Review Pig & Whistle - Rotorua

Very nice atmosphere it’s like a bar and restaurant style. The food was great. I think that the curly fries were better than the original. The lamb burger was a whole nother level the balance was there and it was delicious. I definitely recommend that. The pork rib is also a must try. The sweet sticky tangy sauce and the tender pork was great.

Visited for lunch, warmly welcomed by one of the bar staff and taken put to enclosed beet garden to be seared. Handed menus. Returned shortly after with gold water and glasses and order taken Didn't need to wit long for beverages and food. Huge portion sizes, very tasty. Had a great time here.

Great food, quick and kind service and not too loud for visiting! We had the fish and chips which was totally amazing and the Steak, Ale and Mushroom Pie. Also did a beer paddle with a couple ciders, the Porter and the Hazy IPA. Great experience!

Warm, spacious, awesome vibe. The food was amazing and it's portions size is something I'm not used to cos Auckland gives less haha loved the background music. Family friendly and the setting of the pub reminds me of old school English and Irish bars. The staff were very inviting and friendly, the food came out pretty quickly too. Right in the middle of the city

Visited 31 Aug 2023 for lunch. Fabuluss service and delicious food in a clean and comfortable venue. Our server was fantastic and extremely efficient and caring. She rocked. Just sorry we never got her name. Loved it and highly recommend to all!!

Fun & festive pub with well-made tasty fare, super friendly staff and warm happy environment. Best fish & chips I've had! 👌

We had just finished walking thru the Rotorua Night Market and decided to have dinner here. The front of the restaurant was brightly lit with fairy lights around the large tree in front and called attention to the classic building where the restaurant is. We didn't have a booking and was lucky to get in as it was still early in the evening. We ordered the special lamb shanks and the pork belly. Food, drinks and service was good! Definitely recommended pub for dining and drinks.

the steak and mushroom pie is really good. very helpful staff and a good all round atmosphere. worth a visit, or two, if in Rotorua

The veggie burger was amazing. While it's large and juicy, the bun holds it together quite well. Best veggie burger I've had.

Best fish and chips in NZ so far. The price is a bit high but the food is really good. It came real fast, it was delicious and the portion was more than enough. Fresh and hot food with live fire pit and lots of customers means only one thing. We are coming back :)

This place offers the classic kiwi pub / bar experience with great service and really yummy classic kiwi pub grub. I had the pork belly which was absolutely delicious. My wife had the open steak sandwich (has a full size piece of steak) which was also delicious. For anyone unfamiliar with this style of food, it is designed to offer a generous portion, with the meat being the star of the show. There are no fancy spices or complicated side dishes or sauces. Just really deliciously seasoned and extremely well executed food. It has great beer on tap as well.

The place where you can try different breweries and most of them are delicious. Enjoy the quiz session which will happen on the first floor of the restaurant. You can order your drink and participate in the quiz. They have a delicious menu which opts for both the vegan and non-vegetarian.

Awesome pork ribs, la b burger and bear. Young staff very friendly. Very central walking distance from our Urban lodge.

Popped in for Brunch and wow what a great place, fabulous service, delightful meals I ordered Beer battered fish & Chips with perfect side salad, hubby ordered the Lamb burger. Both meals were exceptional. Will definitely be returning.

Had the Sirloin Burger, the bin was a little stale and sirloin a little tough. Egg on top was OK.

Went to Pig and Whistle after the luge ride and were super hungry. Love the indoor vibes, cosy with a classic pub feel. We got sirloin steak, ribs, carlamari salads and meatballs linguine and thoroughly enjoy it with no fuss. Service is fast and staff is nice and friendly. We will definitely come back as there's something for everyone 😍♥️✌️

The level of service could not be faulted. The staff were cheerful and nothing was too much bother. The food was lovely only far too much. Could easily share meals between two.

Nice and friendly staff, good choice of music. Food and drinks were really good as well.

