The Best Queenstown Restaurants | International Traveller

Enjoy an unforgettable bite at one of these top-notch eateries.

When you think of Queenstown, outdoor pursuits involving crisp mountain vistas, scenic waterways, and epic ski runs might come to mind, but New Zealand’s adventure capital has some pretty exciting options for foodies too.

From cosy pub-style fare and the best burgers in town to artisan degustation experiences showcasing the finest modern New Zealand cuisine, these are the Queenstown restaurants that will have you rushing indoors.

Amisfield Restaurant and Cellar

Best for: Fine dining gem, paddock-to-plate, wine list

We’ll start at the top. Amisfield is Queenstown’s best example of modern New Zealand fine dining for good reason. The restaurant and cellar door that rests on the shores of Lake Hayes has earned a string of accolades, including a place on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list last year. With a philosophy that celebrates the craftsmanship of those who bring the land to your plate, executive chef Vaughan Mabee’s dishes are culinary works of art, capturing the essence of Central Otago. Expect to pay $395 per person for a lunch tasting menu, while dinner starts at $595 per person for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Cuisine: Modern New Zealand fine dining
Price guide: $$$$$
Atmosphere: Refined, artisan
Location: 10 Lake Hayes Road, Queenstown

Nest Kitchen and Bar

Best for: views, date spot

Known for having Queenstown’s highest alfresco dining, Nest Kitchen and Bar provides panoramic views over Lake Wakatipu. Positioned within the Kamana Lakehouse Hotel, the art deco styled restaurant’s modern menu is inspired by local produce and the seasons, with mains like Fiordland red deer loin, Lumina lamb, and miso-glazed eggplant. Set menus start at $115 for 3 courses.

Cuisine: Modern New Zealand
Price guide: $$$
Atmosphere: Refined, Scenic dining
Location: 39 Fernhill Road, Fernhill, Queenstown

Fergburger

Best for: casual eats, most Instagrammable, late-night dining, budget-friendly

Good food doesn’t always mean fine dining and that’s the case with Fergburger. This popular cult eatery has gained worldwide attention and is famous for its burgers made with winning flavour combinations and quality local produce. The classic Fergburger made with prime New Zealand beef will set you back $17.20, while specialty offerings like Sweet Bambi – a venison burger made with wild Fiordland deer, blue cheese, boysenberry, and caramelised onion chutney are a few dollars more. Pair with thick shakes made with locally sourced gelato.

Cuisine: Fast food
Price guide: $
Atmosphere: Casual
Location: 42 Shotover St, Queenstown

Queenstown Wharf Bar

Best for: views, large groups, casual eating, hottest new opening

This stunning restaurant and bar, which opened in December last year is Queenstown’s newest food and beverage offering. Perched on the pristine waters of Lake Wakatipu, Wharf Bar, with its lofty floor-to-ceiling windows, mixes Italian-inspired share plates with woodfired pizzas, creative cocktails, and chilled local vibes.

Cuisine: Italian-inspired
Average price: $$
Atmosphere: Relaxed
Location: 88 Beach St, Level 1, Steamer Wharf, Queenstown

Mora Wines and Artisan Kitchen

Best for: Outdoor dining, family-friendly spot, wine list

Perhaps one of the prettiest places for brunch through to late afternoon, Mora Wines and Artisan Kitchen in nearby Arrowtown offers cottage and courtyard dining with dishes made from sustainable South Island ingredients. Whether you’re lingering over a grazing board or opting for the Chef’s Selection four-course tasting menu – which features mains like roast free farm pork belly or cedar wood Mt Cook alpine salmon – food here is paired with their award-winning range of wines.

Cuisine: Modern New Zealand, sustainable
Average price: $$-$$$
Atmosphere: Relaxed, elegant
Location: 265 Arrowtown – Lake Hayes Road, Arrowtown

Rātā Restaurant

dining at Rātā, Queenstown — Warm up with any of the hearty, slow-cooked meals on the menu. (Credit: Rātā)

Best for: Fine dining, special occasions, paddock to plate  

This much-loved Queenstown restaurant, whose name comes from the native Rata tree, pays homage to the land and sea. Michelin-starred chef Josh Emett’s modern seasonal fare ensures the freshest South Island ingredients possible with Rātā’s menus changing daily. Asian fusion style dishes here might include a starter of Ruakaka kingfish crudo, followed by Southland venison with rhubarb and caramelised pear, and finishing with dessert such as Zenkuro sake kasu ice cream sandwich with roasted white chocolate and miso.  

Cuisine: Modern New Zealand
Average price: $$$
Atmosphere: Refined
Location: Te Nuku, 43 Ballarat St, Queenstown

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Blue Kanu

Best for: large groups, date night, vegetarian options

Blending Asian and Pacific flavours, local favourite Blue Kanu blends exotic flavours and a fun atmosphere with its colourful art and decor. Describing their dishes as ‘Polynasia’ in style, expect shared offerings like tuna poke nachos, and Fijian market fish Kododa, with mains like Vietnamese shaking beef, and sticky duck pancakes. For drinks – it’s cocktails and beer. With a separate veggie menu, there are good options for vegetarians and vegans too.

Cuisine: Modern Asian fusion
Average price: $$
Atmosphere: Relaxed, fun
Location: 16 Church St, Queenstown

Cardrona Hotel

Best for: Hidden gem, family-friendly spot, paddock to plate

If you’re in the mood to explore a little further, this traditional, rustic pub, 45 minutes north of Queenstown comes highly recommended by in-the-know locals, and lovers of home-grown comfort style food. One of New Zealand’s oldest, most iconic pubs, Cardrona Hotel offers hotel guests, visitors and locals alike a selection of meals with fresh seasonal ingredients sourced from quality local producers. Pair mains like Royalburn lamb rump, or spring greens risotto with top drops from Central Otago’s wine region.

