Pegasus Bay Winery - Waipara

Stunning Winery/Tasting-Room/Restaurant with an amazing garden compete with bubbling brooks and quaint little red foot bridges. Typical NZ charm taken to level 10 as kiwis like to do The staff were all incredibly engaging and friendly as. This is a great stop on your wine tour, wine-noobs and -snobs alike will find cause for celebration, photos and I quite sure come away with a few bottles.

After hearing rave things about this place, we decided to stop here on our drive down to Christchurch. Was a mediocre at best. Staff were rude and unhelpful (made us wait 30 minutes for a table saying they didn 't have any available despite 3 empty tables that remained empty. Yes they could have been 'no shows ' but three tables?? The food itself was all appearance with no flavor. Really quite over-priced given the quality of the food. No-one really uses Yelp in New Zealand, (except for the odd tourist ; so heed my warning, you can find much better food else where.

The best of everything matched with fantastic service. A 'must do ' while in the region along with the Truffle Festival.

Booking for lunch recommended! Great wines and cheese platter in beautiful grounds.

I loved this restaurant. We went on the recommendation of a Kiwi friend and she was spot on. We had a killer duck starter followed by a pork dish to share that rocked my world. The duck was served with fresh herbs, faro, and a sour marinated plumb. The pork was three cuts (stomach, hock, tail prepared thee ways (grilled, stewed, deep fried with creamy polenta, kraut style slaw (no mayo and a gorgeous side salad with edible flowers. Everything paired well: right up to the chef thoughtfully ensuring that the dressing on the salad didn't conflict with the tartness of the slaw. Best of all, nothing was too salty, which can be a challenge with pork. Each dish we ate was balanced not just in taste but also texture, color, and presentation. They change the menu seasonally so it's unlikely they will have the same thing again but the staff knows the dishes very well, so tell them your preferences and ask for a recommendation. Not to be missed IMHO. Save your money up and spend it on a luxurious meal here, it's so worth it. There are also beautiful gardens to stroll through. There are tasting flights of wine on offer. However, I really loved their dry Riesling (although it was more halbtrocken to my limited experience . NZ wines do tend to lean a little sweet. All that said, please realize that this is a vineyard with a tasting room. Even if the gardens are nice, leave your beloved progeny with a sitter and come here on a proper date. Although the staff treated all (5! children present at the tables around us with respect, this restaurant really isn't the right environment for kids. The Winery is little off the nearest highway, but well marked from the main road, with plenty of parking. Lastly, if you like the style of food here Ortolana in downtown Auckland has a similar style and balance to their dishes.