[T2DMan]

Add your review of Verbena Restaurant & Bar and be part of the fun .

Contact Details:
6 Birkdale Road
Birkenhead
Auckland
Ph. 0-9-483 9571

[Kelvin]

After reading all reviews that I could find online for Verbena Restaurant I was confident that my wife and my night out without the kids promised to be memorable. In fact having lived in the area for 18 years I longed for a local gem hidden away from the usual restaurant hot spots that I could be proud to go to for a special time. After reading how the chef was head chef at a couple of the leading hotels I expected my taste buds to be seduced by exotic fare that I could not expect to find on any common menu.

I expected a menu priced higher than most of this I was not disappointed.

Going out usually means ordering something that you are confident that you are sure you will like and yet being enticed into ordering an item that is bold, The description has to include ingredients described with a poets pen pushing the boundaries of what is correct.

There simply wasn't anything on the entree menus except the sweet corn and paddle crab soup that created any enthusiasm. But at $15 I simply did not have the nerve to try it. Had it been around $10 I am sure I would have taken the plunge.

The menu at Verbena is rather small and really only has one item for each major meat group.

We settled on a Char grilled eye fillet beef steak, Figuring that being the most expensive main course at $31.50 the chef should have been able to exercise all his talents.

There were side dishes listed on the menu and so I asked the pleasant waitress if accompanying vegetable would require an additional side to create a full meal. She said the vegetables with the steak would be enough. I would not agree. I would recommend the chef bulk up the portion with vegetables. Women may choose to leave a few but men would consume them for sure.

The portion of steak was of a good size and cooked to our liking Med and Med/Rare for me.

There just wasn't any thing out of the ordinary with the dish and left a sense of boredom at its completion.

Needing a pick me up we ordered Star anise Crème Brulee for me. A Vanilla Banana Crepe for my wife.

In all my years of dining out with my wife who would eagerly call the desert her #1 reason for dining out, I have never seen her leave the bulk of her desert as she did tonight. So that in it self is a massive black mark.

For me I wanted to experience something different throwing caution to the wind. The heavy sambuca flavour on my pathetically small bowl of desert was not at all pleasant. The three white chocolate coconut balls on the side were the only redeeming feature both deserts $12 and neither would induce a smile.

Ok then the coffee now despite McCafe being able to eclipse most cafe and Restaurants for flavour and overall coffee competency Verbena managed to brew a good cup of coffee. Although my wife’s Latte was a little deep with froth, My Mochaccino did not scald my lips like I have come to expect at most places.

We dined at 7pm and whilst sitting by the window I could only think how nice it would be if the blackness of the courtyard outside with its boarder of trees. Would have been illuminated by hundreds of fairy lights enveloping the trees like we see at Xmas and or up lights creating a visual effect in the trees.

Despite reading a bad comment about a staff member’s attitude I found the service to be one of the high points.

We booked via an online booking service that despite email and SMS confirmation or reservation was not on hand when we arrived lucky for us they were not full. I was later informed an Indian person who they could not understand had tried to make the booking for us. I am not sure if this is true.

All in all a disappointment having found so many fantastic places over the years.

If you live locally sorry to say that a trip out of the area will give you a much better experience than Verbena. Probably cheaper but at least with a increased sense of fulfilment