Cuisine: New Zealand
Average price: $$
Atmosphere: Casual dining
Location: 2312 Cardrona Valley Rd, Wanaka

Wellbeing means different things to different travellers. Here’s how to pick a hotel that gets it right for you.

The best wellness holidays aren’t necessarily spent wrapped in a spa robe. Sometimes they’re found around a dinner table in Cambodia, on a hiking trail in New Zealand or after finally beating jet lag on the other side of the world. The hotel you choose is what makes them happen.

1. Easy access to good food

meals from Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20 — Taste delicious meals at Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20.

One of the quickest ways to derail healthy habits on holiday is to spend half of it working out where to eat instead of digging into the culture around you. Thankfully, Novotel has done much of the hard work already, with chefs building menus that lean into the flavours, ingredients and traditions of each destination.

In Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Korkor soup – often dubbed ‘Cambodian ratatouille’ – sits alongside raw blue crab dressed with lime and chilli, best enjoyed with views across the Gulf of Thailand.

In the lovingly chaotic city of Bangkok, the presence of food cranks up the sociability. At Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20, you can settle in with mango sticky rice and stranger-turned-friends beside the pool at Sky on 20 rooftop bar, or bring them along to tackle river prawns and stir-fried crab with holy basil at the buzzing Crab Paradise Dinner Buffet.

Then Novotel Dubai Al Barsha welcomes you with a laidback twist on the level of indulgence the Middle Eastern city is best known for up on Deck Se7en. Looking towards Burj Al Arab, the rooftop lounge has everything from Mediterranean-style dishes like seabass ceviche to Italian prosecco sundowners.

At the other end of the scale, in the hills that surround the Novotel Bali Ubud Resort, calm comes from nature. At Siralada restaurant, Balinese traditions shape the menu while thunder rumbles over the surrounding jungle – proving the setting is as nourishing as the food itself.

While at Novotel Nha Trang, chef Kieu Thi My Hanh and her team showcase Vietnam’s knack for balancing freshness, texture and fragrant herbs. Pho remains a favourite, while seafood salad with pomelo and mango brings those flavours together in one bright dish.

It’s all an approach backed by partnerships with expert food creators such as Alfie Steiner, whose plant-forward recipes prove healthy food should never taste plain.

2. Better sleep options

Novotel Bali Ubud Resort room — Sleep deeply with Novotel.

There are few travel experiences more disappointing than arriving in a new country, determined to seize the day, only to fall asleep fully clothed by 3pm.

For Australian travellers, jet lag is often an unavoidable part of the journey. That’s one reason Novotel runs sleep-focused initiatives that help guests adjust quickly without compromising on health. We’re talking partnerships with Sydney-based sleep specialist Olivia Arezzolo, known for her advice on everything from better sleep habits to beating jet lag, alongside features like pillow menus, in-room yoga content and tailored sleep guidance.

The sooner you’re operating on local time, the sooner you can get back to more pressing matters – like deciding which spa treatment to book.

3. More ways to move

woman hiking around queenstown new zealand — Stay at Novotel Queenstown Lakeside and explore local hiking trails. (Credit: GettyI mages/ naruedom)

Every place in the world has its own way of getting you moving: whether that’s hiking up ice-bitten mountains before a sauna or gentle stretching by the pool before a facial. From fitness centres to spas, Novotel recognises that wellbeing rarely looks the same.

At Novotel Queenstown Lakeside, activity is inescapable. Here, hiking trails, ski fields, bungee jumps, and white-water rafting have made the region famous. The hotel’s location on the shores of Lake Wakatipu means less time spent organising yourself and more time out there experiencing them. To top it all off, you can book a private hot tub for the evening before heading back into the wilderness tomorrow.

Bali, of course, takes a softer approach. At Novotel Bali Ubud Resort or Novotel Bali Nusa Dua, movement is less about conquering a mountain and more about a dance class between the tropical gardens and lagoon pools. Afterwards, the spa takes over, with traditional treatments like a Lulur body scrub: a combination of rice, turmeric, sandalwood, ginger and jasmine that’ll soothe muscles already relaxed by the Balinese heat.

4. Better connections

Kids will love a stay at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh.

One of the best things about travel is that it gives your family stories you’ll be telling for years. Novotel helps create them with activities that bring everyone together, whether that’s trying something new, learning a local skill, or simply spending more time together.

Go for a distinctly Thai twist at Novotel Phuket Vintage Park, where many of the family activities draw on local culture. Kids can try everything from beginner Thai boxing and language lessons to umbrella painting and – a pastime beloved by children the world over – pool foam parties. Everyone is welcome to join in, whether that’s getting splashed, covered in paint, or simply watching their children discover a new side of Thailand during the dedicated Family & Kids Day.

A different adventure awaits at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh. Kids could be perfectly content with discos, drawing classes and new holiday friends, but the Red Sea has other ideas. Sitting on the edge of Naama Bay, days here might involve snorkelling colourful reefs, taking a boat trip to Ras Mohammed National Park or heading into the desert by quad bike or camel for a Bedouin-style dinner beneath the stars.

5. Location is everything

Surin Beach, Choeng Thale, Thalang District, Phuket, Thaiföld — Explore Phuket’s gorgeous beaches. (Credit: Bence Biczo)

Everyone’s idea of wellness looks a little different. With more than 600 hotels across 65 countries, Novotel gives guests the freedom to choose the destination that suits them best. Whether that’s a beachside escape in Phuket, an alpine expedition in Queenstown or a city break in Bangkok, there’s a good chance a Novotel isn’t far away.

All that’s left? Choosing your version of wellbeing.

Discover stays to inspire your everyday at novotel.accor.com.

The best restaurants in Queenstown