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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.
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.
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).
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.
The Māpua Wharf setting complements the food, and you can watch the boats go by while dining on quality produce (organic when possible) washed down with Nelson wines, ciders, and craft beers. All bread is baked in-house, the coffee is great, and the menu serves a mix of small and large plates. You can dine inside or outside. Once an apple packing shed, this restaurant utilizes its waterfront location perfectly.
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