Marsden Winery & Restaurant — Restaurant in Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community

AMAZING place to visit when you're in the area.

The best vineyard in Kerikeri. We came for a wine tasting and platter and were greeted by a big friendly sleepy dog at the front gate. Already that's rive stars for me.

We then moved on to some wine tasting. They have a good but not intimidating range of wines to taste which are tasty, even for someone who doesn't know wines very well. The people taking the tasting were very charismatic and fun.

We were told our platter is ready so moved on to the beautiful and tranquil outdoor area covered with vines and plants. It overlooked a beautiful pond.

The platter was amazing and so big. There was such a range of food on it and it was all delicious.

During our stay we were greeted by two friendly dogs who wandered around outside.

Can't...

Over its two decade history, Marsden Estate has become known for the quality of its original cuisine 🍽 and wines 🍷

Fresh produce is continually sourced 🔍 from around the local region and the beautiful dishes 🥖🥂 are mainly served on the terrace, shaded by grapevines, overlooking the lake, gardens and vineyard 🍇 or inside and lakeside

It’s the perfect place for a long lunch 😊 accompanied by fabulous wines 🍷 and friends 🧡

I chose a wine 🍷 flight, which is a selection of wine samples, and included two of their award 🏆 winning reds.

There was such a friendly dog 🐕 He would bring me a leaf 🍂 and put it at my feet 👣 but before I can pick it up, he would snatch it away and run off 🐾 just to come back two minutes later. Obviously I didn't understand the rules...

It's a beautifuly located venue overlooking a vineyard. The food is very overpriced and underwhelming. The salad that came with my caviche was nice. The ceviche itself was too overpowered with coconut cream to my taste, I couldn't taste any citrus. I also had ciabatta with olive tapanade and hummus for entree. Three slabs of cold untoasted bread and two tiny containers with tapanade and hummus. Seriously? They could have at least toasted the bread and drizzled it with olive oil - and it would be so much better! Was my meal worth $45? I am not sure... I don't mind paying but if they charge that much for such simple dishes, the food needs to be absolutely perfect... Very...