Our group of 19 came for dinner tonight as part of our tour. Everyone loved the roasted tomato soup…read moreand especially appreciated the temperature..hot ! The steak lovers had a variety of reviews as the preparation was inconsistent . Our table was happy with the medium to medium rare presentation , but another tables came so well done they were disappointed . Not part of our group , but I saw a tray of steaks returning to kitchen that were so rare they were not edible. One of the highlights was our sweet and attentive young waitress who came by every few minutes to refill our glasses. The dessert of crème brûlée was perfectly prepared .

This was a beautiful winery we visited during the summer. It's very historical and you can hear or…read moreread about the winery's history of moving. They also have quite a few old bottles on display. The entrance is very beautiful and make sure to check out the bottle in the floor of the doorway when you walk through the entrance. The wine tasting was pleasant and the person giving it was knowledgeable. We tasted both whites and reds, but we didn't end up buying anything. Our tour guide gave us a mission estate wine glass as a moment though, so that was sweet. Aside from the wine tastings they do in the main area, there is also a restaurant off to the side that I don't think is affiliated with the winery part. There is a nice backyard area with pretty views and flowers.

This place is so unique and beautiful! There's an old-fashioned sweet shop, gift shop, café,…read moreprivate event room, life-size metal animal sculptures and live animals including ostriches and ducks. All of it is in a lovely garden setting. They have nice spots to sit outside including picnic tables, patio tables and chairs and a swing for two. Our tour guide told us not to sit in the café because the service was slow. He lives nearby so we took his word for it. The prices in the gift shop were high but the items for sale were distinctive. I recommend enjoying the ambience and buying some sweets to go.

Still a gorgeous garden with interesting sculptures and beautiful things in the shop…read more Unfortunately the service level hasn't improved. Tasty but expensive scone arrived first. Then, after we had eaten the scone, coffees arrived. One had been spilled so the server insisted on replacing which is good. My coffee however was tepid and I drank it in two minutes and then we had to wait again for the final coffee to arrive. This place could be amazing and 5 star if only they could get their act together.

Excellent tasting by Zara, third generation wine family member. Very, very knowledgeable and super…read morefriendly. Totally recommend a stop here.

I stopped in recently with my boyfriend on our little homemade wine tour. This was one of the…read morehigher rated wineries on Google, which after our experience, I was a bit surprised about. We drove up, and the tasting room looks like it's in their corporate office. You can literally see the office through glass windows from the tasting room. Slight buzzkill. It doesn't seem as though the whole ambiance is really thought out, it seemed a bit thrown together. All good though, I came to taste wine, not to see a beautiful tasting room (I saved that for other wineries). The tasting fee is $7.50 per person, waived with a purchase. We walked in, excited to try the wines that Google people said were so good. When we got in the tasting room, there was one other couple in there. The woman working behind the counter completely ignored us for a solid 5 minutes after we closed the door behind us. I'm not sure why, but it got to the point where I asked my boyfriend if we should just leave. She kept trying to force conversation with the other couple instead of acknowledging us. It was a bit awkward. When she finally came around, she explained the tasting process to us. She obviously had her little speil down, and she went through it, giving us minimal information on each wine while we tasted. We were the only people in there after starting our tasting, and I'm not sure why she didn't want to talk to us, but she obviously didn't. Maybe she was having a rough day. I asked her a few questions about the wines and aging (I worked in wine for 3 years, so I speak the language), but she seemed bored and uninterested in having a conversation with us. Anyway, the wines were good, and we bought one, but we felt so awkward being there that we kind of just tried to get out as quickly as possible. All in all, the location is very mediocre (not a beautiful winery), the staff was not the friendliest, but the wine was good.

It's always a bit of a crap shoot when vacationing and trying to find a good spot for dinner…read more Emporium was a winner for us today. We made a reservation online although when we arrived it wasn't too busy and we were able to get a seat outside on the sidewalk. As most places do not have A/C in town, this was preferable to the somewhat warm restaurant. Our nice server Michaela took good care of us and made some good food recommendations. We started with the prawn toasts (indescribable but REALLY good), then followed with Fish and chips (light and good) and the coconut chicken salad which was shaved cucumber, poached chicken, coconut, and peanuts with a light refreshing dressing-quite good (according to my spouse). A bottle of Rose topped things off. The menu has quite a lot of choices so it should be easy for most people to find something that interests them. Nice food, nice service, nice meal.

