Zephyr Restaurant

Someone from this business manages this listing.

304 reviews

#1 of 32 Restaurants in Kaikoura$$ - $$$, New Zealand, Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options

+64 3-319 6999+ Add website

Hours

Tue

5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Wed

5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Thu

5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Fri

5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Sat

5:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Improve this listing

What is Travellers’ Choice?

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.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

304 reviews

#1 of 32 Restaurants in Kaikoura

Travellers' Choice 2024

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Local cuisine, New Zealand, Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options

“It was so delicious I didn’t want it to end! Tried a local wine by the glass-...”

“Fabulous food - especially the shared lamb dish!”

“We had a very pleasant meal - great service, good choice, good value lamb mea...”

Location and contact

40 West End, Kaikoura 7300 New Zealand

+64 3-319 6999

Improve this listing

Is this restaurant family-friendly?

Yes

Unsure

Details

Manage this business?

About

Contemporary New Zealand Cuisine With Fresh Local Produce, Serving Steaks, Seafood, Venison - great service, great food in downtown Kaikoura

PRICE RANGE

$13.00 – $45.00

CUISINES

New Zealand

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Reservations, Seating, Street Parking, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Gift Cards Available

Contribute

Write a review Upload a photo Ask a question

We perform checks on reviews.

Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews

Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.

When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.

Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.

Learn more about our review moderation.

4.5

304 reviews

Excellent

233

Very good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Jillian S

Cherry Burton51 contributions

Great Recommendation

Jan 2020 • none

We were recommended to eat here by our B&B hosts in Kaikoura and it certainly didn't disappoint. We had to eat early, 6pm, as we were a late booking and the place was empty when we arrived but gradually filled up. Lots of people were turned away as it seems to be booked well in advance. The service was very friendly and attentive and the serving staff happy to discus the menu option. The food arrived promptly and was delicious. It was so good we booked for the following night and had another excellent meal.

Written 8 February 2020

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.

H2331SYkarend

Channel Islands197 contributions

Best recommendation we’ve had

Mar 2020 • couples

Staying locally we were recommended this restaurant. As it opened at 5.30pm we arrived soon after and managed to get a table without a booking. My advice, don’t risk it, book. This is a gem of a restaurant and it filled up pretty quickly with a couple of other walk ins but the rest had been booked and people were being turned away. Had one of the best meals I’ve had here. We were pecking so my husband decided to order the bread and dips, four or five different beads and a beetroot dip and (my favourite) the aubergine dip. However when mains came we were a little sorry we had. Good size portions and the food was so good. I had the twice cooked pork belly which can be dangerous as I’m not a huge fat lover but I do like well cooked pork belly. Need not have worried this was one of the best in a rich, slightly sweet and spicy sauce just perfect. It came with beautifully crisp roasted potatoes and a choice of salad or seasonal veg which we both chose. Really good. Husband had the venison which he really enjoyed and it was perfectly pink and tender. I went for the affogato dessert which came with amaretto liqueur which I’m not a fan of so they kindly changed it for me and with two or three scoops of ice cream and an espresso plus some little sweet pastry crisps (forget what they were called) a really lovely end to a meal. Lovely friendly and chatty staff made the evening. Thanks to all for a fabulous meal. Don’t miss this place.

Written 9 March 2020

PopsPeter

Witney157 contributions

Great Little Restaurant

Jan 2020 • couples

Had a great meal last evening. Shared a bread and dip platter to start and the venison and the chicken mains were delicious. Service was excellent; vey friendly. This is a small restaurant so not overcrowded and I commend it to other visitors to Kaikoura.

Written 30 January 2020

Ally P

11 contributions

Outstanding restaurant!!

Nov 2020 • couples

My partner had the pork belly and he said it would be the best pork belly he’s ever had, and he’s had a fair few!!! I had the ribeye steak which was cooked to perfection which for me is medium rare. The service was great and the food outstanding. Highly recommend this restaurant. World class quality in little old Kaikoura.

Written 8 November 2020

Hannah G

Wagga Wagga78 contributions

Lovely evening with friends

Jan 2023 • friends

Great meal at Zephyr with friends on our short stay in Kaikoura. Definitely recommend booking, as when we arrived at 6pm for our booking they already had the “fully booked” sign out. Between us we had the pate, venison, pork belly and chicken. Everyone was delighted with their choice of meal, portions were good and the meat was cooked to perfection. The service was attentive but not overbearing and we really enjoyed chatting with our wait staff. Special shout out to the young French waitress who was on her first shift - she did a great job, communicated with us really well and was personable and friendly. Given I am not from New Zealand, it’s sadly unlikely that I would return here, however, if I lived more locally I would, and I would definitely recommend it to others.

Written 9 January 2023

Trevor

Christchurch208 contributions

So in my normal fashion, I

Nov 2020 • none

So in my normal fashion, I will start with the negatives and finish with the positives. Booked over the phone and arrived right in time. Went up to counter/Bar. First Lady ignored me and the next lady welcomed us and showed us to our seat. The decor is.....very sparse. A few pictures on the wall, some hanging bare lamps and a stage head over the bar. That’s it. Menu is in a clip board and a very good selection but the wine list was a laminated A4. Why not do another sheet and attach it to the clipboard like normal restaurants? We ordered Aperol Spritzs but these were flat with very little ice. As there was no Prosecco on the wine list, I am not sure what so called sparking wine they used. We sat with our menus for about 15mins before they took our order. We finished our first drinks but had to go to the bar to get another. Staff worked past 32 times and didn’t notice they were empty. We finished our mains and as there was no offer of desert after the mains plates had been cleared, we left. Now the positive. The food. Simply amazing!! Could not fault it at all. The salmon, pâté, pork belly and lamp were awesome, well done. Unfortunately, things would need to improve on the service side before we came back. And put up a chandelier or something to create some atmosphere. Oh, and please put the spare chairs out the back, not stacked in the restaurant.

