This was well worth the 6.5 hour trek from Christchurch over Easter Weekend. Having sampled some…read morebeers at the Great Kiwi Beerfest, we decided we had to get up to the restaurant itself to try some other beers. Located just off the main road to Onekaka, The Mussel Inn is a great local haunt that is regailed for it's beer and offers a great family feel with a large outdoor gathering space with picnic tables, a giant tire swing and a firepit. There is some indoor seating, but the real experience is outside. There are about 5-6 beer options on tab and other specialty beers by the bottle. My favorite is the Captain Cooker Manuka Beer, but the Super Swine (hoppy manuka beer) was great too. My husband tried their chilli beer, but it is only available by the bottle at the restaurant. They are known for their pies, and I regret not trying one. We ordered small nachos (a blossom of nacho chips stuck into a bean/sour cream/salsa/cheese mix) garlic bread (a large rosemary? foccaia loaf with a generous portion of chopped garlic, the bacon burger (don't be fooled, this burger is all bacon and no beef) with lettuce, a light and fruity salsa and aioli servce on the garlic bread and green-lipped mussels. My husband says they're the best mussels he's had in NZ. I wasn't so impressed with the open-faced burger and ended up eating each piece separately (as it was extremely messy and over-bearing). The flavors were great once eaten by themselves! We had an extra beer over dessert, but their pavlova looked appetizing. Be sure to stay through dusk as they light the fire pit, which is a great place to cuddle up to someone, or just sit and enjoy a beer. Arrive before 6 to beat the local crowd and secure a table outdoors as well as parking in their very small lot. When we left, cars were lined up down the side of the highway.

Awesome place for an early lunch. Green mussels for 18$. Superb. They're huge and fresh. Good…read morecappuccino for 4$.

My pizza was delicious and my husband enjoyed his burger. Sweet ambiance, relaxed laid back…read morerestaurant with good food. Clean establishment : )

Ronnie was there to greet us at the door. Try to figure out the word of the day from the jumble of…read moreletters on the blackboard

Only sinners here to seek out an afternoon pick-me-up with a visit to a quaint, aged church,…read morere-purposed into a beer bar! Blessed be! When in hop capital, the Freehouse is an automatic add onto one's rotation. The most friendly, helpful staff to serve up a fresh pint and give all the best recs. Quite a few tap handles, but per the sheet, only those with the red check mark were the ones "On". No matter, because the selection with the 15 available was eclectic and very exciting. Surprisingly a number of sours on draft along with some cask options and beers featured from their on-site brewery "The Flavourtorium". We sat outside near this makeshift brewery within a shipping container, fermenter tanks and mashers in full view as a worker toiled away gathering the spent grain for disposal. Many a patron chatted away -- visitor and locals alike -- and dogs lazed away or wandered around off leash for a joyful afternoon basking in the Nelson sun. What an absolutely terrific vibe and what a time to be alive enjoying the fresh Nelson hops of the region!

Good place. They helped me out when I arrived in Nelson to an unacceptable hotel/motel, reviewed…read moreseparately. I ordered a pint and asked for recommendations. I got a few and followed up on one and ended up in a much better spot. It was admittedly not busy, so I had a bit of an opportunity to chat, and they were quite pleasant to get along with. A group came in as I was winding down my pint, and it is clear that they have a good community following (also confirmed by a recommendation of the Freehouse from a friend who lived in Nelson for quite a while). It was also a Sunday evening, so things were already pretty quiet in Nelson. There is a beer garden/patio out front with a food stand, but it is late winter now, so that wasn't active, and they have only a light kitchen themselves, so they were happy to recommend nearby places for take-out to eat-in at their spot. Good neighbors then. Good people. Very helpful. Good beer. Worth the visit. Oh, and it's in a repurposed church. Very cool.

