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Ratings and reviews

RATINGS
Food
Service
Value

Details

PRICE RANGE
$10 - $32
CUISINES
Spanish, New Zealand
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Drinks
View all details
features, about
Reviews (966)
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27
7
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Traveller rating
608
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51
27
7
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Reviewed 22 January 2023 via mobile

I booked this restaurant online. I was asked to reconfirm booking 24 hours before dining there. I turned up and found the place closed. No warning and no attempt to advise me of late closure. Terrible customer service

Date of visit: January 2023
Helpful?2  
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.
Reviewed 8 January 2023 via mobile

Super impressed with our visits to Mama Cod. The staff are welcoming and friendly and the bartender is very knowledgeable. We enjoy a cocktail or two on occasion and he created the most scrumptious cocktails for us. If you are ever in Nelson and enjoy...holiday drinks, I could not recommend Mama Cod more! Thanks team.More

Date of visit: January 2023
Helpful?
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.
Reviewed 15 December 2022 via mobile

Very helpful staff and extremely fast service, nice atmosphere, staff have to be commended 👍 great value also. Happy to give it a high rating

Date of visit: December 2022
Helpful?
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.
Reviewed 27 November 2022

We ate here because someone leaving told us the food was great. I was disappointed that all the fresh ingredients were covered up with overspiced sauce, especially the tuna which would have had enough flavour of its own

Date of visit: November 2022
Helpful?
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.
Reviewed 18 September 2022 via mobile

Very knowledgeable and attentive staff and delicious food, which was well presented. Nice ambience and cocktails. We just felt it was a bit overpriced for what it was. Extra cutlery was brought to us to eat our food, some of which was places on the...napkin and what didn't fit, was put on bear table, which we felt wasn't exactly hygienic. Great food though, just a bit too expensive for what it was, we felt.More

Date of visit: September 2022
Helpful?2  
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.
Reviewed 1 May 2022 via mobile

After reading Will Binya's devastating review my wife and I decided to drop in for a pre function drink. We were guided upstairs to the impressive new Tatton's Lounge. Three rooms with comfortable furniture and intimate privacy. We both chose a glass of the Felton...Road 6, Chardonnay. Boom. A wine of this calibre is rarely available by the glass 10/10 for ambiance, service and wine selection. A great place for that intimate pre dinner or after dinner drink, and of course, a great restaurant down stairsMore

Date of visit: May 2022
Helpful?1  
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.
Reviewed 28 April 2022 via mobile

We have visited this restaurant several times. This time wasn’t as good as previously. Food was ok however the price of drinks were completely over the top. A gin and tonic at $16 for the gin and $4.50 for the tonic is very expensive and...a cocktail at $18 too dear. This habit of charging extra for the mixer is really gauging.More

Date of visit: April 2022
Helpful?2  
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.
Reviewed 16 February 2022

Went out for San Valentine with my wife. Great food, great service. Big selection of cocktails and wines. It was a set menu night with multiple choices of gluten free and dairy free options. We had the beef tartare to start, so simple but so...tasty. As main course we had prawns curry and soba noodle with market fish. All fresh ingredients and super tasty. For dessert we enjoyed a refreshing trio of sorbet and a chocolate cremeux that was to die for. Food came out pretty quickly and it was well presented, prices balance the quality of the food. Really appreciate the time and the service dedicated to us from the manager that suggested us which wine was best with our food. Top notch of the night were the cocktails. We will definitely go back Highly recommended.More

Date of visit: February 2022
Helpful?
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Reviewed 13 February 2022

Service was rude and off-handed the first time we went, overpriced and limited menu. We decided to give it another go. The male waiter cunningly recommended a GLASS of Chardonnay (off menu) and failed to mention that it was $34 until we asked for the...bill. That’s a stretch for a top champagne but a Chardonnay? Madness. We will never be back. Menu was a sheet of paper, straight from a breakers burger joint. Staff I’ll-informed and lazy, won’t be robbed again. Don’t waste your time here.More

Date of visit: February 2022
Helpful?5  
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.
nickwidd, Owner at Mama Cod, responded to this reviewResponded 14 February 2022

It takes a special kind of human to write a review like this during the difficult times all hospitality is going through, so it kind of sets the tone in how I take your feedback. If you were to have contacted us directly and not...More

Reviewed 15 January 2022 via mobile

We all had a really nice meal on a very hot day. Great to sit outside. Mist had the steak which was gluten free. I really liked the kids meals as they came with a coloring book.

