At this point I was about 65% through my New Zealand adventure, so I needed a little break from all…read morethe delicious New Zealand food(#firstworldproblems). According to the ambiance, and our charming Filipino waiter, Kepler is mostly Chilean based cuisine using local ingredients...sure why not? $14NZ Tomato Pesto soup...I love a creamy tomato soup, have had many a bowl of it, but I will say this is the best in the world! Not sure what spices they add to it, but its got an extra zest that excites my taste buds. $35NZ Paella...I love paella, and I love seafood! And this was good and packed with fish, shrimps, and mussels. Though when ordering paella in New Zealand, don't expect it to be like Spain's paella. The rice was quite right, but still delicious and a ginormous serving of it all. $34NZ Seafood pasta...a nice creamy sauce and also packed with seafood. I think the paella was better, but the wife disagreed. Great place if you need a break from the traditional NZ cuisine. But don't bring sensitive vegetarians and vegans...sometime's they'll be roasting whole lambs over an open fire pit, which is right in the middle of the restaurant.

Kepler's Family Restaurant is a local establishment in the heart of tiny Te Anura serving an…read moreinteresting mix of seafood and local specialties in a clean an airy setting. We were visiting in January and made early reservations on a Friday for dinner. From the moment we walked in we were made to feel welcome and we received prompt and courteous service throughout our visit. To start we got the bread and dips--5 heartily slices of rustic bread with three spreads-olives/cheese, sun dried tomato/cheese and salmon/cheese. The toasted bread was enough for 6 people but very tasty. For mains my wife enjoyed the house special-slow roasted lamb (you can see this in action) which was fall off the bone tender with a nice light smoky flavor. I enjoyed the paella-also a big serving-that was prepared perfectly. They also have a decent wine list featuring many regional wines that we also enjoyed. Even though we were rather full, there's always room for dessert, right? Especially an old school baked Alaska flamed table-side. Yum! Recommended

Can't speak for most things, but I can speak for the fried blue cod, chips, and bluff oysters. Fish…read moreand chips are one of the most popular kiwi dishes and I knew I had to have some. Plus I love them myself since I've had the stuff many times in the UK. I say it's golden! My hostel manager recommended this place and I always take the word of a local. The fish was fresh, chips just fried, and the oysters nice and salty. Not the best oysters I've had, but still tasty. Plus I sat next to some Brits who gave it approval! Also I love that it's an Asian-Kiwi owned mom and pop shop. Chinese I think! Only one or two employees work here and they work so hard. Give this local place a chance!

It is a simple set up which doesn't seem to shout much and we only stepped in because we wanted to…read moregrab a quick lunch. Was pleasantly surprised to get tasty and fresh seafood. We had the fisherman's basket with fried fish, mussels, scallops , squid rings and chips. Batter was light and not oily, crisp to bite. Also had a simple but tasty fish sandwich. Only comment would be that the venison in the venision bigger was a lill too thinly sliced. Could barely taste it amongst the bed of greens. But the greens were crisp & sweet. They do have seafood with rice too which the local lads ordered. Overall, a simple quick lunch spot for a tourist stopover town.

On vacation in New Zealand and this restaurant was recommended by the owner of our b&b…read more The recommendation was spot on! The service was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. The food was excellent and was served quickly. All in all a great evening. I highly recommend this restaurant. You will not be disappointed!

Great food is found here. Good thing we had a reservation. The restaurant was packed and the line…read moreof people outside was very long. It is in an old house. The service is excellent. We loved our dishes (lamb and venison).

I thought the food was just okay until later that night (27 Nov 2025) I got violently ill. One of…read morethe specials was seafood linguini. Can't say for sure but I believe the mussels were bad. I got food poisoning from this dish. My wife had the gnocchi and she was fine. After dinner, we shared a gelato from another cafe so I know it was the seafood linguini that made me sick that night.

You'll need a reservation for this place. Good vibe, good food! We had the mussels, lamb and…read morevenison. All well prepared and tasty. Service was spotty- had to ask for our drinks after starters were served but drinks hadn't arrived. Kept needing to ask for items along the meal. The place was busy but not crazy busy.

Came here on a whim…read more Make a reservation. Very crowded. Back of the house and service was a tad slow for mains--probably because of all the people. Not bad. Just noticeable. Had the bruschetta and a calzone. Would 100% recommend everyone get the bruschetta it was awesome. The dough they used to make the calzone was probably the best I've ever had. It was really really good. As for the actual calzone, it was just ok. I think it had ham & mushrooms and cheese on the inside. Then they tossed marinara on top which made that part of the calzone mushy. The pizzas looked great.

We were a group of 14 getting dinner after a long day of sightseeing. The woman who took our…read moreorders was clearly stressed out. She came by once to take our orders but some of us weren't ready yet. When she came back a second time, she sternly told us we had to be ready with our order by the time she came to us. We placed our orders and got our food fairly quickly. I enjoyed my pizza margarita napoletana. The flavors were good and as expected in a margarita. It was large for one person, so I was able to save half for lunch the next day. . They also provide gluten free options, which was good for one of the people in our party because she is allergic to gluten. But her pizza wasn't sliced probably to prevent cross contamination. We were having a good time until all of a sudden we were rushed out. The person who made the booking was not informed that large groups are not allowed to pay separately. It apparently is stated on the menu, but I wish we were informed at the time of booking. And the woman who took our orders was not happy with that and told us to pay separately immediately. That dampened our experience. I understand that the restaurant business is stressful, especially since the pandemic has adversely affected the hospitality business. And maybe there are other things happening in her life that she's battling with. But she made me feel like me and my group were a burden. And that's not something anyone ever wants to feel. If you plan to dine here, I suggest looking at the menu online so you know what to order before you even enter the restaurant. I will say I enjoyed my pizza, so it's worth giving them a try.