Great place in what used to be the local police station. Real pub like feel with lots of space inside and in a covered (and heated) terrace area on the back and the side. They’ve got a great beer selection on tap and the kind waitress was good at recommending beers according to taste. Came back a second time and had the burger which was yummy! Highly recommend!

The food was 10/10 🤤 came out quick and was massive portions so you definitely get your money’s worth! The bad/restaurant is clean and looks really good and service was great, definitely will be back before leaving Rotorua

OMG! Talk about yum and value for money, there is no way to get through that sizes portion. I was amazed that my Nachos were considered an entree size. Plenty for everyone on the menu and all very tasty too. Venue was nice and the staff polite and accommodating. Would recommend for a great feed while in Rotorua.

Your customer service is non existent, with waiters being ignorant, dismissive and just straight up rude.<br/><br/>Came on a Saturday evening, to get some dinner as most places in Rotorua were closed. Walked straight in, grabbed the menu from the bar, even asked a girl if the kitchen was open she said yes, and told us to order at the bar. When one of us went back to the bar to order dinner, not even drinks. We got treated very unprofessionally and rudely. Snapped asking for all of our ID’s. Yet when we first walked in and talked to the other waitress, there was no issues of us being there. <br/><br/>Yet trying to order some ribs and burgers there was suddenly a huge problem. Not only that but my drivers licence wasn’t good enough for the guy behind the bar. And I was forced to go to the car and get my passport. He also ordered other people from the table to come up to the bar and show their ID’s just to order some dinner. We’re all in our mid 20s... <br/><br/>Also ordering a soft drink without ice, which he had half way poured out, I saw him using his fingers to fish out the ice before pouring the soda into a new glass. <br/><br/>Later on asking for extra tomato sauce etc. we had to go up to 2 different waiters 3 times to get the tomato sauce and takeaway boxes. All in all 0 for customer service, and maybe a 3,5 for food... Definitely won’t be coming again, as it feels like no one actually cares or wants to serve you. The only positive was maybe the live band but that was all.

I want there with more 3 friends, everyone asked for different meals, all came up beautifully taste and in a generous size. Staff was very friendly, beer was great, I definitely recommend!

Love this place! Even when it was rushers off its feet, service was awesome and the food came out so fast! So delicious! 10/10 would recommend

The best food ever! Good service, and meal came out pretty quick. Decent portion and the salads on the side was colourful and appetising. Definetly will go and have their steak meal again.

Amazing food and huge portions.. I’d highly recommend the chicken salad..<br/>The burgers look amazing and the steak sandwich also looked great! <br/>Would definitely come back to this place next time I’m in Rotorua.

Great food, great location - even stayed open all of Easter break, with no surcharge! Delicious veggie burger (I'm talking amazing tasting) with curly fries! So yummy! Good drinks selection and nice interior too! Go there veggie people! I strongly recommend it!

Nice pub with historic interiors. Waiters are pretty good while taking orders.<br/>Bit pricey but everything u get here is worth.<br/>Should work on their menu to make it more extensive.<br/><br/><br/><br/>

The food was great and the craft beer was also really good. The pork though is not a good choice to order. The ambiance was just like a pub and a place where you could just chat and talk with your friends.

Came here today for lunch! Ribs were delish, a little dry :( but it's ok cause I loved the sauce to go with it. Chips were cooked well, gravy was a little flat, but over all it was pretty good! Thanks :)

Good Food, Wide variety of choices not just a typical pub meal. We ordered a pot pie meal and a Chicken Stew and bith didn't disappoint us. Service is good and ambience is great. Really nice servings and would definitely gonna recommend it. Good food + Good range drinks = what can go wrong?

