thirsty you didn’t know you were. Comfy outdoor couches near an indoor/​outdoor bar was the clincher for me.
Once you’ve convinced yourself that you need a sit down and a cold beer, The Lumsden play their trump card (s). They’ve made it so you will keep making excuses not to leave. Pool table, gaming room, MJ playing some 80’s pop, MINI LIBRARY, cheap house beer on tap– Oh my!
Keep an ear out for their poker nights and All-​you-​can-​eat-​ribs nights.