With views stretching across Lake Wakatipu to the snow-capped peaks in the distance, The Grille’s picturesque outlook is one reason to visit Queenstown’s newest premium restaurant. Its British-born, Hawaiian-shirt-wearing, ginger-haired executive chef Will Eaglesfield is another.
After making Queenstown his home in 2006, Will nabbed the top job at the Eichardt’s Hotel restaurant back in 2012. Eichardt’s has a proud history dating back to the early 1860s when gold was in the hills and the first pioneers moved into the region. The founder of Queenstown, William Rees, set up the hotel before Albert Eichardt took ownership at the end of the decade.
Fresh, seasonal, local produce – plus anything he can forage – is the starting point for many of executive chef Will Eaglesfield’s dishes.
The Imperium Group are the modern-day owners of Eichardt’s Private Hotel & Bar and also have The Spire Hotel and No5 Church Lane (a restaurant and bar) in their portfolio. The Grille by Eichardt’s is their latest project.
Imperium’s Kiwi-born owner, Andrew Cox, was inspired by Balthazar restaurant in New York and wanted to create a similar feel of “old-world opulence and modern design”, with a menu that catered both to traditional diners and those with more adventurous tastes.
The Grille seats 150 people and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“The idea is that there’s something for everyone,” says Will. “If you’re not into anything too crazy, you can still come for your steak and chips.” But of course, if you are visiting for steak, you can expect it to be exceptional. “We use a particularly nice sirloin,” Will explains. “Wakanui grass-fed cows are given only grains for the last 90 days, which gives the meat a lovely marbling and produces a nice, soft, juicy meat.”
Will says the opportunity to build the restaurant’s food philosophy from the ground up was a real career highlight. “Having been in Queenstown for quite a while now, I’ve got to know a lot of the suppliers in the area. I know what stuff is best at what time of year. I try not to do too much with good ingredients – just enough to make them shine. I also like to do something a little out of the ordinary, something people wouldn’t do at home,” he says.
Views across Lake Wakatipu are one of the restaurant’s many highlights.
Will’s favourite “off the wall” dish is tahr tartare, made using wild tahr – a goat-like animal native to the Himalayan ranges which was introduced to the central Southern Alps by European settlers and is considered a pest by the Department of Conservation. Will’s team finely dice the tahr meat by hand and serve it with house-made saffron aioli, wholegrain mustard made Dijon-style with local white wine, rye meal crispbread and homemade pickles.
Will is huge on locally sourced ingredients and has a passion for foraging. “If we get ingredients from anywhere that’s more than half an hour’s drive away, I’m a bit disappointed,” he admits. “I really like how I can stand out on the Eichardt’s balcony, point into the distance and say, ‘That’s where we get our Gibbston wine from’ or ‘That’s where I forage for mushrooms.’”
Made from the tail meat of Fiordland crayfish, The Grille’s crayfish meatballs are chargrilled and served on house-made tagliatelle with a saffron bisque.
Will has designed the menu so it’s flexible, depending on what “little treats” he can get his hands on. “There’s a local guy here called Tony who I get our rocket from year-round, but he has a range of other seasonal treats on offer. He came in the other day with heirloom cherry tomatoes, so we confited them in oil and garlic – more fat equals more flavour – and served them on bruschetta with baba ganoush, feta and torn basil.”
He says the team spends a lot of time working on the development stages of a dish, while service is relatively quick in contrast. Almost every condiment, sauce and accompaniment is made in-house. Even the chocolates, truffles and fudge that arrive on the pillows of hotel guests have been developed and made by Will and his team.
Whether you’re an international jet-setter with a penchant for something unusual, or a down-to-earth traditionalist who just wants a good old-fashioned plate of steak and chips, you’ll find a home at The Grille. The view’s not all that bad either.
Will’s favourite Queenstown eats
• Bella Cucina for pizza.
• Atlas Beer Cafe for good beer and steak.
• The Lodge Bar for their ceviche.
• Akarua Wines and Kitchen by Artisan for a nice lunch.
Local food trends according to Will Eaglesfield
Local sourcing of produce was a trend about six or seven years ago, but now it’s almost compulsory, which is great.
Foraging for ingredients has also become common, much to my annoyance, as I’ve always done it and I always will – even when it goes out of fashion.
Raw food is also a big trend and I’m a fan of it, although I wouldn’t want my entire diet to be raw. We do a lovely marinated courgette dish here, which is delicious.
Dehydrating is also very in vogue at the moment and it’s a very useful tool for a chef because not only is it fashionable, it increases the shelf life of ingredients.
Super grains come in and out of the limelight quite quickly, but quinoa has definitely become mainstream now.
The Grille by Eichardt’s
9 Marine Parade
Queenstown
This was first published in Taste magazine.
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