The Bay Bar and Brasserie in Taupo

Polite and efficient staff. Enjoyable visit

I note some of the recent favorable reviews on this place but Im afraid I disagree. I took family there for a meal and while the atmosphere was nice the portions were miserable. The duck meal consisted of two small pieces of tough duck and some rocket salad. My steak was cooked beautifully but tiny ànd hardly fulfilling. My wife had the salmon which was horrible and I could have cooked it better. I was embrassed and actually had to cook some more dinner for our guests at home. I expected a good value meal for the money. Dont know why they are trying to mimic some top end restaurant serving microscopic portions. Sorry but not interested in going back.

went in for dinner and a drink very busy, quite local but great food and good times

My partner and I had dinner here last night, we ordered Roasted Beetroot Salad, Roasted Lamb Rump, Crispy Skin Salmon all really yummy and for dessert Dark Chocolate Mousse and the Whiskey Bread and Butter Pudding now this was a real standout, great service too, recommend this restaurant absolutely.

We visited this lovely restaurant a few days ago whilst holidaying in Taupo. My wife and I had pre-booked a table for dinner and we both enjoyed lovely Sunday chicken dinners, with drinks and hot chocolates as our desserts. The food was excellent, the staff warm and welcoming and the ambience of the restaurant was very good indeed. We will be back again when we next visit Taupo. :-)

Lovely new owners, very friendly. Food is excellent. I have had the steak twice, the fries are also crispy and delicious. Nice place to go after work. Cosy spot for winter with their indoor fireplace.

Wow! What a fabulous four course meal with Cru wines to celebrate Matariki. This once a month evening is one I will definitely book as my monthly treat. $75 for the lot and what an absolute bargain for the quality of food and presentation received. The horopito butter was divine, matched perfectly with rewana bread which had a beautiful crust. A lover of fresh pasta, the raviolo dish surpassed all expectations. Then, the beef dish … perfectly cooked and with a salad that was crunchy, simple and delightful in flavour. Not a huge rhubarb fan however the dessert has changed my mind - not too sweet and with a lovely crunch and flavour of ginger, finishing the menu off with style and finesse. Having never tasted the HB wines of Smith & Sheth, these too were very good and the sommelier who showcased them knew his stuff and was interesting to learn from. The team at The Bay received a standing ovation from diners and it was rightfully deserved. Bravo!

Fabulous food & exceptional service. Had a great night out and will definitely return.

Great place food and atmosphere cocktails are delicious I highly recommend

Very Disappointing evening right from turning up for a booking that the staff member couldn’t find even though it had been confirmed with the owner. Once they finally found a table after waiting 35 minutes, we were plonked in the corner and forgotten. We had chosen the cauliflower and eggplant as a shared entree but the eggplant was rubbery and barely cooked. Then the main arrived which was the salmon which lacked flavour other than salt. We may have struck the Bay Bar on a bad night as there was a large group that seemed to be taking all of the wait staffs attention with their whiskey tasting. But High end prices, poor service does not leave you wanting more…

Participated in the Whiskey tasting tonight and it was outstanding. A visit to the Bay is never disappointing. Great food, great staff and great value.

New ownership and wow, great team of staff, the food was excellent (surpassed my expectationsand you really get the feel of a business that is being run from the heart. Feels comfortable and welcoming.Loved the personal touches throughout. A perfect bar for a delicious bite and beverage with friends.

Great food and seems very popular. We had to sit outside as indoors was full, but the maitre d bought us blankets for the chill and was just lovely in general. Food was fast considering the volume as well

Absolutely the most fantastic food and courteous staff A+++

Great food. Great atmosphere. 10/10.

What a wonderful evening we had on Easter Saturday. A table of 3.Under new management we were told so there were no expectations.Could not fault the service or food.Good luck Josh. (and your Dad)

This is a bloody nice place to eat if you can get a table. Very popular so booking is a must not a oh lets go to the bay. The wood fire pizza is very good. They are on very thin bases so if you like lots of dough then these are not for you. But for 2 pizzas and 6 nice beers you are looking at $120 so for the 2 mates and myself that was not bad.

