Restaurants in Marlborough & Nelson
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Shoreline
A spiffy, modern cafe-bar-restaurant right on the beach. Punters chill on the sunny deck, lingering over panini, pizzas, pasta or fresh fish, but you can also just pop in for coffee and a jumbo muffin. Erratic winter hours; take-away booth out the back.
reviewed
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Indian Café
This open-plan, saffron-coloured Edwardian villa houses an Indian restaurant that keeps the bhaji raised with impressive interpretations of Anglo-Indian standards, such as chicken tandoori, rogan josh and beef madras. Share the mixed platter to start, then mop up your mains with one of 10 different breads.
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Hislops
This snappy, feel-good cafe maintains its reputation for fresh, wholesome food. Start the morning with fruit salad and toasted muesli, then come back at night for organic meats plus great seafood, veg and vegan choices. The caramelised-pumpkin and blue-cheese salad is delicious.
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Beach House Café & Bar
Serving the best brunch and coffee in town, this chipper roadside cafe garners more than its fair share of the passing trade. Sit on the front terrace or back deck and reconstitute with green eggs and ham, fish and chips or seafood chowder. Good counter food, too.
reviewed
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Slip Inn
Feel appropriately maritime in this surprisingly slick restaurant and bar in the thick of the marina. Its signature dishes are the mussels, as well as beer-battered blue cod, pizza, pasta specials and home-made dessert. Good for a cruise-by beer-stop, too.
reviewed
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Hot Mama's Cafe
Hot Mama's Cafe This breezy, open-fronted food room is the funkiest café in town, and the best spot to down a few local lagers to boot. Repair last night's damage with a Hangover Brekkie (eggs, bacon, spicy sausage etc), or close out the day with a Hardcore Prawn or Bombay Chicken pizza before adjourning to the bar, hip lounge area or balmy courtyard. Plenty of laughter; excellent wine list; live bands, jam nights and DJs on summer weekends.
reviewed
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Mussel Inn
Halfway between Takaka and Collingwood, this earthy tavern-cafe-brewery is a Bay institution. A totem pole with crucified mobile phones heralds the mood: this is no place for urban trappings, just excellent beer, wholesome food (mussels, seasonal scallops, fresh fish and steak), open fires and live music. Try a handle or two of ‘Captain Cooker’, a brown beer brewed naturally with manuka, or the delicious ‘Pale Whale Ale’.
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Lambretta’s
Feeding what seems like half of Nelson, Lambretta’s is a continually busy diner-style joint with ample seating inside and out. Family friendly, the big-eatin’ offerings include breakfast, lunch and dinner (pizza, pasta, salad) and hearty counter food along the lines of humongous muffins, pies, filled croissants and sandwiches. Good coffee, too.
reviewed
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Bellafico
A mainstream, main-street eatery with a huge wine and beer list that makes great reading. The menu drifts from light afternoon fare into evening mains with an emphasis on local produce (shellfish, venison, rabbit, field-mushroom paté) cooked with Italian zest. Beware the easy-listening soundtrack, sometimes emanating from a human.
reviewed
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Jester House
A perennially popular highway stop, as much for its tame eels (which you can feed) as for the peaceful sculpture gardens that encourage you to linger over lunch. A short, simple menu puts a few twists into the staples (wild pork burger, lavender shortbread), and there’s Mussel Inn beers and local wine. It’s 8km to Mapua or Motueka.
reviewed
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Green Dolphin
Quality Kaikoura fish Asian style, and the omnipresent bovine, ovine and lobstery treats, all made with care and a fondness for good local produce. On busy nights, book ahead or nurse a cocktail or aperitif in the pleasant bar or garden. Those with foresight should plump for a table with a view by the floor-to-ceiling windows.
reviewed
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Hopgood’s
Tongue-and-groove-lined Hopgood’s is perfect for a romantic dinner or holiday treat. The food is decadent and skilfully prepared but unfussy, allowing quality local ingredients to shine. The Asian crispy duck followed by pork belly with watercress and apple purée was a knockout. Desirable, predominantly Kiwi wine list.
