Went to Jack Tar over the weekend for a girls lunch on a nice sunny afternoon. The atmosphere was great and the service was pretty good, especially the drinks staff.

Unfortunately we found the Calamari bland and not that special. I had it just as an entree and a few people had it in the salad. There is no kids menu at Jack Tar and the only option for my young children were the $9.50 jugs of fries which were dry and disappointing.

Being such a great location and obviously popular I would probably see myself ending up there again and would like to think the food had improved somewhat. A kids menu though is a must. There were quite a few children there on the weekend.

I would have also given Jack Tar 0 if that rating was available.

At the beginning of our night, everything had worked out well – we had reserved a table for a large group of people and as we arrived – the table was available and we were seated promptly. We were given menus quickly and offered to order drinks in the same manner. Once the whole table arrived – we ordered our food – and it arrived after a bit of a wait – understandable with such a large group.

The general feeling of the place was good and the staff were pleasant. The place was busy and staff were carrying around very large amounts of drinks to many tables. A recipe for disaster in terms of keeping track of who ordered what…..one staff member had a tray of over 15 drinks which she was keeping tabs on between different tables….

So after a pleasant evening – two things came at us as a surprise….one was that my fiancé was charged 5 dollars for a slice of cheese in his burger ( a little excessive by anyone’s standards) and two – we had 5 extra drinks charged to our bill which we definitely didn’t order. One can understand that mistakes happen with such a busy environment and we were happy to work through this with the staff, however we were approached by the manager who insisted that “the drinks were delivered to our table” and that we should pay for them. We had spent in excess of $500.00 in this establishment between all the members of the group – and rather than being civil and trying to resolve the issue – we kept being told that the drinks were delivered….although I don’t doubt that – they were not delivered to our table – and therefore we were not going to be paying for them.

It seems that the staff there are more concerned about 5 drinks vs their reputation – this left such a sour taste in my mouth – that none of the people were going to be returning to Jack Tar again! One should always remember the rule – the customer is always right. Attacking the customer or implyin

Ok With a fantastic location, tasteful fit-out, and ok food and cold beer Jack Tare should be a sure fire winner. But throw in some of the WORST 80's music known to man and you have a recipe for failure.Sorry, but to be successful you guys need to tick all the boxes and having your bar managers homo erotic music preferences (John Farnham, Elton John, Billy Joel, Bryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen) forced upon one, at loud volumes makes for a grating experience. I think in the perfect daytime setting no music was required, but if you insist on daytime music make it back ground, or make it damn good.Wynard Quarter is a Auckland showcase of forward thinking urban design and your choice of music was embarrassing. This was only matched by the bar managers insistence that he only received compliments for the music when we complained, what a knob, go back to the Fat Ladys Arms where you belong. We are by no means music snobs but I would not endure this place again.Honestly take some criticism on the chin and sort it out.

really liking the North Wharf / Wynyard Quarter area now that the hordes of tourists have gone and you can actually get into places - and so far anyway be afforded the service levels that you'd expect.
Partner and I both had the day off work yesterday so thought we'd head down that end of town and took the opportunity for an afternoon stop at Jack Tar. Shared a pizza and wedges between us which were both plentiful and fairly well priced considering the area.
Service is friendly and convivial. We'll be back to Jack Tar I'm sure.

Great venue - love the location, the building etc. I like the booths and the food was pretty good too. Jack Tar has a good selection of drinks and good music etc. I would definitely go back... if it weren't for the terrible service! The waitresses knew nothing about the menu, they weren't friendly at all and they certainly didn't make us want to come back. We were told it would be a half hour wait and after 45mins I politely went to ask how much longer it might be and the waitress was outright rude to me. Not impressed! I will probably give Jack Tar one more chance as I do like the location, concept etc. but it had better be damn good service to get me to return after my dismal first experience!

Visited Jack Tar in late August/early September with a group of friends. Good atmosphere, but we had to wait for 2 1/2 hour for a table! The Maitre d messed the order up, and about 7 groups after us were seated before us, and when we questioned her she told us that if we didn't want to wait, we could leave. Worst service ever! Except the disaster didn't end there. We had to wait another hour for our food as the waiter mixed up our order with another table. Food is not bad, but would never come back to Jack Tar again.

jeez some people are precious...I was at Jack Tar over the weekend and with the crowd numbers that were at all venues, even the most accomplished operation would have struggled. Few pints after a stroll round Wynyard Quarter on a sunny spring day - this is why I have moved to this part of the world!

WARNING - do not sit outside if you intend to use the bathroom. When Jack Tar gets busy, they close the doors and you can't get in. Fine. But when I went to pay my $300 tab (I had been sitting outside eating and drinking for 4 hours) so I could get back my credit card and go somewhere else to use the bathroom - they would not let me in. After trying to be patient and not too rude about pointing out the bars obvious flaw - after more than an hour and all of my party needing to pee - I was angry. I finally got hold of the owner and his attitude and arrogance was disgusting. Let your patrons use the bathroom or at least let them pay so they can go to another bar that is run properly. Lastly, I was understandably upset but if the words "I'm sorry" had come out of the owners mouth all could have been forgiven. But even that was like getting water from a stone. Terrible - you have lost my business and the business all the the other patrons I saw get turned away and denied use of your bathroom because we had chosen to sit outside. The 2 stars is for the Jack Tar wait staff who were run off their feet and still smiling.