My boyfriend and I recently traveled to New Zealand for vacation. I write this review about a…read moremonth late. We had gone in August, so it was still their winter season and by late night once we arrived and wanted dinner not too many places were open. We strolled through the town looking at menus of various restaurants and decided on this one. I suppose good thing about arriving late and their non-peak travel season is that there was no wait to be seated! ;) My boyfriend had wanted to try one of the beers. It sounded very yummy, but to our disappointed it was sold out. So no drinks but we went on and ordered food. We ordered a salad and a pizza. We ordered the Fiordlander just for the sake of being touristy and the ingredients sounded pretty good -- tomato sauce, mozarella, ham, pineapple, mushroom, and parsley. The salad was made of baby spinach, feta, tomato, pumpkin seeds, dried apricot and toscano vinaigrette. It was a simple salad but something about that dressing just made the salad so flavorful. Both were very delicious. We were quite happy with our choices!

My husband and I took advantage of the early bird special deal. This was a $60 meal for two which…read moreincluded soft drink, house wine or beer; garlic bread; medium pasta or pizza and dessert. We really enjoyed our Diverso pizza and Nonno pasta and the desserts (chocolate cake and tiramisu) were excellent. This is a incredibly great value deal and we were both really full!

An incredible spot in the very cute town of Te Anau. They have some seating outside but I actually…read morerecommend going across the street to the Te Anau Gardens for a beautiful view while you eat (obviously only if the weather is good). I've been obsessed with meat pies since I got to New Zealand and this didn't disappoint. We got 4 things: 1. Chicken Brie and cranberry (seasonal special) 2. Venison and plum sauce 3. Lamb and mint 4. Sausage roll The seasonal Brie and cranberry was by far my favorite with delicious Thanksgiving-esque flavors. Would strongly recommend in you swing by around when they have this. The lamb and venison were incredible. I particularly enjoyed the plum sauce making the venison incredibly tender. All 3 were on the heavier side which matches my palette, but maybe not yours! Side note: the sausage roll was fantastic. One of the better ones I've had in New Zealand!

Can't beat a little local spot for savory & sweet pies with a coffee after a night on the Milford…read moreSound! We popped in for a snack after our boat trip before the lunch spots opened. The meat pie was warm & delicious as was the dessert pie! Perfect size for take away & holding while walking the streets for browsing the local shops. There isn't inside seating, but outside picnic tables. Staff was kind!

Best food we ate in all of NZ! This unassuming little cafe tucked in the nook between a real estate…read moreoffice and the jade and shell jewelry shop is the real gem in town! We ended up coming here for breakfast one day, lunch another, and pre-dinner snacks another. My favorite thing I ordered here was the veggie stack for brunch/breakfast. They serve brekkie here until 11:30am and their poached eggs are where it is at! Their baked goods are also fresh, dense, and worth every cent. They change up their specialty scones daily at the front pastry container at the cashier. My favorite was the cheese scone - I had two of these in one day! When it's good, it's good! My friend enjoyed the fruit muesli baked slice as well as her ham and egg benedict. They have clean restrooms in the back, free WiFi, and a patio for smokers in the back as well. Service was good and free water is available with glasses in the cooler. I can't say enough about this place - what a great!

Delicious and super flavorful food in this cute little spot tucked away on the Main Street of this…read moretiny little tourist town. We got the Burger and chips as well as the OT Buttie. Both came out super quickly and we're so delicious and freshly made. Staff was super helpful and quick with our food. I will also say best Moccachino in all of Te Anau that I've had so far especially with a little bit of caramel.

At the time I'm reviewing this, the rating is a 3.2, which is surprising! We got pizza and…read morebruschetta from here, both of which were fresh and delicious, was it as good as the stuff you get in Italy? No. But we're in New Zealand, not Italy. The service is friendly, the ambiance is cozy and welcoming, and the food doesn't deserve to get ragged on as much as it has in these reviews. It was a touch on the greasy side, but still very tasty, and definitely good if you have a taste for Pizza! Go here without concern - it's a fine place!

Great pizza and salad, good beer and wine selection and good service. Very friendly staffread more

A great option for dinner in Te Anau! The pickings can be limited, but we were craving Chinese and…read moreheard this spot offered authentic dishes. Multiple Asian-based tour groups entered for dinner here after we were seated, so we knew this must be a reliable spot. Service was a bit slow and tended to favor the larger groups before our party of two, but we figured they had standing partnerships with them. The menu is varied and offers a lot of authentic Chinese and Cantonese dishes - so great to see! We ordered the green beans (gang bian si ji dou), Singapore noodles, and a chicken and peppers dish. It's not the best Chinese food I've had, but it did the job after a big day of filling us up. A nice option for a large group or filling meal in Te Anau!

Excellent authentic Chinese food. We had the cream chicken corn soup, roast duck, lamb chop…read moresizzling platter, beef with spring onion and ginger, beef ho fun noodle, shrimp fried rice, and string beans. Prompt service and open later at night when everything else is closing.