What a treat it was to dine at The Old Church. It started with a very warm and personal welcome by Melanie, the new lady owner. Together with her husband Richard they have taken over this venue in April 2011. From the moment we were directed to our table we felt special. This establishment oozes warmth, atmosphere, grandeur.
The menu reads fantastic with a different approach to familiar dishes as beef, lamb and fish. And the final results delivered to our table confirmed that with Richard as the chef/owner we were in for a treat. We enjoyed all what was served to us (entrees, mains and dessert). It is rare that we have three courses, but here we felt enticed to go for it...
The service was outstanding.
A spur of the moment decision to dine out on a Monday evening turned out into a culinary delight enhanced by a fantastic ambience and great service.
Thanks for a great evening!!!

- The Old Church has been upping it's game this year to deliver a better experience more often for Hawke's Bay locals. They've got the wedding scene licked and have been busy creating new events such as High Tea on the last Sunday of the month as well as attracting the young crowd in with events like the Hawke's Bay tweetup aka #hbtweetup.
- Dining inside a church brings a sense of grandeur to any occasion and makes this an ideal place to go for special occasions or large groups.... and when Richard Highnam is chef'ing (from Auckland restaurant Kermadec fame) you're in for a treat.

Full Review: http://www.tweet2eat.co.nz/2011/11/old-church-restaurant-in-taradale.html

What can i say? The Old Church is THE place to eat in Hawkes Bay.

We booked dinner there after careful deliberation and discussion regarding where to go. There is no shortage of lovely restaurants in HB but we decided to treat ourselves and go to The Old Church.

We arrived in style in a '38 Packard from Packard Prominades (a must do if you want to impress your partner). We opened the front door of the restaurant to be greeted by the most wonderful sight of the lavishly restored church. The Maitre D showed us to our table, which featured the most comfortable high backed chairs I had ever sat in (must look around & see if I can find some for home)

The food was superb. I could have chosen any one of the entrees or mains and been happy, but picked the seared scallops with snail & garlic tortellini, while the wife had the Butter poached Chicken Terrine. Both were superb (yes, we shared both).

We both had the Pan seared John Dory with cannelloni of paddle crab, pressé of tomato and white anchovy, which was Heaven, but I would have been happy with any of the seven main courses.

We accompanied the meal with The Old Church Rose (2008) which was fantastic, then topped the meal off with coffee, which was also perfection.

All in all, a great night, and not as expensive as I was expecting it to be. Thank you Old Church for a night to remember.

We visited not knowing what to expect. Dinner was arranged for six of our friends with a Degustation Menu with Wine Matches via email. What an experience. We had the choice of dinning area, either the wine cellar or church loft, both fantastic areas. The plushness of the furniture and beauty of the table setting was something to behold. I am involved with our own company in the Hotel business and was blown away by the professionalism and thought that was given to us during our dinner and stay. A fantastic place for a romantic dinner for two or a group celebration. We will be back as often as we can. For that special occasion check out the Old Church Villa for your stay, we had an amazing time.