A girlfriend and I decided on Talisman for lunch! Wow 👌 what an impressive place to dine! The service was professional, friendly 10/10 The lovely waitress Sela made us feel so welcome and checked throughout our time there if we required anything. The food was to die for! I ordered the Thai green curry seafood dish, and my girlfriend ordered the lambshank on mash with veges. They were both absolutely delicious. The coke came in a decent sized glass! The young man serving behind the counter was just lovely. The atmosphere was fantastic whilst we were enjoying our lunch! Indoor or outdoor dining. It's a really upbeat restaurant. We will definitely be back!! Thank you! 😊

Magnificent building,garden bar,service and food. I visited twice in 1 year- I do not live locally but my daughter and gdaughter do- and on both instances, delectable. Oh how I wish it was my local! Lucky Katikati. I look forward to my next visit. Great menu options also.Prices are fair for what one gets,quality etc. Photo is of the Fish burger, fresh Terakihi with Fries and sauce.$20.00 great deal for a main. And I am VERY fussy on fish. I highly recommend The Talisman.

What a lovely place to go for a meal. Great service, modern homely atmosphere, and the food is delicious. We could not fault Talisman in any way. Katikati is so lucky to have this Hotel and restaurant.

Had a large group lunch and had pre ordered, so everything ran smoothly. Staff were super friendly and helpful and food was delicious. Great atmosphere at a great location with plenty of parking out back

First off lunch was amazing 5/5 Shoutout to the Chefs Would definitely recommend trying out the food! Came to the Talisman for lunch today, We were greeted nicely by one of the staff and were told to sit in the seating area. Then another Middle Aged old blonde lady asked us with a tone "What we were doing", During our whole interaction with this staff member she was rude and constantly made snide comments. Towards the end our waiter was replaced with another lady who was nothing but nice! I wish she waited on us first, Because the first lady has no customer service skills 0/10..

We didn’t know what to expect but the moment we stepped into the relaxed friendly atmosphere we knew we made the right decision to eat here. What drew us was the advertisement of the Wood fire Pizzas. What we ended up getting was an entrée of Seafood Chowder mine a small helping and my husbands a large size and that was enough to fill us up that we ended up taking our Wood fire pizzas back with us. We were going to leave but ended up having the Dessert Sharing platter and that was a good way to end the night. The atmosphere calm, the service friendly and attentive. The food is a great portion for what you pay. Loved it!! We even went to the Sports bar next door to watch some rugby and even in there it was clean, great layout and friendly staff.

I’ve been coming to this place for years and years because the food is great! Each time I come back the service gets worse and worse. It feels like this pub does not like having customers. Each time we have tried to call and book ahead the staff discourage me and say they are closing early and not taking bookings. When we show up without a booking they reluctantly rush us through saying last orders are at 7:30pm even on a Thursday evening at 6:30pm. Each time I have dined here they have successfully managed to chase their customers out and close up by 8:30pm every night. I understand that staff would like to get home but the place is still busy at 7:30pm. We have never felt welcomed by the staff here, rather discouraged. The one face who is great and is now leaving is, London. A shame they lose the only friendly face who treats the customers like they are welcome and it’s also a shame this is the only pub with good food in town.

Absolutely amazing food and service. Hamish was so professional and polite. Best service I've had in a long time and best food. They even went out of the way to bring our 78 year old father a complimentary little birthday cake as they heard us talking about it. Highly recommend.

Great service, a nice atmosphere...staff and very professional, a good menu

Had a lovely family dinner here last night celebrating two birthdays, meals were all beautiful and came out in a timely fashion, was a cool surprise that both the birthday girls got brownies with a candle to blow out, such a nice touch that sure does make people return. Our waiter and all the staff were well presented in uniform, very friendly and welcoming. Nicely presented interior although drapes that are up near the ceiling could be cleaned as lots of dead flys stuck in this. Comfy chairs sure makes the difference for one with a past back injury. Will sure be back!

