The view here is breathtaking, especially with the vineyard right next to the estate. Everything from the architecture of the building to the interior design here exudes elegance and beauty. Since we biked uphill to the winery, at first I was worried that we didn't look the part, a little sweaty and disheveled. But one thing about Kiwis as far as our 10-day trip had taught us is that they are the most down to earth and laid back folks. So as expected, we were greeted with lots of smiles upon entering the estate. After the tasting, we sat down for some delicious thin-crust pizza and wine in their outdoor area, overlooking the bay and Auckland a distance away, sort of the best way to end our NZ trip after almost a week of camping in the van. So why only 3 stars? Well, the tasting part of our visit was unfortunately, a really unpleasant experience. As we entered Cellar Door, their tasting room, the lady who poured our wine was showing every sign of unwillingness to show us any bit of hospitality. Every conversation was prompted by me: Are all grapes grown on site? How many varietals? How does this region differ from the South Island? All of her answers were terse and her expression fixed somewhere between boredom and indifference with no smile. Detecting her accent, I asked where she is from in the States. "Chicago area." "Oh cool. We're from the bay Area." Silence. "Did you work in the industry before moving to New Zealand?" "Yes." Silence. "As a somm?" "As a wine maker. I studied wine making." "Oh cool. The college I went to is huge on Oenology. Is that what you studied?" "No, Viticulture." Silence. After a little more effort from us to engage in small talk, given that there were 4 different wines to try and we were the only people in the tasting room, she briefly mentioned how she was selected for some Mario Batali program to be in Italy, and before that she interned in New York. "Manhattan," she made that very clear in a snobby tone. Everything tells me that she hated to be serving us, like she was too good for it. Then a couple of locals walked into the tasting room, perhaps people she knew. She erupted into a loud greeting, "hey YOU GUYS!" I was seriously surprised to see that this woman was capable of joy. At one point we joked that maybe we looked like people she hated back at home. And despite that I really liked their Pinot (it was a very interesting Pinot, more Oregon than California), i whispered to my fiance that I just don't like her and don't want her to benefit in any way from me ordering a case of wine to ship home, something I was more than interested in doing before coming in. So we walked out to eat lunch, where all the restaurant staff were much more friendly. I'd come here for the beautiful view and the yummy lunch (at which you can just simply order their wine to enjoy table side, since tasting is not free anyway). read more

Great scenery, breathtaking views. Good wine as well! The Pinot I had was out of this world!

GREAT Wine Cellar With Some Terrific choices. Our hostess(nicky) was very good at explaining the different wines. Also appreciated that she raised the decibel level of her voice (new Zealanders are quite soft spoken as opposed to loudmouth Americans). Food smelled awesome. I wish I had some but the wine took precedent. read more

A nice 20 min walk up the hill from the ferry port. This is the first vineyard you'll stumble upon. We arrived late in the day so we were on a mission to hit up a few tasting rooms in early June before they closed. It was about $10 AUD to try a flight. The wines were very good and the view was incredible. We would have stayed for dinner but wanted to get up the road to Mudbrick before they closed. Awesome first stop on our Waiheke adventure. read more

Amazing, we were seen immediately, seated and had water within a minute. Drink orders were taken once we had water and we had both drinks and food within 10 minutes. Very impressed by the attentive service !! read more

While the food and wine were excellent, the service and slow kitchen overshadowed both. It took 40 minutes to receive our appetizers and then another 55 minutes to receive our mains (an hour and 35 mins after we ordered). My wife ordered a main with a few changes and it was only after 40 minutes had passed that they told us they couldn't do it. Completely unacceptable. The table next to us walked out and at least 3 others complained to the manager. They won't make it if they don't improve the experience. read more

First the view. Stunning. If you eat on the terrace, mainly snacks and tapas, but definitely worth it the slow cooked lamb is yummy and the pumpkins hummus wow...could have 2. Wine is of course up the standard. Definitely a nice wineyard to go for a chilling Sunday or whatever day brunch read more

The day we visited was a cold winter Wednesday for lunch. It meant only the Verandah, the more casual dining option, was available but it suited us nicely. The menu has mezze plates for sharing and 3 mains. We each took a main; the pizza and the lamb skewers with a bulgar salad. Both were sensational, wonderful flavours and nicely presented. read more

Small portions but incredible food. View was amazing! Bit pricey but worth it. Great wines as well.

