Smugglers Pub and Cafe
+64 3-546 4084+ Add websiteImprove this listing
Hours
Sun
11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Mon
11:15 am - 11:00 pm
Tue
11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Wed
11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Thu
11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Fri
11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Sat
11:00 am - 11:00 pm
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.
Food and ambience
Local cuisine, Bar, Pub, New Zealand, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options
Special Occasion Dining, Groups, Bar Scene
Does this restaurant have a TV?
Details
About
SUPREME WINNER TOP SHOP 2014 and WINNER FOOD, BEVERAGE & HOSPITALITY CATEGORY - NELSON The Smugglers Pub and Cafe is famous for its hearty meals, foaming craft ales and great wines all served up in a unique old world atmosphere.Located within easy walking distance from Nelson's Tahunanui Beach and set amongst the areas' busy motel district, the Smugglers is ideally placed to cater for your group no matter how large or small. Food is available all day and into the evening with extensive snack, lunch and dinner menus including gluten free and children's menus for young smugglers. We stock a variety of regional, national and international wines along with Mac's & Speights beers, Guinness, Kilkenny, Becks and Stella Artois.We are open seven days a week including most holidays and absolutely no surcharges ever. So come on down relax and enjoy the award winning atmosphere that is so unique to Smugglers.
CUISINES
Bar, Pub, New Zealand
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours
FEATURES
Takeout, Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Street Parking, Free off-street parking, Television, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Gift Cards Available
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4.5
784 reviews
Excellent
428
Very good
243
Average
58
Poor
35
Terrible
20
footiesnz
Christchurch72 contributions
Dec 2019 • family
Popped in for lunch on a recent holiday to Nelson.
The interior is like a pirate ship which was great, my toddler loved it.
Service was amazing! Fast, super friendly, nothing was a problem.
The food was really good as well and large portions.
If you have kids I highly recommend the kids platter - such good value and plenty of choice for them.
Clean bathrooms and parking out the back.
Will definitely be back.
Written 4 January 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.
tedsmuggler
Thankyou for taking the time to review us with such detailed feedback. Glad to hear you enjoyed the food and service and hope to see you again next time you are in Nelson.
Written 16 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
RosaLyn H
Nelson-Tasman Region12 contributions
Apr 2021 • none
Very comfortable, superior, reliable, great value for money and excellent food, drinks, and service. They have excellent, wonderful value seniors and kiddies menus as well as superior reasonably priced pub fare from the main menu. I enjoy their delicious crisp fish and chips, especially because the accompanying salad is varied, tasty, and substantial, one friend loves their lamb's fry and bacon, another their steaks and one adores their fried camambert. Because of their superb service, the maitre'd particularly outstanding, you can take all members of your family and know all can be satisfied, made feel very welcome and special needs met, for example, I need to be served quickly and they always are extremely accommodating. The last two lady baristas made my fussy coffee delicious with magnificent cremas, all much appreciated. There is an outside area for taking our little emotional support dog which is an imperative companion for our 96-year-old mother. Highly recommended eatery!
Written 29 April 2021
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.
Ted Smuggler
Thank you for thorough review. We will certainly be looking forward to hosting you again soon.
Written 4 May 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
bugsey23
Christchurch101 contributions
Mar 2020 • none
We wandered out from our motel looking for somewhere to share a wine and have a meal. We stumbled across Smugglers and were pleased we did. We took the barmaids tip on the best Pinot Gris and it didn't disappoint. Conversation with her showed she has very good wine knowledge right across the New Zealand wine scene, but full marks to her she was very loyal to the Nelson region.
Our fish and chicken dishes were promptly served and both were cooked to perfection. We sat outside and had much more Pinot Gris than we intended, from what I remember I think we had a very good night
Written 3 March 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.
tedsmuggler
Thankyou for taking the time to review us with such great feedback. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed our hospitality. We pride ourselves on our food and our service and are very happy to see this shines through.
Written 20 May 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Garry T
14 contributions
Nov 2020 • none
We have been regulars at Smugglers for fifteen years and have bought many visitors to your fine establishment. My catch phrase has always been - "We have never had a dud meal yet and staff have always been courteous and efficient."
