Bendix Stables — Restaurant in South Island

Regrettably our lunch at Bendix Stables was very disappointing. Patrons are asked to order and pay at the bar which eliminates one avenue of discussion regarding the dining experience. After ordering two servings of the Chowder and waiting for 20-30 minutes we were each served a shallow bowl of thin chowder with a grainy texture. The description on the menu read "Smoked hoki, mussels, prawns, nori, garlic ciabatta". There were three mussels in their shells on top of each bowl. One mussel had not been bearded which was very unpleasant. A further mussel was cut into three or four pieces which floated in each bowl of soup. There were NO PRAWNS! Two tiny pieces of what was presumably the smoked hoki were finally located. There was no sign of the nori. The garlic ciabatta was fine. We seldom complain but as we were finishing a staff member asked how the chowder was. My comment was "Disappointing". Her response was to laugh and walk away. Maybe we made a poor choice or maybe the kitchen was running short and we received a watered down version. I can only warn others who plan to dine here to reconsider or to avoid...

Epic lunch, definitely memorable. Sat outside in the sun with a nice view, waiter was a character, but perfectly attentive, not in your face, but hit all the marks for an enjoyable meal. there was an issue with the order where the printer failed, so our meals got delayed, but things happen, and the important thing is the waiter owned it, and made good by giving us a little taste and spiel of a yet-to-be released local wine they had on-hand while we waited. My chicken sandwich was good... but my partners fish chips and mushy peas was INSANE good, crispy batter, perfectly cooked fish, well seasoned peas and a killer curry aioli. And thanks to the impromptu tasting, our next stop was that local winery, Wet Jacket, where we walked out with a load of wine and cheese that was...

Fantastic evening out, great food and venue with polite staff that seem to have perfect timing and are not overbearing.

The garlic bread (whole loaf) blew my mind, incredible just the right amount of cheese and garlic butter to still let the bread shine.

Fish was cooked perfectly and generous portion, beef tacos were huge and the hot sauce the staff member read my mind on and offered really elevated them.

Overall terrific night out, our server really made it a fun great experience and the food and atmosphere backed it all up.

Highly recommend this place having tried a few others during our weekend away in Arrowtown. Stables was our best experience out in some...