The Oyster Inn

The meal itself was a letdown: my steak was cooked perfectly, but came with only roasted agria potatoes and burnt béarnaise, while my friend’s lamb was mostly fat. Service was slow even though we’d booked ahead and arrived on time. I’ve run a restaurant myself, so I know how to give fair feedback, but this was hard to rate above one star. We should’ve checked the reviews first, and I wouldn’t recommend it. It was the only disappointment of our week on Waiheke. The evening was already uncomfortable because a party of three had a dog at the table beside us. The older man asked whether we minded, and we said we did. We’d left our own dog at home. We don’t have a problem with dogs generally, but we didn’t want one beside us during dinner. A young person at their table then told me not to be a “Karen,” and the staff just said it was a dog-friendly restaurant without taking our concern seriously. They could at least have a separate seating area for dogs and let people know when booking that dogs are welcome. Whether that dog was cute, clean, or well-behaved wasn’t the point. It felt like dogs mattered more than paying customers, and I’d hate to be there with several dogs around. We’d dressed up and were really looking forward to eating at the “renowned” Oyster Inn on our first ever trip to Waiheke. Instead, it left a very burnt béarnaise taste in my mouth. Why can’t people go out for a nice dinner without bringing their dogs?

The coconut margarita was so good, and the crayfish linguine was delicious. We had a fabulous Valentine’s night dinner on the verandah, watching the sun set over the ocean. Our waiter was quick and efficient, and paying was easy: we scanned the QR code at the table instead of going to the counter. We’ll definitely be back.

The food and drinks were great, though waiting took a little shine off the meal. We’d booked for 5:00 pm and arrived on time, but our table wasn’t ready, so we waited about 15 minutes. That was a bit off-putting after reserving in advance. Most of the food was amazing. The cocktails were great, and the mac and cheese was absolutely delicious. We also loved the crayfish linguine. The karaage chicken was tasty too, just a bit too sweet for us.

The oysters were the highlight. We ordered a selection of everything they had that day, and they were perfect. My partner usually isn’t into oysters, but even he loved the battered ones. The food came out fresh, and we didn’t wait long. Staff were friendly too. We stopped for lunch during a day tour of Waiheke. The place was very full, but they managed to fit us in. We also had beef and a glass of wine. The deck has a lovely view, and I’d book ahead if you want to dine with that view. I recommend it.