Botswana Butchery

I don't mourn Cin Cin because there is something great in its place - Botswana Butchery complete with whimsical meat-cleaver handles on the main doors. My group of 11 were shown upstairs to our own private area that looked over the water – really quite magical!

I already knew that when I perused the menu again (having already checked it out on the website) that there wouldn't be offerings of pieces of bloody meat on a butchers block. Although a section on the menu entitled "From the butcher's block" did serve great offerings of 'cooked' steak.

I read a negative review from when Botswana first opened and I didn't agree with it at all so I think they have upped their game.

For my starter I chose the Chicken San Choy Bow. It was fresh and tasty, but not quite as perfect as the Vietnamese equivalent as far as authenticity. All starters were very generous.

I enjoyed the Lamp Special although at $45 I thought it was a little extreme considering their regular Lamb on the menu was $36.95 – definitely nothing special about $45. It came with roast potatoes, crispy beans & a lovely jus. It was a knockout be it an expensive knockout! My friends dishes all looked lovely and everyone seemed to enjoy their choices – feedback was all positive.

A few of us had eyes bigger than our bellies and ordered desserts. One of my friends and I couldn't decide on one so we dedcided to share the Lime Cheesecake with wild berry sorbet in a white chocolate soup and the selection of chocolate Petits Fours. The cheesecake was interesting but I could take or leave the Petits Fours, they seemed store bought and nothing special.

The waiter was tentative and knowledgeable, be it a little arrogant. And the handsome, aesthetically pleasing refit - bold lampshades and padded leather walls - makes the most of the sensational setting.

I had read up a lot on Botswana Butchery a lot before last week's visit with a supplier so was braced for a fairly negative experience judging by the reviews all over the place.
What I did receive however was a fantastic experience and there were certainly a lot of people on this particular visit that seemed to be enjoying the same level of satisfaction.
As the supplier was paying didn't go all out but the Wakanui beef cheek was exceptional - more people should be truing these cuts because they're just so darn good.
It is expensive but it is a dining experience worthwhile. Will be back to Botswana Butchery.

Overpriced and underwhelming.

There is much better value for money at other restaurants in Auckland than Botswana Butchery.

Have been to Botswana Butchery twice now, hoping it would live up to the fantastic reputation set by its Queenstown sister (at which I've had a couple of exceptional dining experiences).

Both Auckland visits have disappointed sorely: service, professionalism, food and atmosphere all lacking. My last visit here was a little over a week ago where I discovered a live worm (yes, you read that correctly!) in a side salad. Now I know these things do occasionally happen, however while the offending dish and my unfinished plate (which I was eating off) were whisked away and another meal quickly delivered - what really astounded was that when it came time for my colleague to settle the bill, Botswana Butchery tried to charge him for the side salad plus my unfinished/inedible meal. The front desk had zero idea this incident had happened.

Absolutely appalling for a "first class" restaurant in Auckland. Definitely would NOT recommend.

After reading so many bad reviews of Botswana Butchery, we were not excepting a great night, but we were pleasantly surprised, by the friendly and helpful staff. We started at the bar, and the drinks were ordered and brought to us very quickly, once they were finish we had the waiter at the table asking if we wanted more. Once we were seated, the wine waiter was very helpful with the selection of wines for the table, and the waitress was excellent with helping us with what was best on the menu. The food was wonderful and the steak was cooked to perfection. The only downside of Botswana Butchery was the price of the sides and the size of them, not really value for money, and $2.50 for sauce or butter on your steak, it should be part of the price. Overall great night.

This place is such a disappointment. The Queenstown version of Botswana Butchery is great; but this one bears no resemblance other than in name. The service is humourless, unhelpful and SLOW, but that could all be forgiven if the food was delicious. But sadly it is far from it. The menu sounds delicious, but after two visits it seems that overcooked meat is far too common to be acceptable in a place like this, the sides are mean and measly portions, and it's far too expensive for what you get. I wanted Botswana Butchery to work being in such a great spot and with such a good reputation, but unfortunately it doesn't live up to its billing of a high end experience and you wouldn't go out of your way to try it.

We took clients - from Sydney - for dinner and on arrival were seated on the table next to the loo, despite another table for 5 near the window with a view (and away from the toilet) still being empty (they arrived about an hour after us). Probably my first pet hate is not sitting people at the best tables based on the order they arrive rather than whether you recognise their name on the reservations list or not - I did have a reservation. It was Saturday night and the stream of people to the toilet was continuous - not until later when we asked whether it was the only toilet did the waitress say "oh no, there are much nicer ones upstairs" but never once directed any of the people queuing next to our table up there. By the end of the night the condition of the bathroom was quite poor - no toilet paper, dirty floor and smelly. We started off well albeit a little slowly, having to ask if we could order drinks for the people on our table not having champagne after it had been poured and the waiter had moved on. Ok, maybe he thought they were non-drinkers but we had asked for a wine list. The Botswana Butchery menu reads well but the chicken san choi bow was on limp lettuce leaves and had far too much sauce - it was dark and very strong and reminiscent of a cheap Chinese takeaway. Not what I expected. The sashimi was nice. Two of our four steaks were overcooked (we all ordered medium rare but two were well done). As the mains had taken an hour to arrive - waitstaff kept apologising for the delay - our guests decided not to send them back to the kitchen. Embarrassing for us. The snapper came grilled on a big white plate for $35 - no condiments or anything. How hard to add a nice big wedge of lemon or something? I guess they'll charge you $2.50 for it though. Seriously $2.50 for sauce when ordering a $35 - $49 steak?! Nothing comes free at Botswana Butchery, including service.I could go on. It was pretty average, nowhere near on par with Queenstown where I have eaten prev

Was very much looking forward to dinner with friends from Sydney at Botswana. We had dined at the Queenstown one and were impressed. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Auckland. I felt like they think they can get away with sub standard food and service because of their rep in Queenstown. The service was poor, on several occasions the waiter getting our requests wrong. It is very expensive, for relatively average food. And the bathroom by the end of the evening, having run out of toilet paper but 9pm, looked like a toilet from the Loaded Hog on a Sat night. It was not pretty, and this was just from over use as only one toilet downstairs for whole restaurant. Yes there were more upstairs apparently, but when there is one right by your tables why would I venture upstairs?
So on the whole, I was very disappointed as was very much looking forward to our night out. Also I'm embarrassed that our Sydney friends think I think that's one of our best. Plus we are out of pocket $250! per couple!!
Shame.