Martin Bosley's Restaurant

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Address

103 Oriental Parade
Wellington
Region: Wellington
Licence: Unknown
Cuisine: Unknown
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Contact

Phone: 04 920 8302
Fax: 04 920 8303
Website: www.martin-bosley.com
Email: events.mbycr@actrix.co.nz

Overall DineOut Score based on 20 reviews

Total		8.3
Food		8.3
Dessert		8.5
Presentation		9.0
Service		8.1
Environment		8.1
Toilets		6.5
Child Friendly	Kind of

Review by: joejoan (7) on 1st September 2010

Total		9.5
Food		9
Dessert		10
Presentation		10
Service		10
Environment		9
Toilets		8

Could not get a reservation for an early dinner so went for lunch. What a delight! Entire dinner menu available or a light lunch option. Went for 4 of the excellent selection of dinner entres (+ a half dozen oysters) to make a scrumptious lunch for the 2 of us. Everything was intriguing -- most because they were so delicious, some because it was so hard to figure out how they had constructed the dish. Oysters natural were served with a chardonnay(?) foam that is to die for. The jasmine tea brulee is one the best desserts you will ever experience. Service and ambiance were absolutely top notch.

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Review by: MFH (8) on 25th August 2010

Total		9.3
Food		9
Dessert		10
Presentation		9
Service		10
Environment		8
Toilets		N/A

Went for Degustation Dinner. Surroundings quiet and a reasonable distance between tables, service exceptional - not too obtrusive, every dish explained clearly, just the right wait between courses and the food was wonderful - small mouthfuls yes but the right mix of flavours and beautifully cooked. Standout was the coffee cream brulee with jasmine tea and lychee foam.

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Review by: Meli White (4) on 6th August 2010

Total		5.1
Food		2
Dessert		9
Presentation		7
Service		1
Environment		9
Toilets		7

Having been with a large group of people for our company's function, I had pre-ordered my beef fillet main prior to the day of the dinner. I was absolutely shocked that no one requested how we would want our beef fillet done - not at the time, but when the beef came out medium!!! I like it rare and the guest next to me has a preference for medium-well done. This was absolutely disappointing as there's not point in ordering a beef fillet if it's not cooked to perfection. Until this day, I am absolutely convinced of my ability to make a better beef fillet than Martin Bosley. (gasp here)
I also found the staff very unattentive as our glasses of wine and water were left empty for far too long, at which point we thought we might as well do it ourselves! Seriously? I think I get better service at cafes on the Terrace.
The dessert was admittedly amazing and the views beautiful, but all in all, I will certainly not go back nor recommend this to anyone who expects excellent food and service with expensive menu prices.

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Review by: Jennie Mcpenny (3) on 6th August 2010

Total		8.8
Food		9
Dessert		9
Presentation		9
Service		9
Environment		8
Toilets		6
Child Friendly	Kind of

We have eaten the degustation menu here twice and both times were blown away with the innovative menu. Really exquisite food that was stunning to taste. Exceptional service and a truly wonderful experience. I have eaten all over the world in good places (some of the time!) and here is probably the best restaurant I have been to.

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Review by: Areti Metuamate (14) on 2nd May 2010

Total		7.5
Food		9
Dessert		7
Presentation		9
Service		6
Environment		5
Toilets		6
Child Friendly	Kind of

The food here lived up to its reputation - divine, unique and beautifully presented. I think it is probably the best in town. I loved the range of food on the menu - the seafood dishes ALL sounded delicious!
A very good wine list and well matched to the menu. My only problem was the mediocre service (perhaps because my friends and I were all young and students) and I was not impressed with how close out table was to the entrance which meant constant distractions and coldness. I also though that the restaurant's decor was pretty average.
In summary the food was great, but if you are looking for the whole dining experience, then don't get your hopes up here.

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Review by: baristaofnz (27) on 24th April 2010

Total		9.6
Food		10
Dessert		9
Presentation		10
Service		10
Environment		9
Toilets		N/A

