The Occidental

Oh yeah!
Grab a date, take a buddy, or just enjoy the people. Wonderful place to have a drink and watch the busy world, wizz by. The staff was welcoming and friendly.
Will have to visit again on my FOURTH time to New Zealand!

Hours are wrong. Went in at 2:15am on a Saturday night and was turned away because it was after last call. «If I serve you I will have to serve everyone». Well… yes. You are suppose to be open for another hour.
Guess he was in a rush to get home early.
Been there before and it was enjoyable, but bummed when places close early for no reason.

I was skeptical at first. Pub food probably won’t be good, right? wrong. Pretty damn good and flavorful. So much that we ate here twice. The lobster bisque mussels were excellent, and quite large compared to the ones you typically get in the U.S. Also tried the lamb shoulder, which wasn’t gamey at all. In fact it tasted like mild flavored roast beef. Also the Taste of the sea platter was really good: 6 mussels in curry sauce, shrimp, 2 oysters, smoked salmon and 6 mussels topped with tomato sauce and cheese. We may just come here a 3^rd time before heading back home to chicago.

Should you find yourself strolling the streets of downtown Shenzen between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on a Monday … I’m sorry did I say Shenzen? I meant downtown Auckland … Anyways, should you find yourself on the non-​financial side of Queen Street between the aforementioned hours, I highly encourage a visit to The Occidental Belgian Beer Café for a pot or two of mussels.
Monday is Mussel Mania at The Occidental, when a 2 kg pot goes for NZD28.00, a 1 kg pot $ 15.00, and a half kg pot is priced at a mere $ 11.50. These are very reasonable prices, especially if you are visiting from almost anywhere and are converting almost any other major currency.
If you are in fact here to tour our fair country, and have read somewhere about the quality of the mussels, then allow me to convey with a reasonable degree of certainty that it doesn’t really matter where you get them from. They will be good by virtue of the fact they are New Zealand mussels, and New Zealanders seem to instinctively know how to prepare them. The Occidental is no exception to this rule.
What you will be looking for, then, is ambiance, and that is why I recommend to you The Occidental Belgian Beer Café.
It’s situated half way between Queen and High Street on Vulcan Lane, one of those cool alleys that will remind sophisticated and knowledgeable travelers of the café-​lined alleys the city of Melbourne has perfected. The interior is hardwood-​y and Parisian … I mean Brussels-​ian, with evenly spaced mirrors and vintage art posters en français adorning the walls. The Occidental is the kind of place you’ll want to unwind in on your lunch break, or pop into following one of those three hour long city walks. There’s an outside seating area, which normally I’d encourage people to take advantage of, but honestly the inside is shady and cool during the summer, cozy and inviting in the winter, and the interior is just a nice place to be.
Also, be weary of outside seating on an incline as you might get a rocking table.

Average drinking hole in Vulcan Lane. Ribs night special at $ 17 with a beer thrown in is a fairly good deal, not that I drank the beer. Paid extra for a cocktail, afternoon passion being the drink of choice this evening.

We are French and used to taste really good beers, that includes belgian beers. We were glad we found this place because we could drink awesome belgian beers. We did not eat there but maybe next time.

The Occidental is one of the few places in Auckland that I can get cherry beer (this is important because a) it is delicious, and b) I’m not man enough for real beer). I scored a sweet $ 20 voucher for $ 40 worth of food from GrabOne, so we made the most of it and enjoyed a Sunday pub lunch. I had the ribs, which were fall-​off-​the-​bone tender, while my friends had the tomato soup, wedges and chicken wings. The soup was delicious, and the wedges and chicken wings were your standard pub fare (good, but all fried food is…). They lose a star for taking a while to get our orders — we ended up having to go up to the bar to ask to be served. But the food arrived quickly and the staff were very friendly. A very reliable pub option in the heart of Auckland city.

Great service. Muscles were so good. Fish & chips were a hit and went so well a cold Stella.

The Occidental was very kind to feed us our late dinner last night; tough out here to find food at 11pm. Everyone was very satisfied.
We placed our beer order first. The boys enjoyed the house lager and my girlfriend and I had awesome (if expensive) imported beers. When we ordered food one of us made it known we couldn’t handle too much cream and the waiter was intelligent enough to ask about butter as well. HOW AMAZING! Normally waiters are clueless about such things. Gold star for service.
Because we were the last meal out of the kitchen the chef had a bit of fun and made our dishes a little bigger than usual resulting in a huge vol-​au-​vent. Delicious.
Be sure to stop in here for a hearty pub meal, some good Belgian beer, and kind waiters.

Party of two = $ 65. Small mussel platter (special), seafood chowder, fries and three drinks. Food was great, platter was bigger than I expected — about 14 small mussels with Parmesan cheese and basil pesto grilled. Yum.
Only minor let down was the waiter who didn’t place our drinks order. When he asked after serving mains if there was anything else we would like, I answered that our drinks order we placed on arrival would be great! That aside, great atmosphere, got a table straight away (without booking), food was really good and so filling we couldn’t fit in the apple crumble dessert we were going to order.

