hopgood's restaurant

i have had three dinners to hopgoods and they have all been perfect evenings. i had two work dinners with a large group and one special date. as i am vegan, i am always impressed how they will prepare a menu with several starters, two mains, two deserts, and several sides. they are very accommodating which i really appreciate it. the service is amazing and the atmosphere is lovely. it's a great place to really indulge and treat yourself. i highly recommend it to anyone.

i had gone there because or a recommendation from another person who runs a restaurant, and he happened to be shut on a monday. i went there and ordered for a pork belly, and man was i not dissapointed. it was easily the most tender pork belly i had.
my partner ordered lamb dish but was not too pleased with the outcome,
i had a bit of a banter with the pretty looking waitress, and they were really hospitable.
i would highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to pamper themselves with a bit of spare cash.

:)

we came here while on holiday because of some amazing reviews we had been reading. definitely did not disappoint! we came in on a saturday evening about 7pm without a booking and they went out of their way to accomodate us. we started with an entree of breads/pate and the scampi tail. for a main i had the venison and the rest of the table ordered the eye fillet with a selection of sides. we were all in heaven as we ate and all exclaiming that it was the best venison/eye fillet we had ever eaten! the waiter was very knowledgeable about the food and the service was impeccable. overall we had an excellent night!

the food here is exquisite. my daughter suggested hopgoods for my family birthday dinner out in february. today, i am looking for somewhere special to take my daughter to lunch, very few restaurants came close to being considered. be sure you book ahead or you may be disappointed.

dragged my crew to hopgoods for a 30th birthday.

went for the degustation with wine pairing and added cheeses.

food and service was fantastic however one of the dishes came out with no prawns and while we were comp’ed a wine i dont understand how this could happen. suppose we should have sent it back instead of eating it.

beautiful venue. we were seated out side on a great night. no seagulls.

the prawn and this hoki stole the show for me.
forgot to take photos of some of the food vibe was to good

i visited for dinner on saturday night with two good friends. the service was impeccable. attentive,  friendly and welcoming without being too casual, or stuffy. it was just the right balance. 

i started with the starter of chicken liver parfait on brioche. toasted light buttery brioche with silky smooth parfait, and cornichons and cherries. the taste combo was insane and this dish was my highlight of the night. i'd go back and visit for that dish alone. 

next i had an entree of pork belly and this was also excellent. incredibly well cooked and delicious, the belly was so well cooked it would have been able to be eaten with a spoon. one friend had the duck which was also top notch and my other friend the lamb which she couldn't stop bragging about.  

we grabbed a bottle of the 2007 greenhough chardonnay from a local nelson vineyard, which was pretty exceptional and chilled to just the perfect temperature (something many restaurants and bars cannot master). the wine list is well rounded and covers plenty of magnificent wines. 

come desert time, there was simply no room left! which was disappointing as the dessert menu was pretty enticing and i had been looking forward to pushing the boat out. but alas the boat stayed ashore tonight. however it gives me the perfect excuse to return. 

the menu is seasonal and changes regularly which keeps things interesting. its a relatively pricey restaurant however its worth every penny for the perfect service, food and ambience. this place is in the top 100 nz restaurants and has won many local awards also and for good reason.if you have a special occasion hopgoods will hit the mark, and if its just delicious food you are after for no special reason, then you will not be disappointed. i can't wait to return when i'm next down in nelson and give hopgoods another go.

i started with the pork belly with roast apricot, onion soubise, bacon, thyme and hazelnut brown butter and i was very happy with my choice. for my main i had the angus beef fillet with mushroom crumble, bacon hash and roast carrots. it was lovely but i felt the price was high given the size of the fillet. for pudding i had mascarpone cheesecake with strawberry, meringue and poached rhubarb. it was also lovely but the tiniest serve of cheesecake i'd ever had. the service was very friendly and polite. one odd note was cutlery being kept in a set of drawers next to us - lots of traffic and banging of drawers.

great food and service. with a seasonal menu there is always something new and fresh. can be more on the pricey side but as an occasional treat dinner it's great!

good flavours, good food, decent wine list. have had a lovely meal each time i've visited. will definitely come back when i'm next in nelson

opened back in 2005 in the heart of nelson, hopgood’s has had a solid standing when it comes to creating phenomenal food. this award-winning restaurant on trafalgar street is housed in a heritage building and offers dishes made from fresh local produce which you can happily pair with stunning nelson and marlborough wine or beer.


