Carey's Bay Historic Hotel
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Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Carey's Bay Historic Hotel
Review
About
Travellers' Choice
2024
Features
CUISINES
Bar, Seafood, Pub, New Zealand
Meal types
Lunch, Dinner, Drinks
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
FEATURES
Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wifi
Full Bar
Highchairs Available
Outdoor Seating
Parking Available
Private Dining
Reservations
Seating
Serves Alcohol
Table Service
Wheelchair Accessible
Location
Parking Available
Is this restaurant good for local cuisine?
Reserve a table
Save this restaurant
Hours
Open until 12:00 AM
Sunday
11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:00 pm - 12:00 am
Monday
11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:00 pm - 12:00 am
Tuesday
11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:00 pm - 12:00 am
Wednesday
11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:00 pm - 12:00 am
Thursday
11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:00 pm - 12:00 am
Friday
11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:00 pm - 12:00 am
Saturday
11:00 am - 3:00 pm5:00 pm - 12:00 am
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4.4
637 reviews
Excellent
412
Good
141
Average
45
Poor
31
Terrible
8
rachellew979
Dunedin1 contribution
Nov 2024 • none
Restaurant Review: Carey’s Bay Historic Hotel
For our anniversary, we decided to celebrate at Carey’s Bay Historic Hotel, and it was an experience to remember. From the moment we arrived, the staff went above and beyond to make us feel special. The waitress greeted us warmly and even wished us a happy anniversary, a thoughtful touch that set the tone for the evening.
We were seated in a charming spot with a stunning view of the water, adding a serene ambiance to the night. The food was as delightful as the setting. I opted for the salmon, which was perfectly cooked and full of flavor—each bite was a treat. My husband chose the fish of the day, and he couldn’t stop raving about how fresh and well-prepared it was.
The combination of excellent service, delicious food, and the beautiful waterfront view made our anniversary dinner truly unforgettable. Carey’s Bay Historic Hotel is a gem worth visiting, whether you’re celebrating a special occasion or just enjoying a lovely meal out. Highly recommended!
Review collected in partnership with www.restauranthub.co.nz
This business uses tools provided by Tripadvisor (or one of its official Review Collection Partners) to encourage and collect guest reviews, including this one.
Written 23 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Suzanne R
Dunedin2 contributions
Aug 2024 • none
Carey's Bay Hotel is a frequent choice of venue and menu when I want to treat or impress local and out-of-town family members. Its location by Port Chalmers and Otago Harbour is always an attraction, as is the ambience within the hotel, its service and meal/drink offerings. I also like the warmth and variety of seating areas.
Review collected in partnership with www.restauranthub.co.nz
This business uses tools provided by Tripadvisor (or one of its official Review Collection Partners) to encourage and collect guest reviews, including this one.
Written 17 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neale1810
Kingston-upon-Hull3343 contributions
Nov 2024 • couples
After a morning of sightseeing around Dunedin we found ourselves only 15 minutes away from this restaurant and as we wanted some seafood for lunch we decided to turn up and see if they could fit us in.
We were forgetting it was a Saturday and they didn’t have any tables when we got there but the manager looked after us and after about 20 minutes with a drink outside he found us a table. It’s really quite big inside with at least 4 distinct sitting areas and for us as Brits in NZ on holiday it felt like home - very similar to many lovely pubs in the UK!
We struggled with the menu as there were so many things we wanted to eat but in the end we decided to start with the breads and spreads (they had one on the next table!) and the fish and chips and fish pie.
It took a while to arrive but they were obviously so busy. The breads and spreads were great - 6 pieces of delicious toasted bread with 3 different spreads. The main courses were good rather than great. The fish of the day for the fish and chips was sole so with such a thin piece of fish it’s not that easy to fry the batter long enough to get it crispy so thought it was a little soggy - though the fish did taste great. My wife’s fish pie had shredded rather than chunks of salmon and monkish which in our opinion made the pie less flavoursome and with the mash and sauce lacked texture.
Staff were very friendly and despite a few imperfections we enjoyed our lunch.
Written 15 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shelley D
5 contributions
Feb 2024 • couples
Very disappointed.
My partner and I are locals and for a long time now have been loyal supporters of the Hotel for family occasions and always recommend it to others.
Our (at least) fortnightly treat is to order the Fisherman's Basket (takeaway) and enjoy a beer each (a 12oz and a pint) while we wait outside and enjoy the view.
We ordered our dinner as usual and were astonished to find that the price had jumped from just over $50 (a fortnight ago) to nearly $70! We politely questioned and were told "we've had to increase our prices".
Then we discovered on starting our dinner that the amount of seafood items in each box had decreased as well and the fish appeared to be something other than Blue Cod.
We have spent a decent amount at this business over the years and to expect loyal customers to absorb this double whammy is frankly insulting.
The overall price of each takeaway box had increased by $5 or more, had less in it and my 12oz/half pint beer was $10 and the accompanying pint $14!