Absolutely awesome meal and service here would come again. Your team are amazing👍

What a treat of a place to go for dinner! The vibe was great, a low-key suburban bar and restaurant with a fantastic simple menu and amazing service.We had a wonderful scotch filet that was cooked perfectly, after oysters to start, finished off with decadent chocolate mousse. A cheeky bottle of sav was the icing on the cake, and made for a great outing.High recommend the trip across the bridge to The Bay

Amazing service, yummy food! Such a great experience. Would 100% recommend

Very enjoyable lunch with coffee halfway through our ride. Brilliant service

Delicious food and drinks. Great location and vibe. The staff were very friendly and great. The staff member kept coming around very often to check everything was ok/ take away things off the table and it became quite annoying. I appreciate what your getting them to do, but just the once or twice is fine. We can holler if we need anything after that.I would return for sure 😀 thanks

We love this place! The food is always delicious and the service is super friendly. The popcorn chicken, prawn tacos, duck and the chocolate mousse are all favourites. Highly recommended for relaxed dining or drinks with friends, its our favourite Taupo restaurant / bar.

Disappointing - ordered 4 pizzas, asked for artisan bases, got crispy. Was like bought wrap bases. Not great value for $96.00

Delicious meal, we had an open steak Sammy, BAO buns and 2 kids meals and they got smashed!was delish, and the young brunette waiter was excellent 👍

Great place for local takeaways. Pizza and bar snacks on takeway menu are fantastic. Ordered from here many times during our short stay in Acacia Bay and the food was consistently great.

Do yourself a favor and go visit this place ; awesome service ; food was excellent ; food was made the way good food should be , with skill and pride . Some of the top restaurants in Taupo could learn a thing or two from this establishment ; will definitely visit next time we are in Taupo .

Food tasted pretty good. Friendly staff. The owner needs to get the toilet lock fixed.

Christmas Dinner wasnt that good,after all the hype..best dish was the seafood ,that I never got..but was told was ok..Have to get something going there to get my money...beer was good,bubbles with sorbet not good....strawberry be something more to the pellet..

Amazing food. Very well priced. Excellent manager and top owner who was greasing guests as they came in, not hidden in the kitchen. Ill be back

Great meal and atmosphere. Prawn taco the best and Mushroom like the old “homestead” . Five star service. Highly recommended and will go again

Dinner here last weekend. Had delicious steak. Didnt want the mushroom sauce, and was offered another yummy alternative sauce. Friendly and attentive staff.A great start to your new venture Josh! Looking forward to expanded menu when lifting of Covid restrictions allows for more staffing.

We had dinner here Sunday night, food and service was great, I had the steak yum!! it had a beautiful seasoned taste and lovely mushroom sauce.

Average food, average service, above average prices. They need a rejig. Caution- a lot of 5* reviews are overly bubbly.. Vegetarians are un-catered for.. Chef seems to know little about food... Seasonal vegetables are 2 boiled florets of broccoli and cauliflower.. Wings are are to be avoided like Covid (or plague).. Pizza is better ordered from dominos.

Had a great dinner here tonight (Thurs). Came early with our two toddlers and managed to enjoy our dinner and drinks without stress. The staff were very friendly and attentive, the food was delicious and generous.

Went for quizz night. It was awesome. Well run. Which was amazing as the place was packed. Ordered food from the light meals option in the menu. Great value and my meal was Good. Definitely will keep coming back. Thanks

Friendly staff. Great atmosphere. Delicious food- we had the pumpkin soup, squid, pulled pork burger, kids pizza and kids fish n chips. So good!

Food was very enjoyable. Good selection for lunch menu. Table service was very good but wait for food to arrive was long. The Bay has a nice vibe.