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my boyfriend and i were recently in nelson for the weekend for work and came across hopgoods while trying to find somewhere to have dinner on a saturday night. the inside of the restaurant was packed but luckily there was an empty table outside which suited us just fine and we settled in and ordered a bottle of wine. we ordered the pork croquette and stuffed olives for starters. they were both delicious but very small, luckily we didn't just get one to share! next for mains, i ordered the spinach and ricotta ravioli while he got the lamb. mine was nice at the start but became quite bland half way through and needed some kind of zing or spicy flavour to break it up. again they were small, especially for the price tag. after mains we were still hungry and instead of nipping off to mcdonald's, decided to get dessert. at this stage the waitress came over and asked if we wanted blankets as it was starting to get a bit chilly, i decided against it but she said to let her know if we changed our minds, very lovely. on to ordering desserts, i got the affogato which was again very tasty and my boyfriend got the apple tart which he was also pleased with. when they arrived at our table i asked if i could have the previously mentioned blanket (it took awhile for the desserts to come out) the waitress said she'd go and fetch one. by the time we had finished eating and the bottle of wine was empty there was still no sign of the blanket which left me feeling super awkward. hopgood's food was tasty but nothing exceptional, expensive, with small portions and to save having to avoid eye contact, don't take them up on the blanket offer! 😂

absolutely outstanding meal. service was warm and friendly , menu was simple but varied, wine list had a great selection of nz wines from all regions. i had the beef capparcio for entree and pork belly for main. the flavour combinations of all dishes
were excellent. the side of cauliflower with capers and anchovies was worth adding to our order at the last minute. great to see a regional restaurant doing such an amazing job of representing nz produce and wines.

we were in nelson for our fourth anniversary and wanted to celebrate with a good meal out.

we researched restaurants, and based on reviews, the menu and advice from our hostess we chose hopgood's.

we like to dine early so booked for 6.00pm - the place soon filled up quickly tough, so best to book in advance.

it’s a busy restaurant and the staff negotiate this very well. they are still very attentive, without being intrusive.

we ordered a bottle of saddleback pinot noir - perfect temperature, smooth wine.

to start, pork belly and chicken liver parfait.

the pork belly was tender and lean - the accompanying elements complemented the dish. beets, potato, julienne apple, walnuts, jus and a perfect piece of crackling - crunchy but not tough. a very well balance and flavoursome dish.

the pate was equally impressive. simple yet delicate. the jelly was sharp and the nectarine sweet. the brioche was light and crispy and all together, delicious.

mains, we both ordered the venison. it came with kale, roast butternut squash, a cheese and potato stack (like a gratin) and red wine jus.

this dish was sublime. the venison was cooked to absolute perfection, so tender neither of us could believe it. a good portion of meat too. a rich but clean dish.

we shared a desert, the buttermilk panna cotta, with jammie dodgers, strawberry gelato and fresh berries. this was a fun dish and the perfect finish to the meal. light and sweet. the home-made jammie dodgers were a great element, made from shortbread. we loved it.

the presentation of the entire meal added to the excitement of each dish.

saddleback pinot noir: $47.00
pork belly: $22.50
chicken liver parfait: $19.50
venison: $37.50 each
buttermilk panna cotta: $15.95

all up it cost us $179.95 - it was worth it.

if i had one criticism, it would be a minor one. i felt the space between courses was a little rushed at 10 minutes. i would have preferred a bit longer to savor the experience.

this was one of the most enjoyable meals we have experienced in a while. my partner rated it as one of the best she has ever had.

next time we are in nelson, we will definitely be back.

i ate at hopgoods for the first time today. i had deep fried prawns for lunch. they were nice and you could eat the whole prawn -even the tail which was nice and crunchy. it came with little potato croquettes, avocado pieces, cherry tomatoes and a bit of greenery and a sort of a paste. the overall flavour balance was not very good, the tomatoes didn't work with the prawns, neither did the avocado really and the paste could have been sharp or lemony as by the end my mouth felt a bit greasy. excellent service, although i nearly choked when trying to answer the waitress when she enquired if everything was ok. overall only ok as the food was quite a disappointment - especially for the price.

a started with a glass of the saddleback pinot noir (a new zealand wine originating from central otago) while i had the graggy range shiraz. as i am a huge fan of parfait, pate and terrines, i twisted a’s arm to share the chicken liver parfait for our entrée. when we had our first bites, we were both amazed at the flavours. the texture was so soft and it was perfect in every way. hopgood’s also added a circle of micro herbs to the dish, and as i mentioned before i am a huge fan of these herbs (so tiny but so much flavour!).