Thornton Bar & Eatery — Restaurant in North Island

We dined in on Christmas day, superb, the chef while frantically trying to carve the ham to keep up with the patrons, kept us all entertained with her humour, natural charm and ease in dealing with hungry diners. She remained good natured even when a lady asked if that was fish in the dish (clearly it was and it even had fries and tartare sauce next to it) and then the lady proceeded to let other patrons know loudly that there were mushrooms where she was?... The chef was very patient and informed her that no, that was lamb and not mushrooms 😂 the lady was rather embarrassed but the chef touched her arm and whispered something to her which made chuckle, it was great to see a chef who is humble, forgiving and patient. Staff were great even though they were under the pump. Great great day with fantastic food. If I were to suggest one thing? Custard would have been lovely as an option but...

We stumbled upon this restaurant on Christmas Day on our way to an AirBNB in Ōhope. We were thrilled to find a place that was open. The owner was incredibly gracious and accommodated us. This was an elaborate Christmas buffet which required booking in advance. There was ham, lamb, fish n chips, mussels, shrimp, potatoes, roasted vegetables and salad. And we were lucky enough to be able to taste sticky date pudding and Eton mess made with pavlova and berries. This was our first experience of Christmas in NZ. We were so impressed with the food and generosity here. Heartfelt thanks for this memorable...

I had the Risotto and couldn't finish it. Its honestly just a sloppy tasteless mess....my friend reminded me that she thought I ordered the Risotto last time I went and didn't finish it that time either. If I had have been asked how my meal was I would have been politely honest. Both my friends enjoyed their lunches, All Day Breakfast and Caesar Salad, but you can't really go to wrong with those. Sat on the deck area and it was far to hot. They need to at least put in fans or insulate or put in shade cloth to reduce the heat. In the end we just left quickly as it...