Very friendly staff. Kitchen can slow when half full but with a view to kill, you will forget the time
Third time for dinner here this year and we will be back again. Comfy service, comfy spot, fantastic food. They aren’t pretending to be budget dining and nor should they ever be. They are good average pricing but worth it and more. We really like La Vista.
It's a wonderful place to celebrate birthday here and mother's day. The best restaurant with delicious and fresh food. Really happy with the food ❤❤❤. Specially the steak 😊😁
The “My Breakfast” is so delicious! That Marsala cream sauce *drool*! Service was amazing and fast. View is outstanding. Would go again, over and over!
They have the BEST pork ribs in Auckland. Flavour is absolutely amazing and they just melt off the bone. We usually order two ribs cause we don’t want to share haha. All other food is amazing, owner is very lovely and great location by the beach.
Have just had a fantastic lunch with my Valentine.
Food sensational, service great, fantastic outlook across the bay. We are most definitely heading back, maybe a dinner next time or a quiet lunch with friends.
Thanks again. See you soon
Pam and me.🍷🍷😎😎🥝🥝
Lovely meal and warm friendly service. In a suburb that can be snobby and pretentious the environment was very pleasant and welcoming.
Children were well looked after, if anything could I suggest that here be a kids meal options that are just small versions of adult meals?
Everything is reasonable priced and made to a high standard. There coffees were delicious and there dark chocolate brownie was incredibly moist and I definitely would recommend this place.
Wandered in for a bite before the rugby. All tables were booked but they could fit us in at the end of the bar. Great seats right in front of the musician. Friendly service from all three staff that greeted and served. Our three dishes were delivered all together as asked. The Andalusian meatballs were the best of the three very good dishes that we shared. Will go again.
Excellent service, delicious food, beautiful setting. Have been here for lunch and dinner. Chicken liver paté with cubes of balsamic jelly is delicious. Fish of the day -- beetroot, wilted spinach, asparagus, snapper -- would order again. Tiramisu is authentic, and I thank you for the generous serving. Great servers, all with a sense of humour. Thank you!
Ice coffee in a hot coffee cup!
I love it when ice coffee are in these cup during the summer time.
Great stop for coffee with sea view. They have a great selection of food and specials too, which I have yet to try.
Will be back soon for more ice coffee and snacks too!
Service: 5/5
Environment: 4/5
Coffee: 5/5
We popped in here for a bite.... staff were very friendly... nice atmosphere ..
we ordered classic cocktails & tapas platter.
Cocktails were really nice
We were hungry and the platter was very satisfying...
Yzette Van Der Westhuizen
+4
One of the few local restaurants that I feel comfortable in recommending. We have been there a number of times for breakfast, lunch and dinner and were never disappointed. Staff is friendly and competent and the menu has a good selection of tapas and main meals, also a good selection of NZ wines. Great view on a sunny day.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
We ordered the mussels to start with that comes together with a light saltish sauce. The mussels were pretty well done, but we actually would prefer a slightly stronger flavoured sauce.
The paella that I had was quite soggy. There was only one small scallop in the big dish and many tiny prawns which I suspect were frozen as the texture was too smooth to be fresh, if you know what I mean.
But I thought the additional of chorizo and salmon pieces added flavour to the dish. It comes with a turkish bread which I absolutely love as it is warmly toasted and has a nice crunch to it. The rice is probably meant to be soggy in order to make full use of the bread, or the bread was served because the rice was soggy. The paella I had in Barcelona few years ago wasn't soggy, from what I can remember. Maybe its La Vista's own rendition of paella? Overall, I wouldn't say it's bad. Serving was pretty generous, except for the scallop, which unfortunately, was my favourite seafood.
We also had the seafood pasta in tomato sauce (although waitress suggested cream based). I quite like the flavours of the pasta sauce and I felt that the turkish bread went nicer with this pasta sauce than with the paella 'sauce'. The neighbouring guests ordered seafood pasta in cream and it looked nice, but have no idea whether it tasted as nice.
Overall, my favourite would be in the order of pasta, paella, mussels. And there was live piano performance by a lady which added to the nice dinner ambience.
Total bill came to 70+ but with entertainment book, we had a 25% discount :)
Had an awesome visit at the La Vista :) The food was tasty and everyone had a good time. Live music was on and made the experience even more impressive. Great place to eat, highly recommended :)
Love this place, I find that they always have great steak deals on Thursdays!
