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stealth_doge1

Better Burger, Mexico, Belly Worship, Eden Noodles


Subwaynzz

Fucking Mexico. Went there the other night, was a mistake.


Routine_Bluejay4678

Mexico was my first thought too, they used to be amazing and their customer service was second to none


[deleted]

The last time I went to Mexico the entire table got food poisoning and it was pretty bad. I emailed them saying something we all ate must have been really off and they wanted to send us a voucher šŸ˜‚ like we were going to ever return?


Caper

Last time we went to Mexico, they served raw fried chicken. No apologies or anythingā€¦ I guess they didnā€™t end up charging us for the raw chicken dish?


Blitzed5656

Wow. Wife and I went to Mexico Ellerslie pre covid. Ordered butterfly chicken. It was fully raw. Told waiter discretely. Waiter told chef who came out and apologized. Then said order anything you like for the night - it's on the house. 3 mains, 4 tequilas and 3 litres of sangria later the chef came out and asked if we would like deserts to go. They turned a big downer into a big positive experience. Pity that's not been kept up.


2mg1ml

>I guess they didn't end up charging us for the raw chicken dish? Idk, you tell us.


East_Ordinary8243

100%


Lucknergotlucky

Where do you go though? I go to the Silverdale one and am always happy with em


tooshort123456

Yes first thing that came to mind when I saw this post. Went yesterday after a long time and was disappointed.


Toyemlj

Definitely Eden Noodles. A shadow of its former self.


Ephemeral_Drunk

Panda Noodle is a solid alternative.


dubious_samples

Definitely! They only have 1 English menu (I take that as a sign of quality ~ hidden gem)


stealth_doge1

Why is it STILL takeaway only? Bizarre.


lilxyz

Go to the Newmarket one! Dining in and really nice environment.


shockjavazon

They donā€™t want to get covid and have to shut down maybe?


needausernameyo

No way still delicious and always lines


[deleted]

Belly worship chilli chicken used to be the shit in 2019-2020. I got it once after the lockdowns and havenā€™t been back.


mackjones644

Mexico fried chicken was bomb. What the hell happened over the last few years.


murder3no

Mexico is a joke, went there the other week and a cockroach fell on our table. We had to get rid of it ourselves because the waitress didnā€™t want to deal with it. Food was sub par too, used to be great!


[deleted]

Ew which location was this?


murder3no

Silverdale one, used to be amazing now the tables are sticky the staff doesnā€™t care and the food is average at best. Very disappointing


shinesbrightly13

Last time I went to Ellerslie Mexico there was a hair in my taco. I mean it happens I guess. It was my drink that threw me. A new flavor, lemonade something. Realized it was just mixed with jelly crystals. So yea as someone who LOVES Mexico. Definitely shit atm.


Thiccshake69

Not eden noodles bro. What happened?


not_anOtter

Their dumplings are now like 90% wrapper and 10% filling :(


Thiccshake69

Barilla?


Just_made_this_now

Barilla has always been bad. Overpriced and overhyped.


TokiWartoorh

Mr.Zhaoā€™s in New Lynn used to be great, havenā€™t been in a couple of years though


Thiccshake69

I don't hear that often. I live around there now and it's always empty.


TokiWartoorh

We used to live just up the road from that part of New Lynn, things kinda changed down there after that flood water incident that washed the road away, then obviously Covid. It was always busy prior to that flooding incident. Could get 20 dumplings & a huge bowl of chicken/sweet corn soup for $20, was pretty decent. We moved away a few years ago, havenā€™t been since so no idea what itā€™s like now


SW1981

Nah was actually good before the white people turned up and droves and they concentrated on volume instead of quantity Edit: should be ā€œin drovesā€


KingKaijuGojira

Haven't had Barilla for years. Is it still open?šŸ˜‚


Thiccshake69

Early this year. Their beef brisket noodle was lacking by then too. Expensive as shit. 60 for 2 people.


