Stopped in for lunch while in Hahei. The outdoor seating is very nice and there were not many…read morepeople there yet so we had our choice of tables. There are nice flowers and greenery surrounding the outdoor seating. You go in to order at the bar. We ordered a beer tasting flight, a margarita, and the Margherita Pizza. The margarita was fine (I never really had a great one while in New Zealand), but it was cool and refreshing. The pizza was nice and light, good for a small lunch. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Don't forget a tshirt or hoodie on the way out!

Loved their cocktails and ambience! The staff was super funny (read witty with sarcasm) and we had…read morea great time enjoying a cool beverage on a hot summer day after hiking to Cathedral Cove.

Great people and it was hopping in the winter, many places closed. No hesitations, visit! We didn't…read moredine but will try the food next time! Drinks were cold and lovely. Nice patio and garden.

The food is just edible. Not great and honestly probably came from the freezer. It filled a void…read moreon a rainy day without many other options to try, but should have just gone to the grocery store and bought stuff for sandwiches.

Stopped by based upon the suggestion of a local guide for a lunch place…read more Ended up ordering wayyy too much food; including a veggie and dip plate, a pulled pork burrito, a veggie taco (disclosure- they legit mean single taco) and a Greek (feta, olive and garlic pizza). Food was fantastic! First place in all of New Zealand where they had fresh salsa AND black beans. The beers were equally as good. Being used to US New England style beers the NZ beers we had tried prior fell short. The beers here were all great...specifically the IPA, XPA and the Session were our favorites. A great little extra was the tastings of local liquor offered by the brewery, which also owns and operates a local winery and distillery. Everything was great and the owner (?)/server made our experience. Only suggestion I'd make is adding a sheet explaining what liquor is what like provides for the beer tastings Would definitely come back even tho it's a bit out of the way from the town center....hoping they serve this beer locally!

One of the main reasons I visit a brewery is to taste a range of beers.. Unfortunately here they…read morewon't allow you to even sample a beer before you buy it to check you want to commit to a pint. Given it's the brown brewery's beer I'm sure they can spare 20ml and one of the sample glasses to a paying customer who'd already bought a few rounds. The option is a tasting paddle, but that includes styles of beers I know I don't like so it's pointless. We ordered a platter, priced at $29.50 we expected a bit more than we got. The food we did have was okay but didn't really stand out. The rest of the menu was very overpriced (average of about $30 for most menu items) which was more than we were willing to spend on a lunch. Hallertau around Auckland is the benchmark for me in this category and is cheaper/better quality. Sort your stuff out guys.. You have a lot going for you but you're failing at the basics. Lucky for you, you have a captive market given the lack of other options in the area.

I had the best fish sandwich i have ever enjoyed today. It was made either red snapper on a…read moredelicious bun. The truffle fries were incredible. Our waitress was darling and helped us find a great beach. Go to this restaurant!

5/5 get the mussels for sure. Pizza, steak and fries all looked really solid. Great service too…read more Would come back for sure!

I will say that I was disappointed by this place. I love squid, so I was really excited to see a…read morerestaurant named after one of my favorite seafood. The place is not fancy but comfortable and nice. Off the bat the menu fails to pay homage to squid, ex. no grilled squid on the menu! We had to chilli coconut squid and the Louisiana Blackened Fish. Meh, both were bellow average. The flavors were just not there. I will give them props for the nice beer selection though.

Had the scotch filet and the sesame crusted fish. Both were great. Friendly service and great…read morelocal beer selection. We would eat here again if we ever come back to town. Not the cheapest place in town but you get the quality you pay for here.

This place had outstanding food. Service was pretty good, but some flies were relentless on our…read morefood and we had to bat them away perpetually. The food here is 5 stars all day. Highly recommended.

Casual but clean vibes, fun tunes, local beer and bomb food. Happened upon this place during a road…read moretrip and so glad we did. Chicken bao and lamb burger were both winners, but the other food we've seen come out all looked incredible, too. Worth a stop for sure.

The food was great. Had the fish and meat tacos. The fish were good and the meat was very tasty…read more The location was great overlooking the beach. The $10 charge to share was high and i don't like places that charge when you don't receive anything extra by sharing. I was also taken aback when they removed the fork, that was already on the table, from one of our party who ordered the fries to try and limit the tasting of anyone else's food. Food and ambience good but service did not meet the rest of the positives.

