Everybody’s

I think most people acknowledge that Everybody’s is beautiful. How could you not? It’s opulent. Blue velvet booth, polished wood floors, grand staircases. Holy Moly. It’s just amazing.
But one thing they are definitely not great at is service. I’m a bit of a stickler for service at restaurants/​cafes… Not in a «you’re taking too long with my sparkling water» kind of way, but in a «this is not rocket science» way. I’ve noticed that the bar staff are better than the table servers — in fact, the bar staff are lovely, knowledgeable, and take your coats when you ask them to. The table servers are just a bit half-​assed. We counted the number of dishes ordered with our waiter who repeated everything three times, yet still managed to screw it up — and then wanted to charge us for it, accusing us of already receiving the dish. We also had our plates and chopsticks/​cutlery removed halfway through our meal, then had to ask for more when the next sharing plates arrived. They just kind of… don’t get it.
Now, the second time for dinner, I went was for a friend’s birthday where we went with the banquet menu. Same kind of issues: not enough plates, not enough chopsticks/​cutlery and generally not enough care.
The menu is lovely, and I can highly recommend the food. But if service will get you down and mean that you won’t enjoy the night, don’t go on a Friday or a Saturday. I have been for simple drinks many times straight after work, and that’s perfectly pleasant.

This place doesn’t deserve your money, there are so many better places to go.
The staff were rude and snooty, and would rather be anywhere else than service, that said I blame the managements poor employment choices, when hiring as well as sending a ’ We don’t care about you’ message with the way the place is run. The ‘Mains ‘were small and unsatisfactory, it was hard to get the attention of any staff member to get a re fill on the wine.
I’ve got so much more to say about how bad the service was as well as general comments on this place and food, but I feel I have wasted enough of my time and money, don’t go there!

Walk into Everybody’s and you could be mistaken for thinking you were in a swanky New York bar. It is seriously cool. With brick and concrete walls, factory-​style seating and tables and industrial lighting, it is New York Loft-​style décor to a tee. The lighting is perfect and makes the big bar on the bottom floor look even more cool than it is.
Head up the spiral staircase and you’re in a rooftop party. It is equal parts outdoor and indoor and just as cool. The bar and the staff are extremely well-​equipped, but I did find the guy that I dealt with to be a bit pretentious as he treated me like I was obviously not a massive spender so not worth the time.
The ambience however is really cool and the music is great, making it an awesome place for after work or late night drinks. I haven’t eaten here yet, but am looking forward to it. Also, being right in the middle of town makes it really accessible.

Everybody’s is beautiful. This renovated old cinema site is an elegant setting for dinner or drinks. My visit was for a friend’s birthday drinks and she had booked out a large area upstairs (free of charge, can you believe!). The furnishings are lavish; big old arm chairs and a wall length couch. We were about 5 metres from the upstairs bar which couldn’t have been more handy. It was a Friday night and the bar staff were run off their feet but still cheerful. The cocktail list was lush, but pricey. I opted for the good old G+Ts in hopes of pacing myself through the evening. The bar food was brilliant; the likes of duck fat chips, Tokyo Chicken, Beef Carpaccio and Salmon. The downstairs area has a large seated restaurant; the menu looks pretty swanky, but if the bar snacks are any indication would be delish. Everybody’s has a classy fell and a vibrant atmosphere on the weekend, perfect for Friday night drinks or date night

Champagne cocktails anyone? I love love love love love the drink selection at Everybody’s, nothing like a good cocktail to get me in the mood! It was a Friday night when my boyfriend and I decided to go to Everybody’s for some drinks before a night out. After hearing so many great things about Everybody’s we decided it was a good idea and location.
I was so excited to taste some of the champagne cocktails after I had read about them online, so the walk up the stairs to the bar was pleasant. I figured if I am going to drink goodness knows how much calories I might as well do some light exercise.
When we got to Everybody’s we headed straight to the bar, no time to waste, we where on a mission. Unfortunately the wait at the bar was out of this world, 30 minutes before we got served. What annoyed me the most was there wasn’t a clear direction as to which line was serving people at the bar and which line was doing orders from the restaurant.
After a long wait I finally had my champagne cocktail, it was absolutely delicious and made the wait seem like a joke. Thank heavens for that! If you want to enjoy your experience at Everybody’s I suggest heading upstairs where all the sofas are and ordering from the bar there. There is no wait and the bartender will bring the drinks to your table.

