Karen Karenson Reviews Everything

  Rating: 7/10 Complaints - No Ambience, No Food, No Restaurant, No Booze, Cold, Unromantic, Closed Lifts, Dated, At Least There Was a Pillow, Premiocre, Save your Money and Go Elsewhere I was really excited to stay at the James Cook on the eve of my best friend Linda's wedding. Over the years I'd gone past this place and admired what I thought was old world charm and decorum. This place is admittedly something of an institution, having existed for many years and I'd heard good things from people who'd stayed there in the past. I guess I sort of imagined it would be like something out of a movie. The way the foyer is lit up, is admittedly very inviting and brings to mind images of crisp linen, sparkling champagne and a certain level of refinement. I found the experience staying at this place sorely disappointing.  First of all, we booked the luxury suite thinking hey, this is a once in a lifetime event, may as well splash out and book a good room and enjoy the evening. ...

  Rating for Prefab : 9/10 Complaints - Noise, More Noise, Noisy Noise, Couldn't Hear Myself Think Let Alone Order, Crowds, Condescending Rating for Mystic Cafe: 0/10 Complaints : Brioche, Dairy Free Smoothie, Polite, Quiet, Random Clothing Store, Cool My beloved mum Susan had to have surgery recently.  This was a pretty big deal as it was a total replacement of her jaw joint with a titanium part, the original joint was in a bad way from osteoarthritis and basically they had to cut out the damaged joint (yikes) and replace it. She's recovering well now and says she feels better now the arthritic part is gone, but it was pretty scary for her to have to go through such a major surgery. Shout out to Boulcott Hospital for giving her the best and kindest treatment I've ever witnessed at a hospital. How often do you get a nurse asking if you'd like extra ice cream and coming to make sure you received said ice cream?  Following the surgery, she had to return to Wellington a we...

  Rating: 0/10 Complaints - Seafood, Delicious, Considerate, Espresso Martini, Fish, Oysters, Sashimi, Cheese  Once again we ventured out, this time to Ortega Fish Shack for a friend's birthday party. Another first for me. The restaurant was excellent, which is just as well since I turned up at dinner very late, having had the most hectic day and not exactly in the best state (getting up at 3.30am will do that). To tell that story, I have to tell this story. So had a work event that I had to catch a 6am flight for, the same day as the birthday dinner. Because I live at least an hour from the airport, this necessitated both me and the long suffering Mr Karenson getting up at 3.30am in order to make it to the airport before 5.30am, and still somehow managing to be late. That's the odd thing I've noticed about time as it pertains to airports - it seems to slow down and turn to treacle but you are still either late or 7 hours early, and there will always be a line and a very s...

  Rating : 0/ 10 Complaints - Delicious, Steak, Sides, Fancy, Lenin, Wagyu, Espresso Martini, Wine Mr Karenson, weary of cooking me a rare steak every full moon, surprised me with a wonderful birthday dinner out to Pravda with our two best mates. This is a place I've always wanted to try but never had the occasion or the spare cash you will need for a fulfilling evening at this restaurant.  Pravda is the sort of fancy restaurant that you've probably seen represented in movies and cartoons. It sort of has a classic old school feel with elegant surroundings, dark wood and floral displays, all of which I vibe with on a deep level. I was so excited to try the steaks here as I'd heard great things about them, and was not disappointed. There is a massive banner on the wall of Comrade Lenin as well, I was a huge fan of his in high school and it brings back good memories of learning about the Russian Revolution while doodling on the back of a notepad and being disruptive (revoluti...

  Rating: 2/10 Complaints - Delicious Food, Group Dining, Cocktails, Extensive List, Chill Staff, Noise, More Noise, Busy, Espresso Martini, Booze and More Booze When we were invited to a mate's work event at Monsoon Poon, I had only eaten there once before when I was 18, trying to impress some silly boy and ordered lemon chicken in a panic without thinking about the fact that I hated, and still hate, lemon chicken. So it doesn't count. Wasn't sure what to expect, was nervous as all hell about meeting a bunch of new people and had just been berated by some old guy for parking one of those e-scooters near his apartment so was definitely in the mood to sit down and have a cocktail. I'm so glad I decided to change out of my heels and into my Docs before arriving at the restaurant, in anticipation of a slightly legless end to the evening. Monsoon Poon was incredibly packed with diners, being a Friday night after all. It's quite a large restaurant with what seems to be ...

  Rating: 1/10 Complaints - No BYO, Amazing Food, Delicious, Friendly, Fresh, Healthy When this place first opened, the only kebabs I'd really eaten were obtained from Abrakebabra in the city, the flavour obscured by a haze of alcohol and queasiness and the fillings unrecalled due to aforementioned alcohol. These always made a good finish to a night on the sauce, but I can't say I've ever eaten one sober so it's impossible to say if they were any good, or whether my abused stomach lining was just so grateful for food that a salad from the New World would have done the job just as well. While the kebabs at Lokanta would definitely make as good a Friday night booze sponge as any, I think they are best enjoyed sober as they are transcendently delicious, very fresh and deserve to be appreciated beyond your standard kebab. To begin, this place is conveniently located on the main drag and is easily accessible by car, bike or foot. When I worked a physical job up the road fro...

  Rating: 5 / 10 Complaints - Carpark, Old Food, Meat Selection, Karens, Altercation, Obscene Profit So this review is half about the actual Countdown supermarket, and half about a severely unpleasant incident in the car park that didn't need to escalate the way it did. If you were involved in this incident, please feel free to apologise in the comments. Countdown is my go-to for small and quick grocery shops, as it's a bit easier to simply pop in and out. The nearby Pak n Save generally has better prices and a wider selection, but is a much bigger supermarket and you need to have about half an hour on your hands, as opposed to doing a quick Countdown run and taking 10 minutes or so. It stocks all the staples you'd expect although the meat section deserves a special mention for being both limited and frustrating. There is very little choice in meat and they seem to package it up in counterintuitive portions, e.g you can buy 1 chicken breast or 3 but not a pack of 2. Someti...