A one and quarter hour wait from the time we arrived until our food arrived. Very strange lighting that was overly bright and the music was too loud for a high end restaurant. The food when it finally arrived was excellent, but the.wait time was the longest we have ever experienced in decades of dining out an quality restaurants.

The waiter kicked my chair leg but didn’t say anything. We ordered some main course and the waiting time is an hour. The pork belly is dry, not sure if the chef forgot the sauce. The fish has no flavour. The steak is undercooked. Atmosphere is fine.

I'll explain the reason I didn't give USSCO 5-stars in a second, but it was definitely a solid 4 stars! We ate the lamb back-strap, with sides of green salad and kumara chips. The food, prices and portions were great, although the $45-$48 mains on the menu are a bit too expensive. As I said, the portion size was fine, so I'd like to see a slightly smaller portion for say, $38? The building is cool, retro, with little decoration but it doesn't need it. The architecture is the decoration. There was music, but not too loud, and the seating was well spaced and varied, with sofa drinking areas, benches and the like. The reason I didn't give 5-stars was because, like almost all Gisborne eateries I've been to, the hospitality was lacking. It was interesting. When we arrived at 6:45 there were a few guests, but still 70% empty (it filled up soon after). I didn't appreciated being told (without a smile even) to just go and sit at any table set for 2. There were 3, sometimes 4 staff at the bar, get off your X%ss, pick up a menu and guide us to a table! Even though we were sitting right in front of the bar, I often had trouble gaining the attention of staff members to make an order or ask a question. They either had their backs to us, or were talking with each other, or three of them were putting together one drink order, or they were greeting friends who had just arrived. There was no one simply scanning the room to see how guests were doing. The funny thing was, when the place started getting busy, the team actually worked better, their communication was good and they started working more efficiently. They are obviously a well-oiled machine of a team, but let standards slip when not busy. Don't get me wrong, our overall experience was great, but if only the above faults were addressed then USSCO might be the first 5-star restaurant, with REAL hospitality in Gisborne!

Beautiful atmosphere, lovely attentive staff. We have the most amazing entrees, the Vietnamese pancake and seared venison with blue cheese on walnut bread. O.M.G, it was divine! The pork belly with a side of beans was huge; we couldn't squeeze in a dessert, but we will definitely be back.

Waited almost an hour for our food. The pork belly has NO Sauce when served to us. The steak was asked to be cooked Medium rare but comes out more likely to be Rare. The portion for the mains does not worth $40 or more.

The atmosphere in the restaurant is very good. There is a beautiful bar that offers a variety of wine cocktails and other beverages. Very suitable place to drink and chat. The meal is delicious!

Absolutely stunning meal. Everything was first class and the staff attentive but unobtrusive. We had 2 children with us and they provided off menu items for them. The bread and dips was of a very generous size. We had the eye fillet which was cooked to perfection. Would highly recommend. Just wish we had room for dessert.

Good food, (apart from wedges could have done with an extra couple of minutes). Well presented by friendly staff. Chocolate desert was a delight. A very acceptable wine list, Ashwood Pinot Gris and Matawhero Rose both worth a second shot.

We have been coming here for years but tonight was extremely disappointing. Waited half n hr to get our drinks, steak was extremely undercooked twice, no complimentary entree, no offer of dessert, no offer of more drinks/water, no asking how everything was. Waitresses stood around ignoring everyone having a chat. It's our family tradition to come each Christmas so hopefully this will help up their game once again

Have been to Ussco a couple of times and always enjoyed it. Excellent contemporary cuisine, creative combinations, good vibe and service as well. Worth the money fore sure. I wish someone could play that beautiful grand piano sometimes…. :) Thanks to all the team behind the scenes.

Ordered pork belly, looks alright, taste is not so alright. Not much taste to it, very plain and will not fill you up.. $42 for this and having to wait for almost an hour for it is disappointing. The steak is supposed to be medium rare, this is just too raw for a medium rare. Overall not very pleasant experience here.

The chef is a genius. The food is impeccable 👌 You really must try this place it's incredible 👏 Fifty stars 🌟 🤩

Delicious food. Fantastic service. Prices a little high but a great experience. Would have liked my pork belly skin more crackly but omg the chips are the best I've ever had!!

Delicious food, this restaurant is no tourist trap, it is serving amazing meals. Meat was so tender and the flavour combos in both our dishes were fantastic. Great local wines on the wine list and highly recommend this place. Service was also fast and efficient

It would pay to book a table on Thursday to Sunday to guarantee your seat. Menu options was fresh and a good local flair to it. Steak was good and well cooked. Cocktails, beer, wine and spirits available. Service was confident and honest which is good to see.

Main course was okay... Had cheese cake after .. the base was so hard! You'll break the plate with your spoon before breaking the base of the cheese cake. our server's were mostly friendly the younger girl who sever our desert's seem to not wanna be there as she dumped them on the table. Still hungry after for what you pay

Fantastic food, good drink selection and classy atmosphere. Highly recommended

Although the food was good, it was very expensive for the portion’s we got. We were waiting a very long time before any one came to clear our plates and take our dessert order, the restaurant wasn’t busy at all either so there was no excuse for this - the flies that congregated at our table as a result sure enjoyed the plates sitting there. The desserts were $15 each, however it was definitely not worth the money - mine tasted store bought and like it had been sitting in a chiller for a week. Lovely atmosphere, great drinks, but left feeling like I had wasted my money.

Our group had a great meal, hat off to the chef, the atmosphere was relaxing, however I do agree with another review what stopped me giving this place a 5 star was the service. It was the only thing that put a damper on the evening.

AMAZING food, FANTASTIC atmosphere, GREAT staff!! We had a banquet of tasty food to share & it’s was delish!! Would highly recommend & will definitely return. YUM!!

They say a good chef is the difference between a good dining experience and a great dining experience.....this restaurant has GREAT food. I had the melt in your mouth lamb and my wife had the john dory special, both packed full of flavour. We are both foodies and do a lot of cooking at home together so when we go out we expect a great culinary experience.....we were not disappointed. Highly recommend the food. On the other hand, the young waitress who served us appeared to be disinterested in us which was disappointing. Overall we had a very good dining experience ( thanks to the chef ) and had our young dark haired waitress been more welcoming, Ussco would have scored 5 stars.

Best restaurant in Gisborne Beautiful food and top notch service love the vibe of the place

Absolute must when in Gisborne. Amazing experience with the laid back vibes that Gisborne has to offer! Delicious food and amazing service!

Fabulous meal. Attentive and great service. Nice wine list. Maybe a little lacking in ambience, but recommended absolutely.

BRIDAL PARTY of the future Mrs Pennell. Compliments to the Chef! I had the Eye Fillet with creamed mushroom a rasoti? Asparagus buttered, beetroot, it was amazing!!!!! everything cooked to perfection and tasted wonderful. Waitresses were very friendly impeccable service. A very warm atmosphere 👌

Wonderful food. Probably this place is the first place in Gisborne for me that cook steak right as asked. If you like drinks, this place is for you. Their drink list is 3-4 times their food menu.

Lovely meal, but disappointed there was only one option available which was onion-free (steak). A lot of people are onion intolerant (Fodmaps) so some more options would be appreciated. That said, the service was great, the cocktails delicious and the meal was good. My sister loved her pork belly. I had food envy!