The Butter Factory

I have really tried to give butter factory a chance being a local however the staff are constantly rude. They genuinely are people who shouldn't be in the service industry. It seems they go out of their way to make your experience bad. I have been sworn words I can't type on a review by a female bartender, in response to us rolling our eyes at someone who pushed in. Even if we were rolling our eyes at her, the names she called us were beyond inappropriate and unprofessional. Everytime we eat, we wait over an hour for food and they always forget meals. The last time we went, I had called ahead to book a table for quiz night. When we got there they wouldn't let us in as they were "fully booked" but then let a group though after us that said "we have not booked". The older male staff member went out of his way to grab our attention and mock us on our way out about missing out on the quiz. All I can say is I will not be visiting butters untill they can hire more professional and friendly staff. And I know all my friends feel the same. Very disappointing.

You said 45 mins it took 75 for a flavourless vege burger and some soggy fish and chips. Front of house tried hard but your kitchen really let you down. Not good enough if I could give less stars I would

Nov 2023. Update.
Very disappointing experience last Sunday 12th November. Have been a loyal BF patron for 6 years but this has changed things.
Table for 4 with 4 mains ordered. 3 arrived in normal time, mine arrived 15 minutes later when the other 3 had almost finished.
Pointed this out to the wait staff on leaving who couldn't see a problem. Blamed it on a busy unch service. Was surprised and insulted when she implied I was very patient. Asked for some money off the bill which she reluctantly agreed to. I always judge a business not by their original mistakes (we all make them and most are innocent and unforeseen) but by their service recovery and remedy. In this case it was severely lacking.

I have a group booking for 30 people next weekend but I really don't want to give them any more business.

Original Review
Great venue with trendy vibe. Interesting menu, well cooked. Great beer selection. Staff are great. Large outdoor area where you can bring the dog.

Really disappointed with the service we got at Butter Factory recently, food took almost 2 hours to arrive and when it did they were missing half of our food. The waiters may have been new but it was never clear when things would be coming out and they barely ever checked on us whilst we waited. We were excited to join the quiz night which on Facebook was never advertised that you needed to book and when we showed they explained it was fully booked but then had let another group into the quiz night even after saying it was booked out. One of the older male staff had a serious attitude problem towards the end of our night which was a huge factor as to why I’m giving this review. Unfortunately I normally love eating at butter factory and normally the vibe is great but this experience has ruined it for me and I don’t think I’ll be going there again.

We sat up on what I would describe as a staged area. Our waitress helped seat us. That's where our interaction with her ended.
We waited and waited for water to be brought to us and menus. In the end we walked to the bar to order only told they would come to us when we asked for menus.
Finally got our menus from another table. Again waited for her to take our orders.nope.again a visit to the bar to order.
Our food was interesting. I ordered the vegetable stack. Sort of wasn't what I imagined or based on the menu. The sauce seemed like a mixture of vegetables all lumped together. The carrots were frozen not fresh and ruined the overall taste.
My partner liked his fish tacos but commented that the fish was of the frozen variety and not fresh. The only attention we got from staff was from the super friendly guy. He was lovely and chatted to us about our dogs.
Would we come back? Probably only as part of a group, certainly not as a couple.

Partner and I went for dinner and both had Lamb shanks, meal was really nice but was disappointed with the quantity on the plate.
Got one shank, mash, a few slices of carrot, a few beans a small garnish of salad greens and heaps of gravy.
Nothing like the photo taken two months ago which was the reason we went there

Great Xmas dinner buffet in a private function in The Cave! Have also enjoyed great burgers and other less formal meals at the Butter factory!

Great food at good price. Friendly service and pleasant vibe. Good music but could hear one another to talk.

Popcorn shrimp & toast we're delicious. Music would have been good if the speakers weren't so knackered

Quality was good. In terms of quantity, it was affordable compared to the price. Staff are kind, friendly, and hard working. Unfortunately we had to wait almost for an hour to get our meals. The tent also need cleaning as it seems it has black mould (not sure but lots of black dots which look mould).