I read the reviews and came in for the mussels since NZ is known for it. We stopped in for lunch. Order the streamed mussel, bread plate and vegetable.
Mussels were good, however fries were over salted, and vegetable were old and dry and was probably left out too long. The butter from the bread plate was rock hard and needed to be warmed a little to be used as spread.
Place does look great as a pub, but we didn’t drink any alcohol.
For what we ordered, the bill came out to $ 45.

Lived and loved in Brussels years ago. This is a great down under twist with the giant green mussels found off the shores on NZ. Had both traditional and lobster style, skip the lame lobster and stay traditional. Great Belgian beer varieties was able to enjoy Palm, De Konnick and other fav’s.

New Zealand Green Mussels. Period.
I’ve tried the Thai Curry and Coconut Cream, Lobster Bisque with Brandy and the Garlic, Parsley and Onion flavors for their steamed mussels. The first two are really good if you like big flavors and the last one was clean tasting. $ 23.50 a kilo or $ 18 for half. The pots come with a side of chips or salad upon request.
Service is friendly and the food comes out relatively quick. It gets busy in the evenings, especially Mondays since it is half off mussels. They’re known for their Belgian beer selection so have fun perusing through the extensive menu of brews.
PS: Free WiFi!

It was a long time ago since I last dined here so I was looking forward to enjoy nice Belgian beer. Half kilo steamed mussels ($ 18.5), Chicken croquette ($ 14.9) and Belgian sausages ($ 21.50) came at the same time. Wow, it was a lot for two mains and an entrée. Sausages were tender, onion gravy was little runny but tasty, croquettes were crispy but soft inside. All food went well with our Belgian beers. Although Occidental is famous for their mussels which I am not a fan of, but this place is worth going for their other dishes and lovely beers.

Every time that I’m in Auckland I stop in the Occidental and have a crisp Belgium beer and a bowl of their fantastic mussels. I try to mix it up, but I always find myself drawn to the blue cheese mussels. Yumtastic! The staff is also very friendly, making me feel right at home. I’m sure that the next time I’m in back in Auckland this will be one of my first stops.

There are a few Belgian Beer Cafes around Auckland and everyone that I’ve been to, I have enjoyed.
Each have a slightly different vibe and cater to a different kind of mood. I recently went to The Occidental the day before this years St Patricks day and ooohhhhh boy it was a good time.
There was a certain apprehension in the air. knowing how massive the next day would be, but the staff were definitely excited.
Nestled into the cool little Vulcan Lane, it has a great inner city vibe while transporting you to and England pub when you’re inside.
As with all Belgian Beer Cafes, the beer selection is second to none — I promise even non-​beer drinkers could find one they love. Don’t be scared to tell the staff you have no idea what to get — they love helping out. The food is yum and the portions are generous. With delicious mussels, and hearty lamb shanks, it’s great for any time of year.
Sit inside or out front watching the city folk go by. A cool spot.

This place has the biggest sausages I have ever seen! Seriously the sausages are huge and delicious, when I put one in my mouth I nearly cried tears of joy, pleasure and satisfaction.
I love the Occidental, the lovely girls that serve you. On one occasion the girl thay served us had blonde hair and blue eyes, perfect for a Belgium restaurant. Apart from the sausages the Occidental has the most amazing beers ever. Instead of shoving a menu with fancy drinks that you don’t know about, they provide information about the beer. This information is handy, as it helps one choose what they want from a huge variety.

I had the first beer I ever had in Auckland at this place which is awkwardly named «The Occidental». It’s one representative of the ‘Belgian Beer Café’ brand. They have this very very awesome and extensive selection of beer which is a great thing. They also have these magnificent chippies which are incredible and delicious and come with awesome awesome sauce stuff. The time I drank that aforementioned beer, I got a little tipsy and dropped my glass on the ground and it smashed and beer went all over the place. The staff didn’t even get mad at me. Great achievement. Unfortunately it’s also a boring place.
Three stars.

The Belgian beer café, like the Irish pub, is bordering on cliché these days in Auckland. However as one of the first in these parts, The Occidental gets to call itself authentic, and the quasi-​European setting of Vulcan Lane means it can get away with it. Three things must be tried here — the beer (make it a Leffe, Stella or Hoegaarden), the mussels, and the waffles — all are an absolute treat. The real appeal for me is being able to sit outside in Vulcan Lane — there simply is no better spot for people watching than one of Auckland’s precious few pedestrian streets.

A popular haunt for tourists wandering Auckland city or for hard working business folk slipping off the radar for a few moments, The Occidental has been in it’s great position on Vulcan Lane for years. In fact it boasts that in 1999 it became the first truly authentic Belgian Beer Café in the southern hemisphere.
Hand the proffered food menu to your companion to choose a platter or mussel pot while you get started on the Magna Carta Fermenta– over 100 Belgian Beers! The epitome of schadenfreude is a huge glass of Hoegaarden, a sole busker playing and a swarm of suits going their different directions. Unwind here and treat yourself.