Tirohana Estate

On our way from Wellington to Tongariro National Park, we stopped in Martinborough to sample some wine and have lunch. Tirohana Estate seemed like one of the few places to serve food along with being a vineyard, so we ended up making this our main stop in the wine country in the area. I think staffing was a tad light initially, as our waitress seemed to be very green and was pretty much doing what another staff member was telling her (she also didn’t know the difference between the two pinot noirs on the menu). Placing our order also took a little bit of time as well, but once we got the order in, the food came out at a nice, leisurely pace befitting having a meal in a serene setting. We were also outdoors, and while the table was no great shakes, we had great views of the vineyard on the premises and were able to simply relax.
Starting off with the wines — while both pinots on the menu were solid, they were a bit drier and less smooth and silky relative to the other versions of the varietal that we had elsewhere (such as Ata Rangi) or the many that I tried from Central Otago. The food, though, was quite good. While the weekday lunch menu is somewhat limited, the dishes that my wife and I had were delicious. I went with the beef, and while the flavor of the beef itself was not doused in sauce, it had a very nice natural taste that paired very well with the simple farm vegetables that were served on the side. My wife’s lamb was even better; it was cooked perfectly and had great flavor, and it was served as part of a salad. The combination of the feta with the lamb meat was fantastic. Topping it off, the pavlova that we had for dessert was simple but delicious — strawberries and whipped cream on top of a small/​medium meringue pie.
While the wine wasn’t necessarily the best that I had, I really enjoyed the dining experience here and would recommend it as a place to have a meal if you are in Martinborough’s wine country. It’s a nice little space with outdoor seating, and the folks here are very nice people as well. It was a bit out of the way given the trip we were making, but I don’t regret making the stop one bit. While it was not overly crowded outside while we were there, it was a bit packed indoors — so I would definitely recommend putting in a call for a reservation if you are planning to dine (and not just wine).

Tirohana in Martinborough offer the great service of picking you up from your accommodation and dropping you back so that you can all enjoy the wine. Our party of 7 were down there for Toast Martinborough so the plans were for a drinking weekend.
We were started off with a refreshing white wine cocktail in the tasting room on arrival. Then we were shown to our table.
On the set menu for our entrée was the choice of an onion and feta tart, tomato soup or salmon cakes. All 3 were ordered in our group and I think the small salmon cakes (2) were not the strong dish.
For mains there was Lamb, Beef, Chicken or fish. All served with the same greens, potatoes and Jus. Manu from My Kitchen Rules NZ couldn’t complain about the amount of sauce — the plate was swimming in it. My lamb was cooked perfectly and all were tasty.
For dessert there was Crème Brulee of course but the highlight was the Pumpkin Bread and Butter pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream which most the table ordered.
The only 3 negatives for me were 1) the time it took to get thru 3 courses was 4hrs between 8pm and midnight, I think this was dragged out by management to assure that you consumed extra bottles of wine. 2) Only problem was that this lead to needing to visit the bathroom more frequently and given the freezing temperature this was not a fun journey with the toilets being outside the restaurant. 3) When we received our main meals they were cold due to having ONE fish ordered at our table. Whilst the fish was hot the meat dishes had been sitting there for some time waiting for the fish that they turned up cold.
However the hospitality was friendly and warm and the venue lovely with plenty of character.

Always great to find an outstanding place to experience a meal. The food was wonderful. Since Tirohana Estate is a Martinborough winery, we asked them to choose the wine match from the wine-​by-​the-​glass options. My tomato soup starter was beautiful and rich, Els’s pâté was exquisite. And the wine match of their just released stunning Sauvignon Blanc was a great match. Our mains of Twice Roasted Pork Belly and Traditional Boeuf Bourguignon matched with a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir respectively were spot on. The desert and cheeseboard just added a lovely finish to complete the evening. Tobias our Maitre D was attentive and his recommendations were excellent. He was happy to engage with us in some fascinating discussion and banter. And the perfect bookend to the night… Ever been picked up from your hotel by the Maitre D of the restaurant? Well we hadn’t till last night. They picked us up from the hotel and dropped us back after.
…turns out that the Chef has cheffed (is that a word?) for James Cameron and that Peter Jackson dines there too. Perhaps another reason to book a table at Tirohana next time you’re in Martinborough