The Observatory

Surprisingly good lunch at a revolving restaurant! Often the Worlds moving restaurants can’t seem to serve great food along with the great view. Sure you’re paying for the view but it would be nice to enjoy a great meal too. We dined on a Monday for lunch. We had no reservation and were seated quickly. We opted for the fixed $ 49 menu which was a tasty surprise. The wine choices for the fixed menu were also very pleasant. Can’t fault the service either. I would recommend a lunch here on a clear day. A great date restaurant, family lunch or even if you want a quiet reflective lunch alone. Was not a disappointment. Calamari, salmon tartare, salads were all great. The only bad part was the bread and dips. Why serve a herbed butter that’s rock hard? We couldn’t spread it let alone dip it and the bread was certainly not worth writing home about. Don’t order the bread and dips, do order anything seafood as they know how to prepare it.

I had a work christmas ‘lunch’ at this buffet restaurant up the Sky Tower. I say ‘lunch’ because being a buffet, I pretty much went all out!
The excitement starts from when you begin the lift journey and continues at the restaurant, when you realise the food never seems to get low. Magic!
The Observatory is a really good buffet — there was so much variety and it all tasted pretty good to me. I particularly enjoyed the salmon, the soda baked ham and the cheese selection. There is, of course great views over Auckland city — and occasionally you see people out of the corner of your eye doing the Sky Jump.
I did wonder, because I had done a lot of eating so high up, if when I got back down to ground level would I feel even more full? I certainly did feel like a nap.

I went to an intimate wedding dinner here at The Observatory on top of the Skytower and it was the best buffet I’ve ever tasted! Everything was perfectly proportioned, and you can feast on whatever you like and as much as you like. (at $ 69 per person, you’d hope so!) The mini crème brûlées were super popular, and absolutely delicious once you’ve managed to nab one.
The bad side was the way they have two sittings each night, so you get hurried out around 7:30pm to usher in the next load of cattle. When you’re there for a wedding reception, it feels rather dissatisfying. Thankfully you can pop down to the viewing deck and enjoy your stay for longer, so it doesn’t feel like such a swizz. Plus, if you validate your parking, it’s only $ 5 for 3 hours and $ 1 for each hour after. At Skycity, that’s totally amazing!