Cheap and delicious cocktails here it is always my go to! Great atmosphere, good customer service and plenty of seating. Bathrooms however are outside and not very clean

Second time here and much better customer service than first time, friendly staff and ready to help out beer and food was good

Delicious shrimp tacos, and huge fried chicken burger for my partner. I got a peach iced tea that was yum but a bit too sweet for me so I watered it down a little. Partner enjoyed his Expatriate beer (and he is an expatriate ha!) Lovely staff and will return

We happened to show up on the evening of Stevie Nicks tribute band concert, and Rugby World Final. Not an ideal night for a quiet catch up with out of town friends.well, the Butter Factory staff were amazing start to end. We ended up in the cave where the rugby was, and the bartender from whom we ordered was absolutely wonderful. Poor guy was running back and forth for our orders and he had such a great attitude about everything. Food was really delicious too. We will absolutely be back (maybe on a quiet night even) as we were very impressed overall.

Went for dinner for my birthday had a beef burger which was horrible bland beef patty was raw and like cardboard. My table had 2 burgers and the avo and buttermilk chicken burger the avo was rotten. My burger was spicy and I don't do spicy food. The young girl waitress didn't have a clue what she was doing Said there was no cheesecake when there was. Will not be going back again was disgusting hope we don't get sick

10/10 friendly staff! Will definitely come back to eat here in the future, I got the creamy prawn with yummy bread and my partner got the fish burger! Absolutely delicious! The whole vibe there was our kinda vibe, staff made that even better so thankyou

We had, a family function, the first in 4 years with all of us there. Our waiting staff was first class, friendly, funny and entertaining, the menu was varied enough that 3 generations all found something to suit their taste, not one of us had the same dish as another, the little ones were allowed to wander about the venue without disrupting other guests and there were pigeons nesting in the pot plants hanging above us. The grandchildren loved it. All in all, a lovely lunch.

The butter factory has fallen a long way. In fact bitter factory might be a better name, because we arrived hungry and thirsty and left bitter and twisted. Particularly disappointing because I have been a regular customer and over the years have recommended the butter factory to countless visitors staying at our tourist accommodation. The Wednesday night "special" pork ribs were the stingiest portion of ribs I've ever seen, just four skinny ribs in a cereal bowl with miserable portions of chips and green salad on the side. This was terrible value at $16 and I would have walked out without paying if it had been a cent more. The nachos were the only dish that came in a reasonably generous portion (as far as something as cheap as corn chips can be called generous) and were lukewarm - the melted cheese had congealed. All up we paid $160 for three plates of bar snacks and six beers. The only saving grace was the service, which was very attentive, despite room for improvement - the buttermilk chicken bites my friend ordered were confused with a buttermilk chicken burger, but that was remedied within minutes, and after I mentioned that my first beer (a "pomegranate sour" from double vision brewing) was not what I would call a sour, the waiter brought me two samples of other beers, although unfortunately these were more insipid when I wanted to go in the opposite direction and get something more flavoursome. Very friendly service and points for effort. Sadly that alone will not suffice to convince me to return to the butter factory, nor recommend it to future guests. Having recently travelled most of the country, I don't think this level of hospo business would survive anywhere else, and is propped up solely by the pathetic lack of competition in Whangarei.

Meal was excellent, service very good, and staff spot on, would highly recommend this restaurant.
Robin and Joyce Adams.

Attentive caring front of house staff. Few wording issues on the menu. (Chiffonade is a cutting technique not an ingredient) The buttermilk fried chicken burger was very dry. Chicken breast meat inedible and over cooked. The front house staff were amazing and offered to replace it but I was facing the kitchen and witnessed a chef in a grey chef jacket stuff food in his mouth at the passe and then continued to plate food whilst chewing with his mouth wide open. Great space but the kitchen staff need some serious training.