Sadly, not so on Thursday 12 November! My meal was average and entirely spoilt by the 'so called' cold slaw being 90% grated carrot.
To add insult to injury, I was referred to as 'Mate" several times by one server and "Boss" by another. Not an issue if they were friends or I knew them outside of that service environment but as an 78 year old, I found their terminology quite disrespectful coming from people who were young enough to be my children, maybe even my grandchildren! Some may see this as being 'old fashioned' but many will will see it as being disrespectful and unprofessional.
Written 14 November 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.
tedsmuggler
Thankyou for taking the time to review us. We are sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your experience with us and hope you bought your concerns to either your server or the duty manager on the day.
As part of our commitment to service and quality assurance every meal is checked within a few minutes of being delivered to the table and if there are any issues we are happy to either replace the meal with another of the same or something else of your choosing on the menu.
We here at Smugglers pride ourselves on our customer service, we apologise if being referred to as "mate" and "boss" were offensive to you however note each server should make you feel at home and if you have been coming to our restaurant for fifteen years we consider you part of the Smugglers family.
Written 24 November 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Mike
Kabukicho1 contribution
Nov 2020 • none
Visited twice this week and it was like chalk and cheese, visited Friday night and had a good meal including the garlic bread , Friday night was good but tonight Sunday the 15 Nov the bread was tough and not nice at all, I pointed this out to the service person and his reaction was to say that the cook had toasted it to long and that he would tell him, he did not replace. Very unhelpful and will not be back very overprice for quality. $14.50 foe stale garlic cheese with bread.
Written 14 November 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.
tedsmuggler
Thankyou for taking the time to review us.
We pride ourselves on our food and our service and are sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your experience with us.
The garlic ciabatta is baked fresh to order fresh ingredients (garlic oil and parmeasan cheese) and toasted until golden brown.
Unfortunately this particular incident has not been recorded, we are always happy to replace a dish if the customer deems it unsatisfactory. In this situation it would depend on when we were informed about the unsatisfactory bread. Were we informed once the bread had been eaten?
We would appreciate it if you could give us a call to discuss, we would like to investigate further.
Written 24 November 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
RosaLyn H
Nelson-Tasman Region12 contributions
Dec 2021 • friends
For the past years we have enjoyed delicious economical lunch dinners most Sundays, and are always greeted with enthusiasm and our food and drinks have always been consistently excellent, no matter who we were accompanied by, children or adults. Our guests were always catered for, with attention and their particular needs met. We can give the highest recommendation for this restaurant.
Written 22 December 2021
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.
Caroline D
Wellington99 contributions
Oct 2020 • family
My daughter and I dined here on a Tues night and we both loved it. Our waiter was excellent - really friendly and efficient. The 2 course for $30 was great value and the roast beef and the chocolate dessert were both delicious. My daughter really enjoyed her burger and sundae. We will definately visit again if we visit Nelson.
Written 13 October 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.
tedsmuggler
Thankyou for taking the time to review us. We are glad to hear you enjoyed your meal and service with us and hope to see you again when you visit Nelson.
Written 5 November 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Gillian A
Hawera28 contributions
Jan 2021 • none
We went to the Smugglers for lunch and discovered that they offer a lunch menu for Seniors....what an awesome deal. Two course lunch for $20.00 - main and dessert.
I ordered Liver and Bacon with onion and mushroom gravy,,,,,,it was sooo delicious!! Just like my mum to make for us as kids. My husband had the best ever roast beef dinner at a pub. Not only was the food great the staff and service was excellent. We met the chef Kay, who appreciated our feed back and reminisced about the UK coastal towns. Will definitely make a point of going to Smugglers whenever we visit Nelson again.
Written 24 January 2021
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.
Ted Smuggler
Hey Gillian, thanks again for taking the time out to write such a great review. We'll see you again soon
Written 25 February 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
chakkuli
New Zealand19 contributions
Jun 2020 • family
The quality of service has really gone down here! They can’t add a meal to an order and don’t really care for custom it appears. This was our fifth or sixth visit and previous visits were very different. When your six and four year old ask you not to go again to a place you know the place is not child friendly!
Don’t go with children, lots of choice in Nelson anyway.
