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    Federal Diner

    4.5 (47 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Federal Diner Photos

    FEDERAL DINER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for working
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - Federal Diner

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    Reviews With Photos

    Kids menu as of feb 13 2019
    Margaret S.

    Such a cute little find thanks to yelp! Wandered down a chic alley (full of other small business, including women's boutique) to find this welcoming restaurant. Decided to have breakfast for lunch and went for the Totally Nuts dish (grilled banana bread with almond butter). It was such a good combination that I've recreated it at home several times. Everything was delicious and was rather fast in coming out. Free wifi was useful and a nice surprise.

    Flat white, what a delight
    Alex R.

    By far one of the best breakfast in our entire trip to New Zealand. The eggs, coffee, service....all top notch.

    Cheese and fig scones
    Jessica A.

    Our food was amazing! Especially the eggs Benedict! The scones were delicious. We got cheese and fig. We were impressed with everything! Our server was wonderful and helpful on her suggestions. Food came quickly and we all left feeling satisfied.

    Roti n Roll
    Rob B.

    This place has so much to offer and the food is wonderful. They have great Wi-Fi, a coffee shop and the bakery is super. Their style of service can be super friendly but is so totally disorganized. When we sat we were greeted immediately but had not looked at the menu. Then after making our slections waited 25 minutes to find a server to help us. Great food but you need to be agressive to get the order in and to the table.

    The social climber and The Buddha
    David V.

    NZ is full of cafes and we always go to a couple everyday to get our flat white fixes for breakfast. This is my first time trying an eggs Benedict in NZ! Man, do they do it right, they do it with conviction. I never really had a great one until now. We've tried their sister restaurant in Auckland near the waterfront and we had a pretty good breakfast there as well. My wife tried the eggs Benedict for the first time 2 years ago and she loved it. This time I tried the eggs Benedict and I loved it. Idk how They do it but I loved it. The hollandaise sauce on the eggs was so good, moist, the eggs cooked accurately and on top of the the bread with mushroom and a roasted tomato. Their location and place smells the same, consisted of the same style inside their restaurant, clean, friendly waiting staff and awesome food! This time, we were in Wanaka and they never disappoint. Great job again! Cheers to flat whites! On the road again. D&K

    The braised lamb shank - to die for.
    Travis W.

    Federal Diner is by far the best dining experience I have had thus far in NZ - and I've had quite a few great meals so far. The restaurant is quaint and unassuming, tucked away behind a clothing shop on a long strip. My friends and I felt welcome immediately by the staff - shoutout to Garreth - and were seated and served drinks immediately. Both the drink and food menus cover all the bases without being too large. Much of the dishes are meant to be shared - I personally prefer sharing plates - and are very reasonably priced for the portion size and fantastic quality. We shared roasted winter veg, braised lamb shank with capellini beans and salsa verde, sherry braised beef cheek with a veg mash, and sticky date pudding. Everything was amazing. Amazing. My favorite had to be the lamb - NZ knows how to do lamb - although the beef cheek was spectacular as was the sticky date pudding. All in all fantastic experience. I am excited to return to Federal Diner the next time I visit Wanaka.

    Burger and fries
    Jennifer W.

    Great food in a tucked away restaurant. My husband got the burger and fries, and I got the fish tacos. My husband said the burger was one of the best he has had and the fries were delicious. The fish tacos were good but I would have preferred more sauce as they were a little too dry for my liking. Would definitely eat here again when in the area!

    Restaurant walkway, which is located between two street-facing shops

    There isn't an obvious street presence for this restaurant and its deli. You and your navigation device will be flummoxed! Park where you can and walk to find it. It's in the middle of the block located between two dress shops (which seem to be the same business divided by the walkway to the restaurant). We had a breakfast of granola and yogurt, plus a shared date scone. Very good! The restaurant is fairly small with limited seating indoors. Besides smaller tables for 2-4, there is a long, high table with stools. Noise level will be high when filled to capacity, which luckily for us it wasn't! Wait service was efficient, and our food was served in a timely manner.

    Tasleyma S.

    Excellent lamb shoulder for dinner. It very comfortably fed two and was flavorful, tender and moist...yummy!! The view from inside was great at sunset, very romantic. We also got the brownie dessert which was chocolate heaven

    Leah K.

    Very delicious brunch today! We ordered the Buddha and the Sweat Treat. I liked mine better (the waffles with ricotta! Yummy!) but Benedict was delicious as well. I also got the tea special: almond macaroon organic green tea, which was very good!

    Sam B.

    Coffee was a tad burnt but the milk was well done, Had the hawea flats breakfast and it was great with the exception of the grassy under seasoned spinach. Overall a pretty good spot

    Pulled Pork belly sandwich

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    8 years ago

    Awesome place to come here for breakfast! People are sweet Food was so delicious and made to perfection!

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    8 years ago

    Food was fantastic and best coffee I've had in ages. Had great vibe and really enjoyed breakfast here.

