Dora The Food Explorer
+4
Was very impressed with the food here at Matakan Village Pub. Great outdoor seating with plenty of spaces. Good on nice summer day but may be packed so be sure to arrive earlier. Amazing food and beautifully presented too with lots of choices on the menu. Will recommend to drop by if you are in the Matakana area. Great place for families and kids.
This is one of the best place around matakana! Dont miss it when you are around the area! They serve good steak and ribs and fish n chips! You can relax and feel the warmth even on the winter because they provide customer blankets and heater which is really good!
Popped in here for Sunday lunch on a sunny winter day. Lots of seats outside so I bet this is an excellent place to come in summer. Had the slow cooked beef cheek that was melt in your mouth. The truffle mash was amazing too. Would recommend. Minus -1* as the service was a bit slow, we were however warned about this.
Food was Lovely. All 3 meals were very enjoyable. It was very busy and all the staff were great and nice to deal with. We highly recommend it.
Nice play to hang around with your friends. Nice choice of local beers. Love the Wednesday quizz night! They have heater so it is warm even in winter. The staff is nice and helpful. Had some great nights over there.
Use to love this place to bits!!
Good food
Good beers
Good company
Just extremely overpriced drinks
Very pricey nowadays
But other than that awesome little place
Me and 3 other friends came here for a quick brunch after leaving omaha. We were welcomed at the door by the boss and it was a very serene and relaxing environment. Service was good and the food came at a quick time. I had the buffalo burger with beetroot, it was pretty good portions and had a nice juicy taste to the patty. Would definitely come back again for lunch/ dinner to try out other items. Also the lemon lime and bitters was too perfection.
We enjoyed a couple of very chilled out afternoons here. First time we ordered from the bar menu - chicken wings, mac n cheese and the tacos. They were a great combination. The mac n cheese was decadent and the tacos provided veges and crunch. The second afternoon we ordered from the lunch / dinner menu and had the scotch steak and BBQ beef cheeks. Again, equally delicious (especially the beef jus and the coleslaw).
Servings were just right for a substantial late afternoon lunch.
The service was friendly and attentive (thanks Sharon!).
Lovely setting and ambience with modern, outdoor furnishings, ideal for larger groups. The food is quite average, nothing special, just hearty, filling pub food. I ordered the fish tacos, I was expecting soft fish fillets with fresh herbs and a tangy dressing with some lime wedges but these ones were really bad, the fish was over cooked and it was basically just fish, mayo and some lettuce, no flavour at all and they were called 'spicy' fish tacos and were not spicy at all so I asked for Tabasco! The burgers and chips have always been quite good though.
Nice place to spend a few hours. Good range of beers on tap. Decent service. Food was quite good but I did think they could do with changing the oil in their fryer. I'm not a big fan of being asked to hand over my credit card before eating though, it just smacks of poor customer service/floor management.
Stopped off here on the way home from Omaha beach a few weeks ago and loved chilling on the cosy couch by the fire place (even though didn't need or have fire on at the time it is aesthetically pleasing). Amazing red wine so smooth -wish I remembered what it was! (think cab sav). Then had a delicious quinoa and beetroot salad -so flavoursome and fresh :) Yum! . wished I lived closer and would go regularly for that -best meal I've had out for a while -keep up the good work guys! :)
Been here a few times now. Friendly staff and nice beach pub culture.
I can't judge what the mains are like as we haven't been here for dinner yet. But always just stopped in when passing through for a wine and an entree.
Chicken skewers really good, and I felt pretty good value for money at $12
My wife's ordered the beef salad and the only comment to make was just a bit more salad. Granted it was an entree so they aren't wrong.... She was just hoping for more salad.
Over all a pretty good spot to eat. And I would have to admit it's more than "pub grub"
All up 2 starters, 1 small fries, and sparkling water $40
Very good beer list. Tasty and nourishing vegetartian options. The couches looked particularly enjoyable for whiling away a sunny afternoon.
Delicious food - Fish and Chips. Friendly staff and Good Music. 10/10 for the ambience... Will definitely come back when we visit Matakana 👌🏻
Was a bit concerned about what I was getting myself into. When we arrived at noon on a Sunday afternoon the entire pub was empty apart from one couple, and this is a big pub with lots of outdoor and indoor seating. Best outdoor area I have seen in a long while. However I needn't have worried, by the time we had finished it was getting quite crowded. It has had an amazing refresh performed on the building considering it was established in 1903 and lots of quirky features to keep our unqualified amateur dining colleagues amused. My whitebait omelette was fantastic and the cherry and almond pudding dessert was a work of art that wouldn't have been out of place at Cibo. Definitely a highlight of Matakana!
Service is very friendly and the staff can and do make good recommendations on food, wine and beer. Atmosphere is stylish pub: it used to be a locals' watering hole and then the area exploded with tourists. Food was easy above average and much better than you'd guess. Local beers and ciders were outstanding.
Had lunch here today, sat inside as my sister was a little cold. Loved the atmosphere. I had steak which was cooked well the side of potatoes were delicious & the house jus was divine. My sister had the chowder & also enjoyed her meal.
Great burger, could have been a bit more generous with the fries! The service was friendly and casual. Exactly what you'd expect from a decent pub!