And any place that can’t apologize for their poor service should never get custom again. Served extra meal late though it was ordered soon after original order.
Written 13 June 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.
tedsmuggler
Whilst we appreciate all feedback we are very disappointed to read your comments and strongly disagree.
Your table was seated and order taken for yourself, your parent and two children. We were not advised until 15 minutes after your order was placed that your wife would be joining you and would like to add a fish of the day to your order. Meals arrived 20 minutes after the first order was taken and the final dish arrived 10 minutes later. Please note all meals are cooked fresh to order and with over 70 meals served for lunch yesterday (with no other complaints) it is completely unreasonable to expect the meal you ordered 15 minutes later to arrive at the same time.
We are a very child friendly restaurant and this is reflected in a number of Trip Advisor reviews. Unfortunately due to COVID19 we are not currently providing colouring in paper or crayons however we are happy for you to provide your own.
We pride ourselves on our food and our service and as part our commitment to service we have many checks in place to ensure you enjoy your experience. At the final payment stage you were served by the owner and no comment was made until you have arrived home behind your keyboard.
Written 14 June 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
JB007
Palm Cove434 contributions
Aug 2021 • none
Was staying close by so we decided to have dinner here. I had Chicken Parmigiana and my wife chose the filo type Chicken meal. Very tasty and substantial. Excellent service. A well run operation. Very busy as well for a Monday night so that speaks volumes about the place.
Written 12 August 2021
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.
jenmlgrant
Nelson-Tasman Region30 contributions
May 2020 • couples
I’m not even slightly exaggerating when I say, the best food I eat comes out of the kitchen at smugglers. Tonight I had chicken parmigiana with a side of mashed potato rather than fries as I have ceoliac disease and it was one of the best damn meals I’ve had in my whole life. The customer service here is amazing especially Annalise, she was very friendly and made our night so much better with her bubbly service. Could not recommend more! Thanks guys.
Written 29 May 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.
tedsmuggler
Thankyou for taking the time to review us. We are so happy to hear you enjoyed your meals and service and hope to see you again soon!
Written 14 June 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
David S
Nelson21 contributions
Dec 2019 • none
Food was dreadful. Pseudo Italiana chicken was so overcooked and dry it was really hard, the so called mozzarella cheese topping was leathery and hard GROSS. The chicken was only luke-warm when tabled. No complaint made as family not happy to cause trouble. Steak was similarly overcooked.
The children enjoyed the chips and desert
Written 14 January 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.
tedsmuggler
Thankyou for taking the time to review us. Whilst we appreciate all feedback we are disapointed to hear that you did not enjoy your meals.
As part of our commitment to service, we check every meal within a few minutes of arrival to your table this way we can rectify any issues immediately by either replacing your meal with another of the same or with another item from the menu. I hope that you bought your concerns to the attention of your server at the time of dining.
Written 16 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
RosaLyn H
Nelson-Tasman Region12 contributions
Jun 2022 • family
We, a couple of older women and friends, usually enjoy a delicious meal most Sundays and always can rely on the excellent food as well as the above and beyond care and service, however when I took my .38 year old nephew and his parents yesterday for his birthday, we were treated to even more outstanding attention, for which we were most grateful. However, I am writing this grateful review because for the first time in the past 17 years we tasted their soup, and my most discerning sister- in-law and myself really enjoyed their most delicious mushroom soup of the day. It is going to make my choice of what to order even more difficult in the future. Recommend them most highly thank you.
Written 28 June 2022
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.
alec w
Auckland80 contributions
Aug 2022 • none
This Pub/Cafe has un unusual décor but it works, great Staff, Mike, Paul and Val look after you, and their 2 course Gourmet Lunch set Menu with choice, must be close to NZ best value menu. Eat her weekly
Always consistent, prompt, tasty.
Take a bow Smugglers, great plus Lunch, and any meal here at any time, froma quick coffee to an evening awash with liquid, you cant go wrong.
Written 21 August 2022
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.
770david
Nelson15 contributions
Jun 2022 • none
A great meal, great service and and a great place to dine. the lunch time menu specials are very reasonably priced and taste great, we had the home made pie of the day and it was very good.
the staff were very nice and friendly as always.
Written 19 June 2022
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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