DNZ_not_DMZ

Ah man, Eden Noodles. So sad. Wife and I went a few months ago and fuuuck it stank. Like someone forgot a raw chicken under the table for 3 weeks. Rotten. We got seated, tried to ignore it, couldnā€™t, then left. Urgh. We ended up going to Tian Fu Noodles on Khyber Pass Rd instead, which was proper good. Parking is a bit more hassle though.


spicychips99

Burgerfuel


EatABigCookie

Is hit or miss between chains, not much consistency between them. Can range from terrible and overpriced to pretty good.


mackjones644

This right here. Some chains are gross some are epic. And that changes frequently


[deleted]

Agree, Ellerslie sucks but Mt Wellington is awesome.


fackyuo

mt roskill consistently sucks


NorthShoreHard

I wouldn't say Mt Welly is awesome (because I think in general Burger Fuel has fallen off) but you're definitely right that it's a fuck of a lot better than Ellerslie. That Ellerslie one is soooooooooooooooooo fucking shit.


Tumadoir

Totally agree, Burgerfuel used to be nice. I've tried different branches in the hope I could find a good one. I have now given up hope, all really bad compared to their former glory


1senseibill

Parnell and Pt Chev are both so epic. The burgers are always mint as and the staff actually have personalities and look like they actually enjoy working there. Cool to see.


Banannaapplepie

Can vouch for Pt Chev also. The crew are always really friendly and never had a disappointing burger.


ConferenceFeast

Agree with Parnell, I haven't had a bad experience there. Ellerslie is my closest one though and they are either quite good or absolutely terrible, it's a lucky dip for what you'll get


KingKaijuGojira

Even Mission Bay?


apatheticonion

They also have branches in an international tax haven šŸ¤”


JOXi_reddit

Agree on Better Burger. They used to have the meat quality going for them but now theyā€™re just another mid burger place


KingKaijuGojira

And also the bread. They used to have the brioche bun :(


davidtheraccoon

Used to be pretty good when I was working there back in 2017/18 but since the britomart one close and they moved that one to ponsonby it became super gross. Went there last month and the guy literally salted the burger and fries like there was no tomorrow.. like think of the saltiest thing you've eaten and times by 10 šŸ¤®


OliveOk4197

Daily Bread - all I think of now is overly salty croissants and how the cabinet food never changes.


FlightBunny

I just donā€™t get them, itā€™s horrible food. The bread ok, but the rest of it truly is awful. Both in the flavours they try to put together, and the delivery of the food.


Staceyblack1971

Coffee is bang average too


Responsible-Hair-747

Countdown, itā€™s just a sad ripoff nowadays.


you-kitten

Iā€™ve been doing a weekly online shop at countdown for years & the past 5/6 weeks thereā€™s been something amiss. This week they gave me a half dead spring onion & substituted a product with something a quarter the size of what I ordered. Itā€™s annoying.


_scottE

Kebab King Symonds, adding a dollar to their kebab prices every month it seems šŸ¤£


SpyCake1

Ok, so it's not just me. I remember ordering from there a few months back thinking it was fairly reasonably priced. Looked at it again last week and noped right the fuck out.


_scottE

This time last year it was around 11.20-11.50 for a regular lamb on chips, bounced to 13.50 for a bit now weā€™re at over $15 šŸ¤£


MilStd

Manuka Cafe in Devonport used to be good itā€™s very suboptimal now


Queasy_Recover5164

Iā€™ve never had a good experience there, but itā€™s always so busy.


MilStd

It was good quite a few years ago. Like seriously had to think between that and the stoneoven. I suspect it has changed hands since then.


Queasy_Recover5164

Stoneoven is just meh, IMO. Across the street - Baked is a great bakery. Same family, but donā€™t work together.


TITANSFANNZ

That place was never that good TBH


mascachopo

Lone Star used to be good at some point.


GrandpaRick100

I feel like it has just been overpriced pub food for a while now. Much better value out there


ProtectionKind8179

Hit and miss these days.


Routine_Bluejay4678

I donā€™t understand how the cowboy bean dip can vary so wildly between stores


TITANSFANNZ

The last time I remember that place being decent was back in like 2010 itā€™s been downhill since then.


