When visiting Russell, we always pop in to Nauti Penguin for a drink or two and a game of pool. The pool table is free! Cocktails & snacks are 10/10 and BONUS, THEY HAD A PUPPY! Great for dog loving customers like myself! They have a great sheltered area at the back with lots of grass. Overall love the colours & vibe in the place, makes it feel cool and chill.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Good experience, the live music was great. We ordered the 2 different chicken burgers and they were so delicious.
The cocktails are on the pricey side however worth it in my opinion. I ordered the proper twelve peach ice tea as pictured below. If you are looking for a refreshing drink I would recommend giving it a try
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
On arrival, security gave us a warm welcome and they had great live music. Grabbed a table and went to order and that's where the issues started.
Ordered the falafel burger, no problem. Asked if they had gluten free buns, was told yeah sure so then ordered the Babe Burger which is a lamb burger with chips, hummus and side salad with a gluten free bun. Was then told oh, let me check and the server came back with no, they didn't have gluten free buns but I could get salad or fish and chips or another item. I said ok, I'll just have the burger with no bun. Paid, had sticker shock at the $15 pint of IPA, went and sat down.
Food arrived, falafel burger was fine, a bit heavy. What was supposed to be the lamb burger without the bun was a salad with chunks of lamb. When I let the server know this wasn't what I ordered, I was told it was the lamb burger without a bun... obviously it wasn't. After we pointed this out, she came back with a plate of fries, the hummus never made an appearance. While the salad was edible, it wasn't what I ordered, had a dressing that I wasn't keen on and again, not what I ordered and paid for. The server didn't want to know anything more and avoided our table for our remaining time.
Don't recommend if you are looking for food... drinks and live music sure but eat elsewhere.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 2
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 5
Tidy well presented pub with a fun flair. Behind the water front and tucked behind the Thai place.
The food was so delicious and came quickly. We jumped on the ferry to Russel. Shared burgers and specialty mojitos. Then we jumped on the next ferry back to Paihia watching the sun set.
Stellar outing.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$30–40
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Beer is standard - panhead, Speights, Mac's. No craft beer options.
We had two cocktails which both really liked and would get again.
Menu does not have items marked with allergen indicators. We struggled to find out what was gluten free, and got several different responses.. however ordered the eggplant (gf) and pork belly bbq (normal). Both dishes came out as salads and weren't what the menu described. They should mark clearly on the menu what is and isn't GF.
Food: 3
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 4
Excellent food try the Korean chicken wings! Also prepared to accommodate requests to leave out sauces as partner wanted no mayo Dorito flakes on a chicken salad! That's nice not just that's the menu!
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$40–50
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Great food and refreshing beer! The staff were very friendly and helpful. Just walk one block away from the water and enjoy great food!
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$40–50
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Fantastic food, great service and the best part - delicious cocktails!!! We had the beef habits beef quesadillas full of aged wagyu beef and tangy pickled salsa. Two dons chicken tacos are tasty too. Popcorn chicken is delish! And if you like a perfectly balanced sours - grab a honey bunny :-)
Very lovely resteraunt, great food, incredible atmosphere, and a nice bar as well. The live music was nice as well, the service could have been a little bit faster in my opinion but the staff were nice.
Food: 5
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 5
We had an awesome afternoon at the Nauti Penguin on long weekend. Pokies, pool, darts and arcade games provided loads of entertainment.
Some great beers on tap and friendly staff, great to see the owners of this place have really put a lot of effort into this business, highly recommend visiting next time you’re nearby.
James Ashwin
Kakapo Business Sales
