Bistro Gentil

  This was an awesome dining experience.
I ate off the menu and wife tried the “Trust the chef” option and was most impressed.

  We enjoyed a very special meal in a spot with great views. The staff were very friendly & looked after us very well.

  We ate here during our three night stay in Wanaka and it was absolutely delicious. Both dishes were perfectly cooked and delightfully flavoured. Service was relaxed and friendly, a good... read more selection of wine on an enomatic machine so you can try a number. Highly recommend...More

  What a delicious meal. We all had Trust the chef, and we’re not disappointed. Service very friendly and wine was spot on, a good variety to choose from. Will definitely... read more be back!

  We visited Bistro Gentil last night and had a wonderful experience. We outside which was nice and cozy with the fires going under the canape. We had the steak tartare... read more and salmon for starters, the duck and lamb for main then the creme brule and caramel moose for dessert. Could not fault a thing! A taste sensation that I will not forget. Can't recommend this place enough. Will be back running sharpish. AWESOME!

  This place was a gem. The food was superb, particularly the tartare and confit. Same room for dessert . The Maude wine selection was good. ... read more About 100% markup on their own cellar door which is a bit rich but nice reserve Pinot.

  Bistro Gentil is described in a major tourist brochure for Wanaka as '...our award winning restaurant ' and came up as #1 on Trip Advisor reviews. The online menu looked... read more exciting too, so off we went for dinner.
Now I don't like writing negative reviews but I really was disappointed.
Wild venison carpaccio as an entree had about as much venison as a single thin slice of prosciutto. And with more than that in the form of poached pear, cranberry gel and sun dried tomato, I just couldn't taste the venison. It's not that these things don't go with venison, but the dish was so mean on the venison that it just got swamped.
It didn't get much better with the fish main. Three tiny pieces of monkfish, while tasting good, just didn't show the character of the fish. The celeriac puree was good, and could have been the main counterpoint of the fish with maybe one other flavour. But add prawns, leek, orange and bok choy to a tiny serve of fish and it just got lost. Somewhere there was apparently black garlic butter too... I've had many entrees that were more generous.
On the plus side, the garden salad was good and so were the wines (though a bit on the high price side by the glass).
Overall I think Bistro Gentil is trying too hard, maybe to hold or rescue some past glory. But the meanness of the and better balanced than this.
A French onion soup was sweet but maybe at the expense of some flavour of the onion. It was saved by a crust of gruyere but we're still trying to work out where the crouton was.
Overall the meanness of the feature ingredients in the serves, and the overcomplicated and overcompensated accompaniments, really it down.
I'm hoping they were just having a bad night, as their menu should really set you alight.

  We are Wanaka locals and have dined at BG many times over the past 6-8 years. Some time ago, I found that while the food was amazing, it was often... read more a little too fancy in the fact that the dish comprised of too many flavor's...More

  We really enjoyed the food last night which was exceptional. I cannot thank the staff enough for making the night extra special for our engagement and I appreciate the little... read more touches throughout the evening.

  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".