Review St. Georges Restaurant - Havelock North

The good: Food was delicious. I got the slow cooked Hereford presentation of all food was to a high standard and all dishes had a nice selection of colors to them. The time from ordering our food to it arriving was embarrassing, quick. Service was good, although due to a misunderstanding, they weren't expecting us that day but were relatively quick to set up. The mediocre: it's dirty and feels like it needs a clean. There is a decent amount of fly poo and dust if you look up a decent clean and mabye some art would go a long way to improving the atmosphere. While the food was good, there was a lot of fat in some of the dishes. Prices were fair. The bad: Now, while I'm sure this is rare, and it's unfortunate it happened, I will still include it in our review. When we arrived, I belive the head chief lit the fire. I don't know what went wrong, but it smoked out the whole place cause a haze to the air and mild eye and breathing discomfort. Smoking stopped by the time food arrived but certainly impacted our experience. In conclusion, I would recommend as the food was good and the atmosphere was, for the most part, acceptable. The quick and relatively good service also exceeded my expectations as there was 12 of us. 4 stars

Delightfully presented and tasty dishes; a mixture of fresh and preserved vegetables with crisp salads accompanied our mains of Salmon and Belly Pork. As a starter the chowder was very fresh tasting with just the right amount of colourful garnish. Wines were a mix of Hawkes bay local and other NZ varieties. Unfortunately our experience was marred by the appalling acoustic environment. There was a large wedding reception upstairs and a smaller hen party in the main room, a sign that the place is popular, but they exposed the very lively acoustic which made for difficult communication. The waiter mis-heard my order so I had to wait for the correct dish to appear. To her credit she did turn down the (unnecessary) background music and apologise for her error. Last but not least our coffee order took so long to be actioned that we left without it appearing because “the barista hadn’t come out”. A measure of a well run restaurant is it’s ability to maintain service levels when busy. In this case the restaurant itself had empty tables but the place had insufficient staff to meet the demands of two parties plus the casual diners. Train up your waiters to be baristas so that more than one person can serve the coffees. Soundproof the restaurant so that people can make themselves heard. Get the waiting staff to repeat orders back to the customer to make sure they have heard correctly. The standard of food deserves a better managed front of house experience. PS, signpost the entrance so that customers know where you are!

Wonderful experience - extremely well presented plates with a delicious taste. Prices seemed a bit higher than I expected, but we got quality food as a result. Only negative was the location was hard to find. The sign was hidden behind a bush and we drove past the entrance by mistake. Only after we walked up to the building did we eventually see the sign.

Perfect dinner spot. Lovely food. Great service. Lovely atmosphere. Us 3 ladies were impressed. Thank you so much. When we are in town again, we hope to do the tasting menu.

Celebrated my birthday dinner at St George's and their chefs 6 course menu did not disappoint us at all. All dishes were very tasty and colourful! You can adjust the tasting menu to your liking, which I thought this is quite nice. The best part was that most of their veggies served are all grown on their lifestyles. This restaurant is quite sustainable on its own. Had a super full tummy afterwards.

We found St Georges Restaurant to be simply perfect for our wedding. The atmosphere was not only beautiful, romantic and idyllic but the environment was simply refreshing with the vines, orchards and rustic ambience of the varying areas we could utilise. The extra touches of the hosts and staff to carefully craft decadent meals and cater to our every whim, in every way possible, went beyond our wildest dreams! Our wedding day was exceptional because of St Georges. We could not recommend them more! Taryn and Glenn Coulbeck

A lovely dinning experience this evening. Their new front of house manager Sanu was so kind and attentive to our dinning needs. We were so impressed with our 6 course dinning experience and can't wait to come back again in high summer for their new menu.

Very impressed with my experience at St George’s tonight. The venison was hands down the best I have ever had, the roasted potatoes 🤩 to die for. Whilst it might be on the more expensive side, the dining experience is more than worth the expense. Absolutely would recommend, will be back again!