Beautiful vineyard with delicious wines! If you're dressed properly, find the walking path instead of taking a shuttle. The walk is fun & ends with a fantastic view. read more

We had a special family lunch at Cable Bay recently on a cold and wet winter's day. We arrived to a very welcoming greeting from the duty manager/maître d' Alan and were seated at a table near the floor to ceiling windows that had it been a fine day would have yielded a splendid view out over the water. Still a lovely fire provided much needed warmth and atmosphere and we were soon perusing the menu. Menus in hand we then proceeded to scan the wonderful offerings. The fact that it was lunch time meant not a jot as I ran through entrees, mains and desserts - this was going to be the full monty. To start we liked the look of everything so we decided to get one of each: Green olives, pickled garlic, rosemary, orange, fennel; Freshly Baked Ciabatta, EVOO, whipped butter, tapenade; Duck Liver Pâté, sherry jelly, almonds & brioche toast and Salted bluenose brandade, lemon peel, parsley & sour dough. Despite the wind and rain outside we thought we were in heaven at this stage. A wonderful array of flavours and tastes and we hadn't even got to the entrees! More awful (in the nicest possible way) choices to make for the entrée. Variously we had the Cured salmon, crème fraiche, squid ink, cucumber, grapefruit, fennel; Braised game & carrot open ravioli; Roast artichoke, crayfish, shitake, bresaola (air-dried, salted beef), truffle jus and local oysters, chardonnay vinegar sorbet & lemon. I had the crayfish dish which was absolutely divine. Everyone else declared their choices exquisite. Time for the mains. I went for the Free range pork, parsnip cream, braised quince, swiss chard, mustard was just sensational and perfectly matched with the Cable Bay Vineyards Syrah 2012. I really like parsnip and am rather partial to quince so there were so real bonuses with this dish. Deb went for the Line caught fish, roast cauliflower, mussels, caper, lemon & nasturtium and it didn't disappoint - moist as it should be (and often isn't) and flavoursome. The rest of the gang variously chose Beef fillet, braised shin, black garlic, charred onion, leek, brown butter potato; Merino lamb rump, green wheat, carrot, date, yoghurt & chestnut and the Spelt & potato gnocchi, walnut milk, grilled cos, broccoli, maple. They all sounded wonderful, looked amazing and the tastes and flavours were sensational. Given the special nature of the event, I had ordered in advance what turned out to be a gorgeous decadent chocolate cake which had the added bonus of being able to be cut to requested size. We loved the whole Cable Bay dining experience. Wonderful and warm service - nothing was too much trouble. Unbelievably superb food. One of those "we'll always remember" experiences. And full marks to Cable Bay for being so helpful in organising the celebratory cake. They made our big day very special. Thank you Alan, Josh and Liz. Can't wait to go back. So if you're looking for a superb outing, a day trip to Waiheke for lunch at the Cable Bay Winery & Restaurant could not be beaten. In a word - faultless read more

This was my first visit to a vineyard in Waiheke. Wish I would have chosen Mudbrick down the road instead and trusted the mixed reviews. I arrived right after opening at 11am. The staff working in the cellar weren't very kind. When I asked if they gave tours, they informed me that they must be booked ahead and could only be done in groups. Not very accommodating to solo travelers. Considering I was visiting on a Monday with little foot traffic, I feel like an exception could have been made. I wandered into the dining room for lunch. The food was mediocre and overpriced. Disappointed that I had to throw half of my pizza away because they didn't provide takeaway boxes. Overall, a very sad experience. I might try any other of the handful of wineries if I were you. Only positive was my waitress was very kind and attentive. I can thank her for being the small light in an otherwise negative experience. read more

If you are thinking of coming to waiheke for this, skip it and the wine is average and overpriced.The only good thing about this place was the view, the staff were terrible and treated me and my group very poorly. We each got a a glass of wine and some food, but two waiters asked us to return our beanbags because they were reserved for paying customers..which we were. Very rudely spoken to by a French waiter when I comforted them about it. read more

Amazing location, great atmosphere and views... Service however is nothing to be desired, pretentious staff who don't seem to have any care in the world or understand the concept of time and serving in a timely manner. Our group was also questioned whether we understood that a bottle of Taittinger was $145 like we were not in a position to afford it! read more

Fantastic bay view, great food, we bathed in the sunshine and enjoyed the food. What a good day!

We had the most amazing experience at this vinyard! Marius and Adrian were the best, we were never hurried and we felt like we were the only people there. The most breath taking views and sunset. Highly recommended! Thanks again for the super night Marius!! ( and the ride home ;) read more