I had some fat frys to begin with, which were not quite crunchy enough but the aioli sauce was amazing and super tasty. Main was a braised lamb pot pie with silky buttered mash. Both had so much flavour and the lamb literally melted in your mouth. So good!! To finish off had creme brûlée for desert. Possibly a touch too big but the best I have ever had by far! Truly fantastic wait team and the overall devour if the place was really nice. I will be dinning in there again.
Drove up from Auckland today for lunch. Have been several times but I just love the feel of this pub. Food and service were excellent. Had the Matakana oysters and the mussel and leek fritta, and of course the obligatory fat chips. Could easily have settled in for the afternoon and stayed for dinner. Next time.
Had a group dinner here a week ago. The pub was really busy, and expected pub grub at best. The food and service were outstanding, especially given how busy they were. Had a selection of entrees, and the oysters were delicious, followed by the lamb for two. To our surprise we were then offered free desserts as our per head spend exceeded $40.00. Amazing sticky toffee pudding! There is a talented chef hiding out the back of this place! To completely seal the deal for us, we asked the waitress to order us a cab back to Mangawhai, she said we have a courtesy car for that... And proceeded to drive us home! We will be back!!
The Villa Maria specials and the tapas are amazing value - 6 tapas for $60 or $20 for a glass of wine and 1 choice to choose from 3 options for your main. I got the lamb and couscous! Soft tender lamb was to die for!!! The oysters werent to bad either! Must go pub! Love that this place is an old villa! Also it has an outdoor fire which creates the perfect atmosphere.
Went last night for dinner. I had fish and chips (would have liked some salad with this), and my friend had their special- beef short ribs. The food was good; unexceptional. Service was good. Nothing remarkable. Good variety of wine and beer. Nice place.
Visited on a Sunday a few weeks back for lunch, and to our surprise, we had a pleasant meal. Staff were quite friendly. We had ordered the pulled pork, corned beef, and the clams. Both the meat dishes were very well done, both being well balanced, as well as our favourites. The clam dish however didn't hit the spot, perhaps too much white wine. However, we had a lovely meal here and would love to come back.
Don't know what's happened there in the last 6 months but something has and it's all good. After the refurbishment the setting was great but the food and service was letting it down. Now is a different story and certainly upped the anti. The service is much more onto it and the menu and quality of food coming out of that kitchen us up there with best. Thoroughly recommend it to all and we just keep going back. Oh, and don't forget the best fries in the country!
We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Matakana Pub on Friday.
The only complaint was the woody clumps of rosemary in my pasta dish, but everything else was top notch!
To see photos and read more about our meal visit http://celestereviews.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/bugger-this-lets-get-a-beer/.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. Love the alterations and staff could not be more pleasant. Food not perfect and a bit pricey for a pub but great meeting place to have tapas and nice wine by fire.
Have been back a couple if times since. Always improving.
Awesome atmosphere, friendly staff and superb food. I ordered a tasty medium rare scotch filet, with roasted kumara and mushroom sauce. My wife asked for a parmegiana chicken, which was well served and delicious. My boys each requested mac and cheese, spaghetti and chicken nibbles, good sized. It must be quite. Ice in the summer because the outside area is huge.
We had Sunday lunch, good old kiwi staple of fish & chips. Food was very well done & yummy. Great outdoor seating, lovely atmosphere. Staff were very friendly & accommodating. Thanks guys.
Had the burger, and what a great decision. Hot chips, perfectly cooked and the best bacon. Lots of beer on tap and the food the others were all eating looked as good as my burger. Home made pie specials looked so good . Great chef who obviously takes pride in what they do. And parking out the back.
Two thumbs up!
Scrumptious food ~
Great service ~
If you pass by this way just go and try
As a large group of 12 adults and 3 children searching for a late lunch, we couldn’t have found a better place. Rather than looking ‘put off’ by our group size, we were warmly welcomed to sit wherever we wanted. The service was impeccable, food was fresh and served within a short time. Highly recommend this place and we would like to thank them for being so family friendly. 👍🏾
We were here quite a few months ago (Easter weekend) so can't remember many of the finer details but, a conversation today jogged my memory that I forgot to write a review. The reason I have done was to compliment the waiter we had. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name but his service on the night was great, it was clear he had at some point in his life received traditional waiter training. Having worked at private functions in the UK, it was nice to receive as it's not often you get this type of service anymore.
Beautiful local pub which is busy at night - recommend bookings for dinner. The bbq wings tasted great - just that the wings were the smallest chicken wings I’ve seen! The bbq pork portion was also quite small. On the bright side, everything tasted great and service was friendly.
Best pub experience in a very long time. Beautiful location, kind staff, delicious and perfectly cooked meals and good beer.
huge portion, friendly staffs, cozy outdoor seats, all good, the food are tasty, beef cheek was a bit dry. house slaw is so good.
btw, they surcharge 15% on holiday.
Had a really good experience at MVP after our group of 30 were rudely turned away from the Rusty Pelican next door because our group was more than 10. We offered to sit in groups of no more than 10 but that wasn't good enough. Told us to leave. Rudest operators ever!
Well, we ended up next door at MVP. And what a blessing in disguise! The food was amazing! The fish and chips came with the best tasting chips we've had in a long while. The pork belly and pork ribs were good too. The staff were accommodating and friendly. We sat at 3 big tables, no issues whatsoever. We were happy to part with about $800 spend between us all. Thanks to the team at MVP!
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes