On our final night on South Island, at the end of our 18 day road tour around this beautiful island, we decided to treat ourselves and dine at this restaurant. Set back from the more popular tourist eateries, and in a building with an unassuming...frontage more suggestive of someones' home, we booked for 6.30 pm as Picton was filling with families desperate to find shelter, food and accommodation. This owing to the cancellation of many of the ferries that cross over from Picton to Wellington , the consequence of the damage caused by Cyclone Gabriella , continuing to ravage much of North Island. My wife and I had eaten our starters and we were sitting back enjoying a glass of wine prior to our mains, when we were hit by an earthquake! The staff immediately held onto our and adjacent tables, advising us all to remain seated, with filled wine glasses toppling over. What felt like an express train rumbling through the restaurant, and the floor feeling like liquid beneath our feet , it was all over in 30 seconds! Wolfing down our steaks washed down by the remaining wine, we paid up and left. Nothing much happened later, but we both agreed that, despite the interruption, the food was really good so well worth a visit. We will return when next in port. Our ferry sailing next morning, a "bump and swell" crossing, out through exquisite Picton Sound, and into Cook Straits.More