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Naked Possum Café
Relax at this splendid, nouveau-rustic joint after exploring the adjacent Kaituna Track and its goldmining relics and pretty river forks (two hours return). Outdoor fire, ample lawn, great beer and a possum tannery. Wild game a speciality. Book your spot at the popular Friday evening steak barbecue or Sunday roasts.
reviewed
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Park Café
Pretty much on the start of the Abel Tasman Coast Track, this breezy, licensed cafe is perfectly placed for fuelling up or restoring the waistline. High-calorie options include egg breakfast, fat cake, toasted sandwiches, nachos and pizza. Fine views and decent drinks make this a good spot for your sundowner.
reviewed
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Chokdee
Chokdee is Siamese for ‘good luck’, but you shouldn’t need it at this reliable and homely Thai restaurant. Plenty of spicy and fragrant offerings including tom yum soup, technicolour curries and oodles of noodles and rice dishes. The $9 lunch specials are great value. Takeaways are available.
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Raupo
An airy, high-ceilinged timber-and-stone building alongside the Opawa River. During the day there’s a satisfying cafe menu (brekkies, burgers, mussels, lamb shanks) and sweet treats, seguing into slightly more sophisticated fare in the evenings. Sheltered outdoor seating, and soft-jazz grooves on the stereo.
reviewed
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K
Café Cortado
A pleasant corner cafe with sneaky views of a harbour through the foreshore’s pohutukawa and palms. Quite possibly your best bet for a ‘sophisticated’ meal in a town with limited, decent dining of an evening. The menu focuses on local fish, steak, lamb, pizzas and salads, with bar snacks available too.
reviewed
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Wakamarinian Café
Heavenly home baking in a cute cottage. Get in early to grab one of the popular pies, or console yourself with proper quiche and a sweet slice – the raspberry and white-chocolate shortcake defies description. Great coffee and excellent value, too, from Beth and Laurie: Havelock’s culinary saviours.
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Hooked on Marahau
This place has the natives hooked – dinner reservations are prudent. The art-bedecked interior (local stuff) opens onto an outdoor terrace with meal-distracting views. Lunch lurks around sandwiches and salads, while the dinner menu hauls up fresh fish of the day, green-lipped mussels and NZ lamb.
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Le Café
Due credit for longevity and for food that the locals still favour; the space was a bit tired and the service dicey during research. The food, however, tasted made-from-scratch: salami sandwiches, quiche, pasta and mussels, plus sweet tart for afters. Great Havana coffee and occasional live gigs.
reviewed
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Zippy's
Zippy's décor is a confronting combo of purple, teal and red, and service is zippy indeed. Strictly vegetarian food includes burritos, salads and the ‘locally famous' chocolate afghans. Drinks include ice-cream shakes, chai and heart-startlingly rich, full-flavoured coffee.
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Stefano’s
Located upstairs in the State Cinema complex, Stefano’s wouldn’t win any awards for its decor. This Italian-run joint, however, does get top marks for traditional pizza – thin, crispy and delicious. Escape the movie-time madness and smell of popcorn on one of two balcony tables.
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Up the Garden Path
Perfect for lunch or a peppy coffee, this licensed cafe-gallery kicks back in an 1890s house amid idyllic gardens. Unleash the kids in the playroom and linger over your cheese platter, seafood chowder, laksa, pasta or lemon tart. Vegetarian, gluten- and dairy-free options, too.
reviewed
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P
Simply Indian
As the name suggests: no-nonsense curry in a no-frills setting. The food, however, is consistently good and relatively cheap. Expect the usual suspects such as tikka, tandoori, madras and vindaloo, and the ubiquitous naan prepared eight different ways. Takeaways are available.
reviewed
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Dangerous Kitchen
Dedicated to Frank Zappa (‘In the kitchen of danger, you can feel like a stranger’), DK specialises in gourmet pizzas and strong coffee, hefty slabs of cake and bumper burritos. Mellow and laid-back, with sun-trap courtyard out back, and people-watching patio on the main drag.
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