Waipara Springs Winery and Restaurant — Attraction in Canterbury

We dined on a nice Sunday lunch end of august. For us we had two aspects to the day which warranted our rating - firstly the food: we actually didn't find anything that memorable. I know one can be picky at times, but I asked everyone in t he group and everyone found everything quite lacklustre. Some comments aren't the most positive so I don't think it's worth sharing if you don't have anything nice to say. I wouldn't give things 1 star like other negative reviews as while the food wasn't great, it wasn't in the terribly cooked pile either.

Second aspect: we wouldn't rate this family friendly to us. We booked with a high chair, and was placed in the corner somewhat near the alfresco/outside area. Needless to say babies make noise and get impatient, but after what we would say is a reasonable amount of noise (having been around other babies and seeing how our own behaves when they really lose their marbles) we were told by the waitress to take her for a walk or something... since some customers were not fans of the noise? Having taken her around for a walk to do just that it became apparent that everybody indoors was all smiles and happy to interact with her, so clearly complaints came from a) outside or b) maybe the waitress themself. Either way it would have been great for the restaurant to, if they were family friendly, to also have respected all guests and also explained that babies (and kids!) do make noise. We weren't sure if this was indeed a customer issue as from the get go the waitress (who I presume is either a manager or one of the core staff or owner) seemed quite off put by the little one grabbing at the table cloth not long after we'd even sat to look at menus - call it intuition, but her choice of words just stuck with us at the time.

Now, the second issue: we waited a while for the food to come out. If you're going to take issue with a grumpy baby understandably the amount of time we waited for food to come was a contributing factor. Many at the table noted how long we were waiting, and it was clear at one stage that one large table that sat near us were either friends or familiar with the owner as both waitress and the man serving went to say hello. We ordered well before this table arrived, and they were served their food well before us. Yes, we did notice. I think if not for these contributing factors we are normally quite open minded and mindful of the whole crying baby aspect in public.

Keeping in mind after all this we ended up with average food, and at one point they doubled up on one dish incorrectly (we know becuase two dont eat beef so they wouldn't have ever ordered it) so they had to then send back for another fish to be made. We sat around and after a lacklustre attempt to clear it or even try and come back to us to ask if we wanted dessert orders, we upped and left. Given the food, I'm not sure we would have ordered dessert - but the lack of service or attention after we'd had orders taken, well just fell flat for us.

So our advice: for anyone with babies - you can roll the dice, or otherwise perhaps go to somewhere more family friendly. The food just doesn't match up to the 4.7 stars this location has on google based off what we tasted - maybe we had an off day? But just on their handling of babies (for a restaurant that takes highchair bookings) probably means we won't be coming back again. We came from Greystone Wines and can highly recommend the food - we wished we stayed for lunch there instead, we tried one item that tasted a heap better, and everyone loved the...

After the lovely breakfast in Kaikoura and some shopping time at a souvenir shop where I bought a fossilised whale bone in the shape of Hei Matau (which is my favourite pendant), we continued our journey south towards Christchurch, passing Waipara which has many wineries along the way.

Lunch time, she said, and after the awesome Saint Clair experience, we were itchy for wine tasting again and decided to stop by one of them. The plan was to go to Pegasus Bay Winery but they were booked solid for the next 3 hours (we were last minutes) so I had to have Plan B.

We got ourselves a table at Waipara Springs and everything went uphill from there. ◾For minimal fee, I was treated with 5 types of wine ranging from Pinot Gris, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In the end, we thought that the Pinot Gris was very good so we bought a bottle (they would offset the fee if we buy one bottle) to drink together with our lunch. ◾Waipara Springs Platter - one of their signature and famous antipasto which includes selection of meats, local cheese, seasonal produce, freshly baked breads and crackers, pickles and preserves. This is a must order! Everything was great including the breads! ◾Moroccan chicken L'orange - sweet spiced chicken breast, spinach, saffron rice, toasted chickpeas, orange and lemongrass glaze. Slightly sweet but tasted good nonetheless - at least something different from what I usually eat. ◾chicken tenders with fries and salad ◾kids platter which consisted of mixed fruits, carrot sticks, marshmallows, crackers, fairy bread and yoghurt..

We had such a great time despite the gloomy weather (it was still drizzling at that time) and continued our journey for another 4 hours to...

Looking for a cozy winery with delicious food and a relaxed atmosphere? Look no further than Waipara Springs! This place is the perfect spot to spend a Saturday afternoon with friends and enjoy a few glasses of wine. The food is amazing. The cheese board and bread plate are huge and could easily feed four people, and the main dishes are even bigger. I was so full after my appetizer that I could barely finish my main course! But the food is so good that it's worth it. The wine is also excellent. They only have two reds on the menu, but they're both delicious. The staff is very knowledgeable and can help you choose the perfect wine to pair with your meal. The only downside is that there can be a bit of a wait for a table on Saturdays. We had to wait about 30 minutes, but it was worth it. The atmosphere is so relaxing and the food is so good that it makes the wait worth it. Overall, I highly recommend the Waipara Springs Winery and Restaurant. It's a great place to spend a day with friends and enjoy some good food and wine. Here are a few additional things to keep in mind: The winery is open from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM every day. There is a 20-minute wait for a tasting and a 30-45 minute wait for a table on Saturdays. The restaurant is located in the Waipara Valley, about 40 minutes from Christchurch. There is plenty of free parking available on-site. If you're looking for a great place to spend a day in the Waipara Valley, I highly recommend the Waipara Springs Winery and Restaurant. You won't be...