While we understand that a business has to make money, we found it was at least a 35% increase since a fortnight ago.
To say we are annoyed is an understatement as we have limited disposable income and chose to spend it in our community, thus supporting local.
Very disappointed indeed😔.
Written 12 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nyz_muz
1 contribution
Jan 2025 • none
Although we arrived 30mins early for our Saturday lunch booking it was not a problem. Wait staff friendly and attentive. Nice to have a full menu available for midday. Meals were beautiful, it would be sacrilege not to have fish somewhere amongst your dining experience! Pork belly bites for entrée - drool - could have had them for a main as well. Worth the travel time of 1:30hr from our home.
Review collected in partnership with www.restauranthub.co.nz
This business uses tools provided by Tripadvisor (or one of its official Review Collection Partners) to encourage and collect guest reviews, including this one.
Written 4 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bex
3 contributions
May 2024 • none
Took my mum for an early mother's day lunch. Every staff member we interacted with was friendly and knowledgeable, and the service for food and drinks was prompt. The food itself was delicious and they have a number of options it's hard to decide what to have! They were quick too with checking on dessert, taking coffee order and delivering same. Would definitely recommend and look forward to going back soon
The only reason atmosphere was 4 is due to sit us opposite the entrance door (which had a cold breeze!)
Review collected in partnership with www.restauranthub.co.nz
This business uses tools provided by Tripadvisor (or one of its official Review Collection Partners) to encourage and collect guest reviews, including this one.
Written 11 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Qing R
Auckland23 contributions
May 2024 • family
Arrived at 1320, made the food order, waited for a long time with very small children for the food, I approached the waiter at 1420 said we have been here for one hour and just wanted to know when the food will be served, an older lady came to us in a few minutes, seemed very annoyed that we asked, she first corrected me and said we only waited for 40 minutes, secondly on a Saturday 40 minutes wait is normal, and thirdly our table will be plated next... waited for another 10 minutes, plates finally came. When we ordered coffee, the same older lady came with 2 coffees, she wasn't holding the flat white even, coffee spilled out all over on the saucer, she didn't offer to serve a new one, but put it in front of my friend and told her not to touch the coffee, and she returned with a napkin, put it on the saucer and left my friend with a half full coffee. There was some extra milk we ordered with the coffee, she didn't serve it, and said she will come back with it, surely enough, she never came back, when we went inside the car to ask for the milk, she finally with the jug of milk and basically slammed I on the table. We left without talking to them as after the very long wait the children were extremely tired.
We are local and invited our friends here because they just moved into this area, we were hoping to impress them with this great place to go to, unfortunately everyone was disappointed, and I was a bit embarrassed as I praised to them about your restaurant. I must say the food was great as usual, so compliment to the kitchen staff, and the younger waiting staff are friendly enough. I can understand on a busy weekend you may be stressed with short staffing and all that, but please also understand waiting for one hour with small children is stressful too, and apologizing instead of telling the customers off is not that hard, is it?
Written 19 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thaimusic
1689 contributions
Apr 2023 • none
We were two couples that came here for lunch on a mid weekday for lunch.
There are a few different areas of the hotel and we were seated in a conservatory type area which was pleasant. It was a little fresh so the staff turned on the electric heater which was perfect. We ordered quite a bit of food for the size group as we all love seafood a lot, so the owner decided to give us an extra table so we were comfortable.
Very friendly service and good drinks selection. The menu is heavy on seafood but still has a very nice non seafood component. Just our luck that day they had bluff oysters on the menu. We had 6 cooked and 6 natural and they were a good size and the batter on the cooked was perfect. Thought the balsamic vinegar was a bit too sweet for our liking and would prefer regular malt. We ordered far to much food for ourselves but wanted to try many options. The seafood bowl was nice with shellfish and a bowl for your empty shells. Only downfall was the small clams were a bit sandy. It was served in a nice coconut soup. We also had the seafood platter which was great, loved the calamari. And we also had the marinated fish which was nice but did appear on the platter also so just the platter would have been fine. The seafood bowl came with breads which we did not realise so ordered breads and dips also. The hotel looks to be able to seat a fairly large number of guests. It is a bit of a drive but we had all day so took the hilly road in and more rustic road back. Overall I would come back to this place in a heartbeat but perhaps not order so much. The meal sizes are very good value for money from other seafood meals we have had.
Review collected in partnership with www.restauranthub.co.nz
This business uses tools provided by Tripadvisor (or one of its official Review Collection Partners) to encourage and collect guest reviews, including this one.
Written 5 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sharon F
27 contributions
Apr 2024 • friends
8 of us arrived for lunch and was welcomed by a lovely person named Carissa, who was extremely patient and explained the menu with a beautiful smile and calmness twice. Carissa made our day with her local knowledge and recommendations. The food was wonderful, however took more than an hour to come (it was however very busy)
Written 21 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
morresey594
Whangarei2 contributions
Feb 2025 • friends
We arrived early and were met by a very pleasant (Number 1)waitress who cleaned a bar leaner for us while we waited for our table. 45 minutes later the table was ready but had been vacant the whole time - just not cleared or reset.