Location is great, in the heart of the Art Deco city center, a half block from the tourist…read moreinformation office. Service was fine. A little inattentive, but we got everything we asked for, we just had to ask for everything. We had fish and chips. There was a lot of fish, flaky and perfectly cooked. The chips (fries for us Americans) were really really good, seasoned and crispy outside, potato-y inside. All-in-all, a welcoming a reasonable lunch.

One of the best!…read more Unison winery is a somewhat unassuming place but as we found out looks can be deceiving. Of the wineries we visited in the two days in the area including many of the big names, Unison wines were our favorite. We started our tasting with their Blush Rose (driest of the 3 they make). It is made from 3 grapes-cab, Merlot, Syrah -and was excellent, refreshing-and perfect for summertime. Next was their 2015 Rocky red blend: merlot 60%, cab-40% and at only only NZ$22-tastes like a much more expensive wine-rich and full. Next came the 2013 Reserve Merlot-which was an excellent year-wonderful expression of the grape. The 2013 Classic blend Gimblett gravels-merlot was our next choice -a cab Syrah merlot blend-good but I liked Rocky Red better. Next we sampled the 2013 Syrah Gimblett Gravels-good as well, light spice notes and finally the 2013 Blend "Selection" from-Gimblett Gravels-60% cab, 40 merlot-French oak-classic, big style blend-superb. We liked things so much we had some wine shipped from the winery back to the states. They can arrange that for you at the winery which is nice. While perhaps a bit less grand on the outside from some of the area wineries, the product here is the true star. Highly recommended

Went here with my husband, toddler son and uncle. The wine tasting fee is $5 per person. We had a…read morevery knowledgeable pourer and the overall quality of the wines was great. We particularly enjoyed the reserve merlot. They had a dining area here and the menu had some tasty-looking options, but we did not eat there. I was overjoyed to see that they had a large outside play area for children, with a swing set, sandbox, small house and balls and hula hoops. This was super helpful in keeping our son occupied so that we could enjoy the tasting.

Moana Park is an allergy friendly, Vegan, Boutique winery. Since the owners have food…read moresensitivities they are all about naturally produced wines at this small boutique winery in Hawkes Bay. They are only one of three low allergy wineries and can even qualify as vegan, and they have very low sulfites. We sat outside under a big shade for our tasting which was very relaxed and casual. Like many of the wineries they Farm fruit in many spots around the region and produce a wide selection of wines. We tasted: -Rose-gimblett gravels, Merlot-based-nice -Sauvignon Blanc-very much in the traditional NZ style, with lots of green grass -Pinot Gris-seemed to me to have a bit of an off flavor, -2014 Pinot noir-Hawkes Bay-very nice, 4 years in bottle We also tasted some Reserve wines including the 2014 merlot and theirSyrah from Gimblett gravels Their wines were good and we enjoyed the tasting. The only thing spoiling the ambiance was the cannon going off on regular intervals as their natural means of keeping the birds from stealing the grapes. Worth a visit

The food was excellent here. It is a beautiful restaurant, and the service was outstanding.read more

Everything best food in town best atmosphere and the people are the best if the Michelin star came…read moreto Napier Mr D's would get 1 or more love what they do

Wow, just wow in every way. If you are planning a tasting trip through Napier, I strongly recommend…read moreputting this at the top of your list. It was the final winery we visited but by far the most comprehensive experience and ultimately our favorite. The tasting room and winery grounds are breathtaking, especially with the craggy looking mountain range in the backdrop, appropriately named! The outside has a generous parking lot with a beautiful color blocked design to the tasting room and restaurant. We stopped by the tasting room first which had a large wooden tasting bar and warm red painted walls. The large windows open up to reveal the vineyards and lush green grounds. We enjoyed a tasting and particularly liked the Riesling and the Syrah. We decided to have lunch out on the restaurant patio which overlooks the beautiful green lawn, the pond with relaxing water features, and of course the beautiful mountain range. The setting is picturesque and one of the highlights of our trip. I ordered steak and the husband had a chicken main and they were presented like works of art. They were almost too beautiful too eat, but when we did they were amazing. We also had a side of potatoes which were crispy and delicious. This is an absolute must see and plan to dine here if you're a foodie, you won't be disappointed.

An amazing experience and beautiful location. Not only was the team exceptional but the…read moreaccommodations were amazing. I highly recommend this as part of your New Zealand journey. The Giants tour was beyond amazing and once in a lifetime experience, follow that with lunch at the restaurant. Just wow!