speight's ale house

came here with my partner and sister. the food and drink was really good however was quite loud inside and felt like i had to shout to have a conversation. waitstaffwere very friendly though and super helpful

friday night at speight’s in petone is a busy one. lots of busy tables andstaffwere hurrying around from table to table. still very friendly and attentive though.

we only ordered off their grazing/starters menu - pork belly, salt n pepper squid and buttermilk chicken.

food was mostly disappointing unfortunately. chicken was overcooked, pork belly was absolutely swimming in the hoisin sauce which overpowered what could have been a nice dish and the salt n pepper squid was mostly okay - except that some of it was overcooked and chewy. some of it was fine and those buts were lovely, but it was inconsistent. it was also severely lacking in the required salt n pepper.

the chicken and the salt n pepper both would’ve been great but for the over cooking.

food also needs an alternative sauce option other than just wasabi mayo and chipotle with the chicken - just in case you’re sharing with kids who don’t like the heat. just a consideration.

very nice venue. friendlystaffand the atmosphere is very chill. my 2stars is due to bad experience but i dont think it reflects how good this place is/could be.
long story short, i got a burger which was so dry and nasty i honestly could not eat it. when i mentioned to thestaffmember serving us all she could say is "oh that sucks" which i agreed with since i was still going to have pay for this nasty ass burger. i offered her a bite so she knew what i meant but she wasnt keen on that. anyway alot of complaining, 1 bite and $20.50 later you can see why i wasnt impressed.

great atmosphere and always friendly staff. on a busy night, chances are hot drinks maybe served colder than anticipated - but the ever so friendlystaffreally make up for it. another set back is waiting for your table 8 mins before you booked due to being a busy nite - this is an inconvenience when bookings could be booked far apart to not let customers wait. food isn’t worth ordering but a cold drink is

had a lovely meal at speights ale house nelson this evening. thestaffwere very friendly and the small this are important as they brought a small taster of their new beer with my first pint.

the starter of beef rolls and chicken bitter bites were nice. the filing lacked seasoning so missed the umph in flavor but overall it was ok. my main of pork and cracking was very nice. pork maybe a tiny over but i am being very picky.

the ambience is the same as most of the speights houses, to dark for my liking but must be a look they are going for.

overall a lovely meal and would go back.

very nice place, would highly recommend at any time of the day! have been here for lunch and dinner and had a great time, nice atmosphere andstaffare very into it even when busy. good food, good drinks, and nice staff!

lovelystaff& atmosphere as usual, but left very dissatisfied. maybe an off night in the kitchen as food was below average. dry over cooked pork bites, burnt chicken burger replaced by a flavourless burger. our smokey cheese chicken filo tasted like off fish & left us feeling ill. would recommend sticking with the pub food/bar snacks & good beer. over priced food for quality.

have been here a few times now, and impressed every time. good location,stafffriendly and good food and selection of tap beer. we will be back!

have been going to this place off and on over the years and just find it very overrated. the food is average,unseasoned,usually luke warm and bland..just nothing special.. (especially for the price) just feel i could cook something better at home. some days/nights thestaffare amazing other times they are rude and unprofessional. great atmosphere though when it's busy  and the owner is gorgeous which is a bonus

awesome place. just been here for my mums 70th. my mum flew all the way from the uk for her birthday and i wanted it to be special. thestaffactually went out of their way to make it memorable.
the food was delicious. fairly priced too.
thank you speights so much.

food is always delicious, my favourite is always the goldfields parcel -it never disappoints! because of its popularity it can tend to feel a tad squashed between tables at times but overall it has a nice atmosphere.staffare friendly and helpful.

very clean and well presented with friendlystaffbut unfortunately the food just doesn't fire. i have a blue cos sand which which was expected to be simple, however it was really lacking in flavour - with limp lettuce, and no apparent seasoning. the bread would have been better lightly toasted. and just a little pep in the mayo would have gone a long way.

very cool decor full of history trace.staffare super friendly. mom tried the dark malt taste different and rather good. would try more next time here when i'm not driving!

recently took my parents for dinner at speights while they were here on holiday. my dad is 86 so one of those old school meat, three veg people. he is also extremely chatty to anyone who will have a chat.

thestaffwere great. happy to have a chat and laugh with dad which he really appreciated.

the food was great. lots of options and the waitress was happy to check if the evenings lamb special was g/f for me. note, it was so i had that.

the portions are decent. not so big that you can't get through the whole thing (like lone star) so you feel like you get your monies worth.

the drink selection was good too. mum and dad were happy with the beer and wine they had, while i stuck to diet coke as driver for the night.

the place was quite busy with some large tables but the service was good and food came out quickly. well done speights! will be back!

i celebrated my birthday here today, we booked well in advance.
there were 19 adults and 8 children including a baby requiring a high chair which was no problem for them.
because i was more down one end of the table i don't know what everyone had but where i was four of us had chicken with black cherry sauce, it was just so delicious and one of our party wants us to come back with her for her birthday so she can have it again. three had the lamb shanks which they said was very nice. there were burgers, big breakfasts further down the table and heard nothing negative. one person who had twice cooked pork belly said its not the best she had ever had but was still not complaining. my husband who enjoys chips with any meal said they are among the best hes had.
we bought our drinks ourselves from the bar which suited us all. the people serving behind the bar were very nice and friendly. not being a big beer drinker but being in an 'ale' house i felt i should have a beer, with help from thestaffi selected a beer that was very enjoyable. i heard some complaints about the wine glasses or lack of them but my sister who has been in the uk said thats the type of glasses for wine being used in europe so when i catch up with my friends i will let them know.
thestaffbrought out my birthday cake taken to them by my daughter and they brought it out to the table.
i found thestaffto be very good and attentive but although there was no room left , none of us were offered desserts, ( a minor oversight )
i would not hesitate to return to the restaurant or recommend it.