At this point I was about 65% through my New Zealand adventure, so I needed a little break from all the 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. read more

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Kepler's Family Restaurant is a local establishment in the heart of tiny Te Anura serving an interesting 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 read more

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We loved this restaurant in te Anau! Great portions and quality for the price. It was one of our favorite meals during our 2 week trip. My husband had the squid ink risotto topped with seafood, and he couldn't stop raving about it. The risotto was nice and creamy, and the seafood topping was generous I wanted to try some local venison so ordered the medallions. What a nice portion! There were about 6-7 pieces of seared meat surrounded by blue cheese and grilled vegetables and salad in a beautiful presentation. I was also craving some healthy veggies by this point in the trip so that didn't hurt either. We were both stuffed but thoroughly enjoyed our meal! read more

Kepler Restaurant - Squid ink seafood risotto - Latin American Near Me - Te Anau, STL

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I've been told that the West Coast of South Island isn't known for their food so we were worried we wouldn't find good eats in Te Anau. That being said, we stumbled upon this restaurant during our stay here after Googling nearby restaurants. We were SO surprised at how packed it was! The owner asked us if we had reservations which we did not and smugly told us there would be no room for walk-ins and encouraged us to make reservations for the next day instead. Disappointed, we did and wandered over to the Italian restaurant across the street to see if we could get in. They also had a long wait (was this the busiest tourist season?!) so hangry and tired, one of our relatives headed back to Kepler to see if we could get on the list. Lo and behold, clearly the manager likes my husband's uncle more than he likes me and we got a last minute reservation that night! That whole fiasco wasn't the best experience which is really why we docked one star. When we finally got seated to eat, everything was truly delicious. My husband and his uncle ordered this giant meat sampler type dish that I can't remember what it's called but it was so good! A bit salty for his tastes but good. I kept it simple and ordered empanadas but they were divine. Our aunt ordered the paella which was also so delicious. The food definitely did not disappoint! Probably one of our best meals in New Zealand. read more

Having travelled in New Zealand for over 3 weeks, with all the limited food options, this is the only 5 star meal I experienced! A random South American restaurant named after one of the great walks - the owner Eduardo is from Chile, but the staff are from all over, Peru, Argentina, etc and they run a great business in - basically the middle of nowhere - which is much of how New Zealand feels. (for us city folk!) There are only 3 good restaurants in Te Anau (small place as one can imagine) so we had to book in advance (thanks to our airbnb host) and this place was the best of the three. I would definitely go back. Why? The Lamb Rack Medallion - every meat lover will adore. Tender, succulent, juicy, sizeable portion. Delish! I would have given this four stars because the food took a long time to prepare, as in over an hour!! & after a while we thought they had totally forgotten about us, however - the lady - I guess the manager at the restaurant was very gracious, profusely apologised and gave us dessert on the house. So kind. So great. So Kepler. read more

Kepler Restaurant - Duck - Latin American Near Me - Te Anau, STL

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I was thrilled to find a Chilean restaurant in the middle of Te Anau, seeing as how Chilean restaurants are generally pretty rare and they're my fave! Lucky me. To drink I had a glass of sauv blanc, because New Zealand, and for eats I went with the groper filet with vegetable risotto. It was TO DIE FOR. I wiped my plate clean and am kicking myself for not coming back the following night to enjoy it all over again. The staff was lovely and I give them props for quickly moving everyone who was sitting outside to the indoor dining room after a flash thunderstorm rolled in. I'm definitely coming here again next time I'm in Te Anau! read more

Kepler Restaurant - Groper Filet atop vegetable risotto + sauv blanc - Latin American Near Me - Te Anau, STL

The best meal we had so far in New Zealand. Crayfish direct from Milford Sound. So fresh and sweet. Calamari fritter is also extremely tender. Fish Goujons fritter and the green-lipped mussel are also so tasty and sweet. And the lamb platter is also very fragrant... meat so tender even my mum said she has no problem chewing the meat . The lamb is from the local farm and is barbequed with an open pit fire. . Food : 5/5 Service : 4/5 Price : $$$$ Place : 4/5 . Halal Rest : The Kepler Location : Te Anau City : New Zealand . read more

In a small town that didn't have too many restaurants we were pleasantly surprised that this place lived up to its past yelp reviews. We stopped in for dinner (they open at 5pm btw) and ordered their special which was the lamb bbq and the ribeye steak. We had no other words except wow! The lamb bbq & rib eye steak were both very tasty and tender. If you order the lamb bbq you get a choice of Heineken or Corona (on the House) or for a extra $3NZ you can have a glass of wine. The service was excellent and we felt the food was a lot better than Red Cliff. read more

Kepler Restaurant - Latin American Near Me - Te Anau, STL

3 weeks in Australia and New Zealand. Had the "lamb special" most flavorless and gamey piece of meat I had all trip. Would not recommend.