My husband our daughter and I had a beautiful Sunday lunch here, the food was delicious and presentation was fab, service was fantastic too. Only reason I haven't put 5 stars is the layout of the restaurant is a little confusing (entrance way wasnt obvious) and decor of the building is outdated. But otherwise Francky your food rocks especially the crispy pork belly and the rosemary brulee

Thank you for the most amazing dining experience! The whole evening was perfect from start to finish! From first walking in, first impressions were great. I loved the overall vibe, the music was chilled, and the simplicity of the decor with the brightly coloured wall hanging was just beautiful. We were warmly welcomed and our service from Aby was exceptional, he was friendly, had time for us and was generally a top guy (who is great at singing 'happy birthday!'). The food was out of this world, we had a main course each and dessert. All the vegetables are fresh, organic and grown on site and you can taste this in the quality of the the food. I thought the bright colours on the plate from the great selection of veggies was fun and was a nice touch alongside the of course amazing taste of the food of itself. The chef is also clearly very talented! Desserts were like no desserts we had ever tasted. My friend and I had the rosemary creme brulee and deconstructed lemon pie, both wonderful. Lastly, I would like to compliment Aby on his cocktail making skills! The espresso martini is delish and involves a special, unique twist compared to a regular one. I can highly recommend, thanks again!

St George’s went above and beyond to create the best day for our wedding. They sourced vegan wine and designed and prepared an entirely plant based menu for our guests. The food was amazing and presented in the most artistic way, our friends and family are still talking about it months later! Kathryn helped so much with all the details and ensured the day flowed perfectly for us. Kathryn and Francky you are both so talented at what you do. Thanks again x

If you want a great dining experience then try St George's. Food was well presented and cooked to perfection. And have the Chocolate dessert 😋

Great food and service top knotch friendly and courteous staff. Lovely atmosphere will certainly visit again. Highly recommended

Had the best vegan degustation experience here with my partner!!Well done St Georges🕺🏼💃🏼 We both were very satisfied! Thank you for understanding Veganism💪🏼

Just had an amazing experience with friends, the 5 course lunch was incredible and I highly recommend. Compliments to the Chef. Each course was a surprise and it was literally a visual feast . 90% of the food is grown on site and yummy. Kayla our server was a delight and looked after us so well, we will be back. Thank you for a memorable day.

Had the 5 course dinner, which were large portions. Fresh vegetables, good flavour, caters for vegans. Thank you for the lovely meal!

5 Gold Stars...Absolutely stunning food. My wife and I visited with both our daughters ( 17 & 21 ) who were treated to a gastronomic delight served by the very capable and friendly Aby and Braydon. The starters we choose ranged from the Bostock Chicken , Salmon Gravalax and the Heirloom tomato dish all 3 were outstanding and visually stunning on the plate. We went gor a different main each my wife chose the Pork belly , my daughters had the Lamb rump and Organic Hereford beef and I chose the Groper which was market fish of the day. All were beautifully presented with accompanied veggies and pickles and lastly we could only manage 2 deserts ( we were full ) those were the Orange and saffron Creme Brule and Strawberry Meringue ( not like any Meringue mind you) and they finished off a perfect night of stunning food....if your in the Hawke's Bay this is a must place to visit only 20 mins from central Napier

Wonderful, food delicious, desserts divine, I had the chocolate marquis, I think it must be the best dessert I have ever had👍👍🦋

My now wife and I chose to have an elopement style wedding here in Hawke's Bay and couldn't be more grateful that we found St. George's Resturant. We were initally attracted by how colourful and delicious the food looked and arranged to meet Kathryn. Cannot thank Kathryn enough. From recommending photographers, make-up artists, celebrants and where to shop for dresses and suits to helping the whole event run smooth on the day. She really went above and beyond to ensure our day was one to remember. For that we are truely grateful. The outdoor courtyard was the perfect place for us. No doubt it will be the perfect place for many other couples who choose to have their wedding here. Whether you're visiting Hawke's Bay for a short or long stay, have an event you want to celebrate or just fancy as delicious meal, a night here is one you'll remember. Lots of smiles, laughs and full bellies!