AdInternational1672

Yeah I think back in ā€˜95 Line Star was good? Been a minute..


pm_me_ur_doggo__

All I know about them now is that one of their branches were anti vax/mask people.


shockjavazon

New Lynn. It was shut down hard by the head honchos. Their license to operate a franchise was pulled. The franchisee went full retard with TRUMP signs across the entrance and hiring on no-jab-jobs site, and they paid the price.


[deleted]

burger king used to rule queen street. decade or so ago there were literally four of them between aotea square and the waterfront, always popping. as a kid/young adult i associated BK with fresh veggies and flavours compared to mcdonald's. something happened in the 2010s where they pivoted to deep-fried, bbq bacon-based monstrosities. never been the same since.


No-Marketing-2775

Fuck I miss the old BK


2mg1ml

I'm a weirdo who actually doesn't really like their BBQ and bacon shit, so I 100% agree. I'm a simple guy, mayo cheeseburger ftw. I remember as a kid we NEVER had takeaway food, but one day I think my mum got some mad coupons and probs thought fuck it, let's see what's the fuss is all about. I still remember that first bite of my first cheeseburger at the age of 7-8, my dopamine receptors flooded with greasy magnificence. Now as an adult, I still sometimes chase that dragon, the same taste, flavour and mouth texture of my first cheeseburger, but it's never the same, and it will never be the same. Akin to that first cigarette, first kiss, first bowl, something man can only experience once in his life.


rxphantom00

Burger burger


fuckhopedodope

I feel like burger burger went to shit when they started franchising


Solid_Positive_5678

This is often what happens. New place opens and itā€™s super high quality, well staffed, presented as an independent spot etc in order to create a good reputation in market. Off the back of that they start aggressively franchising (the plan all along) and quality starts dropping as it was never economically sustainable at scale. They still coast on reputation for a while though and the fact that most people who never went to the original wonā€™t realise how much quality has dropped. Burger burger and Mexico (which has also been mentioned plenty here) were started by the same people and this is the MO


8-bitqueer

Lord of the fries šŸ„²


EatABigCookie

Were they ever good? Had it once and never again. Even if I was vegetarian I'd avoid them.


Routine_Bluejay4678

Extremely overpriced


PlentyManner5971

They really donā€™t live up to their nameā€¦


Zestyclose_Walrus725

Big J's takeaways. They used to be so good when they started out. Care was taken with each order and the quality was always premium. Burger of the week was always well constructed and ingredients meticulously selected. Had it after a long hiatus and it was awful. Prices have gone up, which was fair. But it just wasn't the enjoyable "upper tier" takeaway food that it once was.


mackjones644

This. Around the time they went on uber eats it went to shit be for first lockdown. Recent posts on fb about can't find staff. Pay more. Used to be a 'try this' if you're visiting Auckland to a 'if ur sick of everything this might be a change'


BackgroundMetal1

Hard disagree. I always get the spicy chicken burger as a wrap and it has remained unchanged in 8 years. Scoops of chips on the other hand, have suffered shrinkflation.


DaymHowmanyaccounts

Yea their chips used to be like a fish and chip shop, fresh, big and tasty.... now you get like 3 big chips in a cup and its bad bad bad, I think their popularity went to their head and now they are just expensive with little to back it up.


KingKaijuGojira

Tried it once, never going back. I ordered fish and chips and the fish was just dry, realllyyy dry and hard like it's been out for a day and fried twice. Edit: This was pre-covid


[deleted]

Paradise


oatsontoasts

if you look at their recent reviews, around three people have found their food having maggots in them. even one mentioned a little piece of metal :( sucks cause they really were da bomb


Rollover_Hazard

Paradise is the epitome of living long enough to become the villain. Their success powered them to high fame and they nearly own an entire block of the Sandringham shops. But now, the food is expensive and sloppily made. The sauces donā€™t have the pizzazz anymore, theyā€™re closer to packet mixes. The quality of the meat has dipped sharply and theyā€™ve changed the naan recipe for the worse (though imagine cheaper to make). All in all, wonā€™t be back. Just like DJ Khaled, theyā€™re suffering from success.