Great service with great decor everywhere. Loved the atmosphere! But this place is not vegetarian friendly. The is maybe 4 main meal options for vegetarians tops with sides that mostly have meat in them. Loved the fries! But the lasagna was not very nice. $25 for a thrown together and almost cooked plate of vegetables with tomato sauce on top was not that great, so disappointed! But every thing else was definitely fine if you aren't vegetarian

I and my friends had been out on a hike at mount Tarawera and we decided to crash in at Cactus Jack Dormitory, the owner of the dorm was kind enough to give us some vouchers for the drinks. The ambiance of this place is beautiful, it's very crowded during the evenings at like 7 pm or so, the service was pretty fast and overall was a pleasant experience. A much-needed drink after a much tiring hike.<br/>Must try - Stone's Ginger Wine with Lemonade

This is the best place in Rotovegas for a reliably good, filling, tasty meal. When you run out of ideas or friends or are in a low point in life, come here and you'll feel better. Also works if none of the above is true for you.

So the pig has delivered 2 days of lunch. Both times service has been friendly. The food promptly arrived and was decent to eat. Quality pub grub. Probably to large. Which is a good complaint. Stopped selling Guinness though.. which is a big thumbs down. Get it back on tap.

Cozy atmosphere, nice food with generous portions. It was extremely busy so it took a while to get food but it was buzzing so didn't really matter.

It was 9:30pm and we just arrived in Rotorua, and the owner of the motel recommended Pig & Whistle. We couldn't reserve a table over the phone, instead we had to go in and find a free table. It was busy when we arrived but one waitress was nice enough to stay back a few minutes after the end of her shift to ensure we got a table at the soonest. We didn't expect much from a pub at 10pm, but boy the food was good! And you can get a beer while watching a good ol' game of rugby. Awesome staff (even the bouncers were nice!), awesome food and drinks, cool decor.

The chicken satay burger is my go to dish whenever I visit pig and whistle and is just amazing every time, it's tasty and fresh with a rich peanut satay sauce that is different to your typical asian satay sauce but still very delicious! Dishes have very big portion sizes and the pub has a chilled and relaxing vibe to it.

We were visiting Rotorua and decided to stop here for lunch and we were not disappointed! The duty manager whos name I cant remember was so friendly. She made everyone feel at ease. The portions are massive and I dont think any of us finished our meals. The beer was icy cold. We will definitely return next trip and would recommend this to anyone visiting Rotorua.

Local vibe and casual. Friendly staff and quick service. The prices are good for what you get. We had a great new Zealand wine that complimented amazing pork spare ribs and pork belly. <br/>When in Rome do as the Romans. When at the Pork & Whistle you must try the pork on the menu.

Good food and good beer. We both had the lamb burger which was big and delicious, with curly fries. Old pub feel with indoor and outdoor covered seating.

Had a delicious meal here and value for money. Less than $70 for 2 huge mains (that we couldn't finish) and two beers. the twice cooked pork belly was beautiful, melt in the mouth & pulled pork bun was very succulent pieces with a nice kick to them & very generous serves of fries and curly fries to go with it. Food was served to us very promptly. Perfect for people dining with a baby! Will definitely be back and recommend this place to others.

Awesome evening with yummy food. I had half fish and chips with salad and that was filling. Husband had nachos. ..he was full after his meal too. Excellent service and excellent food. We will be back.

Expensive, bland food. Had the pork belly which was expensive and totally bland unless coated in the bbq sauce they give. We also ordered the bbq ribs which were dry and the way to make them edible was drenching them in bbq sauce. When we made a comment the Chef replied it's supposed to be that way. <br/>Poor!!!

Nice little pub in central Rotorua. We had the steak and fish & chips. Fish was juicy and steak was cooked as requested. The mushroom gravy and tomato sauce were a bit sweeter than what I'm accustomed to and the taretare was suspiciously mayonnaise based but we still thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Large portions as you'd expect from pub grub. The curly fries are dangerously addictive - really yummy!

Went here on the evening of the 11/09/2015.<br/>We bought a dipping basket and pigtail fries. Dipping basket was a little over deep fried but atmosphere and beer/cyder was good. Wasnt expecting the cover charge but was only 4 dollars each so not massive. Will return for a proper meal or another drink when back in Rotorua.

