I have visited New Zealand six times in the last 20 years. I am a great lover of this fine country, its beauty, friendliness, climate and cuisine. As to the latter, I greatly enjoyed two dinners this past January at Hooked on Marahau.

At each of my two meals, the food, beer and wine were excellent, as was the service. The view, across Sandy Bay, and the hills of Abel Tasman Park, was spectacular at dusk.

Zoe Alborn, the manager, runs a fine ship, as we say in the States. I hope to return to Hooked on Marahau again.

Had a wonderful New Year’s Eve dinner at Hooked on Marahau (31 Dec 2011!) and loved it – we had great service from Zoe and her lovely staff and enjoyed scrummy food in a gorgeous setting. Would recommend this place – have returned and will return again!

As visitors from the UK and accommodation in the area we took advice from locals and dined at Hooked on Marahau. Zoe and her staff were very welcoming. The view over the bay was beautiful, with a breathtaking sunset. The menu offered a good selection of locally sourced fish, seafood, meats and vegetarian dishes. There was a suitable selection of both starters and desserts. A good choice of wine was available by the glass or the bottle. The quality and presentation of the food was excellent – so much so that we returned the following night.

My wife ad I were visitors to the Tasman area and discovered that Hooked on Marahau was a quality restaurant. Our first impression was its beautiful location by the sea shore at the very edge of the Abel Tasman Park. Parking was easy. Our reception from the staff was cheerful and very friendly. The menu provided us with a pleasing range of options – seafood, local produce and meat dishes. When the food came, it was a delight as was the wine. The service was excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

A newly opened waterfront cafe/bar/ restaurant with great views of Golden Bay from friendly Marahau (at the start of Abel Tasman National Park). Great seafood, reasonably priced and friendly. Really liked it.

We went to this restaurant while holidaying in Marahau on the recommendation of one of the locals.

On the positive side, the service was friendly and efficient with the only slight irritation being when the waiting staff changed halfway through our meal and the new waiter had not been briefed on what we had already ordered and consumed.

On the not so positive side, the mains were pretty ordinary. The NZ Pure Angus Beef Sirloin, which we ordered rare, was served medium to well done and cut into strips so it could be arranged in a stack. The fish of the day was monkfish served on lentils with almonds, saffron and white wine sauce. The fish was okay but the sauce was pretty tasteless. My youngest daughter had fish from the children’s menu and this was quite obviously shark.

The desserts were better with the children having individual pavlovas with fresh fruit and cream, which was delicious. I had the Kapiti ice cream with double espresso and Bailey’s liqueur. This was also delicious, but not exactly challenging for the kitchen.

The entrees are mostly in the $15-$20 range and many of the mains over $30, so this is not a cheap restaurant. It is fair to say that we were underwhelmed and thought that it was poor value for money.