Their wait staff is extremely nice and their steak is cooked to perfection.
Love the vibes inside, perhaps my only critique would be that the bathroom needs a bit of maintenance.
My partner & I have been here a few times over the past year and always enjoyed our meal. On Saturday night we had a group booking of 16 and while the restaurant was very busy our service was exceptional and the food was outstanding, everyone loved their meal. Our main waitress was kept very busy, not only with our table but other tables and yet she was very friendly, extremely happy, full of smiles and very helpful, and yes while that is all part of her job, she absolutely deserved a medal, we haven't experienced that kind of service in years. Its a great place to dine and has a really nice vibe and atmosphere.
A couple of days a go we went to La Vista for a Spanish food experience where we ordered many tapas. The service by the lovely staff was exceptional and made us feel very welcome :) we ordered a huge classic tapas platter which was soooo tasty and was great to enjoy while gazing at the amazing view over the St Heliers beach onto the rangitoto. I will definitely recommend the restaurant to everyone and we will be back for more amazing food very soon!
I've been coming here for years & it's great to see them go from strength to strength in recent years with various renovations & menu changes.
It pays to book most nights of the week although they do have lots of seating inside & out.
We had the 2 courses for $42.50 special which is great value. Food well prepared & delicious. We had the fish of the day & lamb rack. Then the chocolate fondant (one of the best I've tried) and pear poached in red wine. Good wine list with lots of nice NZ varieties.
Service good. Beautiful view too - can't go wrong really.
Amazing food! Amazing dessert! Service was good. Must get the lamb rack - so mouthwatering. Will definitely be back and have told everyone about your restaurant! Yet to try the breakfast menu!
My partners family and I actually stumbled upon this place late at night after unsuccessfully driving around mission bay trying to decide where to eat!! I'm so glad we did, the staff were so welcoming and friendly and the place was absolutely gorgeous!!
The food was delicious and fabulously presented and the wine menu was extensive. A huge highlight for us was the incredible live music which was playing the whole time even though we were there so late! A great dining experience overall
Good food, reasonable price, great atmosphere, we went there on a Saturday night, old music was playing in the background, it was an enjoyable night, we will certainly go there again.
Have been here a few times a local. Super friendly. Good atmosphere right on St Heliers Beach..had tapas and mains all nice hearty full flavoured meals. Nice winter stop.
We had a very enjoyable meal here on a wet Saturday night. The restaurant was busy and had a nice ambience enhanced by the duo quietly playing Spanish music by the bar. We had the calamari to start which melted in the mouth and both had the rib eye steal which was beautifully cooked - the only downside being the average potato mash that accompanied it. We finished with a yummy chocolate fondant. Overall we would give the food a 4/5, ambience 4.5/5 and service 3/5. Unfortunately we were served by a young woman clearly new to the job, who when asked, described the Spanish wine as 'a red' and then couldn't open the bottle. Otherwise the service was fine though and we would definitely recommend a visit.
Came in for an early breakfast today and went with the crepes, simple enough but these were extraordinary. Obviously a fresh mix as they were incredibly light & easy to manage. Maple syrup and fresh fruit served on the side so it can be as sweet as you like (or not). Staff were pleasant, general FOH service great. Just note the current menu has some changes from that featured on Zomato.
Very good food atmosphere and attention from the staff. I would highly recommend this restaurant. Food was well presented and proportioned. If you want to be sure of a table make a booking.
Review 2017 (most recent x 2)
I'm increasing my rating as this place seems to have really improved recently. Excellent service, high quality food, good value considering the location, and decent coffee!
Review 2017 (from memory from a few weeks back)
French toast was amazing, the only downside was there were many flies which kept on landing on me and my food, therefore ruining the enjoyment of my meal.
Review 2016
Friendly service and a nice location. Food was good without being anything amazing. I will be giving them another try to get a better idea of their food as so far I've only had a small sample of the menu.
