Need some refueling after a long day at Hobbiton? Well, check this place out. It's got a little…read morebit of everything, except salads! I simply ordered a two meat combo dinner for $16.50 NZD, and was pretty much satisfied. Being famished after visiting the Waitomo Caves and Hobbiton, I needed some meat! The manager welcomed us and served up some thick slices of roasted pork, with the appropriate salty crispy pig skin, and lamb. It sat on top of potatoes, pumpkin, and peas. Applesauce and a lemon glaze gravy on the side. Maybe it was a "so hungry, it tastes so damn good" feeling, but it wasn't. The meat was well roasted, some fatty, and tender. Probably seasoned only with salt, which was good enough to me. Items on the menu: ~ Roast Dinner Plates (beef, pork, chicken, lamb, or vegetarian). ~ Southern Fried Chicken Combos. Though I've seen better looking chicken elsewhere. ~ Rolls served up banh mi style, or meat in a regular sandwich. ~ Burgers with your choice of meat. ~ Fish and chips, hot dogs. ~ Milkshakes and cheese cake. Inside dining: ~ Nothing special, just a few tables. Normally, I'd give a place like this a three star rating, but with the little choices you have in the area I'm generously giving a fourth star. And with seeing people coming and going, it appears to be a hit with the locals.

Very boring. Pork crackle soggy, not enough apple sauce Lamb…read moreroll, dry, needed more gravy. Disappointing

We came here after our tour at Hobbinton, which capped off the perfect LOTR themed morning. The…read moreambiance included Lord of the Rings memorabilia and the pizzas on the menu were named in honor of the trilogy. The service was great and our waiter asked for our names so she could address us personally. Food came out quick and hot. Portions are big enough to share so everyone can try each dish.

We arrived in Matamata to meet the bus for our tour of Hobbiton, but we had about an hour to kill…read morebefore the meeting time (and it was raining!) . Luckily, The Redboubt was open and was a nice warm place to kill an hour, have amazing snacks, and a few drinks. The Redoubt is located right at the I-SITE where you meet the bus, so you definitely can't miss it. It's decorated in all Lord of the Rings decor, down to the Hobbit hole style doorways/windows, getting you totally ready to get immersed in the journey you're about to take. We ordered a few beers to start and they arrived cold and crisp - definitely refreshing for a fun day in Hobbiton! Food-wise, we ordered the 3 Slider Selection, and picked the chicken, cranberry, burry, and brie sliders. They were super tasty and actually pretty large for "sliders" - and it even came with a small side of fries. We also shared the Redoubt's Famous Seafood Chowder, and it was super warming and hearty, but not too filling as it's seafood and not a heavier meaty base. With the delish food, awesome ambiance, and plentiful drinks - I definitely recommend stopping here if you're in Matamata for a Lord of the Rings tour, or for any other reason!

service poor, kept waiting for 5 min or more, only one in shop, girl in front of me refused to…read moreacknowledge me, other girl came over took my order, bad manners, won't be back.

While waiting for my order, I overheard a patron tell his friend, "best fish and chip in New…read moreZealand." He was partially correct. This is, in fact, the best fish and chip on the planet, and I say that after many baskets at recommended UK locales. At Bobby's the fish is a glorious golden fried, light but tasty, perfectly flaky and delicious slice of heaven. An ample helping of chips comes alongside and the whole ensemble parties in your mouth for NZ$6.

I was in Rotorua looking for some good fish and chips. I was browsing on Google Maps and Koutu Fish…read moreShop came up so I decided to give it a go. This is a hole in a wall place in a residential area. The fishes were fresh and was well seasoned. The fries were crispy and really tasty too! I'm not local so I was taken aback when I turned up and saw it was a Chinese food takeaway with fish and chips. I thought maybe they're good at making Chinese food and they just decided to have fish and chips to appeal to a wider audience. Apparently Chinese food+fish and chips shops are common according to my Kiwi friends. A few days later we ate at a proper sit down restaurant in Auckland that had fish and chips that cost way more, and it wasn't as tasty as what I had at Koutu Fish Shop. I'm coming here again if I'm ever in Rotorua. It's nothing like what we have in the states, especially how Kiwis package the meal in butcher paper.

This is more like a 3.5 star. I visited this mom and pop fish and chips/Chinese takeout joint when…read moreI was staying in the area. It is nothing fancy but they are efficient. I had their fish and chips, deep fried mussels, oysters and scallops. The batter is a bit too thick over the fish but they fish and oysters were not overdone. The mussels were a tad chewy and the scallops were bigger and more moist at another shop in the coromandel region. They also incorporate herbs into their batter mix. Overall, I wouldn't go out of my way to try it but it is decent when in the area.

Still great fish and chips!! Ordered the snapper, garlic butter chips, salad for $18 and a thick…read moremilkshake for $6 with no regrets. They do charge for tartar sauce and ketchup separately and fish portions seem smaller than the pre-pandemic days, but the prices didn't raise too much. Will always drop by whenever I'm on this side of NZ.

