Big open interior with plenty of drink options and additional seating in the loft. Food was okay to…read moregood with fairly quick service. We went on a rainy day but I imagine this would be lovely on a summer night where you could sit on the patio. I would probably go again to try their feijoa cider ( seasonal) and try and experience during the summer

What a great place to try some excellent cider and get lunch. It was very busy during the summer…read moreholiday, so if time is a factor go elsewhere. For us, the wait was worth it, the staff were very friendly and helpful ( made sure we avoided some food allergies) and the views were amazing.

What a sweet find! Great service and wonderful wine!!! Stop by to enjoy the fine selection of wines…read moreand eating from full fare to sweet dessert assortments :) You will want to return a second time and third time...Please share your experiences and add to the Family Atmosphere!!! Cousy and super fantastic!!!

Quaint little yummy restaurant! The food was divine. The sous chef is a vegan so the vegetarian and…read moreGF options were top notch. The service was some of the best I have received while in NZ; very attentive without hovering. The entrance is just across from parking for the Karangahake Gorge bike path. I'm definitely keeping this spot in mind for a wedding location!

Decided to go for wine tasting after we had visited Skyline for the luge rides. We were able to use…read morethe gondola all evening as long as we still had the receipt so it was convenient to go back to the hotel, change, and return to Volcanic Hills. The view is beautiful and the tasting room is spacious and bright. The price for 5 tastes is very reasonable at only $20 NZ. Our servers were knowledgeable about the wine and the region. Surprisingly we loved the Chardonnay (not usually a fan)! Each of the wines were very unique, and we paid a little extra to taste the Tawny which was not included in the normal tasting menu. If you like Port, you'll enjoy the Tawny. All in all a lovely wine tasting experience!

Our tour group enjoyed a lovely afternoon at the winery during our recent trip to New Zealand…read more The wine was terrific and our hostess Paige was simply awesome. She made the visit even more enjoyable with her incredible personality and interaction with all of us. If you stop in make sure to sample the wines, and even ask Paige to dance for you....you won't be disappointed!!!

Aorangi Peak is a destination spot on the top of a mountain where you can dine, drink fine wine,…read moreget the best view in town, and sleep for the night. It's rather hard to get to but after spending a night here in there 4 room lodge I had to put this place on the yelp map. Restaurant: They're food is exquisite. We had a three course meal of deer carpaccio, mushroom soup, scallops, lamb and steak. It was so filling and delicious that for dessert we had to opt for just coffee. But I'm sure it would've been a treat. Their wine selection is also quite fantastic. The owner is a huge fanatic and he even has wine posters and a dusty wine cellar that you can choose from if you have the time. Lodging: The place we stayed in was huge. Four bedrooms with a total of 6 beds. There are signs on how to keep yourself safe from the possums and the extremely hot water of the area. The view from the backyard is actually a better view than you would get at the top of the gondola ride (which is a 40$ excursion in the town) Overall the experience was grand. The owner showed us his unique collection of antiques which included toys so archaic that describing them would need a history lesson.

Our stop here was by chance. We were quite hungry and looking for a quick lunch on our drive from…read moreAuckland to Rotorua. We pulled into an unassuming building and were greeted by some wonderful smells inside. We tried a sampling cheese plate and a selection of other goodies. The inside was a bit spartan, but had everything we required. Service was a little on the slower side, but it was off-season. To be honest, it gave us just the break from driving we needed. Everything was delicious, service was friendly, and we bought a little cheese for the road.

Few food options for sale (it was fall there so maybe they put out more in the busier summer…read moremonths) but they do have foodservice options, great coffee and pastries...and oh so important - free wifi for which they give you a code on a slip of paper and once entered the code us good for an hour. Nice stop between Coromandel and Taupo.