Visited with 3 others. This place serves a fantastic rack of lamb. Ordered to have it done medium rare and though the lamb itself was a bit on the dry side and much closer to medium/ medium well, it was still a really tasty dish. Setting and service were terrific. Especially enjoyed the live jazz, which I think is every Wed and Sat. Would definitely come back.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
On Monday night me and my friend wanted to have diner somewhere, we heard about La Vista before from our friends, so we decided to check it out. We were surprised, Monday night and restaurant is full! The atmosphere was magic, quiet and calm, music, candles, subdued light. Friendly stuff met us and explained their special, so that was 2 courses dinner for 39,5. Pretty good deal, actually. We ordered wine and mains and shared appetizer and dessert. Each course arrived without any delays, even restaurant was full. The food was so delicious, I didn't expect it to be so amazing, but it actually was! We were so hungry that even forgot to take pictures of scallops for appetizer. For mains we ordered lamb shanks and chicken filo. The portions were big and the meat was just right, really soft but not overcooked. Dessert was sticky date, because it smelled so rich we were afraid it was going to be too sweet, but not, we even used all the caramel topping. We also liked the wine: the Imbiber and the Mysterious Diggings. The stuff was very friendly, the glasses were always filled with water and they were interested how was the meal after every dish. Totally recommend!
The blazing sun has almost killed off our appetite, but we had a dinner anyway, seated close by the window & enjoyed the lovely sea view. 4 of us started with a tapas platter. It had a bit of everything & was good enough for 4. One of my friends had seafood chowder while I had a soup of the day which was lamb & veggie - rather thick in texture & not conventional, but it was a good dish. We also had paella de Mariscos (rice dish with seafood & saffron tomato ragout). It was well cooked, fairly rich in flavour & delicious. (Food - 3.5/5; Service - 3.5/5; Ambience - 3/5)
N.B. Menu shown here is outdated.
The atmosphere is lovely and the waiters are friendly. The food is divine. We had the lamb racks and the eye fillet. For dessert we had the Dolce Vita and the sticky date. Both were divine.
This was our local before the bistro came
In. Great coffee, great pancakes, friendly staff friendly owner who is always around
To help. Great set up. Plus there dinners are good to :-)
Nice morning spot with great views, attentive staff.
Coffee was a bit weak and served as single shots so asked for double shots but still weak.
My eggs bene with bacon, mush & spinach was spot on.
Have eaten there now several times. Such an improvement on the previous owners. Had tapas with my daughter last week which was fabulous. The Empanado Queso in particular was sensational, and the mussel croquettes very special, with that fabulous view onto the harbour. We didn't have much time and were served quickly with piping hot dishes. Even the beer is great, the best kept Estrella Damm in Auckland! This place is very special, with a wonderful ambience inside that works just as well for dinner as for morning coffee. Gives St Heliers a rich aesthetic to balance the other restaurants along the Drive.
Fantastic food. Fantastic service. Breath taking view. All for a good price.
We both enjoyed the lamb rack. Highly recommended.
Both the prawn and polenta appetizers were thoroughly enjoyable too.
5/5
Fantastic place away from all the noise of the city. The ambience is ultra cool. Classic beverages. Staff is well trained and polite. Service is overall good. Will be back for food again.
Superb location over looking the beautiful Rangitoto. We arrived on a Sunday morning for brunch. The place was very busy but we were able to get a table for 2 straight away. The interior design is quite interesting. Exotic but not over the top. Waiting staffs are quite friendly and helpful. Maybe some of them are new to the country , they had a bit of trouble understanding NZ English but we got there.
The food arrived quickly and presented nicely. We both enjoyed our meal. Not spectacular but good enough ! The mocktail was very yummy ' Highlight was the Tiramisu! It's hard to find a good place for tiramisu in Auckland. As the biggest Tiramisu fan, I rate their tiramisu 9 out of 10!!
The manager lady was super friend at the counter . She introduced their dinner special and welcomed us to return next time. With such great experience this time , we will love to return there shortly and try out their dinner menu!
Wow! This place really surprised me. I stumbled across this place while walking around St. Helliers and I am thankful that I did. The service is absolutely lovely - I think the staff genuinely love their job. They offer water and refreshments upon arrival. The restaurant has a great environment but I do find it is a little cool inside. The scenery is worth the money - this place is a little pricey. They have a great range of meals though and all are produced at a high quality. I would recommend the pancakes and also the mocktails they do, try this place if you're looking for somewhere cosy to eat near the beachfront.
Good foods, good price and nice staffs :)
One minus point was they kept me waiting too long. From the Appetizer to Main about 20 mins (or more) so on with the Dessert time and that's boring. (I chose Appetizer - Main and pay extra for Dessert, was there from 6:45 and left around 9:30!) Apart from that I think all perfect!
