New Zealand Herald

Reviews for Poderi Crisci

by Anthony H.
21st April 2013

It’s out of the way, but that’s part of the charm. Lovely relaxing atmosphere; attentive, informed but unpushy service; and a wonderful degustation dinner at a reasonable price. There were two of us eating with a 7 year old grazing off our plates. Some restaurants would baulk at this but PC brought a non-alcoholic palate-cleansing sorbet for the child gratis. Highly recommended for a cozy winter feast or long summer lunch on the terrace.

by David B.
18th November 2012

Off the beaten track would be a good way of describing this place. It is in the middle of nowhere which is hard to do on an island. A group of us headed there for a long lunch birthday celebration and we had a great time. There is a vibrant atmosphere within the restaurant and adjoining kitchen.

We sampled our way through a complete selection from the menu starting with breads and dips ending with pannacotta. My pick was the lamb main.

Get a taxi – you will want to make the most of the trip out there.

by hayley
22nd July 2012

I was a little unsure of what sort of experience we were going to have at Poderi Crisci, but as I’ve trusted the Metro Top 50 before I decided to take a chance and book for my boyfriends birthday dinner.

We were not disappointed! Off the beaten track, sits a fabulous homely kitchen and bar restaurant. Perfect lighting and Italian music created a wonderful ambience for us diners. We were served by a knowedgable and attentive waiter, who guided us through the 6 course degustation menu with matching wines. The service was impeccable, the entire menu a delight and the wines tasty and well matched with each course. I was particularly impressed with the design of the menu; we were completely satisfied and neither too full, nor left wanting more. The size of the dishes were just perfect. All of this attention and food heaven lasted over 3 hours; we weren’t rushed at all leaving us time to enjoy and savour what was a fabulous dining experience.

We dine out a fair bit, and have had our fair share of degustation and this is by far the best all round experience we’ve had in New Zealand to date.

It’s well worth the drive out! We hope to return on another visit soon.

by Sarah P.
7th April 2012

What a fantastic afternoon! Not just the food but the staff make this place. We were seated outside to enjoy the view, ordered a heap of entrees as a starter between four of us and instead of jamming our table full, the maitre de (I think owner too?) bought a small table to sit beside us. The service was exceptional – the lady (wife?) suggested items and wines that didn’t disappoint and gave us a sample of their Chardonnay which I normally don’t like but did enjoy. The food was delicious. We must have had 10 or more different dishes to share and each was almost as good as the other – all different tastes. The perfect end was the crispest pastry on a pear and apple strudel … OMG! I will definitely be back and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone … just a shame it is so far away!

by Les H.
13th February 2012

Took a group of 17 here for the long lunch recently. We all enjoyed the food & the wines very much.
The service was faultless with staff attentive & informative about each of the dishes they were serving to us.
Many of us started with the Sparkling Rose “Ombra”, continued with the Pinot Grigio, then either the Chardonnay or the Viburno.
To conclude a marvelous day out, they offered us a complimentary Lemoncello which was delicious.
A bit pricey but hey it is a bit off the beaten track & they must have high freight costs & a bit of difficulty retaining trained staff

by Gwyneth
19th August 2011

We had a wonderful relaxed Sunday long lunch. The service was welcoming and friendly – just right. The Pinot gris was superb, really lovely however none of the reds grabbed us (they gave us tasters of all of three!), could we suggest they do a contra deal with Passage Rock for their Syrahs. The food was lovely, nicely paced and thoughtfully presented. We had to force ourselves to slow down and allow the whole experience to last the nearly four hours we were there. It’s a beautiful position – possibly a sign at the turnoff would have helped us to know we were in the right place.

by Mike
25th June 2011

That Pinot Grigio is the best I’ve tried and the wait staff know all about it because they work in the vineyard also. the fish went perfect with the wine as they recommended and overall a place I’m going back to HEAPS

by Sarah
7th June 2011

Lovely setting but thats really all there is.

I think the waiters could have been good but the maitre d’ was determined to control their every move and basically made the entire experience terrible. We waited far too long for our wine and never had an opportunity to order food, or another glass of wine. We could hear people at the next table complaining and another table were delivered food which they hadn’t even ordered.

The cellar door was a waste of time – the person doing the wine tasting obviously found dealing with more than four people too hard so he just didn’t bother.

I wish we’d read the Metro magazine review first otherwise we would not have bothered going all the way out there!

by Jeannette V.
17th April 2011

The perfect setting but definitely could be improved upon. The Sunday long lunch menu was a hit & miss affair. Started off with a selection of breads oil & olives, nice. The grilled veggies were also just nice, not amazing but ok. The ceviche/fish salad course was excellent, as was the veggie fritatta. The ravioli were awful, I mean we were unable to eat them – seriously undercooked (not al dente but just plain raw) and tasteless really. The veal meatloaf with potatoes was homey and quite average. The pannacotta also, sublime. We ordered a few little extra dishes, eggplant parmagiana, nothing special, chocolate mousse was awful – worst I’ve had. The cheese plate was below average, 3 cheeses and nothing I hadn’t had before and you don’t usually find grano padano on a cheese board. The kids loved the trampoline and the service was ok, but all in all, I would not recommend it to anyone. We simply were not impressed enough with anything. It was flat. I think I ‘d prefer to return to Cable Bay a few more times instead.

by Jeannette V.
17th April 2011

The perfect setting but definitely could be improved upon. The Sunday long lunch menu was a hit & miss affair. Started off with a selection of breads oil & olives, nice. The grilled veggies were also just nice, not amazing but ok. The ceviche/fish salad course was excellent, as was the veggie fritatta. The ravioli were awful, I mean we were unable to eat them – seriously undercooked (not al dente but just plain raw) and tasteless really. The veal meatloaf with potatoes was homey and quite average. The pannacotta also, sublime. We ordered a few little extra dishes, eggplant parmagiana, nothing special, chocolate mousse was awful – worst I’ve had. The cheese plate was below average, 3 cheeses and nothing I hadn’t had before and you don’t usually find grano padano on a cheese board. The kids loved the trampoline and the service was ok, but all in all, I would not recommend it to anyone. We simply were not impressed enough with anything. It was flat. I think I ‘d prefer to return to Cable Bay a few more times instead.

by Alfiegerner
22nd January 2011

Top, top, top place. Excellent food and service.

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