Black Barn Bistro Black Barn Road, Havelock North, Hawke's Bay 4294

"We had a lovely meal on Friday evening. The food was beautiful. The flavors were incredible and portion sizes generous. The serving staff couldn't have been more helpful and friendly, treading that fine path of being unobtrusive yet very attentive. Highly recommended"

"Nicely renovated bistro style restaurant overlooking vines and, in the distance, the Hawkes Bay coastline. We had the lunch set menu: bread and whipped smoky/salted butter, two choices of entrée and two choices of main, with a madeleine each to end the meal - with coffee and drinks extra. I had 3 Waiheke oysters as a special starter, with a 3 boys Christchurch Stout. I’m an oyster purist and was disappointed not to be able to choose whether to have the onion/vinegar/chive garnish which was pre-loaded onto the oyster in its shell, and thus masked the individuality of the oyster. With this amount of cover this could have been any old oyster. The waiter said that they used to present the oyster “natural” with the choice,but it was now “done this way”. I thoroughly enjoyed the smoked salmon entree, with dill sauce and sweet pickled cucumber. I was pleased that the bread offered with this was different to that offered with my partner’s terrine. It suited the textures and flavours well. My main was beef, deliciously presented with a mix of flavours and a bowl of fries, cooked with a subtle truffle aroma in the background. My partner had the pecorino soufflé, with a pear and walnut salad. She loved it so much I didn’t get even the slightest taste! I enjoyed the Black Barn Pinot noir as an accompaniment to the beef. The madeleines for the brief finale were perfect. A lovely Lemon cream contrasted well with the soft sweet palate of the madeleine. Coffees were from a local roaster, Hawthorne, and were well prepared and tasty. We had arrived later in the lunch session and occasionally had to wait for it to be noticed that we needed more water. But the service was pleasant. The atmosphere is quite “open” in a way that emphasises the outward views, but can seem a little austere on a cold winters day, even though there was a log fire which faced some tables but not others. I can imagine that the openness and the terrace could be wonderful airy places on a hot summers day. Altogether a very nice experience with nicely curated food, a good range of local wines and pleasant staff."

"Stunning food, fresh, vibrant and full of flavour absolutely flawless from food to service! Came all the way from Wellington and without a doubt nothing in Wellington even the rest of the country comes close to the level and quality of food that these guys and girls are serving up! Welldone team keep up the fantastic work will be back for sure!"

"Our group of 8 had an absolutely stunning lunch here today. The menu has fantastic selection without being pretentious or overwhelming. Our food was outstanding, elegant but wholesale. Amazing flavours, cooked to perfection and show casing locally sourced fare. The cafe de Paris butter was out of this world, ribeye was melt in your mouth and special mention to the creamy duck liver profiterole. Hands down the best pate I’ve ever had. The wonderful service was attentive + friendly. The new fit out is simply gorgeous, love the open kitchen vibe, it’s a warm + comfortable setting with a beautiful outlook. Will definitely be back soon!"

"The bistro reopening was the perfect excuse to catch up with a friend over a delicious lunch and a cheeky few drinks. The new decor provides a fresh, relaxed vibe and the team out the front were fantastic, it was like being greeted by an old friend. We had a young waitress and also had the restaurant manager, checking in on us during our visit. Both made us feel comfortable, shared a laugh or two and made sure we had everything we needed. The drinks list was fantastic with something for everyone- my favourite was the extensive craft beer list (I will be back to try more of these!). The menu itself was out of this world. The ingredients are sourced locally and seasonally and the dishes are simple yet complex- we definitely had to try as much as we could! Everything is made in house and from our table we could see the large wall of preserves that formed part of our meal, which was pretty special. You can see the chefs hard at work and can see that each plate that comes out has been created with so much love and passion. The tartare was the highlight of my meal, and the fish was absolutely devine. I’ll be back to enjoy another afternoon of great food, drinks and service very soon! Thanks Blackbarn!"