Date of visit: January 2022
Helpful?
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Reviewed 9 January 2022

Next door to our favourite Nelson restaurant and this comes close. Great food and service. We loved the lemon sole with lentil sauce. Must-try restaurant.

Date of visit: January 2022
Helpful?1  
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.
Reviewed 6 January 2022

Booked table online early in the day for dinner that night. Front of restaurant has decor & atmosphere and was half empty but we were seated out the back area by ourselves for first 30 mins before large group bookings filled up the non-atmosphere space....Tried to get front section table on arrival, and though male staff was trying to rearrange, the woman colleague who seemed to be manager, was most un-accomodating and lacked ‘friendly customer service’ you would expect in a locally recommended restaurant of this standard. Food was nice but unfortunately lack of ‘back hall’ atmosphere for a special family birthday dinner for 3 will be what we remember.More

Date of visit: January 2022
Helpful?3  
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.
nickwidd, Owner at Mama Cod, responded to this reviewResponded 8 January 2022

Wow. What a review. Our 'half empty' front dining room was fully booked first, then we fill our function room. Such a shame to book a table for a special occasion on the actual date of it during the hight of the busy season in...More

Reviewed 5 January 2022

As locals, we have been to all the restaurants in town, but it had been a while since we were at Mama Cod, so I booked in for an outdoor table. We were quickly seated ( had our choice of tables) and given the drinks...menu to peruse. Obviously a great place for cocktails, but it's great to see some unexpected gems (Valli PG, Clos Marguerite SB) and older vintage wines available by Coravin. We ordered our drinks (wine for me, smoked manhattan for him :) and enjoyed the warm night and people-watching. Our waiter casually brought the food menu and the hard part began - what to choose! Even though it's not a huge list, everything sounded really good. We started with the crispy eggplant - not being a huge eggplant lover, I am now converted if I can have it like that - crispy (quick deep-fry), tasty crust with a soft inside. Big Yum. We also shared the chilli tuna poke - again, excellent, but could use a bit more of 'kick' as they also offer it without the chilli. We found the portions quite generous for two people, so much so that I really didn't need a main (and didn't order one), but my husband did. He went for the main size pork ribs - 600g that was definitely that amount of meat. It was a huge (for us) portion. I had a rib and it was just as you would expect - tender meat slathered in a tangy, sticky (and messy!) sauce. Perfect. Service throughout was excellent - attentive and friendly without being intrusive. We really enjoyed the evening and won't wait so long to return.More

Date of visit: December 2021
Helpful?1  
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.
Reviewed 30 December 2021 via mobile

Amazing food we had a few plates to share which was the ribs, prawns, chicken and some truffle fries. The food was well presented and full of flavor. Really enjoyed the atmosphere, great to have blankets to keep warmer. The dessert was my highlight, banana...parfait, certainly recommend.More

Date of visit: December 2021
Helpful?
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.
Reviewed 19 December 2021 via mobile

Very average experience- we visited and were delayed a long time before the food arrived. Confused scenario where very extensive drinks/cocktail menu alin an upmarket black menu folder given. However when we sat to eat we were seated outside and was very drafty, cold and...windy. They did put an overhead heater on but this wasn’t sufficient. This area gave a beach shack vibe with Hawaiian shirted waiters and casual paper menu. It was hard to understand if they wanted to be casual beach shack or upmarket cocktail bar??? I’m not sure that they understood this but prices for very average food were very upmarket. One friend got blue cod main which arrived in a dessert bowl with plain rice and a bit of undressed coleslaw which was very plain and uninteresting and expensive for what she got. Steaks were well over cooked although tender. I wouldn’t recommend that you rush to eat here.More

Date of visit: December 2021
Helpful?3  
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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MAMA COD, Nelson - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about Mama Cod

Mama Cod is rated accordingly in the following categories by Tripadvisor travellers:
  • Food: 4.5
  • Service: 4.5
  • Value: 4