We drove in from Auckland to get our cold bodies in to the Polynesian spa, that was awesome and we wanted to end our chill day at P&W and we did just that! <br/><br/>Bubbly young lady greeted us at the door. we were early cause we heard that this place gets full quickly and we were right, people just started to come in and it was packed! Young and not so young! <br/><br/>The servings are huge, super value for money! Plenty of drinks to choose from but this night I stuck to my beer! Ended up asking for a doggie back. <br/><br/>If it wasn't so far from home we'd be back more often.

i'm a pork belly lover, especially the skin n fat part are my fav. The twice cooked bourbon pork belly i had is the best in Rotorua, even compared to most place in welly! And I'm still thinking about it after getting back to Wellington. And the dish is huge.

Dinner for five on the Sunday of this long weekend.  We hadn't booked.<br/>We walked into the P&W and were greeted by the young man matradee.  He was awesome!!  There were no seats available for dining right away, but he went out of his way to ensure we were catered for as soon as possible. He was pleasant and communicated really well.  Not long after we were at our dinning table.   I didn't get his name but it was about 6.30 on Sunday 31st May.  Nice one mate, you looked after us really well.<br/>We ordered our meals and they were all really good.  They are reasonably priced and some were too big to eat!  I was watching the meals come out of the kitchen and you certainly get your moneys worth!!<br/>The pub itself has a good atmosphere and I would recommend it to anyone.<br/>I will certainly continue to go back.<br/>Oh, and they support all your mountain bikers out there!

Was looking forward to this iconic rotorua establishment but unfortunately didn't have the dining experience I was hoping for. <br/><br/>Subpar food, lacklustre service, Guinness poured horribly, and definitely not worth the money spent.

The " Pig and Whistle Historic Pub" is cheekily named after it's former role as a Police Station. The building is striking although the trees around it soften its impact compared to some of the earlier photo's of it on display inside.

We have just returned from dinner at the Pig and Whistle. This pub was recommended by our Motelier's, after we asked where we could go to eat. And we were not disappointed. We had steak with chips and salad and garlic butter. We ordered medium, and it was perfect medium, delicious tender steaks. We also ordered 1/2 size fish and chips which was perfectly cooked and a great size - don't think I could have managed the full size. Best meals we have had out for ages. Good value for money as we cleaned our plates. Chips were thick and hot and plentiful salad. Very generous serves. Service was very good and friendly. Thank you for a beautiful meal.

Amazing food (especially Pork ribs and beef nachos!!) Good place..good ambience..also great beers selection. Awesome live acoustic band (called IceFire)!

My partner and I had a nice dinner here while watching the rugby. The restaurant was already full when we arrived but were offered a table in the covered outdoor area. It was surprisingly warm given the location and going up to the bar to order wasn't a great hassle. The meals came out so promptly we were nearly finished by the time the game started but the food was good quality. Ordered dessert to keep us going and the chocolate pudding was a bit of a flavourless disappointment. Overall it was a good night out for us in a different town.

What an awesome place, the food is amazing &amp; so are the staff, we were down there for a short holiday, so walked the streets looking for the best dinner around, what a find, I had the Pork Spear Ribs (oh my) what a massive size of ribs but I managed all but four very impressed,<br/>My husband had the Lamb that was also huge &amp; yum.<br/>Of course we over ordered as we got hardly anything the night at a different place, but we ate the whole lot.<br/>Whangarei could do with a place like this<br/>Keep up the great work it's a must don't walk past go in &amp; be amazed

On holidays and have found the Pig &amp; Whistle to be an excellent place to dine, we dined 3 nights and tried something different each night and we were not disappointed, the chocolate souffle was enough for 2. Keep up the good food and service in Rotaroua

Visited (again) the other night. Town was cold and quiet after the long week-end. We walked the streets looking at menus and elected to go back to the P&amp;W having been there before.<br/>Guys behind the bar were very professional. Meals were delivered in good time and were great value for money. Cooked as they should be, large portions (I asked for the small serve). Cosy fire. <br/>Most enjoyable evening, thanks very much

