Hippopotamus

 

Overall Result (based on 8 reviews)

 

REVIEW BY davidb (2) on 15th August 2009

This must be one of the best restaurants I have tried. I travel alot and have experienced many hotel restaurants.
They provided a little complimentary taster before the entree which was a nice surprise.
The lamb rack was without a doubt the best I have EVER had! Beautifully cooked, tender, flavoursome!
Would recommend & I would definately go back.

 

REVIEW BY Magzstar (35) on 31st July 2009

We found this place by mistake and WOW- what a find. We had dinner overlooking the harbour with superb service, knowledge wine staff and an excellent wine list. The rib of beef was cooked exactly medium rare to rare ( so hard to get right for most chefs) and the snapper was presented on a risotto which was perfect in taste and texture. The wines were matching and the service very very good indeed. The cheese board and dessert wine were the perfect finish to a perfect evening. We will be back

 

REVIEW BY HokeyPokey (17) on 17th June 2009

A pleasant experience. The bread was good but I prefer lightly fresh to lightly toasted and enjoy the opportunity to just use butter rather than oil and balsamic.
My ostrich was lovely, perhaps a little more well done than I expected. Potato gratin was delicious while veges were uninspiring. My partners fries - some were really hot, others closer to cold than warm so I am not sure how that works. They were delicious though. His salad was very plain. Selection of brulee was fantastic but the flavours that came out were different from those advised by the waiter which was disappointing as I wouldn't have ordered the dish based on those flavours, but the serving size was excellent. The Rockforte cheese was cold and not the same as other blue Rockforte I have had recently but it was a good serving size. Dessert wine was delicious.
All in all a pleasant experience but was let down by a few things that shouldn't occur at a restaurant of this level.

 

REVIEW BY hemihua (1) on 28th May 2009

My partner and I went last night and wow! The food was amazing - first of all we were served a complimentary roasted pumpkin tortellini which was a nice unexpected surprise.
The best dish we had would have been the Panfried daily catch - it tasted so fresh and went perfectly with the sauteed cabbage base. I couldn't fault the service at all, easily the best i've (ever?) had - our waiter was very polite and attentive, he always kept an eye on our wine levels and kept them topped up, and he gave helpful descriptions of the nights specials. And he actually looked happy to be there unlike a lot of waiters/waitresses i've been served by who treat you as an inconvenience. If you're after a top dining experience or looking to take people out to dinner and impress them I don't think you could possibly go wrong here!

 

REVIEW BY Foodiesfromwayback (1) on 26th May 2009

I dined at H recently with a party of eight. I'd dined for lunch on a couple of other occasions and had high expectations because these experiences had been delightful.
I was again impressed with the ambience of the restaurant - warm and inviting, intimate yet buzzing. The restaurant was full even on one of the windiest, wettest evenings we've experienced so far this year. Our collective experience of the food was that it was well presented, perfect temperature, cooked exactly the way we had each requested (rare, medium, etc).
The menu range is good, though unusual to experience Sashimi from a primarily French/continential styled restaurant. I expected the tall menu boards to be a hinderance, however they were light weight and easy to read. Having the menu on one page was helpful and uncomplicated, with the exception that half our guests were confused as not all mains were covered under the heading "mains".
Our wait staff were friendly and menu knowledgeable, however, our main waitress didn't appear to be right up to the play with placement of cutlery and stemware, pouring of wine (great for us with full glasses). The Maitre D, Timothee, is a credit to the restaurant (unfortunately, since watching the range of Gordon Ramsay television programmes, he really does remind me of Gordon's whipping boy, Jean Pierre). His wine knowledge is exceptional (I think? he is a trained Sommelier).
Food: Uncomplicated and tasty. Some confusion for my friend who ordered his oysters battered but received them fairly 'naturale'. He relished them. All meat dishes were delicious, and perfectly cooked. Desserts were divine! The trio of creme brulee was to die for - orange, vanilla and apple - though apple is an acquired taste for creme brulee. Cheeses were perfect NZ samples.
Overall an enjoyable experience in luxurious surroundings. I'm sure the restaurant is child-friendly, however, I think it should remain in the realm of adults only. I disagree that Hippopotamus is a good name for a fine dining experience.