No 61 Sylvia Park,
286 Mt Wellington Highway,
Mt Wellington
Auckland,


(09) 573 1212

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3 out of 5

From reportedly the world's biggest movie screen, to more carparks than any other retail centre in the country, everything about Sylvia Park is on a big scale. So it should come as no surprise that the mega mall's resident pub has just maybe New Zealand's longest bar. Thirty beer taps deliver Heineken, Tiger, Erdinger, the entire Monteith's range, and Export Gold and Tui. I guess shopping is thirsty work.

Early on a Sunday evening, it seems like the whole of Auckland has come along for a bit of retail therapy. Like any good mall, Sylvia Park is as much an entertainment experience as a retail experience, and Garrison Public House takes pride of place in the mall's special Dining Street, a lovingly contrived array of eateries including a sushi bar, Nando's, and designer noodles from Wagamama. Despite the overly planned surroundings, Garrison's still manages to feel relaxed and welcoming. Maybe it's the open fire.

Decor is a mix of modern influences and sly retro touches, including some old radios and televisions from the time you didn't just buy a new one from The Warehouse or Dick Smith when your old one broke down. The diverse wine list is better than it probably needs to be, but if you're dining at the attached restaurant you'll welcome the wider choice. Pasta, burgers and pizzas feature, and there's a couple of tasty shared platters. And to prove its Kiwi credentials there's even a "Sunday Roast" pizza combining lamb, kumara, pumpkin and mint gravy.

The Garrison's mainly a sports bar, and five plasma screens mean you won't miss the action. In a slightly quieter corner, a few guys fresh from spending up large at Footlocker and Dick Smith are making the tough decision between playing pool or table football. On Friday nights from 8pm, Garrison's becomes party central with a DJ. That's when the attention turns to cocktail classics like Cosmpolitans and Martinis.

Garrison Public House reckon it offers "all things to all people", and this Heineken-themed and very spacious pub could well be right. The salt and pepper squid goes damn well with an Erdinger Wheat Beer, and it promises to be a good no-nonsense spot to watch the rugby across upcoming weeks and months.

And if the All Blacks falter yet again at the highest level, there are always a zillion shops and the world's biggest movie screen to take your mind off another 2007 sporting "What if?"