I have never used the word 'amazing' to describe something I've eaten before, but I think I'm about to.
In short, what I ate at Martin Bosley's was AMAZING. Stunning. Perfect. And other superlatives that would make anyone blush.
Pitch-perfect atmosphere, we were so well looked after throughout that it felt like we were being spoiled. You have to admire what the waitstaff at MB's do; each marvelously inventive plate, which had at least eight different things going on to create the nirvana of culinary experiences, was explained in precise detail as it arrived. It must be quite a script to memorize. Wine was topped up at just the right intervals; so was the water. And never once were we interrupted to be asked how the meal was. Too right - you don't serve up perfection on a plate and then ask if you got it right. Our waiter too had no problem matching wine to our meal by the glass. The wine list itself was concise, well-thought out, and had some wonderful choices.
It will take me a long time to get over my entree of 'You Say Potato' - the humble spud turned on its ear in combinations of flavor and texture that made my heart sing. This was no filler; this was food for the soul. My partner's 'Trio of Tartares' was an even better choice, a generous portion of fish for each bite.
Being a seafood restaurant, we should have gone for the fish for the mains. As it was, I fancied the venison and the partner wanted the beef, so I was worried that we wouldn't be seeing the best the kitchen had to offer. I needn't have been concerned; these plates too were perfection. Wonderful. The kind of food you experience so rarely. A little extra magic was added to the beef, with a poured-before-your-eyes aromatic beef 'tea' supplied for excessive effect.
We finished the night with a dessert (Valrhona Chocolate Done 5 Ways) to die for. If there is one restaurant I have experienced in New Zealand that deserves a Michelin Star, it would be Martin Bosley's. The man himself had his hands full looking after a large party in the middle of the restaurant, but as I told Restaurant Manager John-Paul as we left, if I have one criticism of the meal, it would be that all future dining excursions will probably seem thin and grey compared to what I experienced that night.

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Review by: ThePhooz (3) on 15th October 2009

Total		8.7
Food		8
Dessert		8
Presentation		10
Service		10
Environment		10
Toilets		7

Went here during the "wellington on a plate" weeks, Ordered the degustation menu. The degustation here was different here in being everyone recieves a different dish which is pretty cool how ever it can be a miss on one course and you'd rather have your companions dish. Through out the journey of courses the chef takes you through subtlety of flavours, textures, contrasting temperetures with each dish incorporating a touch of molecular gastronomy such as wasabi sherbet, blackberry powder.
Highlight for me was the big eyed tuna, cucumber, wasabi sherbet and some sort of super chilled foam the flavours and contrast on textures, temperetures clicked so well. Funnily enough that wasn't my plate!
One course I didn't agree with was the potato done 4-5 ways the cooking technique was flawless but the excitement factor wasn't there cause it just potato's. Good experience overall really.

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Review by: Woodpigeon (2) on 24th August 2009

Total		4.5
Food		4
Dessert		N/A
Presentation		6
Service		5
Environment		5
Toilets		3

This is Wellington's Food Week and my partner and I booked for lunch in the expectation the restaurant would 'show case' what it was really capable of, well we were disappointed. Its not that anything was especially bad, except that I don't expect cona coffee in a restaurant with the reputation Martin Bosley has. The warm salad or green lentils was good, well presented and tasty. The tartare of fish (salmon) was pretentious in its presentation and unexciting, a small cube of fish on a huge white plate with a bland cumcumber garnish.
The mains were OK but not memorable, the fish was good quality, however the red wine reduction was a mere hint which had baked onto the plate and the bernaise sauce was over cooked, both a result of being under the heat lamps too long. The potatoes served as a side were excellent. The beef main was OK but I have had better many times. All up, including an excellent glass of Ata Rangi Sauv. blanc: $77.00 for two, not over the top but I would have preferred to pay more and get a really great meal.

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Review by: Sejie (59) on 8th August 2009

Total		8.7
Food		9
Dessert		8
Presentation		10
Service		9
Environment		7
Toilets		9

Visited here for a birthday celebration last week and had booked for the degustation menu. We were really glad we did - it was fantastic. I am vegetarian and they managed to do a great menu for me. Overall we were both happy with every course although one of the courses wasn't quite as good as all the others. The dessert courses were nice but no where near as creative as the other plates. Of course we had high expectations and on the whole these were met (perhaps we should stop watching so much Iron Chef etc!!). The staff were lovely and we had a great evening. Highly recommend.

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Review by: soundsgood (1) on 27th June 2009

Total		7.0
Food		7
Dessert		7
Presentation		7
Service		7
Environment		7
Toilets		N/A

It had been quite a time since our last visit to Martin Bosley but as we entered it felt as though nothing had changed, and that was to be a problem.
We had the degustation menu and the presentation seemed to be the same as last time, but the food was not as good. We had a weird potato thing which contained a potato ball, a tall glass of warm potato juice and a little mashed version. The "main'" course had beef with a kind of gravy-in-a-glass concoction that I was suppored to drink.
Other flavour combinations also felt like it was a team experimenting; without someone to give them advice on where they were missing the mark.
Perhaps the fact that the price remains at $100 means that the team has had to cheapen down the menu. There was also no sign of Martin Bosley; this may have been a night where the rest of the team were left on their own.
Service was pleasant though the explanations that accompany each course were missing for the main, and I personally find it annoying when the staff keep coming up to the table after each plate is empty. It might keep the table clean but it does nothing for ambience.
The location is great looking directly over the harbour. Unfortunately the bar and the room are one and the same meaning that a large group waiting to eat were noisy and standing relatively near to us for the first half hour.
We don't eat there often enough to know if this was simply an off night.

