Ferry Building,
99 Quay Street,
Auckland Central
Auckland,
1010
(09) 307 6966
The ViewAuckland Review
Botswana Butchery, Auckland – Restaurant Review
Food
The clue is in the title; there is a lot of meat on offer. We tried the eye fillet and ‘Chef’s Special’ sirloin. The eye fillet was fine but no better than I’ve had elsewhere, and looked rather meagre on the plate when accompanied only by a tiny twig of fresh rosemary (no choice of size). Bucking the trend, some of our table had the snapper which was also ‘fine’ but nothing that provoked too much excitement. General consensus was that the food was a solid 7. No more, no less. A warning here – sides are an additional cost (not uncommon) but you’ll also be paying extra if you want your main to have a sauce (be it meat or fish).
Drinks
Botswana Butchery possesses a great wine list including some stunning Chardonnays and a wonderful Barossa Shiraz (available by the glass). Impressive.
Vibe
Cleavers, cleavers everywhere, such is the signature look of a Botswana Butchery! I’ll give them this - they’ve done a good job on removing the Eighties from the building, replacing Cin Cin’s Gloss-iness with white patterned walls and oversized lighting. Nice chairs too.
Service
Friendly and knowledgeable throughout, but inconsistent in its regularity. The mains plates took an age to be cleared, and we had to ask for the wine list (twice) and the dessert list, both by having wave someone down who wasn’t our waiter. It’s also the little things that let them down - the reserved sign sat on the table even after we moved it to one side to make way for the entree, and the salt and pepper remained on the table well after the desserts had been cleared.
Highlights
The Banana Brulee was fantastic, and whilst not exactly innovative or signature, the tempura Bluff oysters were also lovely. Oh and I’ve never seen mashed potato presented in such a cute way.
The Bottom Line
Good, and so very close to being 4 stars but Botswana Butchery is not yet living up to the reputation of its Southern brothers. All the elements are there for greatness, but some boldness and inspiration is required to make this deserve being a Metro Top 50 Auckland restaurant.
Botswana Butchery has been reviewed by 18 users