As one of the stops on the Hop on Hop off tour we took as an excursion off of our cruise boat, we…read moredid not quite know what to expect, but we very pleased in the end with our lunch at the Cork & Keg. We decided to wing our last excursion on our trip and took a tour that had a number of wineries, shops and attractions but limited food places. The Cork and Keg looked like a good option and the welcome interior and craft beer selection looked promising as we entered. Their lunch menu is hearty pub food and I selected the Pale Ale from Speight's brewery and ordered their steak sandwich with curly fries. Jo (my wife) ordered the fish and chips with a glass of white wine. My steak sandwich was stacked with thick tender steak and cooked to order medium rare. It was delicious! My wife as well enjoyed her fish and chips in which we enjoyed as we soaked up the interior of white plastered walls low hanging heavy wooden beams that adorn the interior giving it that warm pub feel. The exterior seating was warm and inviting as well, but at the time we arrive fairly crowded and we were on a tight time table so we passed. Food and Beverages 4.5 - Well prepared food and hearty portions. Good selection of local brews and wines. Service 3.5 The bartender who originally greeted us was great one server though skipped over us and went to the larger party that entered after us to get their order and didn't come back to us. The bartender did though follow up with us sure we did have our order in place after a short wait. Atmosphere 4 Nice wooden bar with fireplace and outdoor seating area shaded with umbrellas. A great pub feel to it. Price 4 I thought we had a good value as the food was well prepared and price for value seemed fair. OA 4.25

Ok this place exceeded our expectations. First they picked us up at our hotel and gave us a ride to…read morethe restaurant... not just us, they just do this. The beer and wine selection was good and the chicken curry was just delicious (tonight's dinner special). Just a nice surprise!

Awesome atmosphere and lovely outside seating with many options and great local beers…read more Found a few baby praying mantis' and they were very friendly!

Cordial staff, good beers, great food…read more Live music is what you make of it with open mic nights. They also have a great outdoor area weather permitting.

Good irish bar. We came here around 4pm for an early dinner before our ferry to Wellington and it…read moredidn't disappoint. It got steadily busier as it got closer to 5pm with the line by the time we left. We tried the garlic bread with cheese again and still disappointed with the amount of garlic. However, the rest of the food was good. We got fish and chips again and the fish was lightly breaded and flakey and chips were crisp on the outside and potatoey on the inside. We also got the Guinness stew which was good as well (not as good as the stew I had the Guinness brewery but that's high bars).

How can this place only have 6 reviews?!? Whoever gets off the 3.5 hour ferry from Wellington to…read morePicton needs to stop at this place! It's inviting, delicious, super cozy, and fun. We got our pint of Guinness and enjoyed the amazing eats! Highly recommend this place if you're in this quaint little New Zealand town.

Fantastic mussels, seafood chowder and dark beer!! We came…read morein hungry and we left with big grim in our face. We were looking for another place for live mussels and that place was closed. So it's just a coincidence we found this place. We are very pleased with their friendly services, cute waiter and excellent food!!

Fantastic food, great service, wonderful atmosphere, good selection of booze. All around a great…read morerestaurant!

Approaching Plan B from the street, you might think it was someone's house. Make your way past the…read moreoutdoor tables, and you'll get to a simply decorated restaurant and bar with covered outdoor seating. The staff was super-friendly and more than willing to find out the answers to our foodie questions. Check the chalkboard, or ask the owner/chef, and you'll discover the answer to why it's called Plan B. I had an open-faced steak sandwich with fries, and my wife had the chowder. Both were very good - fresh and flavorful. But save room for the desserts: mine was a chocolate brownie with iced cream, hers was an Adult Sundae, both were excellent, but the surprise delight was getting to sample the dessert chef's newest experiment, a mini molten lava chocolate cake sort of thing which was incredible. Who knows what he might be experimenting on when you visit...!

Really great! The food was exceptional and way larger portions than we could eat! Good service and…read morea decent craft beer selection. I highly recommend this place for dinner.

Great place. Nice staff. They were very attentive and cooked the meal just as we asked. Strong…read moreWiFi, which is hard to find in NZ. Good menu. This is worth your time!

Quick service and wide variety on their menu…read more I got the garden salad and the chicken bruschetta. I don't recommend the chicken bruschetta as there wasn't anything resembling a bruschetta at all on the plate and it was quite bland, but the salad was delicious! I'd come here again and order something else.