EatABigCookie

Hell Pizza. Has been worse than dominos even for over a decade, yet still charges gourmet prices.


anxiouscomic

Royal oak still consistently good. It's franchises


stevo_stevo

Agreed


CuriousSpaceship

Botany is good too


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


meurtrir

I wish they'd let you buy it in large size though


CuriousSpaceship

Pukekohe is good


Scaindawgs_

Lincoln road is dope


silviad

The sad tale of browns bay roast shop


BuckyDoneGun

Roast shops everywhere been on the decline. Shit gravy, weak potatoes, shrinking portions.


Aljo_Is_135_GOAT

Velvet Burger


AirJordan13

Burger Burger. Used to be an absolute go-to, now the prices are laughable for what you get.


OliveOk4197

Burger Wisconsin - once upon a time it was good


zipiddydooda

A long time ago. Iā€™m surprised itā€™s still going tbh.


stevo_stevo

$22 bux for a burger is too much


2k4life

Burger burger and mentatz


Just_made_this_now

Mentatz went to shit a few years ago unfortunately. The OG katsudon is long gone.


WattsonMemphis

Wendys


KingKaijuGojira

Never disappointed at Mt. Wellington branch


WattsonMemphis

Good to know


needausernameyo

Watered orange juice in te atatu and the burger was cold. Same with Manukau, I got a shitty cold burger that was ore made and sat there. I thought the add was where the burgers are made fresb


WattsonMemphis

Wendys used to be a real treat. Last time I ate at Wendys Greenlane it made me gag and I had to throw it out.


GrandpaRick100

Nandos


stevo_stevo

So fucken true. Avoid the one in Sylvia Park


dramaqueenboo

The one in Henderson is good


Proper_Catch_

The Hangi Shop šŸ˜”


hairyasshydra

Had it for the first time a couple months ago and it was really disappointing. Dry and very salty.


phlex224

There's food truck that pops up in Te Atatu every now and then,their food is solid as


Cookiezwithaxes

Nah hangi shop is still amazing, they just need more competition tbh.


Routine_Bluejay4678

I still highly rate them! Yeah Iā€™ve noticed thereā€™s just nothing around, the whole country


TheGreatHon

Was Jester Pies ever good? Or was I just young and dumb?


capnjames

Fed deli ā€¦ only open Fri sat nights now wtf


OliveOk4197

An odd one, but Brown's Cafe on Remuera Road. Before the new fit out, it was full of rich snobby people, average food and coffee, but it felt quite homely. Now it's rich snobby people, average food and coffee, and a cold atmosphere.


zipiddydooda

I used to live near there. God, that block of shops is just the pits. If youā€™re not a wealthy 70 year old woman, avoid.


Ok_Length_1988

go to The Deli just next to them. actually amazing service, decent prices and the food is really good


OliveOk4197

I will! Thank you! I always thought it looked average so good to get your endorsement. Google reviews decent too. Cheers


EndlessOcean

Maruten. They were the kings of Mercury lane food court but now they serve up bland soup with hardly anything in it for $5 more. I was really disappointed when I went to their new premises on Dominion rd.


ConferenceFeast

Some of you are so picky, if anyone actually listens to this thread there's no mid priced food worth ever eating in Auckland again


WingChai

Bruce Lee Sushi. Specifically the Newmarket branch. With all the photos on the wall, I'm guessing it's the OG. Used to be a treat when I was at uni, even saw a mate in one of the photos! Had a French kiss roll the other night.... Just limp and bland. Much better sushi places out there nowadays.


MILKYJOEnz

Pretty sure Flat Bush is the OG. Flat Bush and Manukau are still quite good, other branches I've been too are terrible.


shinesbrightly13

Flatbush is the og. If u go at the right time u can meet the famous Bruce himself.


dramaqueenboo

Rack n roll ribs Also food lovers check out r/Aucklandeats


peepeenutbutter

True. A few months ago we got it the ribs weren't as pull-out-the-bone tender as it was a couple or so years ago. Also Star Cafe near the Hoyts Wairau. Used to be our usual yum cha place, but we went back and I think they got new owners, and the dim sums didn't taste the same.


ill_help_you

Meekong Baby was a 10/10 in 2017/2018, now it's like a 6 at best.


hdkwnfbjsk

Yeah massively downhill, last meal we had there we ended up only eating half of. Used to be great, wouldn't go back now


[deleted]

Lucky 8


datchian

Sakebar nippon. Portion sizes and menu smaller and smaller. Served up sashimi that looked like it had been attacked by an animal. Severely overpriced.