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Review by: M&K (18) on 31st May 2009

Total		6.3
Food		5
Dessert		6
Presentation		9
Service		7
Environment		8
Toilets		N/A
Child Friendly	Kind of

After reading of its awards as one of the best restaurants in Wellington I have to say I was a bit disappointed with MB's. The setting is fantastic, overlooking Oriental Bay, and table settings were immaculate. The food however seemed like it was trying too hard to be different. The flavours and textures were often bizzare and the day I tried it seemed dish had some kind of 'foam' on it. Service was very attentive (perhaps too attentive?). Enjoyed the experience despite it.

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Review by: anorexic (19) on 10th May 2009

Total		9.1
Food		9
Dessert		9
Presentation		9
Service		10
Environment		8
Toilets		N/A

Difficult to add anything more superlatibve to the other reviews. A wonderful meal of imaginative dishes.
Also a group of excellent, well-informed waiters. Overall, an absolute delight.
Just one word of advice - in winter try to sit away from the balcony doors as a cold blast hits you every time the trail of smokers passes through.
I am saving up to go again.

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Review by: nikki_OD (11) on 19th April 2009

Total		9.7
Food		10
Dessert		10
Presentation		10
Service		10
Environment		9
Toilets		5

I have admittedly written a review quite recently, but as we'd had such an amazing evening on that particular time we wondered if it might be the same again. For our wedding anniversary we wanted to go somewhere really special with fine good and with exceptional service guaranteed. Had we built MB's up to be something way beyond our expectations? Absolutely not! Again, the food amazing, the wine recommendations second to none. A thoroughly enjoyable evening, the staff are of such a high calibre, how do they remember all the different wines/grapes and processes involved of each? Incredible. More so to impress so much - I do have high expectations. I can't recommend this dining experience enough. My husband - not keen on seafood, caved and had a snapper dish. He thoroughly enjoyed every taste of it. We had a beautifully chilled bottle of champagne, followed by a wonderful Pinot Noir from the Otago region as recommended by the waiters. A truly divine evening for the senses. Go on. Go.

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Review by: nz_skater (11) on 11th April 2009

Total		9.7
Food		10
Dessert		10
Presentation		10
Service		10
Environment		9
Toilets		5

Have eaten at Martin's a few times now, and can honestly say I have not eaten out better anywhere else in Wellington. The food is always amazing, as is the service. For those that love seafood, go eat there, now! For those that don't, there's plenty of delicious dishes on the menu that will shine just as much as the culinary delights from the sea.
I recently took some friends there for dinner, which turned into a wonderful experience for everyone and they loved it, so much so that we're going back next week.
If you have an opportunity to go, take it. And make sure you, or someone close by, orders the Jasmine Creme Brulée, it's got to be one of the best desserts ever invented!

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Review by: shazzak (16) on 10th March 2009

Total		9.0
Food		9
Dessert		9
Presentation		10
Service		9
Environment		9
Toilets		7

Dinner at MB's was a fantastic. A beautiful dining room with a warm and welcoming (and quiet) atmosphere ... almost like going to church ... anyway I digress. To start we had the bluff oysters served with delicious garnish; the chardonnay foam was excellent. Entrees looked and tasted amazing. I had the sashimi plate and my pal had the tartar. Very interesting flavour combinations here, and quite interactive. The wasabi sherbert was quiet a surprise; not burn the nose wasabi at all. The main courses were delicious, my blue cod was cooked perfectly and very subtly flavoured and my pal's beef looked divine (and apparately tasted so, not that I go to try it). We didn't go for dessert as I am a cheese fan through and through. A great selection of chees so I have given 9 for dessert too based no this, presentation and accompaniments perfectly matched. I really don't think the team, both front and back of house, could have done anything to make this night better. Wine service was excellent, decanted red wine, matching crystal glassware, never having to worry about there not being any wine in your glass ... which is VERY important!
The one down side, and this is bein extremely picky, was the lillies at the bar were super strong and made my eyes and throat a bit scatchy ... one thing that florists and restaurateurs don't often consider. Eating with a sniffle ain't as much fun as eating without.

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