The Laurels Restaurant

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Address

31 Amuri Ave
Hanmer Springs
Region: Canterbury
Licence: Fully Licensed
Cuisine: Continental/European
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Contact

Phone: 03 315 7788

Open

Winter: 6pm. closed Wednesdays

Summer: 7 days from 6pm till late

Comments

Small, cosy restaurant with an emphasis on local wines and produce. Offering an intimate dining experience to couples and small groups. A must for that special occasion!

Overall DineOut Score based on 11 reviews

Total		7.8
Food		7.7
Dessert		7.9
Presentation		7.7
Service		8.4
Environment		7.6
Toilets		6.3
Child Friendly	Kind of

Review by: WineGuy (1) on 4th July 2010

Total		8.4
Food		8
Dessert		10
Presentation		8
Service		8
Environment		8
Toilets		6

Dined here a few times, and always found our experience most enjoyable with very little to fault, consistent meals, exceptional desserts and not a bad selection of wine either.I would highly recommend stopping in at laurels when visiting the lovely Hanmer.

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Review by: Masha (1) on 2nd July 2010

Total		8.0
Food		8
Dessert		8
Presentation		8
Service		9
Environment		7
Toilets		7

I dined here with my spouse and we had an amazing time. I am lactose intolerant, but the host and chef went through a lot of trouble to prepare an incredible meal for me (we had not made a dinner reservation, so they had to do this on the fly). Deserts are usually a problem for me, but I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent desert they came up with. Sit back and relax in this restaurant, the host and chef will take excellent care of you!

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Review by: ESJ (13) on 5th April 2010

Total		8.1
Food		8
Dessert		N/A
Presentation		8
Service		9
Environment		8
Toilets		7
Child Friendly	Not at all

We dined here as a couple about 2 weeks ago. Nice cosy little setting. Very friendly host too. We liked the food here, the scallop entree was lovely. We both got different lamb dishes for mains and they were both very pleasant. We were too full for dessert although I saw a dessert on another diners table and it looked very nice. Reasonably pricey restaurant but it was a good place for couples to go.

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Review by: John Havler (1) on 5th April 2010

Total		3.0
Food		3
Dessert		3
Presentation		4
Service		2
Environment		4
Toilets		1
Child Friendly	Kind of

This was an interesting meal. We stayed in Hanmer for four nights, and if you want a really good meal, I'd suggest you go elsewhere. There is no comparison for this restaurant. Contrary to what other diners say, here are the facts;
1. They do not serve any salads. You are commanded to have vegetables. The vegetables consist of diced carrots, steamed broccoli, and a rather soggy braised fennel. They had no seasoning and looked very lonely.
2. The service is hardly attentive and is run by Sergeant Major of the British army.
3. Sergeant major openly admits he does not understand Gewurztraminer - apparently they are all sweet and he would rather you drink something more mainstream like a Chardonnay.
4. They do not serve bread prior to the meal, and insist you undertake the tasting of a complimentary espresso cup of a soup concoction, which the chef has overseasoned. Infact the whole meal's worth of seasoning could be contained in this one shot glass.
5. The main courses come with an array of garnishes, and are really quite edible.
6. Now for deserts. Quite honestly, you might as well forget it. Sergeant Major describes the deserts in a number of ways. You can have an alcoholic chocolate, a lemon tart which 'speaks for itself', a bread and butter pudding which takes far too long to cook (in other words, bring a sleeping-bag), and his favourite - a blueberry fondant topped with a cassis liqueur.
7. There are no cheeses - you're out of luck if you want cheese.
8. Coffee. Well that's a whole new experience -you can't have a cappuccino. However, you can have a 'French Press' which we further inquired, and found out was a plunger.
In conclusion, we have dined at many places, and this restaurant is best described as being stuck in a time warp. Interestingly they will only serve seventeen people, and then put a sign on the door saying the restaurant is full. Sergeant Major does his best, and being English, would take no offence at having a Gordon Ramsay makeover. We'll do our best and put the restaurant's name forward; as one of my fellow guests said-for the $400 we spent, we could have eaten the best West Coast crayfish, bluff oysters, and drunk the best wine for half the price.

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Review by: Peter Caton (1) on 21st September 2009

Total		9.6
Food		10
Dessert		9
Presentation		10
Service		10
Environment		9
Toilets		8

My wife Carol and I were holidaying in NZ, and came across The Laurels quite by accident. The food is to die for, Gordon is a master host. It was a delightful experience.

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Review by: hermione (7) on 17th May 2009

Total		7.5
Food		7
Dessert		7
Presentation		7
Service		10
Environment		7
Toilets		N/A

We've been to the Laurels 3 times over the years ago, each time we've been thoroughly impressed so expected the same when we too ate at this restaurant on January 10, the same night as missp. The wine list was excellent for the size of the restaurant, I just can't agree with one of the reviews left here, a bad example of how such writing can ruin someone's trade. It sounds as though some are incredibly hard to please. The food was good, including complimentary bubbly as our wedding anniversary as well as a wee cup of borsch :) Yes it was a chilly wet night but we were a little cold as not close to that fire of missp's! The service was delightful, quite a treat. Like the other diners, we were extremely well received by the owner but we were a little put off by a very noisy chap wining and dining an amore right alongside. And yes, the art work with their intrusive pricetags was not that flash at all. Perhaps the prices could be listed and left discretely on the counter? All in all a pleasurable dining experience.

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