I came expecting an OK meal, having been here once for coffee. Instead I got exceptional cuisine! Very impressed. And no I'll not even give The French Cafe five stars. I am terribly picky :) Many lovely aspects of the staff...
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Approaching La Vista, my husband and I were excited to see the sumptuous interior. With lush banquettes and candle-inspired lighting, the restaurant gives an air of romance that was delightful. This was somewhat dampened by the cramped feeling as we sat down that increased as the evening went on. Several times as the waiter was serving the next table his rear was in my face and at one point we had to shift our table's candle so the elderly woman next door didn't set her cardigan on fire as she tried to leave. One less table in our seating area would have made all the difference. The night we were there, the restaurant had a live musician playing which was a nice touch.
We ordered mains & desserts as part of the deal they were offering. My husband had the chicken filo which he enjoyed but didn't find exceptional. I had the eye fillet and I found the portion ideal - letting the fillet be the focal point of the meal. For dessert, I had the churros con chocolate - the dough felt a little overworked with the final product a little more dense than traditional churros. He ordered the chocolate fondant and found it tasty and well-prepared.
The service was touch and go. Aside from the aforementioned rear end incident (you should always be aware of your space within the environment), the service was friendly but slow. We were left for twenty minutes between our mains plates being removed and dessert menus arriving, this only happening after one of the waitstaff asked if we were waiting for something.
The one thing that surprised us was how this restaurant caters to children. There were two children there in high chairs that evening and we spied a Playstation in the courtyard that would be ideal for older kids.
La Vista is by no means a terrible experience but they are operating in the highly competitive Tamaki Drive area and there are some tweaks they could make to improve customer experience.
Amazing food, great service! I would totally recommend for a romantic meal out. We had an entre, mains and dessert. All were perfectly cooked and the wine was a perfect match.
Beautiful place. We had a strict vegetarian with us who was really happy with her paella. Can personally recommend the Tiramisu. The staff go out of their way to make you feel at home. Will visit again.
XX_Mystery_Reviewer_Xx
+3.5
Been there ONCE.
Nice place yummy food.
Great experience tonight... the food was great, the ambience was great all in all a great dining experience. Tonight there was a trifecta playing Spanish music which was a really nice background touch but the right loudness so that conversation was still easily possible. The grande tapas were a very fulling main for two people, the mussells entree was tasty and perfectly cooked, as was the afforgato desert. All in all a great dining experience.
Dimitrios Konstantopoulos
+4
Almost perfect. Great food. Nice taste light ingredients.
The desert was not perfect though but overall a great experience.
Only 4 instead of 5 because of the desert and the prices of the mains.
The tapas are very well priced though.
Highly recommended and the location is unbeatable of course.
Keep it up!!!
This is one of our "Go to" places when we are looking for somewhere to eat during the weekend. They have so many yummy things on their menu. On the menu there are delicious tapas that you can share, or main meals that you won't want to share! They also have a platter that we often buy which has a selection of the tapas from the menu. It is enough food to share between 2 people as a meal or 3-4 people as a starter or with drinks. My boyfriend consistently gets the beef burger which is an open style burger that has a tangy chutney on it and comes with a basket of crispy hot chips. I had the My Breakfast which was potatoes and chorizo cooked in a creamy masala sauce. It was very rich and filling. The staff are always warm and welcoming, service is efficient and we have never had any issues. It is definitely one of our favourite places for a weekend brunch.
Delightful spot on Tamaki drive near the last block. This is a main stay being situated here for well over 12 years to my knowledge. Seated outside during an early autumn day. Plentiful room inside as well as a small garden bar in the back. Very earthy decor candles display hangingvfrom ceiling give it a brighter warmer charm.
Shared a burger. Excellent fresh salad fat beef patty actually served 2 patties. Came with french fries but we changed to chunky potato.
Great restaurant the food was exceptional, we all throughly enjoyed the service and hospitality from all the staff. The children ate all they could manage as the portions were very generous all round, I was impressed with the waitress as our glasses of water were always topped up without me even noticing untill I reached for my glass. The menu is well thought out.
We went to La Vista for dinner on Wednesday night. The place looked very pretty in the night with all candles were lighted and red lights were on. They had live Spanish guitar which was amazing. We had 2 entree 2 main which cost us $39.50 each and 1 dessert to share. The calamari for entree was just delight. It was soft and flavoursome. My partner had chicken liver and she said it was nice and creamy but need a little kick for the taste. I had lamb shanks for my main course. The meat was falling from the bone and that sauce was so tasty but potion was a little too big for me ( if you are a big eater, this restaurant will make you happy :D ).We shared a pineapple soufflé for dessert as the lady (we presumed is the manager or owner) suggested and it was just a right decision. It was a good way to end the meal.and the staff was just amazing ,it was one red hair girl and one Filipino looking girl was serving us and they were really attentive and helpful.. Defnetly I'll be coming back..