After spending the morning digging up sand on the beach, we had built up a decent appetite for…read morebrekkie. Hotties is a lovely place. They are located with a view of the beach. You can sit either inside or outside. I'd have to say it was a whimsical wonder for beach white as the color theme, Ordered a breakfast burrito and a frittata dish that had spinach with a poached egg on it. Scrumptious! Eating here was like eating inside some tropical dream. Truly a special place.

A very pleasant sports bar. It looked clean and new. Lot's of big screen tv's. Lots of beers on…read moretap. We had lunch there with our kids and felt quite comfortable. The kid's burgers were great. My wife had a nice salad.

Terrible experience. Before we took a bite, both our 2 burgers had rotten lettuce and I asked for a…read morerefund and the cook was an old lady who didn't own the place but she was the only one there and she was so rude and mad at me that I asked for a refund. She wouldn't give me a refund and so we just left. Would not recommend this place to anyone. Just be careful. Not only is the food awful but bad business etiquette.

This is an enthusiastic 5-star rating…read more I called around 10 or 11 this morning (Monday) and was pleasantly surprised that someone answered my call. Since they don't open until 5, I was already preparing my message to plead for a table. Luckily, I spoke to a real person and got the reservation set for 7. My husband and I actually arrived about 30 minutes early and so as to not be rude, we decided to sit out in the car and read reviews of the restaurant-- both on Yelp and Trip Advisor. Not only to get a better sense of what to order, but perhaps to adjust expectations should any need adjusting. One person (on Yelp and Trip Advisor) left a pretty scathing review of the service as well as the restaurant's response to their review. I went over to TA to see if this was the kind of restaurant I DON'T want to support due to poor customer treatment. (I've been really treated badly at one or two restaurants in my life and will actively boycott any restaurant that I feel has multiple, legitimate complaints against it.) The restaurant's reply was actually quite cheeky (and seemed logical and fair) and I immediately knew I'd enjoy my visit. And thus, I did. Lo and behold, it was the owner (i believe) who waited on our table and gave an incredible overview of wines, beer, the menu, the evolution of his menus, etc. He was charming, knowledgeable, and provided excellent service. We felt welcome and in-tune with what the restaurant was all about and what we were ordering. The food was the best we had during our entire two-week stay all across New Zealand. My favorite was the ostrich and my husband's was the carpaccio with tripe. There wasn't a single misstep from the first plate (we ordered 5 total for dinner) to the two we ordered for dessert. I wish with my whole heart that he would just move to Colorado and open up the restaurant next to our home so we could eat there every day! I highly recommend. 5 plates was the perfect number for my husband and me to split-- we probably should have split dessert as well, but couldn't help ordering one each. We had the tuna, scotch egg, beef carpaccio, duck, and ostrich. The wild mushrooms cooked with the duck were to die for. The polenta with the ostrich was mind blowing. All the components--sauces, veg, flavors were on point. For dessert we ordered the chocolate thingy and the lemon thingy. Both incredible. It was actually quite impressive for dessert to be as good as dinner. Often even the 5-star restaurants don't quite make desserts as well as their entrees. These desserts were just as imaginative, complex, tasty and beautiful as the mains. And everything really was beautiful. Plating is an art form they have absolutely perfected. I'm quite impressed with this restaurant. We drove all the way down from Matarangi to eat there on our last night in NZ and I couldn't have asked for a better send-off !

Coffee is not good. Owner does not know the difference between a flat white and a latte. Having a…read morebrief conversation about how a flat white has far less froth and that's how I like my one cup a day. Only to be served a weak tasting coffee with a third froth. Having tipped the froth away outside I was left with half a cup. He came across a bit uppity and know it all and clearly doesn't listen to what a customer wants. He does his morning paperwork while serving coffee so you feel like you're interrupting as well. Not a good experience. From previous reviews I see the microwave pizza is popular so probably won't try out the evening now either.

We were recommended to eat here by a local, so we headed here. The food was alright. I ordered the…read moreveggie pizza - some of the mushrooms were undercooked and not edible. The crust was crunchy and good. My partner had the brisket burger - it was OK. The meal cost $140. In my opinion, this place is overpriced for the quality of food we had.

Worth a second meal!…read more We really enjoyed this restaurant! Table for four on a Friday night at 5:30 in the evening. We had two orders of the fresh fish and chips, the pulled pork pizza, and the fish of the day (tuna). All 4 were prepared well and brought out promptly. I am not certain if it is a New Zealand thing (as it has happened at two restaurants in two days), bit they bring the food out when it is done, not when all four meals are done ... Just something of which to be aware. This is a place where I will be happy to eat at again!