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

It was my first time visiting Queenstown from the U.S., and I was immediately intrigued by all the…read morefood options in this particular area of town. Caribe caught my attention due to its colorful Latin-inspired decor and tables/seating. I initially asked to order the prawn & cheese empanada, but the cashier told me they did not have prawns. Instead, I ordered the mushroom & cheese empanada, which did not dissapoint! The outer layer was crispy, flaky, golden goodness. The mushroom and cheese combo was not something I've had before. It didn't scream "Latin" to me, but that didn't stop it from being delicious. I also got an order of the vegetarian arepas, which was my least favorite of the two. I wish the veggies that came with it were more hearty; it appeared that they used something similar to a frozen mix of peas, corn, and diced carrots. Again, it was still yummy, but I think it could be elevated with beans! The arepa breading itself was fresh and crispy.

When missing Latino cuisine in New Zealand, this is the place to visit for that! They have a mix of…read moreMexican, Brazilian, Argentinian, Colombian, and Peruvian snacks, meals and drinks. We ordered a passionfruit and regular frozen margarita and both were great! The place itself is colorful, cozy and vibrant which is exactly what you would expect from a Latin restaurant. The food came out pretty fast which is another bonus. The beef empanadas were some of the best I've ever had seriously. The arepa was another great choice and so were the quesadillas. Stop by if you're ever in Queenstown you won't regret this little gem.

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.

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

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!

This was hands down the best restaurant that we visited during our time in the North and South…read moreIsland. My wife and I visited with our 7 year old daughter and we both did a tasting menu and our daughter ordered a la carte. To start the service was superb our server was so sweet and had such great energy and everyone else that helped us from the wine pairings to the kitchen were very interactive and friendly. By the time we left we felt like we were family. Now on to the food. We had venison, lamb, seafood pasta, and a wonderful dessert prepared table side. Each entry was better than the last and prepared on point with quality ingredients and wonderful presentation. Each plate we tried was an experience and the quaint ambiance added to the experience. We would travel back here just to go and eat here again. Do yourself a favor and go eat here!

Hands down the best meal my husband and I had in Queenstown this past week. The attentive service,…read morethe quality of ingredients, the intimate ambience--everything was truly top notch. We had the gnocchi, focaccia, salmon, potatoes, lamb, and salad. All of it was superb and I loved the thorough explanation that came with each course. Oh and the tiramisu was divine!! I will be thinking of this meal for years to come.

Perfect meal at the end of a long day! They were closing when we got there but were nice enough to…read morestay open for us. We had a delicious green salad which was big enough for 4 of us to share . The bruschetta was freshly diced tomatoes and balsamic glaze. We split the pasta bolognese which was homemade pasta in a tasty sauce. So glad we found this gem .

OMG this place is underrated. If you are vegan and visiting Queenstown, GO HERE. I had no idea…read morebefore entering what I was getting myself into. They have an ENTIRELY VEGAN MENU! (well the regular menu isn't vegan, but they have a menu for vegans!!) This was epic because my boyfriend could get his meat pizza and I could order anything from this page-long menu made just for me! Another thing I loved about this place - the wine list comes along with a huge selections of vegan wines, marked with a little circled V in front of them. Pretty sure this is my new favorite place! I ordered a penne alla arrabbiata with a glass of *vegan* Italian Primitivo and holy f*ck was I happy when that baby was placed in front of me. Granted, I'd been traveling most of the day and hadn't had a proper meal, but I ate that penne so fast, my mouth was on fire from the chile. They even topped it with some bread crumbs instead of the parmesan that the non-vegan version comes with. Et viola! I was in vegan heaven. My boyfriend was happy with his pizza, and I was hoping to save room for dessert, but couldn't make it happen after that pasta. I did like that I left feeling full but not overly stuffed, but I was really hoping to order the vegan chocolate cake or the coconut panna cotta. I'm hoping to make it back here before leaving QT, if only for dessert!

Basically cheese crackers masquerading as pizza…read more We came here because we failed to reserve a seat at one of the good restaurants in town. Please don't make the same mistake!

Our Milford sound tour bus stopped in town for an hour breakfast and bio break. While most folks…read moreheaded to the "obvious" cafe, a few of us thought of giving some business to the other cafes. 30+ minutes to make an omelette in a lightly trafficked restaurant is a bit too much. Had to leave without breakfast because the bus was leaving. Felt sorry for the girl behind the counter but as a business, knowing that tour buses are going to come in for the one hour each day and not be prepared for the influx of people is just silly. Get some people for the the one hour and then go back to bed or whatever. Smoothie was good, and I think the food would have been great if they could make it in time. Hope they fix their service issue.

We ordered one prosciutto and 2 all vegetarian pizzas with garlic bread. If you want to enjoy…read morepizza, don't order the garlic bread because the bread was so good that we couldn't eat the pizza. Fresh and delicious.

Unfortunately, wasn't quite as impressed with the food at The Cow compared to some of the other…read moremeals I had in Queenstown. Pizza was okay, I didn't love the crust or the sauce, but was pleased with the amount of toppings. The pasta was good but nothing special. Service was nice though!

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.