I'd rated negative if there was an option. Scored a voucher on Grabone to spend at Bowmans. However, have been unable to book a table for two and now voucher expiring and all they say is we were making last minute bookings and cannot use the voucher anymore (Which we weren't as we tried booking a few times already). The man on the other side of the phone clearly proves that the restaurant lacks proper customer service skills, he sounded harsh and irritated, making it sound as if there was NOTHING he could do about it AT ALL. He kept telling us to call the next day to see if there's cancellations, and today voucher is expiring. All he said is we can't use the coupon anymore. Sounds like a scam much?? That's our money down the drain! Would never recommend Bowmans to anyone!

Bowmans Restaurant was a bit of a disappointment. I'd heard good things about this place. While the food didn't fail, the overall experience was lacking and failed to impress.

Food was presented and prepared well. In terms of flavour, it was alright, but nothing spectacular. Portions are average. Consistency wise, I'm not too sure as the ginger snap that accompanied the chocolate dessert was soggy in one dish, but crisp in the other. They did though, have an innovative way to present the dessert for the tasting menu.

The place itself was very simple in decor and offers a relaxed environment. Seating is comfortable enough. Can be a bit tight and you'd notice waitstaff whizzing past you. The music got quite loud at times that it was noticeable and I did find it a little difficult to hear my fellow diners. One of my fellow diners was rather uncomfortable throughout her dinner as she has a rather keen sense of smell and was put off by a rather unpleasant odour which did not seem to come from other patrons.

Service was slow and wasn't particularly friendly. There was a bit of a wait for everything, including our food. I think it was probably cause staff were quite stressed out as there were only 2 wait staff on for the evening. Staff weren't rude or anything, but let's just say that service wasn't exactly warm. Staff were alright when it came to making recommendations, when asked.

I think that there are other fine dining establishments that do a better job.

Brought my wife to Bowmans for an early valentines present and have to say I was very disappointed with the service we were provided for the Hefty price tag.

On arrival we were welcomed by a nice middle aged gent. We were sat in the corner under the specials board which we didn't think was a problem initially but this soon proved to be a bad choice as we were forgotten about as night progressed.

The middle aged gent was very nice and took our order . After this a younger waiter took over our table and he gave the impression he didn't want to be there and had no customer service skills. When our starts arrived my wife had to tell him what was on the plate. At one stage she asked "is that goats cheese?" and he just shrugged a walked away.

Our mains were then given to a table behind us whom arrived 30-45 minutes after us. The lady had ordered duck and she was given my lamb. She returned the dish which lead to a longer wait for our food as it had to be refired.

When our mains finally arrived the waiter stood there plates in hand until my wife said "I'm having the steak" the waiter put down the plates and walked away. I knew then how he had made the mistake previous.

Overall the food was very good its a shame about the service. When your paying $50 for a main, including sides you expect to have your water topped up.

In future I will spend my money in one of Auckland's many other fine dining restaurant. Maybe if the older gent had served us all night this would have been a 5 star rating.

Let me start off with the highs of Bowmans restaurant. The online booking feature was great, very user friendly and they pretty much got back to me on the Monday regarding confirmation. This gave me a good impression of the place before I got there.

Personally, I was not satisfied of the portion of the meal I ordered, don't think anyone else was whom I was with. I order a duck dish and the size of meat was like the size of two chicken wings drizzled with sauce and a few cut potatoes. I was still hungry. I mean, to pay $36 and not be full-its not impressive. I have not been to fine dining restaurant and not been full unless I ordered a salad!

My sister handed our cakes to the waiter before we sat down. When we asked to bring it out after our meal, we were never informed in the beginning that there was going to be a $20 charge for bring a cake unless purchasing a desert from their menu. At least tell us about the fee before hand. That was pretty sneaky of them. At least have it stated your website informing the public about your policies about bring cakes ! Or the waiter should have told us when we handed the cakes to him.

When paying i handed my ASB gold card and their machine wouldn't accept it several times so when I tried my eftpos card, it worked. I mean in this day in age,I would say ALL fine dining restaurant accept credit cards ! And then the person behind the counter was like to me- you should check your credit card out with the bank. More like, " check out your machine "

In the end we went to Mc Donalds to top off because we were still hungry. Bowmans was a waste of money, should sort out your eftpos machine! First and last time I'm going there.

My sister booked Bowmans restaurant for her birthday dinner for a group of 8. The food was good but portions were small. The waiter was helpful and checked in from time to time to see if we required anything. This is as far as the positive comments go. Problems began when we wanted to have the gourmet cupcakes that we bought for dessert. The waiter told us it would be a charge of $20 for having our cupcakes at the restaurant or the alternative was to buy a dessert that we did not want. We chose the icecream but what actually arrived was a donut, brownie and a piece of chocolate. Things got worse when we decided to pay for our meals. Not only did they get our order wrong, but they charged us an extra approx $200 for items we did not order. Extra were 4 glasses of wine - $18 each, 3 x sashimi dishes - $119 and ciabatta bread and coffees. At this point, we didn't realise we were being ripped off until we wanted to pay a bill of about $600. Thinking it was a bit much for dessert, mains and wine, we wanted to pay but the eftpos machine was faulty. Meanwhile one of our group spotted the extra food and drink that was charged to our bill. The chef/manager came out fluffed about with our actual written order and discovered that indeed they had over charged us by $200 approx. At this point, it would have been good if we got an apology as it was their mistake, genuine or not. But no, the chef/manager went back into the kitchen while in full view of us said to his fellow chef "they have 3 f****n entertainment cards and they want to split the bill". Yes, we did have three entertainment cards and yes we did want to split the bill. I didn't really see what the big problem was as most restaurants happily oblige. If they had a problem with us using the entertainment cards, why bother having the restaurant in the book?!?! This was disgusting service on the part of a restaurant that is meant to be a long standing establishment in Auckland for fine dining. My verdict of Bowmans Restaur

I have now eaten at this restaurant 4 times, 3 times for 2 and once with guests. This is seriously oustanding, top 3 in Auckland! Expect to pay for excellence, but then appreciate that the cost will be furthest from your mind when you realise you have just been educated in the art of taste. World class, if you need to entertain important visitors, this is the place.

From the phone call to book until we left, absolutely everything was perfect at Bowmans Restaurant. My girlfriend is a coeliac (allergic to gluten) and this was no problem at all.


Our meals were beyond expectations; we were so excited by the menu that we forgot to order sides. But the portions were just the right size; we could fit in all three courses.


The waitress selected the wines for the night and they well and truly complemented the meal.

I would happily recommend Bowmans and will defiantly be coming back.

The venue is not that cosy and the prices are not that cheap ... but the food and the service at Bowmans Restaurant is great!!