cool change bar & eatery

nice place withgoodvariety of wines, tapas and mains. has a cool little bar out front with friendly service. we had a reasonably lengthy wait for our mains on a busy night but food was really nice and all in all would recommend

needed a place to eat on a summery sunday night at 8pm and decided to book here. we had a cured salmon entree, pork loin and lamb mains. was honestly surprised at howgoodthe food was! truly delicious with high quality ingredients. the atmosphere and prices prettygoodtoo. service was quite friendly and fast.

slow slow service. which is agoodthing. means you have time for a pint of every tap beer before your food turns up. tuatara beer. it’s worth trying all four because it’s great beer. your surf and turf will be just fantastic. i’ve had two over the summer both have been perfect. big fat prawns a juicy steak. the place is nice the people are nice martinborough is nice. slow slow service is perfect, believe me.

the selection of open restaurants in martinborough at 8pm is limited. but that doesn't mean agoodexperience is out of the question. my friend and i stumbled upon cool change as we were walking around the silents streets of martinborough at night. what we discovered was a great evening out.

we were not sold on the limited menu but the staff seemed friendly, so we took the chance.

friendly staff was an understatement. we couldn't decide on a pinot noir so the waitress suggested we sample a selection of local options. she never rushed us and was happy to serve 2 glasses of our chosen wine.

the food was equally as impressive. the pork terrine was devine but the apple jelly that accompanied it made the dish go fromgoodto great. not a diet dish, but a cheat day treat anytime.

the pork belly lacked a crackled skin but was cooked to perfection. i can forgive this minor error as the flavours in the dish were heavenly. though i may have used the crackling crumb from the terrine to lift the texture of the dish. the accompanying sides weregoodbut lacked imagination. it was essentially meat and three vege on a plate.

no dessert for me, but still on overall great dining experience.

this is place is amazing! the food here is so, sogoodand they have an impressive wine list. we ordered the charred bread, dips and warm olives to begin. yum! what is it about charred food that is just so damn good? it tasted glorious with thegoodquality olive oil and flavoursome dips. the warm olives were divine. for main we both had the steak. it wasn’t the best steak i have ever had but it was very good. the accompaniments were delicious, especially the onion rings. would have loved a bit more hollandaise though, i can never get enough hollandaise! we passed on dessert but where given 2 giant jaffas with the bill, a cute touch. the service was excellent.

on account of another restaurant we had a booking being closed, we popped into cool change for an evening meal. the bar area was very busy, but that's to be expected on a balmy saturday evening.

the meals were reasonably priced but not a huge selection. they were tasty and generous portions, and the restaurant on the whole had agoodatmosphere

without hyperbole, the worst service i've ever had. anywhere. ever.

my friend and i left gobsmacked.

we called early in the day and were told there were no tables until 8.30, but we went and sat outside and had a couple of wines and some fries earlier in the evening. 8.30 came and went, and our booking seemed to have been lost. finally we had seats, and an hour after ordering, we got our food.

my friend ordered the steak, which came with fries and a lump of dry salad. the steak itself was overcooked and tough. my fish special appeared to have frozen stir-fry veg in it, although the fish itself was very good. when the waitress came to ask us how the meal was, my friend said she was honestly a bit disappointed in her steak. our waitress immediately got aggressive, and gave her a lecture about how "steak and fries are steak and fries. what did you expect?". my friend said, rightly, this is a $34 steak, so she expected better quality than this. the waitress then said, sarcastically, "well, what do want me to do about it?" she was so rude and aggressive that not only did she neither apologise or help us, but my friend had to eventually ask her to leave our table so at least we could eat in peace.

when we went to pay, we told the man behind the counter what had happened. he first told us that's what you get when you don't make a booking. then, when we told him we had made one, he said "well, whatever". when i said that wasn't really the issue, he said the waitress was just a grumpy person - and when i said that wasn't reallygoodenough, he said "well, welcome to martinborough", threw the menu he was holding down on the bar in front of us, and walked off.

i've never been treated so rudely anywhere - let alone a restaurant where we'd spent well over a hundred dollars on what was meant to be a fun girls' night out. i understand they were busy, but all it would have taken was the waitress to just say "i'm sorry to hear that - can i do anything to help?" my friend didn't even want her steak cooked again - a drink off or some sauce on the side would have covered it. being busy is no excuse to treat your customers like dirt.

"terrible" pretty much covers it.

this would have to be one of my most memorable dining experiences of 2012.

from the uber cool decor and eclectic atmosphere to mouth watering taste sensations, cool change lives up to its name in every way! jimmy ensured we were primed up with plenty of bubbles in the bar and bree was a lovely, attentive and knowledgeable waitress.

i chowed down on cauliflower soup, chicken kiev and a delightful crème brulee while my wife choose pork belly followed bygoodold fashioned rhubarb crumble.

superb people, high quality food at reasonable prices.

i can't wait to return!

we had a wonderful dinner on saturday night, atmosphere was great, the staff very helpful and offering ideas and quick service, and food was wonderful. we had the lamb for two was exceptional. the dessert was especiallygoodthe chocolate mint pudding - we will definitely go back. great spot.

went there with my gf and had a great time.goodfood and wine. only criticism is they forgot about our 2nd drinks order but not a big deal. would definately go back :)

fab service,goodfood and great surrounds. will definitely be back. go jimmy and kors..