Ok. I really didn’t want to do this but here goes. I’ve been looking forward to dinner at Everybody’s since Imperial Lane opened. I love the space, I love the concept, I love the history. But I do not love Everybody’s. It looks absolutely beautiful and the developers and designers really have done an amazing job but prettiness alone does not a great restaurant make.
We alighted at the top of the spiral staircase into the courtyard where several groups were enjoying the evening. Turning to go into the restaurant we took in the barman behind the bar and the three kitchen staff. Floorstaff nowhere to be seen. So we waited. And waited some more before eventually approaching the barman. He was just heading off to find someone when a waitress finally appeared (looking pissed off).
With a big fake smile and greeting we were seated with menus but no drinks list. She asked what kind of water we would like before stopping to talk to the neighbouring customers for five minutes on her way to get it. The water came, she said she’d bring the drinks list. More waiting. Finally drinks! The night just went on like this and honestly it’s disheartening having to relive it.
Granted, it was a Monday night and there was a definite feeling of the staff enjoying the relaxed pace. Our waitperson actually turned out to be very personable and chatty but when the basic requirements of the job aren’t being fulfilled cuteness makes no difference.
Our food was ok, the highlight being my Gorgonzola Soufflé which unfortunately I received a serious burn from because no one told me the dish was direct from the oven (yes I know I should have guessed). Everything else was conceptually great but executionally average, particularly the Polenta Chips which looked and sounded impressive but were bland and oddly textured. Worse, the great mouthful of steak fat that my husband had to spit back out.
Meals finished, glasses empty, again we waited. We wanted more drinks and dessert but after another five minutes we decided to take our business elsewhere. We had an explore next door in the Roxy and by the time we were back there was still no one around to take our money. So we went to stand by the till and at last a non-​uniformed person appeared who had been previously invisible.
When asked about our meals, we were polite but honest. She unfortunately made an excuse when I commented on the bitterness of the endive and radicchio salad that accompanied the soufflé. She said it wasn’t really part of the dish. Um… it was listed on the menu and clearly a salad not a garnish. Pah. We left. We won’t be back.
Bitterly bitterly disappointing and what’s worse is that I don’t think they’ll be able to make it work. The fine dining Roxy next door shares the kitchen and together they are two sizeable restaurants in one of Auckland’s hottest spots. It’s flavour of the month right now but places like this need repeat business for survival and can’t rely on tourists alone. Very sad.

As a town planner and general urbanist nerd, I’m an absolute sucker for heritage protection. Historically, Auckland has done a piss-​poor job of protecting it’s historic heritage. Thankfully though, we’re learning from our mistakes — old buildings just have more soul than glass boxes. The Imperial Lane development down the bottom end of Queen Street is a great example of old buildings giving a new development some charm.
Everybody’s is a bar and bistro on the second level of the Imperial Lane development, and can be accessed from either Queen Street or Fort Lane. You walk through the laneway that’s been opened up, and then up a spiral staircase. Everybody’s actually comprises two old Victorian picture theatres, and they’ve been restored to perfection. The place is all about exposed brick, lovely plasterwork on the roof, and impressive balustrades and chandeliers. It’s also beautifully furnished, with generous green velvet couches on the top level.
I’ve been up there for drinks on the odd occasion, and it’s just a lovely sophisticated feeling place to come with some friends and have a good yarn. While the building itself is the headline act, I can also confirm the drinks selection is more than ample — there’s some great martinis and cocktails on offer, and some unique craft beers also.