LORD KITCHENER
The Huskies are always pretty quick to sniff out and latch onto the new eateries that regularly pop up around Auckland. However, this visit set a new precedent for the Huskies – a genuine opening day! Joined by one of our favourite long-time clients, Cara from St. Paul’s, the Huskies made their way down Sandringham Road to the suburb’s latest pub, Lord Kitchener. Arriving shortly after the official opening time of 12pm, we found ourselves amongst a near-capacity crowd.
Lord Kitchener pitches itself as Sandringham’s new ‘local’ – a British ‘gastro pub’. There was no shortage of meat-based dishes – steaks, bangers-n-mash and an ominous looking beef burger. Unsurprisingly for opening day , the wait times were lengthy – 1.25 hours in our case. Feedback amongst the Huskies was mixed, the restaurant particularly loud and the scotch egg particularly a bit hard work. However, with nice indoor-outdoor flow and fireplaces, this pub is likely to become a popular local for many Sandringham-ers year round we expect.
Louise had the beef burger. She said “Super stoked to be at a new restaurant within 30 minutes of the doors opening and it was easy to give grace-a-plenty for wait times simply because of the speed at which we were seated and orders taken. The ability to pay at the table was also appreciated, considering the place was chocka from go to woah. My burger was interesting – a brisket type steak sitting atop a minced pattie – but the onion rings were disappointingly oily and bland. Still we enjoyed ourselves – huge congrats on the opening!”
Mel had the lamb salad and a latte. She said “Well we did decide to come on opening day and arrive shortly after it had opened… it was mad busy and unfortunately we did have to wait over an hour to eat. BUT… it was cool to be one of their first patrons, great spot, roomy, fun vibe. I imagine this place will do very well this summer!”
Joe had the beef burger and a dandelion soda. He said “Nice to see some more options in Sandringham.”
Rebecca had the scotch egg. She said “Popular and busy from the get go!”
