KINGI  : RESTAURANT REVIEW 
2 STARS/ 5 (AVERAGE) and Zero for service. 
VISITED MAY 2024
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
 
 
A DISGRACE TO 5 STAR HOSPITALITY
 
Respectable restaurants take the pain to find and hire good service staff because they know how crucial it is to the guest experience. Inspired perhaps by the penny-pinching from their industrial chic decor (rough-hewn concrete, exposed beams, bare unpainted brick) Kingi, the feature restaurant of the supposedly 5 star Hotel Britomart, seems to have recruited a bunch of young girls barely out of high school to run the room. They roam the place clueless, lost in their wandering fantasies, in search of the phantom mate who is not on the floor. One thing they will emphatically not do is to attend to you, or ask you whether you want a main course or dessert, presuming that the world is full of nymph-like creatures who nibble on appetizers and call it a day. I waited for them to at least do something entertaining like a cheerleader dance but I guess they lost that script too. 
 
One shudders to call this a deluxe restaurant, but in more than a decade of experiencing New Zealand's elite restaurants with their sadly dodgy service standards, this has decidedly been the worst service experience. This gross negligence and laughable lack of attention makes one suspect what kind of service or the lack thereof exists in the supposedly 5 star Hotel Britomart which charges anywhere from $360 to $2800 per night for its rooms. 
 
 
At The Entrance 
 
 
 
 
 
To its credit, Kingi believes in the virtues of walking and exercise - the restaurant is in Auckland, their restroom is in Wellington. The pleasant young lady who took my first order seemed nice, but her utter lack of attention and callousness which then ensued, completely capsized any shred of hospitality. After the starters, she stayed away and when I beckoned her and ordered the main course at 9-35 pm, she said with a straight face "Let me check if the kitchen is still open". The kitchen was a few paces ahead of me, the chef in full view, the open kitchen also in full view of the room and yet they sported a contemptuous lack of communication about when they want to close the kitchen. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I wonder if these people realize they are situated in the centre of Auckland CBD, that parking spaces are far and few, that some people like me would have driven into a difficult part of town where Auckland Council itches to issue bus lane fines which should be slapped back into their face, and walked a fair distance on a weekday to reach this restaurant for my reservation at 8 pm - all this trouble for them to play hide and seek and say they're not sure the main course is available at 9-35 pm. There was a rain-lashed storm enroute to the restaurant, with autumn leaves piled up and strewn all over - Queen Street had never looked so untidy and so desolate as it did that night -  an omen of what lay ahead. Even un-starred places take better care of their clients. Want to say a word to the manager ? Dream on, there were none visible that night.  
 
The menu has a good focus on seafood. Blue cod wings were a lusty delight you launched into with your fingers, with a squeeze of blackened lemon and fresh zesty ranch sauce. Trevally Kokoda had chopped sashimi in a sour cream-like sauce with mild accents of finger lime, kawakawa and cucumber - as agreeable as baby food. Kina (sea-urchin roe) sported umami alright - with all its signature flavours nicely delivered - marine, piscine, metallic, tart - like cured fish jelly. But its impact was obscured on toasted bread and pancetta.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The chef generously agreed to cook my main course at the late hour of 9-35 pm in a major restaurant in Auckland CBD. The plate was brought to me, the presentation unfinessed, the sauce staining the sides of the plate. What saved it was the swordfish - of superior quality, confidently cooked to tenderness - reminiscent of good monkfish, with a decent cafe de paris sauce (the only one of its kind I've tasted in NZ).
 
 
  
 
Pineapple Mess - an ananas riff on Eaton mess -  was not bad, a cool creamy disc embedded with brunoised flicks of both natural and candied pineapple, granita of said fruit and bits of meringue. I would have done a second visit to explore more of the menu but with absent service like this, I would have to have zero self-esteem to do so. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The chandeliers are a grouping of shiny discoid objects each of which have the shape of worn-out bathroom slippers. The designer predicted the ethos well - a symbol of the bottom-rung experience here. Before 10 pm, a waitress deposited a blue tray at the pass, stood there and began cleaning the utensils from that tray - a shockingly uncouth and inappropriate gesture in full view of guests. I'm keen to know what Auckland Council have to say about a probable food hygiene violation in this aspect. I'm just glad they didn't take the same opportunity to start wiping the floor - regardless, all that cleaning will not clear their stained reputation.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
The unprofessional loafing off of the service staff aside, I would not hire the main chef who ran the show that evening. When you are in view of diners, with an open kitchen, there is nowhere to hide your behaviour. Mid-way through the night, he looked at the back of the kitchen, rattled off some dishes and yelled "Make it work!" The waitstaff nearby smiled nervously and peeked into the back of the kitchen to see the state of the upbraided cook. This main chef lacked grace - when plated food at the pass sat there waiting to be picked up, he would impatiently clap his hands - a signal - a clumsy one - to the waitresses. He had vanished by 9-50 pm, the kitchen likely none the worse in his absence. What a hopeless restaurant. I would not return here even if they offered a free feast.
 
 
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