One has to wonder having read the various reviews about the Pig and Whistle whether the owner gives a damn. <br/><br/>Tonight we had enjoyed a very pleasant evening having dinner in 4 star restaurant and wanted to continue enjoying our night by having a dance in town. I decided to take my wife and her 3 girlfriends, all professional people well dressed, to the Pig and Whistle. <br/><br/>We were greeted by two bouncers who after having initially taken our door entry, decided decline my wife entry claiming 2 years ago she was drunk in the bar, refusing to move smashed her glass on the floor on purpose. I was shocked to hear this. Firstly my wife is a very shy person and is not someone who gets drunk, and secondly we found it offence she was accused of something she has not done, however the bouncer was convinced and insistent he could remember her face and that she has a life time ban!! We find this hard to believe. My wife said she feels shell shocked as this is not something she has ever done; its just not who she is. They couldn't even name her and when we asked for his name, he replies saying James, Jimmy, Jason whatever you feel like calling me that is my name! Hardly professional.<br/><br/>Tonight is the last straw, I swore I would never return to this pub after the last time I was there having spent a large sum of money for dinner, was asked to remove a $200 jumper which happened to have a hood on the back. When I said I could not remove it because I was not wearing anything else underneath it, I was told to leave and that i should have noted there were no hoodies permitted after 10pm and yet I had been in the bar for a substantial amount of time and not warned about this dress code on entering. <br/><br/>It's clear from reading the various comments about this place that its not a place for decent people to patronise. <br/><br/>What is more astounding is that the owner is on the board of Business and Tourism for Rotorua. If this is the kind of attitude that his bouncers have, is it any wonder the town is empty on an average evening. Let's face it who can afford to decline what would have been a minimum $100 bar tab on a cold winters night when the town is deserted.<br/><br/>I promise I will never return even without my wife! I will also advise the various friends that do come to Rotorua to give it a miss.

We decided to visit the Pig and Whistle on a Wednesday afternoon as we had arrived in Rotorua, and were rather hungry. We were greeted at the bar and had our drink and food order placed. I ordered ribs and my fiancee the chicken burger. when our food arrived it looked pleasant enough, we were greatly deceived. My partners sandwich had huge chunky slices of tomato that had not been cored, and his fries were so cooked together that he could barely eat them. My ribs were so tough and dry that it didn't feel like you were eating anything but sauce. Throughout this time we were not checked on or asked if we would like another drink, and being one table out of two, this absolutely disgusted me. When asked for a takeaway container, the young lady serving us completely forgot as she was chatting away to the other waitress, and my partner then had to go and remind her. She gave me the container, and I was then to empty the contents of my plate into a small dish...which I found very bizarre and presumed she would have taken my plate away. I personally believe that paying the price we did, we deserved a little bit of hospitality, this being the industry. Will not return, and do not recommend.

I love the food at Pig n Whistle and the staff are always friendly and efficient.....have been there many times and have never been disappointed! My husband and I are absolute food connoisseurs and have dined at nearly every restaurant and hotel in Rotorua we love eating at Pig N Whistle and often take friends or go in a group the service is premo keep up the fantastic service and fare guys! you'll always get the thumbs up from us

old stylish building which adds to the charm. Huge plates of food which was tasty. The service was good .

