SnakeBite Brewery — Restaurant in South Island

Our road trip took us down to Franz Josef Glacier, stop for a couple of nights. It's a one horse town. A few restaurants, a supermarket, a bunch of tourist shops selling helicopter rides & not much else. The good thing is if you stay in town, everything is a short walk. We picked the Snake Bite Brewery from reviews, mainly because of a good beer selection & some Asian food. We live in Sarawak so sometimes my wife's Asian food cravings need satisfying. It's not a Brewery but a good selection of craft beers available. So glad we came here. We were immediately given a friendly welcome from Danny behind the bar (from Brighton UK), he advised on the beer & helped us with plans for our next day. Looked after us very well both visits. We own a bar/restaurant ourselves so we have a critical eye, especially when it comes to service. 5 stars. I took the Sprig & Fern 'Awesome Mix' West Coast Pale Ale (longest named beer ever?) checking in at a lively 6.3%, my wife went with an Altitude 'Mischievous Kea' IPA, a more relaxed 5.5% (still 💪). The surprise was the food. Snake Bite is an Asian Fusion place & I make it a point to avoid (not always but generally) Asian food outside real Asia. Wifey ordered egg noodles with crispy pork belly & it was amazing! As good as anything I've eaten back home. Filipino & Indo chefs. We came back the next night & had the Hawker Rolls with pulled beef cheek Rendang, also delicious. The beer is exceptional value at $12 a pint in Happy Hour 3-6. I'd say the food was a little expensive; but we come from Malaysia & this is NZ, so I guess it's about right. Both dishes were delicious & that's what matters. Definitely...

Well, we were pretty excited about eating here after reading the happy cow reviews. We asked for no egg, used the language for what we wanted (vegan), asked lots of questions about this being vegan or that being vegan, asked for soy milk, and received egg covered noodles and dairy coffee. And then were briefly argued with about how eggs are fine for vegetarians (most of us are vegan or have allergies to egg & dairy). Do not come here if you have any allergies or religious requirements. They were really nice about it after the ethical pushback about eggs (not badly meant on their part) but if you have an serious need this isn’t the place for you. I would not bring my sisters or nephew/niece here as their allergies would need to be taken seriously. Apologies were well meant but if you are whipping out an epi-pen it’s not helpful. I’m sure it’s fine for people with no preferences or personal needs. They have a nice bowl of water available near the sidewalk for puppies which is quite sweet. The music was oldies when we were there which was really nice and cozy / could still actually chat and enjoy the vibes. Once they sorted out giving us what we ordered everything was delicious. Expect higher prices when you’re in a remote place where the closest petrol station is over 100km away, can you imagine what it costs for them to get ingredients there on the reg? They were out of tofu and the vegan burger so just request extra veggies, they were chill about that. Anyways, once they sort out what to take seriously when someone asks about egg/dairy/says vegan a lot, they’ll be great. Don’t go if you have serious allergies especially if it’s...

Redemption!!! So if you’ve read my review for Monsoon and lost all Hope have no fear, Snakebite has solved all the problems Monsoon cries about.

First their management acknowledged it’s short staffed with a big sign right out front. Every server gives you menus and points you to the bar to order and apologizes in advance for and delay in service.

I ordered fish and chips , cheeseburger, and some others. They only had two beers on tap, fine less to choose from, (could that be on purpose by a savvy manager to cut the lines down? Brilliant !) and so I got one of each. All throughout the ordering process each staff member was attentive, kind and quick to apologize for any delay.

Now the fun part. Our food came out almost as quick as we ordered it. They set expectations and beat them. Congratulations to the hard working staff at Snakebite!!!

Even short staffed they managed to get us food in a better than timely manner. And the place was packed. We even bussed our own table to help them out. They were so appreciative, so was the couple who sat down at our table after we got up.

Running a Restaurant is about building relationships and service. Even if the food isn’t 5 star, it’s good and served by a well versed staff. Keep doing what your doing over there!! We will be back tomorrow for dinner, save me a seat!!!

Btw the beers were big and tasty. Be kind be patient. The staff care about you and the restaurant...