Orca Restaurant & Bar

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#2 of 21 Restaurants in RaglanInternational, European, $$ - $$$

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Orca Restaurant & Bar

Review

At a glance

Closed now

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Website

+64 7-825 6543Improve this listing

About

Features

CUISINES

International, European, New Zealand

Meal types

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Accepts Credit Cards

Free Wifi

Full Bar

Highchairs Available

Outdoor Seating

Parking Available

Reservations

Seating

Serves Alcohol

Street Parking

Table Service

Takeout

Television

Waterfront

Wheelchair Accessible

Location

2 Wallis Street, Raglan 3225 New Zealand

Parking Available, Street Parking

Is this restaurant good for local cuisine?

Yes

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Hours

Suggest an edit

Closed now

• Opens at 9:00 AM

Sunday

9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Monday

9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Tuesday

9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Wednesday

9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Thursday

9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Friday

9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Saturday

9:00 am - 9:00 pm

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4.3

538 reviews

Excellent

267

Good

194

Average

Poor

Terrible

Mrs T

68 contributions

Wow! Just Wow!

Apr 2024 • family

Wandered in here just for a drink and was planning on eating elsewhere. However on looking at the menu and taking in the clean and pleasant environment we ordered meals and was not disappointed with any of it. I'm really fussy and critical when eating out but could not fault this place. All six meals were served hot, tasty and so well presented from seafood chowder to the burgers. Well done to all staff. It was an amazing experience during our stay in Raglan from the UK.

Written 19 April 2024

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

pascale_delos

Auckland Central36 contributions

Excellent dining

Jun 2024 • solo

Large dining room who can cater for a variety of punters, tamariki included. Kitchen works well obviously, as I was out within half an hour.. which suited me coz I was on my way to a gig afterwards. I ordered the 2-piece marinated chicken, which came with pumpkin puree, 4 other veggies, and a creamy sauce. To match, a Waipara Hills Pinot Noir. A great meal!

Written 13 July 2024

Kiwifreespirits

Auckland112 contributions

Excellent innovative delicious cuisine , friendly service and picturesque location

Nov 2022 • none

We spent 7 days in Taranaki via Raglan and Orca was the stand out restaurant we experienced during that trip . The cuisine is innovative , delicious and beautifully presented and at a fair price. The service was friendly but unintrusive and the picturesque location at the harbours edge makes it a lovely spot to enjoy a meal or a drink this summer. Highly recommended.

Written 20 November 2022

Kiwidreamer

Auckland407 contributions

Disappointing Experience

Jan 2025 • couples

Disappointing experience. Booked the Alcove area earlier in the week, got pointed to (not taken to) a table in the restaurant area (at least it was by a window). Water and menus brought quickly, a bit of a delay to take our orders. Our drinks arrived soon after and then we waited, and waited, and waited. After we ordered we realised there was a large group, probably ahead of us but we were not informed there would be a delay. Unable to catch the attention of the wait staff to ask about the delay, no one came near us to check on us or explain why there was a delay and we noticed on several occasions 3 wait staff gathered by the bar chatting when they could have been checking on diners. About an hour later our mains arrived, still hadn't received the garlic bread we had ordered as a starter so cancelled that. The food was underwhelming when it did arrive, felt like no love had been given to it. Duck breast was overcooked, plum sauce was sour, the pork belly with it was nice but the butter bean puree it was meant to be on was a tiny smear and the bok choy was just ok. Partner had the chicken and mushroom linguine and found the chicken dry and the dish overall just average. They comped us one glass of wine and one coke when we indicated we were unhappy about the delay, lack of starter and lack of interaction while we were waiting. We have been coming regularly to Raglan for the last 15 years and Orca used to be our 'go to' restaurant but we won't be back any time soon. We have had far superior experiences at other places in Raglan in recent times - ISO, ULO's, RockIt to name a few. We will be back to those places.

Written 25 January 2025

Doug R

Crooked River Ranch53 contributions

Poor service and poor food

Feb 2023 • none

Might have been a bad day, but this restaurant did not check all the boxes it has been rated highly for. After being seated and our order was taken, we waited well over 30 minutes for our food with people coming in behind us receiving their orders ahead of ours. Our waitress kind of disappeared so we asked the hostess about our order. Two minutes later, low and behold our order arrived. One of us ordered the mushroom gravy over toast. Toast was way too thick, soggy, undercooked, and inedible. My burger tasted fine, but the patty was thick and did not nearly fit the bun which was way bigger than the patty making it awkward to eat. Our waitress never again came to our table even though she was waiting on other tables around us. Terrible service! When we checked out, the hostess fielded our complaints with grace but only offered 25% off of the one order of mushroom gravy on toast. Probably won't return as there are many other options in Raglan.

Written 21 February 2023

Aidan

1 contribution

That small curly haired host/ server needs to go.