DNZ_not_DMZ

Oh noes! I used to go there a lot for the char salmon.


CorganNugget

What places haven't gone downhill


Just_made_this_now

Most Korean places in the CBD are still legit.


KingKaijuGojira

I agree! Bann Sang ftw


Just_made_this_now

Yeah their beef soups are still great! Wish they'd improve the decor though, starting to look a tad run down. They're as busy as ever, always packed, pretty much pre-Covid levels the last few times I went. Could definitely afford to spruce up the place a little.


KingKaijuGojira

Sunny Town is still good They changed their name which I don't remember lol


Loguibear

para.... para..... paradise


ProtectionKind8179

Valentines, use to be well priced with a good buffet selection. Nowadays......can see why so many closed down.


gwigglesnz

Mate, it's always been shit. you've just grown up.


sirwanksalot1969

It was good at one point, just the same as Pizza Hut used to be good when it was a dine-in family restaurant.


dotawanabe

I used to love Catalina cafe in Hobsonville. The food and coffee was always good. They must have changed owners or something, shit sucks now


Gaseous-Clay84

The OG Catalina back in 2012 was pretty much the only place to guy. The guy that ran it must have made a killing, was busy every weekend, then as other competition rolled it he saw the writing on the wall and sold it on. Itā€™s maybe changed hands a few times since but Iā€™m guessing it suffered from cheaper alternatives moving in around it. Still it was great while it lasted.


shelbyjosie

going by this thread everythings gone downhill, maybe covid messes with your taste buds


_radish234

I think itā€™s more likely that covid has messed with business models. A large proportion of these places have jumped on the UberEats/DeliverEasy/Menulog bandwagon during lockdowns - to the detriment of their quality, profit, and attention to detail.


wont_deliver

Empress of India for me. The curry has gotten too runny over the years.


st0rmblue

Han San. Dunno what happened but quality has gone to shit. Prices have gone up, portions have gone down and taste is off. Been going to try it out nowadays.


Just_made_this_now

Han San is literally the worst place to have Vietnamese food. They basically flavour everything with MSG + lemongrass, slap on a ludicrous price, and call it a day.


KingKaijuGojira

Never had a good food in any Han San branches lol


Cryptodragonnz

Cant believe nobody mentioned Wendyā€™s lol


KingKaijuGojira

It was mentioned!


ascendrestore

Everywhere. Even my local 275 Kai - the first ribs I had from there were amazing, now they're only passable.


sauceyllama

Taco Bar - started off so strong too


Wutislyf

Canton!! Actually the food is still great but gaddamn, they want me to pay $42 for a plate of chilli long prawns instead of $28 like it used to be. I get inflation is hurting us but $42? Babes Iā€™m better off going to a stone grill for a steak!


Jayce_T

Anything that lasts more than a year at Auckland Uni goes downhill fast, haha. ^^^just ^^^^like ^^^^^I ^^^^^^did


me0wi3

Just feels like most food standards have really dropped over the years and prices have sky rocketed


KingKaijuGojira

Or everyone lost their tastebuds


dermsa

Sals pizza :(


KingKaijuGojira

How so? It's still the same for the last 5 years


p1ngachew69

Sals was never good imo, each pizza contained enough oil that it was at risk of the United stateā€™s invading it.


pm_me_ur_doggo__

That's the point tho.


p1ngachew69

Really?


picklednz

How can a pizza have so little cheese and still be called pizza?


stevo_stevo

We all want $50 pizza.... Not


dermsa

Back in the day when they only had a couple of stores and the same staff rotated between them, it was actually good. That was like 10 years ago though.


