Sprig + Fern Hardy Street — Restaurant in Nelson

Had a booking for a large group for a function and made sure kitchen could accommodate the food for the group. Upon arriving the manager was very unhelpful, and despite being asked (for medical reasons) the volume of music could not be turned down a notch. We were told -“ no that’s not my problem”. The music appeared to increase in volume over our time there forcing the group outside (we were the majority of the customers in the venue) . We had a few issues with the food, it took more than 90mins for everyone to get their orders. The only redeeming feature about the place was some of the wait-staffs efforts to make things right.

EDIT to response below. Your response is almost completely untrue - perhaps you have been mis-informed. We kept you in the loop of our timeframe, and most people arrived at 7:30 as we agreed; all members of our party were in Nelson the entire weekend (no "drunk missing of flights"). We came for hospitality and to celebrate some birthdays - not bullying - please don't make...

After reading the mixed reviews I took a chance on the place to try the sprig+fern franchise. I quickly realised I’d made a mistake when I was eye balled by a group of locals as I walked in a very quiet pub, one of the locals turned out to be the owner… literally the room was silent and puzzled why I might want to order food, I found out why later.

The new bar staff tried to address the atmosphere and I hope that she finds new employment.

The owner walked out to me once I’d order and joked that they were really busy earlier. I looked across at the vibrant pub next door as a sad and small portion of food arrived.

I gave feed back and I hope they take it on and read this review as well as having the franchise owners look into how to improve this “old man pub”.

It doesn’t need 20 different types of beer, it needs to keep things good and simple and work on the quality...

Popped in here for a quick dessert and glass of wine. I had been told that this was a great local bar and it did not disappoint! I had one of their excellent chocolate bourbon balls with a glass of great NZ rose and people-watched from the corner. Initially the bartender I got came off a bit salty and surly, but he warmed up a bit in the end. The other bartender was a bit more jovial and engaging and by the time I left you could tell this was a regular spot for some of the locals as well as a place recommended by the locals to visitors in the area. They looked like they had a good menu, if I had been in Nelson an additional night, I would have come back for...