Written 12 November 2020

Jo B

Portland41 contributions

Lovely dinner!

Feb 2023 • none

Wonderful dinner at Zephyr. We enjoyed the perfectly cooked polenta fries, snapper special with lemon butter, salad, my husband had the very tender and tasteful pork belly and a yummy chocolate tart with raspberry ice cream for dessert. Be sure to make reservations as there is limited seating and they were completely booked the evening we dined. Portions were just right.

Written 11 February 2023

MandyJKim

Hastings346 contributions

Delicious fish, brilliant service

Mar 2021 • couples

We ate here on a Saturday night, having made a booking as suggested on their website and we were so pleased we did as Zephyr is very popular. We both ordered the fish, Gurnard cooked beautifully. The fish was accompanied by superb duck fat potatoes and vegetables. We finished with affogato, a great way to end a brilliant meal. Thanks Zephyr

Written 19 March 2021

Geoff M

Brisbane145 contributions

The best in Kaikoura

Jan 2023 • none

Zephyr would have to be the best restaurant in Kaikoura. From the moment we walked through the door, we knew we were in for a treat. We were warmly greeted by the staff and shown to our table. A pleasant atmosphere with tables well spaced and it is evident that the staff know what they are doing the whole place runs like a well-oiled machine. We decided on the merino lamb oyster shoulder for two, with roast potatoes cooked in duck fat and vegetables. The lamb was perfectly cooked and fell off the bone, and the crisp and tasty potatoes were the best I have ever had. A good selection of local wines at a reasonable price complements the menu. It’s not often you find a restaurant where all the boxes are ticked, especially in a small town. But Zephyr ticks all the boxes and then some. It is very popular, so make a reservation if you don’t want to be disappointed. You won’t be sorry.

Written 4 January 2023

Heather B

241 contributions

Just give them a 10.

Feb 2021 • none

What a great experience we had tonight at Zephyr. We parked right outside. Great service and food of the best quality with a wine menu that enabled us to try another Central Otago vineyard that we had missed on our recent trip. I need to try harder to get my duck skin as super crispy as Zephyr do. The duck fat potatoes are superb.

Written 12 February 2021

Kahunadunk

Leeds23 contributions

A Serendipitous Surprise

Jan 2020 • none

The restaurants in Lonely Planet were all booked up so we cruised down the main street of town looking for further options. Zephyr looked rather ordinary on the outside but they had a table for two available for the evening, so we took it. However, it was anything but ordinary. Essentially a French restaurant and our waitress was French although she allowed me to have a well-done steak. The food was excellent, in fact I would say it was the best I had during a month in New Zealand; the wine was just right for the steak that I had; and the service was friendly, amusing, and honest. Named Zephyr for the warm west wind (even if it is on the East Coast of South Island), but then the owner learned to drive in an old Ford Zephyr so riddle solved.

Written 13 March 2020

jan

4 contributions

Wonderful

Dec 2022 • couples

This is the second time eating here, the last was on the last visit to Kaikoura. It is such a beautiful stylish restaurant with a lovely ambience. The service, food, drinks and range of excellent food, served in wonderful portion sizes make this such a memorable place to dine when away, a real treat. On both occasions we have booked in advance and on both the restaurant has been fully booked. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Written 29 December 2022

bigmik12

Michigan220 contributions

Tastefully executed all around

Jan 2020 • none

Not every small tourist town has a restaurant of the caliber of Zephyr. Such restaurants are usually found only in sizable cities w/ loyal local clientel to carry them thru the 'off season.' If I lived nearby I would frequent Zephyr regularily.

Written 22 January 2020

andrewomahony23

Stockton Heath142 contributions

Good meal in nice restaurant

Feb 2020 • couples

Nice meal at Zephyr on our last evening in Kaikoura. Food was tasty - we started with breads followed by lamb for my wife and steak for me. All accompanied by a nice Cabernet merlot recommended by the waitress. Probably them most upscale restaurant in the town centre. Booking is a must

Written 19 February 2020

B16SDP

Swanage46 contributions

No complaints

Feb 2020 • couples

We had nearly completed our four week circumnavigation of NZ so decided to eat out (camper van normally). It is unusual for me to have no adverse comments about restaurants when we eat out but this one avoided them all. We were well looked after by the two servers. The meal was taken at a leisurely pace. The restaurant was full with people being turned away (good sign). We had not been able to find any fresh fish on our tour so we’re determined to have fish (ideally crayfish). Sadly there were no crayfish on the menu but the mussels and Thai inspired gurnard were very nice washed down with an Otago Riesling. To finish we had affogato which was perfect. Well done to all - overall a good experience at a shade under $200.

Written 17 February 2020

…

Showing results 1-15 of 286

Best moderately priced restaurants

See all