This restaurant and bar is great. Welcomed by a very friendly guy, awesome menu and well priced. Dog allowed out in garden bar too. So glad we stopped for a meal

Lovely lunch today, beautiful food. The waiter didn't ask if we wanted drinks and they were slow coming however; the overall experience was very pleasant.

All I can say is WOW! I worked at this establishment 12-14 years ago and then had my first date with my husband 11 years ago here but honestly this place has really upped its game! We went last Sunday for my grandmothers 80th. All the meals came out in a timely fashion and were present so beautifully! The staff were so welcoming and lovely. Would definitely like to go back :)

Didn't eat there. Stayed in a room. Beautifully presented, very clean. But even though I'd paid extra for a bigger room away from the road, still ended up roadside. No sleep between road and next door guests snoring. Be prepared there's noone to help in the morning if you need it, as it's all closed.

Husband had the Twice cooked ribs which he thoroughly enjoyed. I had the Japanese chicken with apple remoulade. It was light and flavourful. The Apple Crumble Cider went well with it. At the end of our meal we had the shared dessert plate which was the perfect ending for the evening.

2 of us met by friendly front of house staff and made aware of maybe a longer wait time owing to large party about to be served and seated us away from the noisy areas. Our waiter very pleasant. Ordered to share: Marinated Edamame, Duck Curry, Pork Som Tum and Raw Wholesome Carrot Cake. Drinks Hakanoa Lime and chilli Ginger Beer. Everything absolutely delicious, even had leftovers parcelled up to enjoy for tea later on!

Excellent staff who are friendly and efficient. Our bowl of fries was a small bucket and great value for $10. Fries were crunchy and perfectly cooked. Menu provides full meals at reasonable prices without having to order sides separately. Pity I don't live closer! Yum!

Stopped for lunch. We were greated with a huge welcome. Food was delicious fresh good portions and good prices. Staff kind and most accommodating. Best fish and chips so fat 😋

We are visitors to the area and our motel guy recommended your restaurant and in particular the sea food chowder. Didn't disappoint! Only problem was we only ordered the small option. The staff were great too. Highly recommend

Very friendly and professional service from the restaurant team. The food was delicious and I loved the choice of food matching with wine or beer. The room had been renovated tastefully and the furnishings were of good quality. I would highly recommend and will be returning to try more food and wine choices. Good value for accommodation as I travel a lot and often pay more for less. These guys get it.,

I was going to write a big review but I’m gonna keep it short and sour. Harry was amazing and always is to us. He is exceptional and should be promoted! Food was great! Props to the chefs. And here was the issue. The last FOUR times. FOUR. Robyn has been absolutely condescending and arrogant. She is rude and completely out of touch with the true meaning of customer service. Who puts someone like that as a Duty Manager? Someone needs to rethink their decision. Not sure if I will return to the talisman, might in the future.

We had a late lunch. They had their full menu available when most places were closed or not serving food. Service was excellent and so was the food. I had the best salad I've had during our trip.

Went in specially to try the avocado and pulled pork croquettes special. The smoked eggplant puree was exceptional.. Hope this makes a comeback. The summer seafood Ceviche was fresh but lacked a bit of flavour despite all the components. A bit more raw than I usually like in a Ceviche but the husband loved it and gobbled down my half as well!! Both dishes beautifully presented.. not what you expect from a country pub!! Loved you can now order via QR code at table..

We have been in NZ for just over a month (from Australia) and looking for somewhere to eat in Katikati on a very cool, wet night. "Let's try the hotel", we said. Without doubt, the best meal we have had since we arrived. Service: 5 stars, food: at least 5 stars, ambience: close to 5 stars. And the presence of so many happy locals made it clear this is a good place to meet and eat. We will be back!

The food here is really, really great. Last night I had probably the best scotch fillet I've ever had. Cooked to perfection!

An inpromptu night, "Let's go to the Talisman for dinner". We ordered two salads: Cobb Salad with prawns and a beef Thai salad. Best pub food ever, great service from Michelle and her team. Thanks, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. A great night out!

We found this on route to Tauranga. The food was excellent, very fresh and tasty (we had wood fired pizza and mussels). The best part was the spacious garden bar area which had lots of shade, a hut for the kids and was away from the main road.

