Twisted Tomato

We were stoked to find the twisted tomato a while back and it became our go-​to relaxed local bistro. So consistent, service like you were long friends, food that had you coming back for their regular trusty’s and the creative occasional special.
Alas, the original owners have moved on as we found out on the weekend. We were so shocked when we realised, we couldn’t bear to turn tails and mooch into despair… So we gave it a crack anyhoo.
It’s really now just another café that tries to do bistro fare on the evenings. No real flair or nous to be honest. Scotchy still has the beautiful flavour from their grill, but their duck fat potatoes, were shall we say par boiled. Needed another 100 degrees and 15 mins I’d say. Both the steak and salmon were swimming in creamy sauces… Too much, little finesse.
40 mins wait for mains (no entrees) was also too long. The beauty of a tight local bistro is a quick turnaround… Gutted we’ve lost the option.
2 stars only because the steak grill still rocks.

Fabulous food. Took family for Sunday brunch recently. Will go back for dinner soon. New owners

Gutted these guys are going overseas. Though it may be a case of too little too late, I’m still penning this review in the hope that Hayden and Tamara return to NZ from the UK soon and know their delicious and creative meals have been appreciated by many — even those like me that recently discovered them. Bön Voyage!

Well as the former owners Hayden & Tamara sadly say good bye to New Zealand and their fantastic little Pt Chevalier local, Twisted Tomato. Its with great sadness that I write this. I hear the premise has been bought and turned into just another café in the area, what a sad time for the neighbourhood.
On their last night we booked our group of 14 in to enjoy the last opportunity to eat their scrumptious fares.
The best entrée on the night was without a doubt the mushroom risotto. There was some envy at the table from those that did not have it. For mains I had the snapper with mussels which was fresh, tasty and perfectly presented.
There were four desserts on the blackboard, I chose the Sticky Toffee Pudding (which I remember having on my first visit one year ago) served this time with Black beer icecream. The pomegranate and molasses meringue shards decorating it were absolutely exquisite.
The service was outstanding, too. Our meals arrived with precision timing regardless of the size group. Tamara treated us more like friends than customers. I am very sad to say I can’t go back. I will watch with anticipation for their return to the Auckland foodie scene. All the best Hayden & Tamara.

This rated as one of my favourite neighbourhood restaurants and definitely a memorable meal from 2014, but it’s changing hands soon and we’ll all have to wait and see if it continues or morphs into something else.

Perfection. The menu is not extensive but you will not be disappointed. Beautifully presented food, great flavours and excellent service. This restaurant can’t hold too many people but does take bookings. Its quiet ambience means you will have no trouble hearing people at your table!

Well we wanted somewhere different that neither of the two couples had been to. so took a gamble on a suburban auckland restaurant — and was really stunned by the menu, food and service — it was a real treat. Between the 4 of us we had 2 Starters, 2 Entrees 4 Mains, 1 Salad, 2 Desserts 1 Cheese, 1 Bottle of wine, 3 Glasses of wine, and 2 bottles of water — and the bill was $ 333. We were outside on a windy and wet auckland evening but the covering and heaters made for a warm and pleasant experience. highly recommended — will come back here again.

So when your partner comes home and all week he’s been throwing out ideas for Friday night dinner like ostro or moochowchow but then says lets go to this new place twisted tomato my heart sank a little at the name. But I was pleasantly surprised, it’s small and intimate and the food is pretty amazing. I would recommend the duck and the blue cheese dumplings their pretty special. After 3 courses we were pretty full and I was sadly thinking I don’t have room for dessert until the waitress said sticky pudding to share. We jumped on the idea and it was beautiful! I really recommend going here for a quiet night with lovely warm winter food.