Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
Sorry! We don't have any recommendations for Upper South Island and the West Coast right now.
In Marlborough visit a winery restaurant—there's no better way to ensure that your meal suits what you're drinking. Cloudy Bay clams are harvested here, salmon and Greenshell mussels are farmed in the Marlborough Sounds, and local crops—besides grapes—include cherries and garlic. In Kaikoura try crayfish. The region is named after this delicacy (In M?ori, kai means "food" and koura means "lobster"). Nelson is also famous for seafood, in particular scallops, and for fresh produce and, yes, for wine. On the West Coast, try the local delicacy whitebait fritters—a sort of omelet filled with the whitebait—tiny, young eel-like fish netted at river mouths as they migrate upstream in late spring.
Some restaurants in more remote tourist regions close in winter (June through August); others may curtail their hours. In summer, all doors are open and it's best to make reservations. If a restaurant is open on a major holiday, it may add a surcharge to your bill.
Year-round, the restaurants and cafés around the glaciers and other remote spots can be quick to close their doors at night. Arrive by 8:30 (it's sometimes even earlier in winter) or you might go hungry. Some of the smallest towns, including Punakaiki, settlements in the Marlborough Sounds, and parts of Golden Bay, have few cafés and no general stores, so bring your own supplies.
This wholesome foodie café is a local institution, a few minutes' walk north of town and worth the trip. In the morning you'll find tasty free-range eggs and bacon, plus freshly baked, genuinely stone-ground whole-grain bread served with marmalade or their own honey. The lunch and dinner menus use organic ingredients wherever possible, and there are wheat- and gluten-free options as well. On sunny days, snag a table on the veranda.
Chef–owner Kevin Hopgood focuses on using regional produce and regularly wins national restaurant awards for this small, eponymously named bistro-restaurant. Along with the à la carte menu, Hopgoods offers a five-course degustation tasting spectacle, plus an ever-changing two- or three-course bistro-style menu on Monday and Tuesday. This dinner spot is likely to be busy, though the service is always attentive and discreet.
The food at this all-day café is great (a huge breakfast menu, burgers at lunch, beef rib eye, and lamb cutlets for dinner) but the scenery steals the show. If the weather plays ball you'll be able to enjoy a memorably stunning view: an amphitheater of mountains (Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman) and, in the foreground, tall kahikatea forest. Lunches include salads, curries, risottos, burgers, and bagels while evening has the classics: pork belly, rib-eye steak, salmon, Merino (lamb) leg, and pastas are served.
They started brewing beer on the West Coast right here in 1868, and now the modern version of the brewery offers a full restaurant, a brewing museum, brewery tours and, of course, lots of fresh brews. The restaurant serves standard Kiwi fare, along with tapas and platters to match the beers. The brewery tours (NZ$35 includes tastings) will be in the hands of an expert brewer. You can also get your own, personally labeled bottle (NZ$10).
Swing by the Mussel Inn for a quintessential slice of Golden Bay life: music, craft beer, and darn good pub food. Locals come for the live music (most evenings in summer), mussel chowder, steamed mussels, or goat curry, washed down with house-brewed beer and ciders. A favorite is the Captain Cooker—brewed first from native manuka leaves by Captain Cook to combat scurvy on his ships. With rough sawn timber, handmade furniture, outdoor fire pit, and a big rambling garden, it’s very much a "Kiwi woolshed meets Aussie farmhouse" feel here.
This is definitely one of the best on-the-road cafés in the whole area. Friendly locals serve great breakfasts and wholesome, homemade lunches to both passersby and the campers in the adjacent Department of Conservation campsite. The venison pies are great, too. It's located beside the rocky, tree-lined Pelorus River, where the hobbits in Lord of the Rings performed their famous "Barrel Scene." It's usually busy in January and February, but the staff takes the crowds in stride. A bonus is the swimming hole down the track just across the road.
At this café, shop, and produce market in a former church, enjoy breakfasts of French toast, free-range eggs Benedict, or free-range eggs cooked any way you like. Then stock up for your holiday travels from the food market. Or you can just chill over a wholesome lunch like the excellent slow-roast lamb burger. There's also an interesting kids' menu, and you can indulge in the cakes and berry ice creams anytime. Beverages include fresh brews from the Townshend Brewery next door. Weekend dinners in summer feature music performances.
One of those cozy, buzzing places so prevalent on the West Coast, The Alice May serves country fare that is good and plentiful, with a welcome range of light meals (fish-and-chips, curries, venison burgers) and more substantial main courses (slow roasted pork belly, beef cheeks, and good vegetarian options). The wine and beer lists are stacked with mainstream NZ favorites. The Alice can get very busy over summer. Courtesy car available on request.
This big, indoor–outdoor café–restaurant overlooking a rolling surf beach on State Highway 1 makes one of the best road stops in the area (maybe even the whole country). You can choose lunch from a selection of prepared dishes or order from the menu. You'll find it halfway between Kaikoura and Blenheim. It's a beautiful, wild spot with the Kaikoura Mountains towering in the background. There's a huge log fire inside and a large outdoor deck with several private garden areas. Just make sure you stop early because it usually closes by 4 pm.
The owners spent years restoring this old pub, and now the place hums with activity and tasty food. Locally cured bacon, venison patties, wild (bush) pork sliders, house-made pies, and salads all vie for attention on the breakfast/brunch/lunch menus. Bar snacks and baked goods are offered all-day, and dinner steps up with a stylish à la carte menu. Riders from the local cycle trail will be staying here; there's also a great local scene with live music and community events.
Sign up for Travel Tips & News
Thank you for your interest!
