Hire in Wellington

17th June 2012
A group of 3 of us had a fantastic meal on Saturday evening. The starters we to die for - oysters, whitebait and pork belly. The mains were incredible - beef, venison and pork. Perfectly cooked and presented so artistically. The wine waiter was superb with excellent product knowledge and suggestions for wine matches. Then there were the desserts - the snow egg was an artwork and the cheese and sticky pudding divine. One of our group was a chef and she thought the food was incredible. We have all dined at the Michelin star restaurant 'Aria' in Brisbane and all felt the White House food was better and the menu more extensive. The service was great too. It was perfect!

22nd August 2011
5 of us dined at the Grand, Courtenay Place on 11 August 2011 using 2 Spreets Vouchers that entitled us to any four mains and four house drinks. At the time of booking and as stated on the voucher, I advised the staff member we were using the Spreets voucher and upon arrival we also presented them to the wait staff. We were advised that it will only need to be presented when paying. My partner asked the wait staff what their House drinks included and the waitress listed a number of tap beer and informed us the juices were also included. When it came time to settling the bill we were charged for the tap beer and juices. When querying this with the Manager who had processed our bill, she informed me that the beer and juices were not classified as 'house drinks'. I explained the situation of how we were informed by the wait staff these drinks were included as a house drink. The Manager acknowledged the error but was not prepared to rectify the issue and refund the money for the drinks. She offered to provide me with another 3 glasses of wines, of which I informed her was a ridiculous offer considering I was the driver that night (and the other diners were at the next restaurant for dessert). This did not promote responsible host management. After repeatedly informing her that if we were provided with the correct information in the first instance we would not have ordered the beer and the juices. In front of an audience of customers, the Manager (in a fury state) opened the till and refunded money only for the 2 glasses of juices. She was not willing to refund the money for the beer and I allowed her the opportunity to resolve this problem as we would have liked to return for another meal in the future. I informed her that as this is unacceptable and has presented us with a negative experience, we will advise all our friends, family and work mates not to dine at the Grand. The Manager's response was 'That is fine'. It is a shame the Manager did not consider what the consequences were especially when the actual costs of one beer would have been next to nothing. Instead this has cost them repeated business not only from us but business from people we share this experience with.