I have thought about this for a few weeks and now know that I need to write a review of the service we received as a group at the Pig and Whistle in Rotorua. <br/>We are reasonably regular customers at the Pig, often having a get together with our kids before they go back to University. On this occasion, however, we found ourself attending on a busy Friday night and not the usual quiet Sunday night. We waited to secure a large table in the outside part of the Restaurant. Once we got a table for our group we found it a bit cold as the Punga fence didn't meet with the canvas roof of the Gazebo. Fortunately we all had warm coats and sweatshirts so we braved it out. We ordered our meals to find we had a very long wait of over an hour and a half. Meantime we huddled up under the ceiling heater to keep warm. Finally we got our meals but only to find people in our group who ordered first had to wait another 20 Minutes for their meals. Not very fair really, but we considered that they were busy and decided at the time to overlook this. Lucky for us the food was worth the wait. Then to our surprise , one of our group a 48 year old , was asked by a bouncer to "take off his hooded sweatshirt or leave"!! This surprised us all as the man in question had been at the Pig for over three hours and had been up to the bar on two occasions to order food and drinks and was not told of the rules of "no hoodies". There were no written signs to patrons warning them of a dress code change after ten o clock.This was very dissapointing and we all decided to leave at the same time. On our way out the door another bouncer asked our friend (the man in question), what his problem was and when told, the bouncer's reply was "though you can go home and cry about it there"! Very professional behaviour!!! Not - what we would expect to endure on a family night out. Since then the management have stated on their face book page "this are our rules if you don't like them you can go to the Lava bar.!! <br/>Well we probably won't go to the Lava Bar, but fortunately Rotorua has plenty of other great restaurants and we will enjoy exploring all of them - but one thing is for sure - we give the Pig and Whistle a big Miss, because simply they don't respect their customers - who by the way spent a large amount of money on meals and drinks.

I really don't like to do this but it's warranted. If you want a good service and be valued as a good customer - this is not the place for you.<br/><br/>On arrival the Restaurant was already well booked and all sorts of different people were in the restaurant. People in T shirts, leather jackets and also hoodies etc were already in the restaurant. After a while we finally managed to get a big table out in the gazebo part of the restaurant for our big group of oldies lol. Unfortunately it was very cold in the gazebo and the wind blew through the punga fence on the side. We ordered our meals and had to wait for more than a hour and a half in the freezing cold garden restaurant. Finally some of us got our meals while the rest of the group had to wait another 20 minutes! After everyone of us had finished our meals we thought about ordering desserts - but it didn't get to this because one of our friends got told by a grumpy and very impolite Bouncer to leave the restaurant because he was wearing a fashionable Hallensteins jumper with a hood!<br/><br/>So after been there for three and a half hours, spending over $380.00 and no sign of any dress codes in the whole restaurant we got this! Come on Pig and Whistle get a life and employ some decent polite staff, then this is certainly no how a customer should be treated!<br/><br/>We certainly won't recommend the Pig and Whistle and one is for sure - WE WONT BE BACK - which is a shame because the food was actually really good!

I love this place. Reasonably priced food that is very nice. Husband had the Ribs (huge!) and pigtail fries. I had small nachos(still huge!) So if you enjoy monster meals and great service and atmosphere the Pig is a must go.

Looking for somewhere to eat out that was nice but not too expensive. The Pig &amp; Whistle meet both requirements. Must admit we did eat before it got too busy, but that suited us. My partner had the Bangers &amp; Mash and I had the Lamb dish (forgotten its name), both good sized meals, even if a bit slow coming, no complaints about quality or service, would go back in a heartbeat.

BEST PUB EVER!!! <br/><br/>Went in on a rainy summer evening and the bar was humming…. Decided to stay and I’m glad I did. Becks on tap and best burger I’ve had in a long time.<br/>I went back 3 more times while on holiday in Rotorua and was never disappointed. <br/><br/>Well worth the visit.

Was very DISAPPOINTED with the nacho's from here. The mince was OVER seasoned, dry and cold. It was clearly frozen, re-seasoned then heated, I notified the waitress ASA I received the dish and she took the dish back and said she will bring another plate out. TWENTYFIVE minutes later! I had freshly cooked mince that was hot and tasted remarkably better.<br/>In spite of my experience I credit the P&amp;W for re-cooking the entire meal, but that's how food should be made. Fresh!

After a hankering for a Chicken Caesar salad which no fine restaurants seemed to be offering it was a no briner to head to this historic pub. The service was fast and friendly, the willingness to amend the ingredients for my salad was most appreciated. <br/><br/>My partner's lamb burger pattie was divine, the beetroot relish spicy and sweet, although the bun was over mayo'd. The heath conscious option for salad instead of fries was also welcomed.<br/><br/>The wine list was varied enough for a pub, but a fine wine selection is not the point here. It's about good honest food and drink, and that's exactly what we got.