Went to a Spanish dinner to La Vista. Live music set the right mood for a romantic dinner. Service was friendly and cheerful but the strongest impression of the night was food. I had 3 course dinner and really enjoyed every single one of my meals. Will never forget those peppers with tuna inside! Highly recommended.
A very healthy fresh food. We are from Europe and can recognize the real Spanish cooking. Very happy of the quality of the food and the customer service. Highly recommended! Will visit again!
Alex & Mery
I was in La Vista yesterday with my family and we had excellent night. Friendly staff, good wine, delicious meals, nice design. Ideal balance between price and quality. I can recommend dinner special - the best calamaries and beautiful fillet. My children were absolutely happy of french brioches. We went full and satisfied. Many thanks.
I have visited La Vista with my girlfriend the other week. Restaurant has great view at St Heliers beach and Rangitoto island. Staff was friendly and helpful, we have ordered beef fillet with mashed potato and wine. I have tried spanish food before, but it was not as good as this one. Amazing taste and romantic atmosphere – highly recommend :) Igor
Lovely atmosphere and great interior design. Service was ok. Unfortunately my lamb shanks were a bit tough. Otherwise, a great little spot in St. Heliers for an evening meal.
La vista is greatly located on the main road, easy parking, great view. Lovely setting, clean and enjoyable decoration (love the cows). Stuff are friendly, food is great. Coffee is the best. Been there few times and already they remember how I like my coffee. Highly recommend!!!
Our favourite cafe in Auckland. Always delicious and fresh food and outstanding customer service. The owner is a lovely lady who takes care of each customer as a VIP. Highly recommend for late breakfast and brunch or anytime really. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Came for happy hour 3-6pm Mon-Thurs. Stayed for dinner and so glad we did. The market fish was snapper and when it arrived was a picture on the plate. The pea risotto complimented the fish tasted great. My friend demolished the large seafood pasta and pronounced it fabulous. Well done La Vista excellent all around.
Absolutely made the right choice when I walked into this cafe randomly on a Sunday morning. Great vibe! Great Food and amazingly friendly staffs. We got a bunch of stuff off the menu and everything was really good. There’s also good options for special dietary requirements and flexibility to remove certain ingredients.
Will definitely recommend to anyone looking for a quick breakfast or lunch option. They even have an all day Tapa menu which has quite good options as well.
Absolutely lovely! What a gem, a neighbourhood joy. We came from the inner city, here on business, and we were not disappointed. This could have been anywhere downtown. The food was excellent, the service of our Danish waitress was first-class: in fact all the staff were professional, fast, efficient, friendly and fun. We had Patata Bravas, the broccoli, the meatballs and the empanadas as tapas. Then we moved onto the fish of the day, snapper, and two excellent steaks. The beers on tap were superb. For those who can walk round the corner and have a world-class Mediterranean menu just metres from home - lucky you! ◡̈
Last Friday night, my family and I went there to celebrity my daughter's 16th birthday. It was superb. Food was wonderful and the staff were amazing. After our meal the staff bought out their special celebration plate and sang her Happy Birthday. Let my daughter had a memorable day. Thank you.
Beautiful location on the waterfront in St Heliers Bay...lots of the lovely things to choose from on the menu including many Spanish style dishes...staff were super friendly and the prices were reasonable...would recommend
Great food. Excellent atmosphere & the staff are fabulous. Great service. Highly recommend.
Hadn’t been to La Vista Cafe & Restaurant for a while however nothing really has changed apart from it still holding good ground in St Heliers of course. Ran with just a couple of side tapas today being CRAB & PRAWN ARANCINI Served with pea tartare, GF and a couple of hash browns but never less all good. They run a tight kitchen so no major waiting around. Do go try for yourself.
We enjoyed a very nice morning tea. The lemon slice was slightly warmed and my friend was very happy with her large scone. Tea for two, fast and friendly service.
Close to the beach and good coffee. Grab one and sit down enjoy the beautiful views just across the street, the sunset is amazing.
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