Service was very good, I had the Pork ribs, Meat was cooked to perfection , salad and chips complimented the dish. My companion had the chicken burger. We were both pleased with the really good meal sizes. Highly recommended

Booked to stay here, and after a 3hr drive we were turned away because we had our baby with us. They said they dont allow kids to stay, but the website fails to stipulate that when booking. We then had the stress of finding somewhere last minute to stay with a 2month old baby.

An absolute hidden gem. Went for dinner in the bar as the restaurant was fully booked (on a Wednesday!). Had a brilliant burger and super crunchy onion rings. Enjoyed it so much we went back again on the Thursday. Staff very helpful and attentive, generous portions and reasonable pricing.

Second visit in 12 months, consistently good food. Great staff compliment the chefs organised delivery. 2 steaks perfectly cooked rare and medium rare, nicely seasoned potato gratin. Surprisingly affordable for the level of service and quality of food & menu. Only 4 stars, as there was a mix up with the deserts, but I still highly recommend this place for a nice affordable meal.

Hadn't booked a table on a busy Mothers' Day lunchtime, so I wasn't expecting to be able to eat here, but the lovely staff accommodated us. All 4 meals were delicious and my (rather picky) son said that the beer-battered fries were the best he's tasted. High praise from a 14-year-old! Highly recommended.

Our local. My wife and I go quite often. Great garden bar area with the biggest avocado tree I've ever seen. Friendly staff. The meals served here are as good as anything served in the big cities. Never been disappointed with the quality.

We loved it, we stopped early as the traffic was bad heading south and found this lovely garden bar, great food and good service. Sat under the big tree in the centre of the garden, it was great.

What a wonderful restaurant! All of our meals and starters were delicious, really superb. But what knocks this place out of the park is the beautiful, friendly service and relaxed, inviting atmosphere. Loved it, highly recommended!

Stayed In hotel accommodation, but did not dine in restaurant. Restaurant on limited menu, due to staffing issues. However, was popular at night. Has outside area for dining and drinks. Dog friendly for outside area. Room refurbished and comfortable bed, good shower pressure. A little road noise as on main road but ok . Stayed for two nights, central to people I was visiting, large carpark.

Made a detour through Katikati with Family from Oz after raving about the food only to find the restaurant is temporarily closed. The bar snacks we had were good & the hot cross bun cider was fun to try, but can't wait til they are fully open again as the full menu is worth the drive!

Another fabulous meal today...every course was brilliant. Thank you team....and Robyn...you make an awesome dessert cocktail!!!! We can't wait to come back. 👍🥂

I totally get why three locals on seperate occasions recommend this place. Restaurant staff were very calm under a busy environment. The bar staff were very good at their job Food = 10 (Better than anything in Auckland including Danny Doolands which is hard to beat!) Service = 12/10 you could not beat that! Ambiance is the best that you'll get in town, but it's fitting for everyone local/visitor Really good to see an amazing team working together. There must be a good leader? I'd be interested to find out the winning recipe Well done!

Went too dinner on Sunday night my partner’s birthday, sorry but not good experience at all there were 4 people dining and we all did not enjoy the meal, steak was tuff over cooked and very small , the jus was bland and tasteless, the fish and chips , well 3 very small peices of fish , all 3 would not have made 1 fillet , just a joke and was the large meal? Terrible , won’t be eating there again. When booking , they asked me what the occasion 60th I said, they used too bring out a little cake , just a cup cake or something they have been doing it for years. Not know , so why ask? We dined there about 6 weeks ago. And no comparison, What going on tally?

Perfect place for our group lunch for 20. Great food, excellent staff, lovely setting. I have numerous good intolerances. I'd advised them ahead of time, and they served me beautiful alternatives with no fuss. Thoroughly recommended. :-)

Went here a few months ago for a birthday, food was so small and didn't really stand out, considering how much we paid it would've been better off going elsewhere, and we ordered chicken nuggets and chips off the kids menu and it tasted like fish, only good part of the meal was the cheesy bread dish we had as a starter.