Restaurateur Fleur Caulton opened her own restaurant in Queenstown at the young age of 21, later establishing a high profile as general manager of Amisfield Wine Company. She opened Rata with Michelin-starred chef Josh Emett in 2012, followed by modern Asian eatery Madam Woo in late 2013.
Kappa Japanese Restaurant has amazing value and quality bento boxes at lunch and delicious local specials at dinner time like wild venison tataki, and tempura blue cod bites. They have a great range of Japanese beers and sake while the upstairs balcony tables have a nice aspect overlooking central Queenstown.
Try Rata for the ultimate southern dining experience. Tucked away in the centre of town, our value lunch menu is a must try ($28 for two courses or $38 for three courses). Genuine southern classics, such as cheese rolls with honeycomb and truffle oil, Bluff oysters, Cardrona merino lamb, and wild Fiordland venison feature on the menu. Our take on cinnamon oysters is not to be missed, and the salted caramels are seriously addictive. The wine list allows you to explore true southern excellence and offers a great selection by the glass to complement the food.
Bespoke Kitchen is a new addition to Queenstown from the Vudu Café team. It’s a great setting with a warm wood fire. They serve amazing breakfasts and lunch with plenty of raw and vegan options. My go-to items are the bliss balls, and the lime and coconut cheesecake.
The past year has seen an explosion of great individual produce stores, which Queenstown was seriously lacking in, so this is very exciting. Harbour Fish on McBride St, Frankton is a one-stop shop for amazingly fresh fish of all sizes and varieties. They have the best local organic eggs, and stock plenty of other interesting products like muttonbird, wild venison, and delicious smoked salmon. If you’re a keen home cook, it’s a must visit.
Madam Woo will hit the spot every time with authentic Malaysian food, like beef rendang with nasi lemak, steaming bowls of laksa, steamed dumplings, and amazing hawker rolls, which have developed a cult following. Madam’s cocktails are a must, the ‘ping pong’ and ‘kung pow panda’ are fun and give a nod to authentic Asian flavours — the perfect way to start an evening.
Raeward Fresh (used to be called Med Market) is the one-stop shop for the freshest fruit and vegetables and any interesting ingredient you may want to source. They have a fully serviced butchery and do a range of handmade, free-range pork, beef, lamb and wild venison sausages. They have a good selection of deli delights, cheeses, and cured meats – a real paddock-to-plate approach. I love this shop!
Newly opened and very exciting for the locals is Neat Meat butchery in The Landing opposite Remarkables Park shopping centre. They have a huge variety of quality products from free-range to organic beef, lamb, pork and chicken. Try some of their air-dried beef and a wedge of Whitestone Cheese cut directly from the wheel. They have excellent gluten-free, handmade sausages in natural casings, with flavours like lamb merguez and Italian casalinga.
Further afield: Arrowtown is the home of the fantastic Chop Shop; innovative and seasonal daytime dining at its best. Owners Chris and Fee Whiting, in the kitchen and front-of-house respectively, ensure the menu and the welcome is always interesting and fun. Off Piste Pizza is a great place to get a dine-in or take out wood-fired pizza. When in Wanaka we don’t go past Francesca’s Italian Kitchen for fantastic Italian classics, including wood-fired pizza and their amazing polenta chips.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
