Oyster And Chop

Went there with my partner for dinner. As we both ordered a steak, I recommend sharing sides. We ordered 3 and that was plenty for us. The Warm Bread is lovely as well. The wine selection is fantastic.
Our waitress was a nice blonde British girl and she was lovely. Always nearby to refill our wine or water glass when they were low.
Definitely recommend and I’ll be going back!

The two things I absolutely wanted to eat in my NZ trip was oysters and lamb. Getting lamb was pretty easy — any type of cuisine (Indian, Thai, Chinese, Turkish, American, etc…) always had some form of lamb option and for the most part, it wasn’t gamey and quite tasty. Oysters, on the other hand, were a little harder to come by at a reasonable price point. We were fortunately in bluff oyster season (March) in NZ and apparently it is a huge thing there. We didn’t have an opportunity to get any while in South Island (Bluff is at the tip of South Island) so we tried to hunt for some in North Island.
There’s a lot of mom-​n-​pop shops that does seafood but unfortunately, a lot of them don’t take credit card. We were so lazy to exchange for NZ cash since our credit card just worked for most places. I started to get confused because at one mom n pop place, the lady working at the counter was just pulling already shucked Bluff oysters out of a plastic container. That to me is not the oysters I had in mind.
Luckily I had checked out Zomato (this may be the local NZ Unilocal… Unilocal has not quite hit critical mass in NZ and I had to get a lot of assist from Tripadvisor for restaurant choices) and I stumbled upon this place for Bluff oysters on the half shell for cheap. For the month of March — from 4−7pm daily in their bar area: 2NZ Bluff Oysters! The restaurant is typical of your wharf front restaurant — more upscale than casual with a lovely view from their bar.
We gorged ourselves with 2 dozens perfectly shucked Bluff oysters and it was SO GOOD. This is why Bluff oysters are world famous — not briney at all and no stomachache the next day! I would’ve made multiple trips back for these tasty oysters but alas, we discovered this place at the end of our trip.

My daughter exclaimed, «This is amazing Dad.» It was the Mango Coconut Jar dessert.
The beef rib that was one of the day specials was my main course. Very tender. Delicious. My wife had the catch of the day, snapper. Very well prepared. She stole one of the onion rings that came with my rib.
My 14 year old daughter had the chicken which had amazingly flavourful and crispy skin, and the chicken breast itself was cooked to perfection, sitting in a pool of delicious melted butter, with sun dried tomato and sweet corn dumplings. She claims it to be the best chicken breast she’s ever had.

Guess what they serve here. I’m glad to say the oysters are as good as they should be, given the restaurants name. Offered in either a selection of cold or hot preparations, the only downside is that you have to order 6 or 12 of exactly the same kind. Flights of 3,6 and 12 would be much more interesting, dear O & C. The meaty mains including the pork chop are delicious and well presented. The steaks range from ribeye to sirloin and wagyu. All are prepared well but served as naked as a newborn. A little bit of accompaniment would balance their appearance upon the table with those of the other dishes. The fit out is cool. An upper level bar offers a great wine selection including Man O War and Cloudy Bay. The lower restaurant area is cozy enough and has a great view of the kitchen. It’s a great place to visit with colleagues or hungry friends. One standout surprise that I would urge you to try for dessert is the whiskey bread and butter pudding — it almost steals the show!