Queenstown…the Foodie Post

One of the best things about a visit to Queenstown – aside from the spectacular, jaw-droppingly awesome scenery, that is, is the food. And with the tourists back in droves, we found that you can’t just rock on up to a restaurant and expect there’ll magically be a place for you. In other words, a little pre-planning is required.

While we have our favourites in Queenstown, for our most recent visit (a few days in May) we decided to try restaurants we hadn’t previously eaten at…with a few exceptions. So, without further ado…

The Anniversary Dinner

As this mini-break was to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary, a “special” dinner was in order, we chose Boardwalk, a seafood restaurant at the Steamer Wharf.

The Lodge Bar

I’ve walked past this place on recent visits and have wanted to go in, but this time made sure we booked in advance. Part of the Rodd & Gunn menswear group, the bar is fitted out like a country lodge and the food is fantastic. We shared a cheese and charcuterie board, the game pie and a salmon dish and declared it the best meal of the trip.

The Steakhouse

Flame Grill down at the Steamer Wharf… This one was a recommendation from one of our early-morning walk buddies. We were a tad skeptical at first but the steak was possibly one of the best we’ve had #bigcall. It was so good we tried to get a booking for our last night and couldn’t. (In fact, we tried to get into a few places on our last night and couldn’t so ended up eating at the hotel…which was very ordinary indeed…)

Vudu Cafe and Larder

While we mostly grabbed a takeaway coffee and a pastry for brekky (we love The Bakery in Shotover St or Ferg Baker) we had to visit this one, the inspiration for my fictional Beach Road Cafe, at least once. On this occasion, we shared a sausage roll and a cheese scone.

Cheese rolls…

If you’ve read Wish You Were Here or The Little Cafe By The Lake you’ll know of my love for the cheese roll. If you’ve never come across one, essentially it’s similar to a Welsh rarebit but inside-out where the outside is white supermarket bread and the inside is essentially made from grated cheese, onion soup mix, and some Worcestershire sauce. It’s pretty much found only in the Southland ie from Queenstown, Dunedin and down.

Anyways I ordered one for lunch in Arrowtown (above) and also grabbed one from the airport (below) to have with my glass of wine while waiting for our flight home.

The Vietnamese place…

Again down at the Steamer Wharf, Saigon Kingdom is perfect for a quick lunch.

Also try…

Anywhere down at the Steamer Wharf for a drink or a bite. We like Public Kitchen & Bar, Atlas Beer Cafe, Pub on Wharf and Ivy & Lola’s do a great seafood chowder.

If you’re after Asian or Asian fusion, try Blu Kanu, White & Wongs or Madame Wu…

And if you’re in the market for something really special, Rata, The Bunker (make sure you have a cocktail or a glass or red around the fire upstairs first) or Botswana Butchery are special treats.

Linking up with Donna from Retirement Reflections and her co-host Deb The Widow Badass Blog in their #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge.