Hog Heaven Louisiana Smokehouse

Don’t be fooled by the lovely American looking fare on the website, its nothing like that at Hog Heaven. I was so looking forward to this place based on that but it was a let down.
It started with very slow service followed by excuses, no water on the table for 30 minutes and then only because we asked for it. Drink orders some of us had to go up to the bar for and our food took just shy of 2 hours to come to the table.
I ordered the two meats combo which was pulled pork and beef brisket served with potatoes, corn on the cob and green beans. Once the meals did arrive I couldn’t see the meat through the bottled sauce. This establishment reminded me of those little roast shops they have dotted around Auckland that they slap in a plastic container and takeaway. Great value for lunch but at $ 26+ a main — really not good enough.
I was hankering for cheesecake which they had on the menu but I worried the dessert would be from the supermarket so we skipped it and headed to Movenpick down the road. I was so embarrassed for the group that I would never consider going back.

More hog than heaven, this place looks like it just stepped out of the 80s with its kit set southern décor and large screen showing rock music clips. During a recent visit, the slow cooked meats were tender, but smothered in sweet sauce. The croquettes were massive and for some reason, coated in breadcrumbs with red food coloring. They ran out of basics like cornbread by 7pm on a Saturday night. Despite a note at the bottom of each menu requesting feedback, when the service was extremely slow and I enquiried from the only waitress I could see as to whether they were short staffed, the owner came over to berate me for complaining about the service (which I had not done), leaving me less than brave enough to offer any direct feedback about the meal. I hope others have a better experience than I did. I might be back when hogs start to fly.

I’m mindful that bad reviews can have a negative effect on a restaurant, but this is a truthful opinion of my dining experience. If anything, it looks like standards have dropped even further since previous reviews. It wasn’t full the night I came, yet the service was haphazard and at some times non-​existent. There was the same complaint about meals being cold (one diner sending hers back). I’ve just been to Louisiana, so hardly thought the food was traditional. I get the feeling they just settled on a theme for this place. I’m surprised there wasn’t any jazz & blues music. I would have liked to try the cornbread, but they were out at 7pm on a Saturday night. I settled on smoked pulled pork with vegetables and gravy. Bit of a mess on the plate, but was spicy so it tasted okay. The gravy/​sauce had me puzzled — it was really red, as in cochineal enhanced. My advice, head on down to Wynyard Quarter for a better Southern experience.

The ribs! Oh wow. Deliciously fall-​off-​the-​bones meat and the sauce was just finger-​licking good. Admittedly I may have been suffering a severe case of hangry, so my raving review for their ribs should be read with cautious sceptical minds (hence the 4 but not 5 stars). I didn’t dine in either — oops maybe I should stop typing. We got the ribs to take away. So good right? Piping-​hot ribs that you can munch on messily in the comfort and privacy of your friends’ house. The sides are there just for show though, wonder if they’d let me swap the slaw and chips for an extra rack of ribs next time?

I went back and had a smoked chicken dish that wasn’t so good. The half chicken was smoked. It was not bad but the whole thing was drenched in a «Cajun» gravy.
This place is trying to be too many things to too many people. Keep it simple and just so those dishes well. This is my advice.
The Chinese gal running this place (when her husband is not around) put me off a bit. When I tried to ask her view on what to order she responded, «It’s all good.» She comes across as slightly mercenary and the attempt at Southern BBQ does fall short.
But not terrible. Edible not outstanding and in a good location. Has cold beer I think.

Went with a large party (~40 people) and we got two whole pigs with sides. Overall the meat was good, very succulent, but the skin was quite chewy and fatty and would have been nicer if a bit crispier in general, however that may have been how it was cooked.
Quite expensive overall for what we got, could have done a nice pork belly and sides at a fine dining place for similar cost, but good experience none the less.

I have to agree with the other 3 star reviews. Oh, I realllllly wanted to love this place. I really did.
Firstly, the kid’s «catfish» and chips were great, crunchy batter with flaky moist fish on the inside. Note: kids fish is market fish of the day, not actually catfish as you would find in the actual Southern States. The Ribs with coleslaw and sweet potato fries… ribs were cold so I sent them back. Not even warm, but stone cold. Roughly 8 minutes later my meal came back re-​plated with fresh coleslaw and fries (a lot of other kiwi restaurants take note). However, the ribs were still cold, but the fries were straight outta the fryer HOT. Very lacklustre and the sauce I didn’t find overly exciting. Also the female server took my sons plate before we were finished with it instead of asking first. I found that very annoying and rude. Hard to get our drinks refilled too. This place needs good staff training in place and hopefully in a few months they will have all of the kinks ironed out.

