Bistro Gentil

  Loved the ambiance. We went in winter and the restaurant is cozy and has lovely character. Service cannot be faulted. However, the food was a bit of a let-down on... read more our expectations. The French onion soup was thick and sweet compared with a traditional French onion soup - not in a pleasant kind of way. The lamb dish had the potential to be something really special but was quite over-salted in my opinion (it is much easier to add than to take away!). Potential here to be amazing and I would return but would ask for "low salt, please".

  Lovely location with great views. Food delicious. Outside eating. Loved the "credit card" and wine dispenser

  Wow! Top class food that is probably one of the best in NZ, friendly and attentive service and to top it off outstanding views. Can not recommend this any higher!... read more Thank you Bistro Gentil for a great evening and appreciate you fitting us in last minute too!

  My wife and I had a wonderful Sunday evening meal at Bistro Gentil. The food and service were exquisite. The atmosphere was perfect, not too loud, nice music but at... read more a proper volume. The highlight of the evening was the excellent food. The menu was short but everything we were ordered was impeccably prepared. My wife and I both ordered the fish entree which was brill with a cauliflower purée. We also ordered a couple of other mains and an appetizer which were delicious. Great wine selection. Highly recommended, best meal we’ve had in New Zealand so far.

  I’ve visited this restaurant once before and it was absolutely amazing so I had to return! Although the menu had changed slightly to my first visit, it didn’t let... read more us down. We decided to go with the “Chefs choice” and that did disappoint. The staff...More

  There have been a few places we have eaten in that were memorable but this is certainly one of them. Nothing we ate or drank came short of the mark... read more and the service attentive and overall experience notable. We both had the Ora King Salmon, tempura soft shell crab, avocado, soy glaze, grapefruit gel, pickled radish, fennel. Remarkable and perfect in every way. Our mains were the free range pork belly, crumbed rib, tomato relish, bok choy, broccoli, hot sauce, white bbq sauce, crispy kale, and the aged beef fillet, red onion relish, onion caramel, café de paris, potato dauphines. Both were faultless. Desserts were unbaked fig cheesecake and the salted caramel set mousse. With all this came a complimentary amuse-gueule to start and a surprise course for our wedding anniversary (which I had casually mentioned when I had booked). All in all a huge treat and one of the best meals out we have experienced (and we have a surfeit of restaurants in Wellington to compare). So nice to read that other reviewers have felt the same way. Keep on doing what you do!

  Dined here as a husband, wife and fussy teen. This place didn’t disappoint. Staff are excellent. I just kept asking myself why we can’t have more restaurants with great staff... read more like this in Australia. I don’t think the staff realise how good they are. They...More

  The restaurant is in a great location overlooking the town, with easy parking. The tables are well spaced for easy conversation and the service was quite excellent, polite and well... read more informed. My wife has a garlic allergy but nothing was a bother and lots of options were made available with no fuss. We all agreed that the menu had great variety and local interest, and the food was beautifully cooked and presented. Maude wines are hard to beat and reasonably priced. Just a memorable evening and highly recommended.

  Bistro Gentil shares the restaurant space with Maude Wines. The restaurant is intimate and cosy, not too spacious but they utilise the outdoor area with overhead heating, making it an... read more extra outdoor but enclosed room.

Staff were friendly, especially Richard, very knowledgeable and explained each dishes with extra detail. We had the beautiful bottle of Maude Pinot Gris, lovely wine to complement our meal. My husband had the lovely pork belly and I had the tiger prawns with calamari on a small bed of beautiful broth/sauce and a small bun to soak up the sauce. For main, we had the lovely lamb with sausage. Accompanied by French fries and peas and bacon. We finished with ice cream to cleanse our palette.

If you love a nice meal, you definitely need to visit Bistro Gentil.

  We went to this place on a friends recommendation and it absolutely blew us away ! The atmosphere is classy but casual and feels really welcoming as you step in... read more the door . The staff were efficient and friendly , and the food - WOW !
French onion soup would be on my last supper list and this one was sublime , melt in your mouth beef was next - cooked to perfection and accompanied by just enough mouth watering accompaniments , my only complaint is that I couldn’t fit dessert in -gutted !
This place is an absolute little diamond .