Didn't have many expectations going in since it seemed like a regular fish & chip spot. What…read moreattracted us was the family friendly ambiance and the affordable prices! There's ample seating and a fish & chip meal is only $6! I got the Snapper burger meal ($10) and the buns taste super fresh and warm, not stale. The sandwich was super filling. Everything here comes in generous portions and you will not leave hungry! Would recommend if you're in the area checking out cathedral cove :)

After our first day of bicycle touring in New Zealand from Auckland to Huntly, we arrived on Main…read moreStreet tired, thirsty and VERY HUNGRY! After walking up and down Main Street, eyeing the restaurants and deli shops as if they were prey to a pack of wolves, there was only one shop which stood out from the rest of the crowd. The fresh seafood on ice, fish & chips, and smoked fish of the day drew me in. There's seating indoors and outside. This is a fish market, don't come here for ambiance or a romantic dinner for 2... or 3... or 4. The decor is the meal, laid out fresh on the counters by the purveyors of this fine seafood establishment. The owner and staff are very helpful, answering questions from customers who are either ordering to eat in or to be freshly packed for home. Taking a seat on the curbside table, we started on the smoked fish of the day. The white flesh of the smoked fish has a firm texture, stronger flavors and medium to high oil content. The anticipation was over when the family size platter of Fish and Chips arrived. The no-frills little chippy shop serves up chunky pieces of moist white fish against a crispy batter. The batter here is better than most chippy shops we've had in New Zealand, generally underwhelming and greasy. The mountainful of chips are crisp and firm. The fried battered oysters and scallops are a good complement to the fish and chips. The family size fish and chips platter was affordably priced. The standout of the meal was the Kina. If you're always on the lookout for the ultimate uni/sea urchin experience on your travels, don't pass up a chance to try the New Zealand version of the spiny shelled creature. Kina has been a part of the local Maori diet for hundreds of years. Having ordered one from the counter as my "dessert" and brought out to our table, an elderly Maori passing by gave a recommendation to eat the dark seedy liquid around the roe. The owner had recommended against the idea, explaining most Kiwis find the taste of the dark liquid too bitter. After separately a few pieces of the roe from the dark liquid inside the half opened Kina shell, the roe was fresh, had a soft texture, and slightly bitter compared to Japanese sea urchins. I tried a small taste of the dark liquid with a roe, and as warned it was indeed very bitter, enough to scrunch up your face. Try the Kina roe on its own. The five star rating for this shop was mainly due to our hungry stomachs after a day of cycling, the affordable and generous portions, the friendly staff, and the Kina experience.

It had been a while since we had come here for fish & chips only because it's a little further from…read moreour place, but closer to the in-laws...but we always constantly got great fish & chips here. Since they changed hands we hadn't been back until today when we decided to give them a try. Well we ordered Tarakihi fish (x4) and 2 very big scoops of chips which came to about $22. We didn't wait long for it, paid and drove about 10 minutes back home. When we unwrapped and plated up, the fish still had all the coating on, it was a thinner coating but crunchy and tasty. The fish was fresh, perfectly cooked and delicious, the chips were not greasy. We'll be back again! They now have different package choices for families, that are inexpensive and plentiful! For example...2 fish and a scoop of chips for around $10, plenty for two people...etc.

You wouldn't expect a simple store would produce some of the tastiest fish and chips I've ever had…read morein my life. The Hoki is so juicy and tender with a fantastic crunchy batter. The chips are outstanding. I've sampled a lot of chips aka "frites" in Belgium where they were invented and sorry my Belgie friends. These are much better than Belgian Frites. Crunchy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. Add some Watties Tomato Sauce and you've got a fantastic meal wrapped Kiwi style in paper.

We've eaten Chinese food all over the world & we enjoy it (USUALLY). This food was totally…read moreinedible. We both had literally just one bite of every dish and threw the rest in the trash as soon as possible! It was a total waste because the cost was very expensive, but we couldn't eat another bite. It was absolute garbage! I see from the other reviews that the fish and chips got good ratings. I guess we should have tried that instead of the Chinese food but since the workers there were Chinese, we thought the Chinese food would be at least edible. Boy were we wrong!

My friend and I are Americans and were craving fish and chips on our last night in New zealand. I…read moreordered the snapper along with some scallops. The scallops were moist on the inside with a light crisp batter on the outside. The snapper was also flaky and moist with that amazing crisp batter. The fries were subpar and unfortunately there was no American style ketchup to go with them. I would have liked a little more salt on the French fries and cut a little thinner as well. It was a little mind boggling that a Chinese restaurant would have such good fish and chips, and I am so glad we decided to put our biases aside to try it!

Awesome tasting food the service was on time really nice the place was really invitingread more

Delightful gem! My brother and I visited Matamata on our way to Hobbiton and were pleasantly…read moresurprised by the quality of the food, as well as the friendliness and hospitality of the staff. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area and are used to high-quality Indian food; we are both happy to report that the chicken madras and mango chicken were absolutely delicious. Furthermore, our waiter was very welcoming and accomodating!