My partner and I love coming here to relax, and I mostly enjoy their Thomas & Rose Watermelon cider and he has the Waikato draught beer (on tap). Janine and Jason are always very friendly and welcoming. We dont mind driving out specifically to the Bay instead of the other bars in town as they definitely have the best curly fries and the best wood fired pizzas in Taupo! We always enjoy our time here, as theres always good vibes all around no matter what day or time we arrive. Great job team! 👌🏻

We have eaten at The Bay Brasserie many times over the years, unfortunately the last three visits have been less than satisfactory.The staff desperately require training particularly in being mindful of timing between courses and being more attentive to the diners. There is no apparent interest in asking diners if everything is ok, the water carafes are not refilled and on the last occasion we waited an hour after finishing our main course to be asked if we would like to see the dessert menu, so we gave up and left.... not good for the owner’s turnover, nor is the fact we weren’t asked at any stage if we would like more drinks.The prices of our food did not justify the standard, the garlic bread was dry, the pizzas were barely warm and the pork was dry and very difficult to cut. The fourth member of our party ordered a steak which was fine.I hope these comments are taken as constructive.

This place must be Taupos best kept Secret . Service was second to none, food was as suburb and that was after i managed to choose from a very full and device menu as the Hilton but with out the price tag.Go the Bay Bar and Brasserie -Recommend it to everyone that enjoys good food service and wine

Worst pizza I have ever had! Very disappointing after reading the other reviews and wanting to enjoy wood fired pizza while on holiday. Pizza was floury, the dough was undercooked and there were barely any toppings. The dough also had large air bubbles in the dough. Ridiculous when the pizza is priced at $26.

Would not visit this restaurant/bar again!When our main dishes were delivered to the table, no mention was made that vegetables were still to come. They eventually arrived some 3-4 mins after the main. At no stage did any of the staff come to our table, ask if our meal was okay and did we require anything else.Staff were observed texting on their personal phone, going to the ablutions, standing around sipping water, not attending to the tables where guests had finished their meals and walking straight past tables where it was obvious patrons had finished their meals.Food was adequate. We went for a meal to experience good service and food. Unfortunately we didn’t experience any of that!Due to COVID-19 situation, we would have thought this business would have gone beyond the extra to provide a top service and dining experience to encourage people to visit and have repeat business. What a shame you did not do that! Your service was below standard therefore you won’t have our patronage again!

Pizza was amazing, awesome wood fired pizza with great flavours. Lovely atmosphere and good service.

Recently a new chef has come on board at the Bay Bar and Brasserie. He comes to your table if you want to talk about how his food is prepared and what ingredients are used. We had the signature steak dish and the crispy half duck. Both were outstanding! The Bay still have their pizzas which have always been good. But the new chef has raised the bar on a la carte menu. Marked down a bit as half of the place is a bar and there was a loud person that loved the sound of their own voice. Also a notch downward for the very many different menus that you have to look through, most on plain paper (not very hygienic. Recommend the Bar get a more professional looking menu especially for the restaurant side.

Nice place for a beer and pizza :liked the friendly welcome from the manager!

The service was absolutely fantastic, very welcoming and happily explained the specials menu. We left the choice of wine to compliment our food to the lady behind the bar and it was excellent. The food tasted amazing - I had a fish pie and my husband the goat and mutton curry. We were only in Taupo one night which is a shame as we would happily have gone back again! Thank you

I had the crispy snapper and lemon tart. Its to die for. My family and I will be back. great menu, its new and very hard to choose from...Every thing sounds delicious. I wanted to try every thing. Thank you for a lovely meal and great service

First night away on our long-awaited holiday and I am so thrilled. Scallops were absolutely delicious and you could not fault the service. Mussels were also perfect and we will be back when they re-open Tuesday. Thank you to all the staff for such a fabulous experience!

This restaurant is an absolute gem. Fantastic food, fabulous service that went beyond any expectations we could have hoped for.One of our crew had a small fall skinning a knee just across the road from restaurant. We didnt have time to sort it before we were due to eat so we went in anyway. Within minutes the owner had noticed our friends knee injury and offered to have one of her staff clean and dress it. The most delightful waitress and so Im told qualified nurse, Sian came over with a full first aid kit, cleaned and dressed our friends knee.Our meals were well priced, the wine was generously portioned and the staff could not have done anymore to please. 5 stars - Thank you.