Fantastic even better than I expected. My waiter was a young guy from Dallas Texas he was just fantastic. Although I came in for the crayfish, it was a dish for two and they were unable to make it for a single diner. The table next to me suggested the lamb which had been on the barbie as I came in. With their recommendation I chose the lamb dish of the day which included a glass of wine it was truly fantastic. I couldn't imagine a better dinner in this little town. read more

(Some) points for trying, but these guys should not have taken on Christmas. Staff had no idea what they were doing. Standing around helpless. 2 hours in until mains arrived. Supposed to be like a wedding, but couldn't time serving, at all. My app wasn't terrible, but at this point who cares. Also, the same Mushroom quiche was served for vegetarian starter and main. What? At least they could come by to take orders for drinks. Nope. Total disaster. Love New Zealand. Not a big fan of Keplers. Hit the Redcliff and leave this to the folks who don't read yelp. read more

Food was just ok. It felt very overpriced for the quality and what you got. Service was poor and the whole place was cold - we had to keep our jackets on. I'm curious to just how much of the lamb is cooked "Patagonia" style as it tasted kind of stewed - likely due to being reheated. read more

We weren't disappointed. We made a reservation in the morning for 8:30pm, which was after we got back from our cruise. Solid service and delicious food. Venison was delightful, absolutely DELICIOUS gnocchi (didn't find it too many flavors like the other reviewer) and really, really good ceviche too. Also we tried the NZ Pavlova there. I can't say I'm a fan of pavlova itself, but I'm glad this is the restaurant that I tried it at! read more

Really good NZ menu. Light enough options to satisfy my California palate, but also classic NZ seafood, lamb, etc. Super friendly staff, lots of happy faces at other tables, and great wine selection, too. Glad we found it (Yelp has it two blocks off - it's down near the lake) read more

Kepler Restaurant - Risotto Stuffed Capsicums - Latin American Near Me - Te Anau, STL

Solid seafood restaurant conveniently located in town center. Friendly service. I would recommend the shellfish and blue cod casserole with saffron rice. Parking is available in the back of the restaurant. read more

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The food was really good and we can recommend to have dinner here. We had the salmon and the lamb, both was delicious and moderate in price. The staff was also were nice and helpful. The next evening we went to the Chinese restaurant and I would have wished we would have gone to the Kepler restaurant again. read more

Classy atmosphere and prompt service, though reservations recommended especially during peak times. Tried the Latin fish casserole which is a deconstructed casserole with chunks of white fish and zucchini in a light sauce (Gluten free) and a separate layered stack of purple and sweet potato cake on the side. Very flavorful, nicely presented and good size portions. Husband tried the venison with blue cheese gnocchi, hazelnuts and red onion chutney. Nicely presented but perhaps a few too many different flavors, but that didn't stop him from eating everything. We would go back again. read more

Busy option in touristy Te Anau, the food was certainly acceptable and the local seafood was precisely what we were hoping to find. However its prepared with Argentinian flare and the fusion works. read more

This restaurant has amazing food and great service! Their portions are fairly big enough to share one for two people if you get an appetizer. We tried the seafood chowder, paella, and the white fish (I think it was called gufoni). We had so much leftovers but are heading out of town tomorrow so we couldn't take them to go. I would definitely recommend stopping here for dinner while in Te Anau. read more

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Friendly service. Loved the Seafood Platter even though the mussels were over cooked. The Seafood Pasta (Ravioli) was a bit too rich for my taste, rich red-ish sauce with rich pesto, and very salty. Five for the platter and three for the pasta. read more

Recommended by the host at our B&B - who turned up as the hostess at the restaurant! It was wonderful - I had the Patagonian-style lamb with cheesy potatoes, slaw & salsa; my wife had the salmon. Both were cooked perfectly. The place was busy but the staff worked the crowd well. Finished off with a Pisco Sour. Chilean Patagonian food made with NZ ingredients works well. Highly recommend for a unique upscale meal. read more

Didn't hate it. Can't really recommend it. The service was fine. We shared the lamb special. The lager was fine. The potatoes was good. The other side were okay but there was very little meat. It looked like a good serving but it was mostly fat and bones. read more

Food is amazing service was wonderful atmosphere was great. They don't have ice tea on the menus in New Zealand and the waitress was happy to make a fresh one for me. read more

My first day in Te Anau in April this year after a Milford trip we are really hungry we haven't booked a table with Kepler but luckily we got a table. Katie was very nice she explained us whole menu and gave us good customer service. we ordered seafood platter and later i ordered lamb rack and my wife ordered chicken dish which was really beautiful. i will highly recommend this place. read more

Not great. Over priced, hectic staff. Clearly preying upon the tourist trade. Ribeye "special" not actually special at all, paella not well seasoned read more

Great service and lovely presentation. I had the venison and the meat was tough. That was really disappointing. Everything else on the plate was amazing. read more

Unseasoned risotto and rice with poor attention to customers in the corner of the restaurant that wasn't opened 5 minutes earlier, with no heat/music/lights on. Not worth the stop read more

Great food!! And great service! Interesting Chilean flare on dishes. The venison and paella were delicious! The seafood platter was good. Great wine selection, awesome atmosphere. The only downside was 2 of us asked to take our leftovers home but he only brought 1 back. I lost almost half my venison dish:( But it was a wonderful meal and I would highly recommend! Just be really clear if taking leftovers read more

Great New Zealand fair. Light eclectic food, great desserts and nice ambiance. Walking distance to the water and downtown. Definitely recommend the lamb and seafood pasta. read more