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    12 years ago

    Yummy cafe in Wanaka with good vibes and mountain views. Also has free wifi!!! Gotta come here

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    Alchemy - Butterfish with cauliflower mousse

    Alchemy

    4.5(15 reviews)
    0.2 km

    Stopped here for lunch and had a great meal. I had the lamb salad and my husband had the chicken…read moresandwich. Both were very good. They have tons of seating both inside and out with a nice view of the lake. You order at the counter and take a number for your table and they bring your food to you. Nice staff.

    We were walking around the main strip of Wanaka and spotted a few happy hour signs. Alchemy was one…read moreof them; happy hour is from 5:00pm to 6:00pm ($7.00 wines and beer on tap). We dropped in on an early Monday evening (just before 6:00pm) to take advantage of happy hour. The place is beautiful with a few tables outside to people watch and enjoy the lake view. Otherwise, there's tons of seating inside with hipster light bulbs, a fireplace and old vintage equipment as decor. The dinner menu is split into share plates, mains, sides and kids. The pasta of the day was a seafood linguini ($25.00 NZD). We saw a few mains come out to neighbouring tables that looked appetizing. Same with the coffee, which most tables ordered. There's also a separate dessert menu. The Alchemy dessert platter ($18.00 NZD) sounded promising. Nice touch with the complimentary sparkling and tap water. Only lame thing here is that wifi stops working at 6:00pm. Er... - Crater Rim Waipara riesling ($7.00 NZD) - sweet but not overly so. It's regular $11.00 NZD for a glass. - Soljan Estate Reserve Hawkes Bay syrah ($7.00 NZD) - a little drier finish. Decent. We only came for drinks but the food looked pretty legit. Chill, relaxed vibe.

    Photos
    Alchemy - Banana dark chocolate chip muffin

    Banana dark chocolate chip muffin

    Alchemy - Avo Stack and Big Brekkie

    Avo Stack and Big Brekkie

    Alchemy - Sparkling or still water on tap :-)

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    Sparkling or still water on tap :-)

    Florence's Foodstore & Cafe - Such a wide variety to choose from!

    Florence's Foodstore & Cafe

    3.7(6 reviews)
    1.8 km

    Oh. my. goodness. Florence's is the best kept secret in all of Wanaka. This is a hidden gem and I…read moream so, so, so glad we discovered it! Myself and two friends were in Wanaka for the night staying at a nearby yurt. We stopped by That Wanaka Tree the next morning and decided to try to find breakfast on our way out of town (we were on a Camper Van adventure around the South Island). As always, Yelp led us to this magical paradise that is Florence's Foodstore & Cafe! So unassuming from the outside - particularly in the winter months - but once I stepped foot inside, I was greeted with this warm, homey feeling, among both a foodstore and cafe, that is not easy to do! I should note, it looks like the patio space would be quite a hit in the summer months. I was so taken aback by the delectable dishes in the display case and the assortment of teas, jams, mustards, etc. etc. around the store I almost missed the fact there is plenty of seating and even a fireplace to enjoy your meal(s) at!!! Once we took a second to collect ourselves from all the excitement, we ordered at the counter and had a seat at the table nearest the fireplace. I ordered the eggs benedict with salmon (eggs smoked salmon: sourdough toast, hollandaise) and a coffee (flat white, I'm sure). But, quite frankly, I wanted one of everything on the menu! What I ordered was simply melt in my mouth delicious and was delivered in a timely manner. Everything was SO good, we all ended up ordering something else to go (take away), for lunch later in the day. I ordered this amazing chicken salad on a croissant and a hot chocolate and even got my mom's souvenir from the foodstore portion of Florence's. If the foodstore wasn't great and if the cafe wasn't out of this world, then you must meet Florence for she is the true highlight of the place! Florence was so, so lovely - she ended up giving us suggestions for the remainder of our time on the South Island, much of which we followed and I'm glad we did as it made our journey that much more scenic. Florence - I cannot thank you enough! If you're in the Wanaka area, be sure to check out this place. They even host a high tea and community dinners throughout the month. Florence's is surely the place to be!!!

    Sunday morning November 10, around 10 am;I didn't get the clerks name, a mature woman with glasses…read morehelped us. I placed my order and stepped away, my husband paid and a # was placed in front of him which he brought to our table. After a bit we were brought two cups of coffee when only one was ordered, the wait person was confused and walked away. We waited for the soda to be brought but after a wait we decided to go ask. My husband was treated rudely and was told that "he" took the wrong number and messed everything up! Although we are just passing through we would not come here again and would not recommend this place, there are far too many other eateries to choose from that will offer better service than Florence's. ~ Mona

    Photos
    Florence's Foodstore & Cafe - The outside - must be quite the spot in summer months!

    The outside - must be quite the spot in summer months!

    Florence's Foodstore & Cafe - Order at the counter - marvel at the delectable food

    Order at the counter - marvel at the delectable food

    Florence's Foodstore & Cafe - "Would you rather be in a pickle or a jam" !!

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    "Would you rather be in a pickle or a jam" !!

    Federal Diner - coffee - Updated May 2026

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