Wairau River Wines Cellar Door & Restaurant

Worst service and human interaction experienced in New Zealand. In a country of such polite people and friendly people I have never been treated so rudely until visiting this winery today. Highly recommend if you don’t mind being treated like dirt

After reading the reviews here I can see that my view of Wairau River Staff are very similar to others. Myself, my Mum and my Son called in around 11am for lunch (not realising that lunch started at 12) the two women talking to each other constantly were very uninterested is us even being there. We were told lunch was at 12 and the kitchen was busy preparing, were also told how busy there day was. We were then told we could go down the road for brunch etc. While we were standing there they then continued to talk to each other while we walked away. Very uninterested in us even being there. Very disappointed with how they made us feel. Will never go back!

We were ignored for a long time at the tasting table and the restaurant. After ordering our burgers, it took over 45 minutes for them to arrive. The burgers themselves were fine, it was really the wait and being ignored that was disappointing.

A mediocre winery with a lot of great marketing photos on-line, but totally misses the mark in terms of providing a great experience. Service is ok but not spectacular.

This winery would benefit significantly from researching what other wineries do worldwide in terms of tasting flights with meals, etc.

The wines were not very good.even the reserve wines tasted young.

We had lunch and a tasting here and just loved it! The place was crazy busy but despite all the stress to serve people, they took good care of us, great service, kept their humour and were just super nice! The food is excellent.the beef salad was Devine and the pate just perfect! Loved the experience.thank you!

In a lovely setting for lunch we enjoyed an excellent meal accompanied by some nice wine. The chowder was delicious! Out waitress was very helpful when the weather turned sour and found us a table inside.

Thank you Lynette for a great wine tasting experience. Great wine knowledge and awesome service. Gave some great recommendations on things to see nearby.
Great cellar door and restaurant.

Food was great, grounds are stunning. The only reason this place gets 3 stars was the tasting with Virginia was absolutely dreadful. I am a Sommelier by trade, and have visited dozens of wineries in my time, and I have never been treated so rudely by a representative of a winery before. Felt nearly ignored throughout the process, and the answers she did give to our questions were short and un-informative. O=the answer to one of my questions about the use of whole cluster fermentation was "I don't know, I don't make the wine". Thanks Virginia! They could have a machine pour the tastings and do a better job!

As l rated it 5 for food and service just a little noisy needs floor covering or something to absorb the sound

The food was amazing. Not a very big selection for chilli allergies. Very loud when there are lots of people in.

Always consistent and great service during busy times when not always easy to find staff - very accommodating about us adding an extra two to the table upon arrival. The cheese souflet a definite must, and mussel chowder a nice change from the norm, plus can't go past the prawns. Well done Rose family, a great spot to enjoy for years to come!

Thoroughly gorgeous food. Venue a bit barn-like, so lacking atmosphere. Service is young but keen. Facilities quality and tidy. Wine fine. But the food. Tremendous. Over $200 for lunch for two, so ouch expenny.

Food was delicious and efficient service. A beautiful ambience with seating outside near the vines.

Pate, Duck pancakes and prawns are delish.pity they had run out of their reserve Chard but the Syrah is a great drop!

We had a delicious lunch at Wairau River and the staff were lovely. Karaage chicken burger was a winner and special shout out to Lynette who looked after our group and tolerated our behaviour

We had lunch here and food was very good. Recommend the duck salad and affagato. Main meal was a little slow in coming but service was friendly. Everything else arrived in good time. Would definitely go back.

Excellent food, and service. Limited menu and not warm enough. But worth a stop and the wine is nice also

The mussel chowder and WR Burger were amazing. This is a nice spot to get a good meal on the tasting trail. It does seem to get a bit noisy and crowded compared to other local spots, though, and the tasting room was pretty chaotic when we were there.

Another outstanding lunch at Wairau River restaurant. Our favourite place to take friends from out of town as we know the food and service will always be first class! The prawns re to die for and the brown sugar pavlova with lemon curd and berry coulis was superb.

We dined here for lunch whilst on a bike tour of the local vineyards. We had the prawn salad and beer battered chips to share and the food was unreal. The wine was delicious and the staff were very knowledgeable. We bought a bottle of their wine which had a 20% discount when you dined with them so very reasonably priced. Wonderful place and would highly recommend.