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    Bistro Gentil

    4.2 (13 reviews)
    Ultra High-EndFrench
    Open 5:00 pm - 11:00 PM

    Bistro Gentil Photos

    BISTRO GENTIL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - Bistro Gentil

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    Paul O.

    This is a must if you visit wanaka. Is a little of of town but don't let that stop you. This is great. Good service, great atmosphere, food fresh. Local, with a kiwi French Twist. really good. They have a hood wine list, by also have this wine dispenser that you can Just good up to and get a 1/3,.1/2.,or full glass of many different types of wines . Great idea. And otago has some great wines , world class.

    The duck and pork
    Hannah R.

    Was quite disappointed with Bistro Gentil. I had been really excited to try this restaurant and had booked in advance. The staff are lovely and know the menu well but the food was very average. Meal sizes were tiny compared to the prices of the meals. We had the duck and the pork and to say I was upset with the food would be an understatement! Maybe I just had big expectations? The wine list however is lovely and they have an amazing machine in there that you grab a glass and get a card and you insert the card and choose a wine and you can get either half a glass, full glass or a taster all for very reasonable prices

    Just extraordinary. The staff is the definition of nice. Such good service. The restaurant itself is intimate and quiet. Lovely place to have a nice dinner. We found great food to eat dispite that the menu is not that big. The wine menu was really good. They also have special wine dispensers. You can have tastes from different types of wines for a fair price. The food itself was tasty. Really good use of spices and fresh ingredients. This is a must if you're in Wanaka!

    Great views.

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    Review Highlights - Bistro Gentil

    We particularly liked the self-serve wine bar that permits you to have a small taste or a full glass of an entire array of wines.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    Amisfield Bistro

    Amisfield Bistro

    4.2(22 reviews)
    40.8 km
    $$$

    The dining experience here was exceptional! A 19 course meal with every single dish so creatively…read moreand well made! The service here is also really good, as they wait till everyone is seated before every dish is brought out for the full experience. The environment is very simple but super elegant! Loved my experience here so much!

    Amisfield Bistro & Cellar Door was our first winery (out of two) that we stopped at while we drove…read morethrough Lake Hayes. It's a huge building with a restaurant in the back. Bookings are essential (according to their sign). We dropped in on a Friday afternoon (around 4:00pm). The restaurant looked busy but the wine tasting area wasn't. Wine tastings are $10.00 NZD/person but the fee is waived if you buy a bottle. There's 13 wines to choose from (bubbles, white and pinot noirs) and you get to choose any 5 from the list. Service was excellent and informative. Other wineries should take notes. - Amisfield pétillant naturel 2017 - a pretty different sparkling but in a good way. Hints of apple but not sweet. A popular bubbly (they only had 25 bottles left). We were debating between this and the chenin blanc for our bottle purchase. - Amisfield chenin blanc 2016 - this was excellent. Apparently, there's only three chenin blancs in NZ and we've tried two of them (Mt. Difficult and Mt. Edmond are the others). Citrus and smooth. We got a bottle ($30.00 NZD). - Amisfield pinot gris 2016 - this one consisted of floral tones. Off dry. - Amisfield pinot noir rosé 2017 - it was the best rosé we've tried so far. We got hints of strawberry and watermelon. - Amisfield RKV reserve pinot noir 2014 - a bottle is $120.00 NZD! Incredibly smooth as it's been aged for 18 months. Our second favourite winery out of all the wineries we visited during our month long trip in New Zealand. Superb wines!

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    Amisfield Bistro
    Amisfield Bistro
    Amisfield Bistro

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    Vknow Restaurant and Wine Bar - Delicious pizzas. Dine in or takeaway

    Vknow Restaurant and Wine Bar

    4.4(18 reviews)
    54.9 km
    $$

    Based on our experience of trying to get a reservation at one of the nicer restaurants in…read moreQueenstown and what our Airbnb host told us of her previous tenants' experience of looking for a place for dinner (they ended up getting pizza late), we were proactive regarding finding a place for dinner. My fiancé made the smart decision of looking at areas outside of downtown and found this restaurant. It's a little on the outskirts of downtown but not too far (via car). Our reservation was for 9 but we got there almost an hour earlier yet managed to get a table. The owner/manager (?) welcomed us and sat us himself. As for tables for dining, this place is pretty small so it makes sense to make a reservation for dinner during the busy seasons. This is definitely a local place and the service shows that. We ordered the tomato and basil bruschetta to share and a glass of Riesling, we enjoyed both. Like most places in NZ I've been to, they have one vegetarian option in their mains so I went with it: house-made gnocchi with tomato, chili, basil, olive & caper sauce with ricotta and Parmesan cheese. It was absolutely delicious, after having Italian at several places in NZ, this dish felt the most authentic and was hands down the best. I've enjoyed every part of the dish and wanted more. The fiancé ordered the Fiordland wild venison, seared on mushroom risotto and steamed green beans and liked it a lot. The service was pretty good, I've learned to lower my expectations regarding service when outside the US but our waitress was sweet and personable. The owner/manager also checked on us several times throughout the meal. We had a little issue with some items being wrong on the check itself and getting the check (but I assume they simply didn't want to rush us) but all in all, I truly enjoyed this place and it was probably the best meal we had on our trip.