Dec 2022 • family

Front desk host was incredibly rude from the start, we were a party of 10 and from the beginning she had a horrible attitude. She was rude, abrasive and genuinely left all of us shocked by her behaviour. It’s a shame as she seems to be the only person in all of raglan who seems to be in a bad mood. If I was the owner I’d have a heart attack due to how little she seemed to care about the amount of money we spent compared to the service. The food itself was fine, it arrived at separate times and wasn’t too warm or tasty but it was clear the kitchen was a little backed up (the kitchen, not the wait staff…). It’s clear that the small curly haired tattoo’d girl need to go work in any place that doesn’t have her interacting with people because it’s clear she has a disdain for just about anyone. It should be said that I created this account specifically to write this review, that’s how negative our experience was with her.

Written 27 December 2022

Chrishan2014

Raglan9 contributions

Very disappointing service & food

Mar 2023 • none

We ordered 5 meals celebrating our grandson’s birthday. Three of the meals came out together & at the same time 4 meals were taken to another table that had arrived well after us. After some time we went to the kitchen to ask where our other 2 meals were, we were told they’re coming. When the fries arrived they were only luke warm so we sent them back & they bought them back after reheating in the vat leaving them oil soaked & basically inedible. The other meal was a Gado Gado salad which was extremely disappointing. Our experience turned out to be a very expensive celebration for our grandson & a very disappointing one. My husband complained to the chef on paying & there was no real concern of our experience. In the past Orca has always prided themselves on great food & service of which we have experienced many times over the years.

Written 8 March 2023

Steph S

1 contribution

Crappy Service and food!

Feb 2023 • none

Waitress/waiter never came over tot able to see if we wanted more drinks or if we wanted to order. We waited for what felt like a very long time until we called someone over each time. We ordered the platters which were very under whelming considering the cost attached to it. It is such a shame as we loved coming here! But that has left a bitter taste in our mouth.

Written 27 February 2023

Chris B

Auckland47 contributions

Orca Rules

Nov 2023 • friends

We have been to this restaurant many times over the past ten years but our experience on New Years eve was something special, we were a large party of twelve. The service was spot on with both waiters and bar staff extremely helpful and courteous. The meal was very very good and we especially loved the Lamb Rack and the Scotch Fillet Steak. All in all, a very pleasant evening

Written 1 January 2024

flyingkiwi66

New Plymouth76 contributions

The long wait

Jul 2023 • family

It started with promise. We ordered drinks which came promptly. Then we ordered our meal and that’s when the promise ended. After a 40 minute wait we asked after our meals - “5-10 mins” we were told. 15 mins later we asked again (now been an hour). Said if it hadn’t been started we’d leave. Shortly afterwards our meal finally arrived. The food was nice but certainly not worth the long wait. Disappointed.

Written 9 July 2023

georgematthews

Bangor415 contributions

Good food excellent service.

Jun 2022 • none

Twelve of us appeared suddenly for a late lunch and you could imagine the horror in the staff but nothing was too much bother from pulling tables together to taking the orders. Granted it wasn’t too busy but the service was very efficient and the food which arrived all together was very tasty. Would highly recommend even though you were limited for choice as a lot of recommended places were closed. Average price was $40 per person for food and drink.

Written 27 June 2022

angelad933

Tauranga27 contributions

Would not recommend

Sept 2022 • couples

Went for brunch on a public holiday. The service was very slow with us having to request our coffees and food several times. The eggs benedict were cold and hard boiled and suspect they had been left sitting for some time before being served. The worst breakfast out ever!

Written 25 September 2022

kiwivegan

156 contributions

Delicious food excellent service

Apr 2023 • family

Had dinner here last night, the whole experience was wonderful. Service was on point and the food delicious. I had the vege stack as a vegan option which was a perfect valance of textures and taste. The vegan chocolate torte with berry compote was a decadent finish 😋 highly recommend eating here. Our whole table had beautiful food prepared perfectly every one was happy.

Written 1 April 2023

Jeffrey1809

Cheltenham131 contributions

Pleasant venue but take care what you order!

Jan 2023 • friends

As two couples on holiday in Raglan, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice meal out on our last evening. We liked the location of the Orca Eatery and the staff were pleasant. Sadly the food was not satisfactory. My wife ordered the fish of the day. Three of us ordered the Scottish fillet steak. It was chewy and the vegetables were seriously undercooked. One of us found her steak very gristly so complained and was offered another meal. She chose the fish of the day as my wife was enjoying hers. This meant the meal experience was spoilt and we were not happy. When it came to paying, they charged us for the four meals with no apologies. We complained again and were offered a reduction for the wine. Although the staff treated us well, we feel that the management should have offered us, at least, one free meal. We do not recommend this restaurant to visitors.

Written 5 January 2023

Glennis B

Whakatāne428 contributions

breakfast was so good we ate it twice

Apr 2022 • none

Yes all the hype is true. the service is amazing, water was provided for the dogs as soon as the server knew we came off the beach. the breakfasts were amazing and after apologizing for the upcoming delay , it was only 20 minutes and the coffee had appeared as if by magic. And it tasted pretty otherworldly too. the only downside is everything is so good, i got a cookie to takeaway and then demolished it .............it was just that good.

Written 19 April 2022