Over the Moon cheese factory was a delicious stop that was only slightly out of our way between…read moreLake Taupo and Rotorua. It would have been an even more convenient stop between Hobbiton/Matamata and Rotorua. Street parking was available next to the building. It wasn't busy when we arrived in the afternoon on a Sunday, and they greeted us right away to do the free tasting. It was conducted in a smaller, cooler room, with baskets of their cheeses lining the wall. Our guide/server was very friendly. We tried a handful of their more popular cheeses, and left with some delicious wedges to enjoy on the road. I liked their classic Just Ewe semihard cheese, which had a simple and light sheep's milk flavor, almost an even lighter flavor than basques that I've tried in the past. The peppercorn brie was unique, offering a kick of peppercorn flavor that paired very well with the mild nuttiness of the brie. They provided an ice pack to help keep the cheese cool while I was on the road, a nice touch. They also make coffee beverages here. Their long black was good, perfect for the drive ahead. Recommend for a stop!

If there's one place you should stop at when driving through Putaruru, this is it!…read more Over the Moon is an award-winning creamery that makes their cheese onsite at their shop front in Putaruru. Out back is a big industrial kitchen and in front, a temperature controlled cheese room & store front. Here the expert staff are happy to talk you through their different cheeses but if i'm honest, i've never had a bad one! My favourites would have to be their halloumi (the perfect amount of squeak and it hold it's shaped when fried, unlike some other NZ halloumi) and their washed rind, which is deliciously creamy but not too strong. They also sell coffee, crackers and chutney!

Definitely definitely definitely give this place a miss- there are so many cafes with fantastic…read morefood around town now, which are far superior to Mills Reef. This is really a convention centre masquerading as a restaurant- it lacks atmosphere and refinement. For a restaurant which considers itself 'fine dining' the staff, food and dining room lack finesse. We made a booking for a very special occasion for 11.30am. When we arrived we were told that if we ordered within 5 minutes we could order from the brunch menu as opposed to the lunch menu. This appealed to 3 out of 4 of our guests. When the maitre'd came back to us to take our order, he refused to let one guest order from the lunch menu, and the other three from the brunch menu. He said that the chefs don't allow one table to order from different menus. While incredibly frustrating, this wasn't the end of the world. We eventually all ordered- and three meals arrived all at once. We had to wait over 5 minutes for the last meal to arrive. All of the hot meals were served on cold plates! It made for a really unenjoyable experience. One of the hot meals arrived absolutely stone cold, and the bacon was severely undercooked- bordering on raw. We sent the cold meal back, and it arrived back at the table 10 minutes later having been obviously microwaved (everything, including the toast was nuked but soggy). In the mean time another member of our party had ordered a side of hollandaise sauce, because the hollandaise had been omitted from their eggs bene for some reason? It took over 10 minutes for the hollandaise to arrive at the table, and it had completely curdled and been cooked on top- it was like scrambled eggs and completely inedible. Overall the experience was horrendous. I can't recommend this place less. It's not even about the price point- but you can get a far superior meal from an upmarket cafe for a much cheaper price in town. Don't buy in to the hype- Mills Reef is incredibly dated, and the food is absolutely abysmal. To apologise for the horrible experience, we were given a $4 discount on our bill, which is borderline insulting. We didn't want or expect a discount, and were happy to pay and just never return. But after the appalling meal and service, to only offer a $4 discount? Don't even bother offering a discount at all. Unbelievable. Never again.

Good food. Our table ordered a varied selection of Mains and desserts. I ordered an eye fillet…read morewhich was cooked perfectly although I would have expected more veges on the plate. For dessert I ordered a chocolate mousse which was delish. My wife have a cheese board which was expectationaly generous. The decor is a bit inconsistent. Where we sat it felt Like sitting in a factory. Would visit again when in the area.

Our second meal here was much better (service and food). We were seated at a nice table inside with…read moreviews to the beach. I ordered a beet salad with goat cheese, arugula, almonds, shredded chicken and balsamic vinegar. My husband ordered a steak with potatoes. We had a yummy brownie sundae for dessert. Ben was a good server.

Great location, good food, good service Had the Rosti tower…read moreand hubs had chowder, both recommended. Good coffee.