Heard that there was an American-​style BBQ place that recently opened in Auckland, so we had to stop by and see for ourselves.
It was Sunday, so there was live music which was totally on par to set the mood for some southern eating. Glancing at the menu, I was tempted to order so much, but decided to stick with the BBQ pulled pork and sweet potato fries. I was briefly eying the brisket, which is another contender for judging BBQ joints, but I’ll save that for another time.
Engrossed in our conversation and enjoying the music, our plates arrived. My sweet potato fries were nice and hot, although not as done /​crispy as I’m accustomed to. I was constantly wiping my fingers on my napkin to rid myself of grease, but this could easily be resolved by eating like a civilized person, i.e., using a fork.
When I ordered the pulled pork, I was given a choice of either Sweet BBQ sauce or Cajun spice. I asked for the waitress’ opinion and she said that I could have both sauces on the side. The pork arrived and it appeared that they had slathered both sauces on. It was tasty and had a nice kick, but it didn’t distract from the fact that my pork was barely warm, probably a little warmer than my slaw. The sparse green beans that were served with the meal were also barely above room temperature. Going around the table, our rib dish was found to be cool, was sent back and returned with fresh ribs, which were again found to be cool.
I’m all for giving second chances for food places, so one of these days I’ll stop back here, but it won’t be a priority.

Hog Heaven is a fairly new restaurant that has opened up in Newmarket. They are a ‘traditional Louisiana smokehouse’ serving up smoked meats, seafood and freshly made pizzas.
Three of us went to Hog Heaven a few weeks ago on a Tuesday night after seeing a ‘cheap Tuesday’ movie across the road at Event Cinemas. We had bought a Grabone voucher for Hog Heaven and and looking forward to dinner.
Upon walking in, we first noticed the décor and really liked it. Although the lighting was dim, the wall décor really made up for it — think American wall prints, drink posters, plus fresh flowers on picnic style wooden tables, and condiments served in glass coca cola bottles. Hog Heaven immediately reminded us of the diner in the True Blood series — it had a similar feel to it.
Another cool aspect was the open kitchen at the back — you could only see some of the food preparation and cooking, but it was nice that it was all open plan. All the chefs were women, which we thought was unusual compared to most restaurants in Auckland.
We first started with an entrée of ‘Corn Bread Loaf’ stuffed with corn and jalapeños ($ 6.50) which we shared between three of us. We all agreed that it was extremely sweet, almost like pound cake. We also could not taste any corn or jalapeños. It definitely tasted more like a dessert rather than an entrée.
We then ordered mains — ‘Smoked Sausage and Chicken Gumbo’ with celery, okra pepper, bacon, onion and white rice on the side ($ 15). I have never tried gumbo, so was unsure what it was meant to taste like. It was quite a small portion, but the meat was very tender. However, it was far too rich for me and I almost couldn’t finish it. I would not order it again.
My other friends ordered the ‘Pulled Pork Sandwich’ served with fries ($ 12) which was average and the fries were overcooked. Lastly, the ‘Smoked Beef Cheeks’ ($ 21.50), which were the highlight of the night. They were cooked well, the meat tender and had a nice flavour.
We were all too full for dessert, but were okay with that. Usually, I am excited about dessert, but nothing really stood out. We were hoping for some Pumpkin Pie or something similar, but they only serve ‘American’ brownie and ice cream…
On a higher note, the service was good. We did not have to wait long for our meals, our water glasses were always topped up and asked if we were enjoying our meals. These simple things lifted my rating up for Hog Heaven.
Overall, a few hits and misses. Personally, not my style of food, but a certain type of person would enjoy it. I am unsure yet whether I would dine at Hog Heaven again, but in the meantime I will continue to try out other new restaurants that are opening up in Auckland…

Went to Hog Heaven tonight after weeks of dreaming of some divine barbecue. The live blues and décor really make you feel like you’ve traveled the thousands of miles back deep into Louisiana. Everything on the menu from the gumbo to the pulled pork, brisket and beef cheek looked almost overwhelmingly delicious. However, overall I thought both the food and the service was pretty average. The smokey sweet barbecue sauce was pretty spot-​on but that only covered up the overcooked and burned beef cheek that was served. It wasn’t tough, but it also wasn’t beautifully falling apart either and I definitely had too many gristly bits. It came with a few okay steamed potatoes, green beans but the corn on the cob that was way overcooked. Drinks selection was pretty standard and I was really hoping for some real lemonade or sweet tea and thought I saw some on the bar. But it turned out to be a dirty fish tank. The owner is friendly enough and boasts watching free Bruce Springsteen videos while you eat your ribs during the week. Hope they can sort out their teething problems in the kitchen soon!

Live jazz & BBQ is one of my all time favourites combos but until recently there wasn’t really anywhere in Auckland doing both on a nightly basis… that was until Hog Heaven opened a couple of months ago and started serving plates of smokey barbequed meat lathered in sauce. Yum!
A group of Unilocalers and I went for the first time on Sunday night, just in time for the live jazz at 6:30pm. Turns out it was also the NRL final so they had the warm up game (maybe the Junior Warriors) playing on a massive pull-​down screen behind the singer… take note sports lovers.
I couldn’t go past the pulled pork with coleslaw and green beans. It took a little while for our meals to come out and when they did most of us noted that they weren’t that hot but it didn’t bother me too much as the pork was tender, drenched in sauce and super flavoursome. The coleslaw was ok — it reminded me of KFC coleslaw and the green beans were cooked well. The serving size was smaller than I expected but I am probably just used to the HUGE serving sizes in the States.
What was a little off-​putting though, was the filthy fish tank on the bar counter and the greasy finger marks all over the front door… I’d imagine it’d be difficult to keep the glass clean with half your customers demolishing ribs but I think these little details are important!
I might wait a few months but i’d like to go back and try some of their other New Orleans dishes like gumbo and cornbread.