Made a complicated order. Hey, I guess that's my fault : scrambled eggs. Took 45 minutes to arrive. No apology, part of a pattern of very bad service. Glum people all of them, doing a lousy job, and not giving a damn. The food was good, tho, when it finally arrived. read more

My family went to Cortado for lunch after disembarking the ferry from Wellington. It was awesome! We ordered a caesar salad, pancakes, pomegranate and pear salad, and a lamb hot stone. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, a hot stone is a really hot stone used to cook meats on. The food was really good! The service was very fast and the drinks came out very quickly! We only had two issues. First, we ordered a meatball upgrade with one of our dishes that never came (they didn't charge for it). Also, the caesar salad needed a little more dressing. Easy fixes. Overall, highly recommend if you are passing through! read more

Cafe Cortado - Cafes Near Me - Picton, MBH

See all

Appeared to only be one waitress and one bartender. Very nice waitress who sat us, but did appear to be overworked unfortunately. After being sat, a number of their menu items were not available. Luckily, we were not planning to order any of those items. After we sat and looked over the menu a bit more, we were told it would be at least an hour for any food. They were maybe a little over half full with customers most of whom had their food. We were a bit confused but just did not have the time to wait over an hour for food so decided to check out another place. Again, nice waitress and appeared to be suffering from a staffing shortage most likely but given that we went and had to leave to somewhere else, will have to go with the two stars. read more

We went here and got the margarita pizza and some beer and it was super tasty! They also have free WiFi too so that's even better. A great place to go before or after entering the South Island. read more

Cafe Cortado - Cafes Near Me - Picton, MBH

Great fresh food, well cooked. I had the garlic and herb pizza, beer battered blue cod, and dulce de leche brulee. Would definitely come back. read more

Cafe Cortado - Cafes Near Me - Picton, MBH

See all

Extremely good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!great service!!!!!!!!!!the food is super fresh!!!!!!!deliciosa!!!!!!! read more

See all

Came in hungry after a full day of wine tasting. Wanted something savory and went with garlic bread and mussels for starter, very satisfying. Had beef cheek which was more like a stew, very juicy and tender. Winter vegetable side was a bit disappointing, mostly potatoes. read more

Cafe Cortado - Cafes Near Me - Picton, MBH

Cafe Cortado was a masterclass in how not to run a restaurant. Upon arrival, the SR noticed a couple of menus left on a table, with a jug of water, which neither of us fully clocking the implications of that... til later. We used that to make the call to stay and eat rather than go elsewhere. Walking into the restaurant we were seated promptly and left with a jug of water. By the time we had our order taken, the first jug of water was gone, and replaced with a larger bottle. We were then served our sole drink of the evening. We drank that. We watched people, with empty glasses and empty tables. We watched staff serve all around us, sometimes 2/3 out of the 4 waiters serving the same table. We drank half of the second bottle of water before our entrees appeared - garlic bread and soup, neither of which would take long to prepare. The waitress left before we had a chance to ask for another drink. We wouldn't see another waiter again. We ate our starters, which were nice enough. The SR felt my chowder too fishy, I thought it was ok. Our empty plates stayed. We continued to people watch. We finished the second bottle of water. We waited. We watched others complain; walk up to the bar to ask for drinks, try to flag waiters over. We watched servers snap at customers. No server seemed to have their own area, but instead serving everywhere all at once. Servers were stressed. We walked up to the bar and asked to clear what we had paid for, shortly after a woman complained about missing drinks - which were about to be served. The waitress (who served us) gave us a full bill, complete with items we never received. I saw red. We were passed onto a manager who looked at our order and announced - it's about to be served,similar to the missing wine of the previous customer, and similar levels of nonsense. We had been there an hour and a half. We had lost the will to wait any longer. The manager took said items off the bill, muttered a weak 'sorry'. I insisted we got our discount (as being a Top 10 member) and we left. If perhaps there had been any real feeling behind the apology, or an effort to make us stay and finish our meal, even if we had been given a gratis glass of wine or recognition of such poor service, we might have stayed. I might not have written this review like this. We might have enjoyed what we had of our meal. But it was awful and now we understand the importance of an abandoned table setting in a busy restaurant such as this. read more

The food was adequate, but nothing special, and the wait was very long for food to arrive after ordering (45 min for lunch on a Thursday). We tried the quinoa burger and the spinach eggs Benedict. There was nothing wrong with them, they were fine. The staff were very nice. read more

Stayed in Picton for a couple of nights and liked the look of Cafe Cortado on the corner with a nice view of the bay. Had to try New Zealands South Island seafood as I have heard great things, saw Sea Food chowder on the menu and had to get it. Geogeous creamy chowder with a an equally as georgous local beer on tap. Rest of family had the steak or FOD, shared a small pizza for entree. Everything was amazing, great staff, lovely owner and delcisous food. Is a must if staying in Picton! read more

Servers don't know exactly everything on the plate, but they're very friendly and are willing to find out what you want to know. The food is delicious, the ambiance is great, and so is the view. read more

See all

Had dinner here. Lovely pizza and red wine (try The Cortado on both accounts). Good choice of beer on tap. Friendly, lively cafe with a large menu. read more

Cafe Cortado - Leave room for the Affogato! - Cafes Near Me - Picton, MBH

I wouldn't come back here or recommend it. The customer service was terrible! We walk in and no one even acknowledges us. After standing there for over 10 mins we sat ourselves where again we sat ignored for another 10 mins. We finally were considering leaving when a waitress came over. We ordered pizza and beer, the food was mediocre and our waitress never came back to ask if we wanted another round. So we just got up, walked to the front (again waited for 5 mins for help), paid our tab and left. They will probably continue to get customers due to its location which is sad because they don't deserve anyone's money for sure. read more

Yum - one of the best seafood pizzas we have had! Friendly prompt service, with a gorgeous view!

Great ambiance, good music, and delicious coffee and food. I tried their saffron scallop and prawn risotto for dinner, and it was perfectly creamy. Also tried their garlic and herb and margherita pizza, which they can make gluten free. Definitely stop by if you're in Picton! read more

Fantastic Food, good service, and great music! I had the seafood stew dinner entree (I forget the exact name) and it was phenomenal!

Beautiful location right opposite the marina and interislander ferry. The food was the best we have had in our two weeks travelling the South Island. Pork Belly was devine and the Paella was so tasty. The fish tacos made a non fish eater wish he had ordered the dish. The Brazilian cheese bread was better than any cheese bread I had eaten in Brazil. We want to come ba k to Picton just so we can eat at Cortado again read more