    While staying in Queenstown on holiday our AirBnB was just down the road so we called in a takeaway…read moreorder because we consistently saw the restaurant packed with patrons. We ordered a Mediterranean pizza and garlic bread. Although it wasn't 100% authentic Italian it was the best pizza we ate while in New Zealand. The toppings had great flavor and the crust wasn't too crispy, hard, or floppy. Give it a try!

    Photos
    Vknow Restaurant and Wine Bar - Rustic bar area with huge wine selection

    Rustic bar area with huge wine selection

    Vknow Restaurant and Wine Bar - Pan seared market fish, steamed veggies, puy lentil and smoked fish sauce

    Pan seared market fish, steamed veggies, puy lentil and smoked fish sauce

    Vknow Restaurant and Wine Bar - VKnow apple berry crumble from grandmas recipe was perfect!

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    VKnow apple berry crumble from grandmas recipe was perfect!

    The Boat Shed - Boat Shed Benedict with a side of Cold Smoked Salmon

    The Boat Shed

    4.0(17 reviews)
    48.8 km
    $$

    Nice cafe in the Frankton Marina. It gets real busy in the morning. We stopped in for lunch. Got…read morethe mushroom pasta and the kiragi chicken sandwich. Sandwich was fine but the pasta stole the show, just lots of flavor in that bowl of Al dente pasta.

    Can't say it was good. Can't say it was bad. Acceptable is probably the right word to describe The…read moreBoat Shed Cafe in located at the Frankton Marina in Queenstown. It's a small place, and it was a rainy day, so there was only indoor seating, which was too bad as the outdoor seating had amazing views of the lake. There was about a 25-30-minute wait, which was fine since we're here. Not sure what's going on over here but seems like all the staff had frowns and not being friendly or courteous was part of their job responsibilities. But no big deal. No one was rude, or disrespectful. There are not too many choices here, but does cover different type of meats, and different style of dishes, such as fish tacos, steak sandwiches, mushroom pasta, chorizo scramble, benedict, spring greens, and etc. Everything is overall on the pricey side, and the portions are on the smaller side too. But you're here for the view and experience, right? Started with a coffee. It was good. Super clean taste. No free refills (I asked). Wish it reached the top, or in a bigger cup! Flat White was also good. Creamy, milky, foamy, solid coffee taste. The Boat Shed Benedict was all right. It was the basic. Nice, runny egg, and toasty English muffin. It ate overall really bland. The muffin didn't seem like there was any oil or butter and ate dry. The Herb Hollandaise was bland and not herbaceous either. I would've preferred more on the plate to make the benedict less dry. I added on Smoked Salmon for $9. It was good and definitely added the salty and savory I needed, but the portion seemed quite small. The Mushroom Pasta was decent. Soft pappardelle pasta and tender portobello mushrooms. A nice amount of porcini butter and truffle oil. A touch bland for me, and portion seemed small. We added a Smashed Avocado, and this was the most rich and tasty dish of the meal. Overall, this was a decent experience. The food was acceptable--basic and straight-forward. You really need add on a side to make it more filling and flavorful. It's a little pricey based on the portion size and type of dish. Coffee drinks were good. I wouldn't mind coming back and ordering something different while sitting in the outdoor area. I don't mind the frowns all around.

    Photos
    The Boat Shed
    The Boat Shed - Chorizo scramble, savory scone & scrambled egg.

    Chorizo scramble, savory scone & scrambled egg.

    The Boat Shed - Front

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    Front

    Bella Cucina Restaurant - Spaghetti aglio e olio

    Bella Cucina Restaurant

    4.1(51 reviews)
    52.9 km
    $$

    Like everywhere in NZ, make reservations…read more I'm staying in Queenstown for a few days, and booked this reservation a few nights prior. The restaurant itself is long and narrow, so tables on one side and servers and the kitchen on the other. I ordered bruschetta for my starter & spaghetti bolognese for my main. The bruschetta came out with sliced prosciutto on top which I could have done without. I wished for more tomatoes, onion, and oil. The spaghetti bolognese was flavorful but just ok? Like, I'm not Italian but can make a better version of that at home. Although it's a simple dish, that probably not something you want to hear when you're selling it for $36 NZD. So the overall dining experience was a bit meh. I went to a pizzeria in Te Anau with better flavors. It might be a nice dinner date because the ambiance is lovely, if a bit loud. The service was fine, if a bit on the slow side.

    Our last meal in Queenstown was here. We had reservations (and it was busy) and were seated…read moreimmediately. We had the back of the restaurant, corner table. Not much to look at but it was a little quieter and away from the ovens back there. Husband had the fettuccine carbonara and I had a margarita pizza. Both were excellent. We started with a Caprese salad which was also excellent. My pizza had homemade crust with the bubbly burnt edges that happens in a woodfire oven. So good. Service was excellent. Parking on street is less than rare so we parked in a lot for roughly $10USD. Great experience.

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    Bella Cucina Restaurant
    Bella Cucina Restaurant
    Bella Cucina Restaurant

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    Bistro Gentil - french - Updated May 2026

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