Flew from Auckland just for lunch as per word of mouth to surprise my wife and it was worth the…read morehour flight, atmosphere and venue is amazing, food is divine, even when they had a wedding in the next few hours the service and food were still top notch. Will definitely do this again.

The food was excellent here. It is a beautiful restaurant, and the service was outstanding.read more

We landed in Napier from Auckland to visit some friends and stopped here for lunch on the way. The…read morefood was innovative, fresh ingredients and perfectly prepared. The atmosphere was relaxed and the staff was professional. I would definitely go again.

A true work of art! We had the six course meal and each item…read moreWas cooked to perfection. Sabrina was very knowledgeable about the wines. We had man o war wine and it was fantastic. Highly recommend this place!

Delicious high end meal in the quiet town if Napier. Got to say that I want impressed by the lack…read moreof service or freindliness I received once I arrived (alone). I standed at the front for about five minutes before I asked where to be sat. Once they learned I was a food writer the vibes changed a bit. I tried the appetizer sampler. The tomato sorbet was truly a unique tasting experience I quite enjoyed the savory approach. I think the marrangue texture was a little stale but overall great tasting experience and beautiful plating. For my main I got the fish, in which I found a bone but otherwise delicious flavor contrasts and preparation though it was served pretty luke warm. I loved the take on crunchy fish tails (something from my childhood) that the female head chef had. My favorite of the night was the dessert. It was fantastic and had plenty of fun textures at play. Of all, small tweaks and they could be on the Michelin Guide

Main shopping street with jeweler's, shoes, clothing, some art & gift shops, street performers…read more coffee shops, restaurants.... This is a happening everybody is out holiday shopping , eating & socializing. We walked down a side alleyway and saw murals and huge photographs showing what these blocks looked like after the earthquake and identified where was standing now.

Excellent bar for fish and chips! Our server Clay was terrific!…read more Absolutely delicious fish and chips!

This was one of our favorite wineries that we visited while here in NZ. The grounds are beautiful…read moreand the tasting room was stunning. The inside has two bars on either side for wine tasting with a gift room in the corner, a beautiful entryway, and a sunken room with rustic wine barrels in the back. We were there first thing in the morning because when you're on vacation there's nothing as 'too early' for starting a good day of drinking wine. We were greeted by a lovely woman who poured for us and kept us company discussing the history of the wine and grapes of the region. She also was so friendly that she even got my rather reclusive husband bubbling about his job, our wedding, our cats and more. We enjoyed both the conversation and the wine we tasted. Our tasting fee was very reasonable and both of them were put towards the bottle of wine we bought. I also had been looking for a cheese board and found the neatest one here made from one of their wine barrels. Despite the difficulty of carrying it all the way back to the US I had to have it. They have a very nice variety of wines and we both felt that the tasting did a great job of sampling them. There was a great bubbly to start with and then a good sampling of their reds and whites. We really enjoyed the McDonald's reds. Overall this was one of our favorite wineries we visited. It had the beautiful grounds, the great service, and fantastic vino. A win win win!

We popped in to this place as a part of a private guided wine tour on the Hawkes Valley and it was…read moreone of four we tried throughout the day. During our visit at this impressive winery with a big modern tasting room and lush grounds we learned they were started in 1897 making th We were served by a newer employee who, while knowledgeable about the wines, still had work to do on her customer service demeanor. We tried 5 of their many wines: -sparkling Blanc du Noir-very yeasty with fairly large bubbles-ok -church road Hawke's Bay Rose -a surprising blend of 6 grape varieties - excellent -Tempranillo-very dry, boozy tasting-just ok -McDonald series marzemino -a unique red grape that is only grown here in NZ, very dry -Syrah -young, needs time to mature -cab Sauvignon-McDonald series-standard cab characteristics Bottom line for me, other than the Rose, nothing I would purchase for my cellar, but decent mid-market wines for everyday drinking as reasonable prices.

It's always a bit of a crap shoot when vacationing and trying to find a good spot for dinner…read more Emporium was a winner for us today. We made a reservation online although when we arrived it wasn't too busy and we were able to get a seat outside on the sidewalk. As most places do not have A/C in town, this was preferable to the somewhat warm restaurant. Our nice server Michaela took good care of us and made some good food recommendations. We started with the prawn toasts (indescribable but REALLY good), then followed with Fish and chips (light and good) and the coconut chicken salad which was shaved cucumber, poached chicken, coconut, and peanuts with a light refreshing dressing-quite good (according to my spouse). A bottle of Rose topped things off. The menu has quite a lot of choices so it should be easy for most people to find something that interests them. Nice food, nice service, nice meal.

Location is great, in the heart of the Art Deco city center, a half block from the tourist…read moreinformation office. Service was fine. A little inattentive, but we got everything we asked for, we just had to ask for everything. We had fish and chips. There was a lot of fish, flaky and perfectly cooked. The chips (fries for us Americans) were really really good, seasoned and crispy outside, potato-y inside. All-in-all, a welcoming a reasonable lunch.

Excellent service. Booked a table outside and they positioned us under a heater with a great view…read moreof the marina. Even had water waiting for the dog Gorgeous night to sit out and try the many gins on offer. Fish of the day was delicious and with great vegetables. Rack Of lamb on couscous also excellent.

Despite fairly high prices even by New Zealand standards, the management here are too stingy to let…read morecustomers use WiFi. Waitress used the old "oh, its to stop people sitting on their phones" excuse which I found insulting since I just wanted to google something in our conversation, not sit on my phone and I don't have a New Zealand SIM as I'm on holiday. Just be honest and say "We are too stingy to share with paying customers or too lazy to change the password periodically. A good idea would be to call the SSID 'office' instead of 'Gintrap'........and also put a cell blocker if you are all so concerned about people using their phones since locals were using their phones all around us. One of the three ladies who were serving, with short hair and glasses has no peripheral vision, we were waving our arms 10degrees from her 12 o'clock, we thought she saw as she looked, then she walked towards us ...... then over to other people, plus failed to hear. Anyway, the food made up for the poor service, the food is actually a five if they just fire all the idiot women who are serving and hire people who belong in the restaurant and service industry as none of the three floundering around me and my mum did. Seafood soup was perfect, prawn salad was amazing. I loved the mushroom risotto balls even though they were a bit too salty. Bravo chef, boo to the three waitresses and manager/owner for the service and lack of WiFi. That alone made us move on immediately after our meal so you missed out on 6 beers just because of petty stingyness; think about that; as that is more than the cost of unlimited Internet at your prices. So, if you negate the stingy minded manager who doesn't want to upgrade to an unlimited package or whatever; and fire the idiots for incompetency and replace them with good staff, this place would be a 5 with it's perfect Napier marina location and great food.

Outstanding food coupled with great service. Careful attention to how each dish was prepared and…read morealso presented. Wonderful fresh flavors and combinations that brought out the taste of the items without overdoing any seasoning. Wall coverings made this restaurant quieter than most. Extensive wine list, plenty of options by the glass.

Excellent meal tonight. Very helpful and friendly staff. Quiet relaxing atmosphere in a tastefully…read moredecorated restaurant. Prompt service but not hurried. Started with green lipped mussels in sauce which gave a hint of sea in the mouth. Then, what else, New Zealand lamb done two ways, slow braised shoulder and pan fried loin. Simple but very good. Then puddings or cheese with delicious crackers probably home made. The menu is simple but thoughtful with limited choice to maintain quality and to make use of local ingredients. Good local wine list. Space is limited so booking advised.

Cute spot, big menu, very accommodating for my dietary restrictions! Great spunky service and fun…read moredialogue! We did happen to order the chicken wings (they are breaded) looked delicious but we couldn't eat em... removed quickly and took em off. If I could... I would! But it was fine big portions made our belly's full and happy. Boardwalk burger, protein style, yum!! Tacos with pork were decent but the view was out of this world. Pulled pork tortilla combo was a bit strange but we will get 2 burgers next time. I recommend for a view and good food with fun service!

Right off the beach and perfect for a warm summer evening. My boyfriend and I shared the garlic…read morebread (SO GOOD) and the Hot Mixed platter, which was a sampling of all of their (fried) seafood appetizers. It was really fun and more than enough food for the two of us. Bonus: they had Lagunitas IPA on tap!

The fact that we had to make a reservation to eat at 5.30 tells you everything you needed to know…read moreabout this place. Every table but one has reserved signs on when we arrived We first visited in 2019, and in 6 years it's only improved. We both had the Hawaiian fish burger, which sounds simple enough, but it's the freshness of the fish that makes it special. Definitely give that a try. Great selection of other fishy goodies too.

Delicious food, great simple ambiance. Staff were very busy, yet still attentive. Good wine…read moresuggestion!