Mudbrick Wines - Oneroa New Zealand

Easily one of the best, if not THE best, vineyard and restaurant on Waiheke. Mudbrick has the best view from all the restaurants from the high end restaurant to their bistros and upstairs seating area. If it's clear enough, you can even see the sky tower in Auckland. I'd recommend checking for sunset time and making reservations near then, the sunset you'll see is amazing. If the views/vibes/aesthetic isn't enough to bring you here, the food will be. I've been to both the restaurant and the bistro and they're both really impressive. If you get the opportunity, eat at the high end restaurant. Ingredients are fresh. Servers are attentive. Someone came out at every single course and explained all dishes to us. Complimentary amuse-bouche of kiwi (not kiwi fruit, but kiwi like New Zealand native) steak and Parmesan cheese was served first, I wish I had more! Valentine's special was a seafood paella with squid ink, served in a sea urchin (uni) shell was so rich and addictive! Scallop crudo was perfect. Seared salmon was to die for, skin was so crisp, seared so perfectly, and the sauces fish veggies complimented each other so well. Wild Wapiti Sirloin (venison) was amazing, no gamey flavor whatsoever. The market fish was also really good. Ordered a side of roast agria (potatos) and they even included purple potatos which I loved! If you have room for dessert, absolutely get the Mille Feuille. The best dessert on the menu! We tried to chocolate which was served with lilikoi/passion fruit sauce, they really complimented and balanced each other- the sweetness of the chocolate and tanginess of the lilikoi- amazing! Melon was underwhelming, it was literally a lemon with a small portion of ice cream and candied japaleno- we had a good laugh about this. Again, get the Mille Feuille, you won't regret it.

The view is stunning. We were a group of 5, we took the ferry over to Waiheke Island to go wine tasting and enjoy lunch. We didn't have a reservation, but it was no problem, we were still seated promptly. We had a stunning view. Our server was friendly, and happily repeated the daily specials 3 times. We were jet lagged- we had just flown in from sfo and had hit the ground running. We each started with a glass of wine while we decided. 1 friend ordered the lamb, 2 ordered the salmon, 2 ordered the ahi, I ordered the Jerusalem harvest. Thankfully a friend also asked for some fries for us to all share as well. Right after we had ordered the table next to us received their entrees- I wish I had ordered the ahi. My vegetables were bland and not very filling. Thankfully I had my friend's fries to munch on. My friends who ordered the salmon asked for it to be cooked medium- they said it still wasn't cooked enough for them. My friend who had the ahi said it was perfect- it did look perfect. The friend with the lamb said it was ok- but it was not the same lamb dish she had here the last time. It got more busy while we were here, and we weren't really checked back in on. We finally just asked for our check. When we asked to pay separately we were told they don't do that. My friend who had been here before said they let her do it last time. There was also an extra 15% surcharge on the bill for it being a holiday weekend that wasn't announced or printed on the menu. I don't think I would come back here again I didn't find the wine to be anything special. The food was bland, and left me hungry: The grounds were pretty. We enjoyed walking around and looking at the tea garden. There are other wineries on the island I like better.

Our last stop of the day on Waiheke Island was Mudbrick for dinner. When on vacation, we like having at least one fancy (ie expensive dinner, and we chose Mudbrick. We had reservations for 6:30pm at the bistro (the main restaurant was unavailable for whatever reason , and I have no idea what the difference is between the bistro and restaurant, but the bistro was lovely. The food was absolutely AMAZING. My sister and I both had salmon and my husband had lamb and we all LOVED our meals. In addition to our entrees, we also had several drinks each (wine/cocktails and one dessert. When we received the bill, we were shocked: it was only just over $300NZ. Yes, $300 is a lot, but for the amount of food and drink we ordered, and the QUALITY, it really wasn 't that bad. (In Vancouver, one below average entree and two drinks can easily run you $60 or more! In addition to the very reasonable price (which was far less than we were expecting , you aren 't even expected to tip! However, the service was EXCELLENT, so we did tip, although not the ridiculous 20% you 're required to tip in North America (this tipping nonsense has really got to stop . So with tax and tip, we paid $331.80NZ for a FANTASTIC dinner, with several drinks, for three people, which came to $285CAD. Not bad at all. Dinner at Mudbrick was the best meal I had on our trip and I highly recommend them. [Yelp collections: NZ/Fiji 2023; New Zealand 2023]

When in Auckland, take a ferry ride to Waiheke Island for some wine tasting if you don't have Marlborough on your itinerary. Or maybe you do and want to add some more tasting experiences, then I recommend adding Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant to your list. This is one of the first places that my husband and I ventured to during our honeymoon. We were ambitious, or I shall admit, I was ambitious in thinking that we could walk there from the ferry terminal on a warm summer day. The walk was nice. We got to see the houses on Waiheke and got to soak in some of the local life on the way there. It wasn't a challenging walk with inclines or hazards which was appreciated, but, I didn't factor in the strength of the summer sun. As a result, we arrived at the vineyard and restaurant sweaty, which is not always a good luck for wining and dining, lol. Therefore, if you have a chance, I would recommend getting to and from here by taxi as I don't recall it being accessible by bus. However, once you arrive, you can relax like we did, settle in and be welcomed by the lovely scenery on a beautiful, clear day. After cleaning and cooling off, we went straight for the Sauvignon Blanc. New Zealand is known for their Sauvignon Blanc so we went straight for it. Note: at this restaurant, for lunch, we did not have the option to order a la carte. The meal came in courses either 2 or 3. We ordered the 2 course set to give ourselves some space for dinner. I believe I ordered the seared salmon which paired perfectly with my Sauvignon Blanc for the first course. I then ordered their Venison Loin which paired perfectly with their recommended glass of Syrah and my husband and I shared their garden greens for some vegetables to round off our meal. He ordered lamb for his course. We were both extremely pleased with our meal. It was worth the walk and an amazing introduction to Waiheke Island. Our glasses of wine paired perfectly with our entrees and the best part of our experience was the view. I highly encourage you to book an outdoor table if you know ahead of time that the weather will be great and the skies will be clear. It's definitely worth it. The service was also excellent and our waiter was both knowledgeable and friendly. I highly recommend coming to Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant on your visit to Waiheke Island. It's a great way to soak it all in :

From bare land a dream in early 1992 to the first plantings and opening the Mudbrick Cafe in 1995, the Jones' grew with sweat, mud bricks and soil to the Mudbrick Vineyard Restaurant. Tastings at Mudbrick are led by cellar masters, and our self guided tours were an excellent way to explore the grounds, gardens and vines. We learned about their history, vineyards and award-winning wines. All of the wines we tasted were delicious . We didn't have a reservation so we were seated at the archive wine bar. We shared a charcuterie board, 2 cheeses. We enjoyed our Sauvignon Blanc and a Casira Moro madam rouge with plums, figs, cherry flavors, a potent tanin and a long finish. Everything was exceptional, service was friendly, knowledgeable attentive. The view and grounds were truly memorable. This was a splurge for lunch.