Absolutely fantastic restaurant, one of Hawke's bays little secrets hidden away. Highly recommend if you're in the bay to have an extremely good meal prepared by one of the world's top chefs in a great environment and surroundings.

I had my wedding here and the staff at St George made the day a breeze. Kathryn was a ninja and was so helpful, it was easy to communicate by email as I am not local. Kathryn made sure everything was how I wanted and had my best interests in mind. I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to have my wedding on your beautiful grounds at St Georges Restaurant. The food was to die for! Everyone loved the food!! Thank you again �

We went for a ladies lunch today....we had the Express menu which was beautiful we all loved the food so much. Service was good. Would have been lovely to have more heat inside as it was freezing cold even with the fire lit and a heater going.

Beautiful setting. The rib eye meal was superb, the flavours blew me away each bite. Look forward to dining here again.

Today three of us attended the Mothers Day High Tea. This was the first time that St Georges had offered this line of dining experience for special occasions. Whilst there were some highlights our feeling was that there is also room for improvement. 1. The quality of food in terms of taste and texture was very good. 2. There were too many sweet treats and not enough savory. For future high teas, a better variety could perhaps be achieved by providing choices such as miniature club sandwiches, savory such as vol-au-vents then sweet treats with scones, jam and cream to the side. The portions to be 2 pieces of each selection per person with one scone per person. 3. The tea choices were nicely varied although we would have preferred the choices as leafed tea in individual china pots rather than bags, with a refresher pot along the way. 4. The table size was ample for high tea however, it would have been more welcoming to have had the table set for high tea prior to our arrival. Although we do fully appreciate that the restaurant staff were very busy finalizing service to lunch patrons, we did find that the waiting time for service at our table was longer than anticipated. Perhaps this could be overcome by reserving a section of the restaurant specifically for High Tea. 5. We felt that today's high tea was over priced at $38pp but would happily pay $28-30pp with the suggestions made above. We do hope that you will continue this pleasant experience, even on non special occasions.

Recently attended a wedding at St Georges and it was fabulous. Beautiful food, friendly, attentive staff. Would definately recommend.

What a treat, the food was fantastic the flavours were spot on and the presentation outstanding, the food and service were so good I'm going again tomorrow night.

Fantastic food and service. Can’t wait to see what the Autumn menu looks like. Highly recommended.

We had the most delicious lunch which tasted as good as it looked. Thanks for the memory and the food.

Excellent food and wine, great service and very good value

Had an absolutely lunch with some great friends. Thank you so much.

Chef Francky Godinho and his fiancé, Kathryn spoiled us rotten with his amazing creations and her perfect wine pairings! Most all the fruit and veggies are grown right on his property or just adjacent! Everything was perfectly splendid!

Never knew about this restaurant until my partner brought me there on the weekend as a surprise. Really enjoyed both our meals, the scotch fillet was especially delicious. Had the chocolate dessert too which melted in your mouth and the garlic aioli on the fries was amazing. Great food and the service was good too. I must have drunk about 6 glasses of water that night cause everytime I put it down empty someone came and filled it up immediately! Great work guys.

Earlier in the week, I booked online and left two phone messages for reservation lunch today. When I arrived with my friends the restaurant was closed. No contact at all, felt embarrassed and disappointed. Was so looking forward to 50th birthday lunch with the girls..... �

I had a meal recently, and sadly my entree was dry, so was my main with the fish skin rubbery, then for dessert I had a crème brulé which didn't seem very set, the other downer was the long wait between courses. The flavours were delicious, but I don't expect dry meat at a restaurant like this, and I also expected better as I had dined there on the very first night of business and I couldn't fault the food at all

Awesome venue for a wedding with super helpful staff...food and wine were excellent

Amazing meal on Sat night! I highly recommend to anyone to go there. Great service and absolutely delicious food at a reasonable price. Really nice touch Francky to take the time to come and thank us for coming and ask us how our meal was. You have all you need to be a huge success.