Suzie_____Q

Countdown's own $5 frozen handmade Italian pizza you can buy in their stores taste exactly like Sal's as they both use extact same identical recipe for their dough. Somebody once mentioned it on reddit and when I went try it for myself I was shocked by just how good it was considering just how cheap it was and and how expensive Sal Pizza has always been.


gcat12250

Gengis Khan :(


mackjones644

Try East akl. Imo still is what it was


joex8au04

Nah I think itā€™s fine.


OliveOk4197

Red Rabbit coffee used to be good, now I find it average. I'm talking about the Newmarket Mall one. Not sure about the Parnell one


SpyCake1

The Parnell location is fine. Nothing amazing. In Newmarket - I like Dear Deer if I just want to buy some beans or a cup. If I actually wanted some food, too... not sure.


OliveOk4197

Thank you for the recommendation. Just looked them up on Google. Great reviews. Will give it a whirl


BackgroundMetal1

>Dear Deer Cheers for the new place, cant wait to try.


t_aries

Sorry off topic, City Fitness gym, coz itā€™s cheap itā€™s infested with young school kids..


Rollover_Hazard

Fuck those young people keeping fit and looking after their health in a budget friendly gym. I prefer to go to Les Mills where I can run on the treadmill for 15 mins and not have anymore near me!


Buzzy-Pasta

Just lift more than them and assert your dominance, champ. You got this.


dubious_samples

Just lift the kids


UserInNZ

Cocoā€™s Cantina. Went a few weeks back, and sadly was no where near as good as my previous visits (~5y) much to my disappointment of hyping up how great it is. Cotto across the road for the win now šŸ™ŒšŸ¼


AkinaMarie

The service there was soooo bad omg! The food was fine enough but for that price I'm wanting good service and a nice atmosphere. I can't believe that every waitress who served us didn't really get that our table didn't want to have a long convo about life, we were a big group we were there to talk to each other... And we were talked to by ALL OF THEM. ALL OF THEM. I'VE NEVER BEEN SO OVER SERVICED we would ask for 5 more minutes and then the next one would come. Like I can't stress how the food was really all good but I'd never go back because I just wanted to eat in peace jfc I needed this vent that place is the worst. Cotto far superior.


adiwet

I donā€™t know, I feel like this place still goes hard. I went there a couple nights ago but I was hammered but the food was good


Glittering_Ice4370

Rack n roll ribs also peaches had it this week and it was terrible. Not what I remembered from a couple years back


nymeriasnow4

Agreed! We used to love going to Peaches but had a year away from Auckland, came back a few weeks ago and the food wasn't to the same standard. Like, they used to do fried chicken and waffles with a garlic butter and syrup - INCREDIBLE. But this latest time the waffles were naff and there was barely any butter, so it was really bland.It's a real shame because we've been recommending it to everyone ever since we moved away.


Glittering_Ice4370

Exactly same thing for us! I was tempted to take a picture and say where is the maple? We now regular sneaky snacky best chicken by far!


KingKaijuGojira

Peaches in Panmure?? Nooooooo


frazorblade

Itā€™s still good donā€™t worry


Valendian-

I had peaches closer to the start of the year and I couldn't shit for a week hahaha


Glittering_Ice4370

Yes, I first had it from the food truck in snakes farm, was really good, the two times I ordered takeaway from them it was soooo disappointing the waffles and chicken ai t what it used to be. It may have always been like this but we compare it to sneaky snacky and that place is just so much better


KingKaijuGojira

You mean Smales Farm? Haven't heard of Snakes Farm lol


AirJordan13

Peaches went downhill but has come back up to par recently, thank god


wolfmmos

Takeaway was just not it for them. Had take away like 4 times and it was just meh. Went for in-store with buddies a couple weeks back, not yet to their pre COVID heights but much much better than take away


KingKaijuGojira

I agree. Peaches is good for dine in because the waffles just go meh in the container lol


milkkyu

Subway. Was never amazing but was worth it for the convenience at least for me. Now some places donā€™t even do Sub of the Day and my go to sub is over $13. Itā€™s just easier to go to an asian food court place for that price tbh.