Bistro Gentil

  10 of us dined for my son's birthday. Absolutely loved the meal I had and everyone else enjoyed theirs as well. Superb food,excellent service. Definitely recommend. We will be back.

  Gorgeous cosy space, wine tasting by Maude by Day. Gourmet dinner by night. Special occasion or just treat yourself, this is by far the best restaurant in Wanaka. Staff friendly... read more and attentive, the food presentation and flavour, awesome.

  Lacklustre service but food food
If I was the chef here I would be disappointed to see this comment, food was generally pretty good however let down by poor... read more service and non attentive service staff.

I was hosting a table of 8 people on a quiet Tuesday evening, the wait staff were more interested in chatting to themselves than wanting to assure our needs were met. I had to get up and interrupt their conversation to get table service. Not good enough when paying their prices.

  We had an absolutely lovely dinner at Bistro Gentil. The service was good and the food was fabulous. We had the French onion soup, both croquettes, oyster, green salad, carrots,... read more seafood dish and steaks——all prepared beautifully. The wine was good (not great). The setting is beautiful, too. We definitely would return if we are in Wanaka again.

  I'm still digesting the delicious 3 course meal as I write this. The food was next level. If you're wanting the best of what Wanaka has to offer then this... read more is it. I'm a local of 5 years and I've tried every all the restaurants...More

  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".

  The best view anywhere in the world! We soaked up the view and clean air whilst we waited for our table. The food was yummy and presented beautifully. It is... read more a popular place and needs to be booked, we can see why. It is more upmarket and a little bit out of town so if you’re walking you may need to stick to something closer. An enjoyable dinner.

  This was a return visit to Wanaka and dinner at Bistro Gentil the first thing booked. Though a Monday, the bistro was open, but not busy. All diners accommodated easily... read more in the outdoor terrace section, for a glorious sunset. It's easy to get too comfortable in the woollen-rugged chairs. Service was attentive but not rushed. We had 'space' between entrees and main to sit and relax and imbibe.

Starters were oysters (fresh!), chicken liver parfait (made into 'cigars' and served in glass ashtrays - incredible), and soft shell crab (yum).

For entree we both had the French onion soup. This was a no-brainer and didn't disappoint. I had thought about going large but the waitress assured me the small size would give me space to complete mains. She was right. Tick.

For mains we had the duck (special) and I had the Red Tussocks venison, with truffle fries. Just divine, and both cooked just enough.

For dessert I had the vanilla brûlée. OMG what a treat.

The wine list was smaller than I remembered and a bit odd. Mostly wines made by the winery upon which grounds the bistro sits and provides wine-tastings for, but some others including one from Italy and one from France. I chose the Clos Marguerite Pinot Noir 2019 and it was sublime.

Overall, our expectations had been high and they were met.

  Great location . Good wine. Service standard but food worst in our experience in New Zealand - esp. For among the high end restaurants. Everything was overpowered with mayo type... read more sauces and too salty. Minute crab appetizer tasted more of fried batter stick than crab. French onion soup good. Main meal of lamb - so much mayo sauce that couldn’t taste lamb the way we should. Side dish of veggies again doused in mayo sauce - lost taste here again. Really disappointed . Compared to other many locations in New Zealand , very disappointing and cannot recommend . Liked other local lunch places better in beautiful Wanaka! Recommend to pull back on the very overwhelming sauces!

  Visitors to Wanaka, Bistro Gentil had been recommended to us by our AirBnb host as somewhere top rate to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Hands down, one of our best... read more dining experiences. Ever. A glass each of Maude bubbly started us on our way, whilst the...More