20 minutes later our orders were taken and then we waited another 40 minutes before they arrived. The food was good or OK.
We waited another 40 minutes for the plates to be cleared away. During that time we could observe the staff- a tall, slim guy with hair tied in topknot sauntered in and took 2 bottles and 3 glasses off a bar leaner. 20 minutes later he sauntered in again to take a further 2 bottles off the same table. 15 minutes later Number 1 waitress cleared the remaining serviettes and 1 glass and wiped the table.
Our table was still not cleared so we shifted to the table next which I wiped clean. I found the dessert menus. Finally the very pleasant barman took our orders - and we waited again
Another very bewildered waitress appeared and delivered a cake to our table. She went around the whole room with two more cakes. She retreated to the kitchen and came back with two coffees - no takers, so back with more cake and late more coffee- no takers
Then another middle aged, white haired waitress arrive with the coffee we had been waiting 40 minutes for.
When I said that I had been waiting a while for my dessert, I was told very rudely that” there were lots of coffees and your dessert is at the back of the queue” No apology. I should really have told here where to put the dessert!
My summary -
Does the kitchen have any sort of system so that wait staff know where to deleverage food to?
Waitress Number 1 is always busy and should be given a good pay rise!
Tall guy with top knot should be fired
Bewildered waitress should be trained and then she might be of some use.
Middle aged, white haired waitress should be fired for her rudeness and incompetence.
Cushla Martini would be horrified at the service here
Written 15 February 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
689yvonne
Dunedin1 contribution
Aug 2024 • none
We have dined at the Careys Bay pub many times, and it is consistently good. Great for sea food and a good atmosphere. This recent time we sat in the side annex, and although it was cold outside the heaters were on and we were warm. We really like that can take our very well-behaved poodle into this pub and she can stay with us while we eat. The staff are lovely, and the service was good.
Review collected in partnership with www.restauranthub.co.nz
This business uses tools provided by Tripadvisor (or one of its official Review Collection Partners) to encourage and collect guest reviews, including this one.
Written 25 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nico W
1 contribution
Jul 2024 • none
I made a reservation for 16 (2 tables of 8) to have a family meal with folks that had flown in from all over the world to attend a wedding. Despite a number of last minute changes in numbers, the staff were able calmly to accommodate our requirements, set us up in a segregated part of the restaurant. The food and service was unanamously judged excellent by everyone in attendance.
Highly Recommended!
Review collected in partnership with www.restauranthub.co.nz
This business uses tools provided by Tripadvisor (or one of its official Review Collection Partners) to encourage and collect guest reviews, including this one.
Written 8 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travelmorenow2023
1 contribution
Mar 2023 • none
We recently travelled to Port Chalmers on a cruise from Australia. The reviews and location of Carey’s Bay Historic Hotel restaurant were excellent so we booked in for lunch. It was only a 15-20 minutes walk from the ship to the pub or you could catch a bus for about $1.50 NZD.
On arrival we were thrilled with our choice. The pub is absolutely beautiful, so clean and well looked after inside and out. We were greet by a lovely young lady who was helpful. We had the seafood platter for 2 and it was beyond this world. Sooooo tasty and fresh and combined with a glass of wine we were in heaven. We can’t recommend this hotel highly enough and hats off to the staff and owners!! Keep up the great work!!
Review collected in partnership with www.restauranthub.co.nz
This business uses tools provided by Tripadvisor (or one of its official Review Collection Partners) to encourage and collect guest reviews, including this one.
Written 16 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ezprince
Queenstown3 contributions
May 2024 • none
The food was excellent, including the children's meals. My small children were tired and irritable, but staff went out of their way to make sure we felt comfortable and enjoyed our meals. We will definitely be back soon.
Review collected in partnership with www.restauranthub.co.nz
This business uses tools provided by Tripadvisor (or one of its official Review Collection Partners) to encourage and collect guest reviews, including this one.
Written 31 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
P111Dunedin
Dunedin40 contributions
Jan 2024 • friends
What a fantastic hotel and restaurant We had visitors from Australia and after showing them around the city we travelled to Careys Bay for Dinner. We booked online which was effortless and the enquiry was quickly replied to. We arrived and were seated by the friendly staff and ordered drinks and our meals. Being very close to the harbour we had a fantastic view over the bay and watched a massive cruise ship leaving. The meals arrived quickly after ordering starters of breads and dips and seafood chowder which was beautiful and full of seafood. For our mains we all decided on fresh Fish and Chips, the meal was huge, with fresh Sole fillet chips and salad. The service was fantastic. I would highly recommend a meal here, but book first as even on a Thursday evening the restaurant was full.
Written 10 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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