harbour light bistro

my family took me here for my 21st birthday last weekend and i will remember it forever. we got the balcony seat right by the window on one of nelson's finest days.

the staff were amazing and very attentive. the food was delicious, they had matched everything so well on the plate together which...

best restaurant we've been in the 2 weeks we were in new zealand. the staff was nice enough to let us have dinner even when they looked like they were about to close when the customers left had gone. steak and monkfish were delicious.

excellent view, good personal service and delicious menu.  we loved the simplicity of the menu (not masses of choices that you get overwhelmed), and it delivered on expectations. keep up the good work, highly recommended

the service was a little slow but with good friends, wine, and lots of conversation that didn't really matter. the slow service was explained to us prior as a large group was in. the menu is minimal but has everything you desire. the steak was so succulent and fish of the day was also very nice. overall an excellent evening. food and service was worth an extra visit or two.

friendly staff. nice setting. only thing was vegetables tasted like dirty dishwater. not sure why.

also drinking glasses smelled bad and were unpleasant to drink from..that usually means they're being washed in a dishwasher that needs its filter cleaned out.

a fabulous atmosphere, food and service.  our first trip was nineteen years ago.  i was pregnant and it was under different management.   we came back for nostalgia and fell in love with the place.  reasonable cost too!

a bit disapppointing. we booked weeks in advanced a party of 9 in the belief that this would be all ok. we were advised to confirm a few days before the event ???????? i was under the impression that a booking was a booking but that doesn't seem to be the case. we attened two days prior to our booking to confirm our booking as per advised however we were advised that a party of 15 for an 80th birthday have been booked and we would need to phone or attend again on saturday in an attempt to confirm our booking. this was the third time i was advised that the 80th birthday party took priority to our booking and as a result they are more important than our booking and that we should just put up with what we got if anything. ho hum :(. this was a small wedding party dinner which is why we booked weeks in advance, and no we don't believe we are special but it would have been nice to know that when we make a booking it is honored.

fantastic service, very attentive staff, didn't have to wait at all to be seated, and they could not do enough for us.
venue had a nice atmosphere nice lighting, and amazing view of the harbour,
menu had a great selection, i went with the fixed menu with the accompanying wine and could not fault it.
highly recommended and will definitely be returning to enjoy the experience

we had a staff function there last year. the staff were very accommodating and the food was great. we'd certainly consider going back again.

my husband and i have dined here on quite a few occasions and usually enjoyed both the service and tasty meals. the most recent visit we were a little dissatisfied with the food standard. the waitress could have dressed a little more appropriate also (maybe by doing up a few buttons on her shirt). we had a good sense of humour about it, but both agreed that it wasn't very suitable for work attire. such a great location, and believers that everyone deserves a second chance (every has bad days).

great location, great food and awesome service.

we've only been once and never returned as there are only a few dishes on the menu and it never changes... i keep checking online and hoping to find a reason to go back........

worst. meal. ever. we don't get to go out to dinner very often having a young one at home. furthermore, we aren't complaining people and are usually quite easily pleased provided the food and service are good.

we started off ordering crayfish soup (who calls it crayfish 'soup'? - seriously). it was, to say the least, inedible. the broth was very strong and tasted overcooked (nothing subtle about it) and there was no crayfish - something peculiar having been given the name crayfish soup. there was, however small pieces of fish that had the texture and flavour of fish defrosted and placed in the soup. we couldn't and didn't eat it.

we thought that the main couldn't possibly be worse. you see, i had ordered chicken which is almost impossible to cook badly, right? especially for a trained (presumably) chef. we received our main meal and i cut into the piece of chicken before me only to discover blood near the bone! i called the waiter over and told him about the bloody meat. he said something about it bleeding from the bone (like that was better or something) and said he'd sort it out. he took my meal away and we waited for its imminent return. about 5 minutes later the meal was brought back to our table. it was with great disappointment (again) that i noticed that the entire meal had been microwaved! yes, that's right. everything on the plate was piping hot, including the olives. furthermore, the potatoes and other vegetables were now well overcooked and not entirely palatable. as dispensation for the bloody chicken i had received, two coffees were offered - a token gesture for what had been a highly disappointing evening out. apart from the food that wasn't edible, the other food was average at best. the dying question to ask when dining out is "could this have been cooked at home?". to this i answer a resounding "no".

we'll never go back and neither do we recommend the place to anyone else.

footnote: we dined at the waterfront before change of ownership and loved it. food was great. service was excellent. for this reason did we choose the same premises only to discover a completely different tier (a much lower one) of experience.

pre christmas celebration for 4 people. great table, lovely views. waiting staff were very attentive. food was divine. everything piece of food was superb, the flavours were lovely. heading back this week for my birthday celebration. top marks. thank you for a world class dining experience.

i just ate at harbour light bistro and can honestly say that everything was amazing, it was definitely the best meal i have had dining out in a long time, everything complemented each other and the staff were very helpful.

fantastic service, very friendly and well informed, great food and reasonable prices. thanks for being so tolerant of our rather ditzy dining group. enjoyed the salmon and scallops. good local wine list.