Bistro Gentil

  I went to Bistro Gentil for dinner with my friends last week. Everyone loved it! Delicious and beautifully presented dishes, I personally had the pork belly, the fish and the... read more hazelnut choux dessert. To be honest, haven't felt this way after a meal in a long time! Definitely the kind of dinner experience you want to have when you feel like treating yourself! Service was excellent. It has been recommended to us to go there and I would definitely recommend it myself!

  We dined at Bistro Gentil on Sunday 18th February, and it was an amazing culinary experience. The French Onion soup was very tasty and rich, but this was surpassed by... read more the best venison dish we have ever eaten. Subtle flavours abounded, but only enhancing the amazing taste and quality of the meat. Lastly the plum tart was a stunning finale. There are some good restaurants in Wanaka, but in our opinion, none came close to emulating the cooking skills on evidence here. If you are in Wanaka and love your food, this is a must destination. The staff were great and the chefs passion absolutely shines through.

  We were recommended this restaurant and it didn’t disappoint, good food, well presented with excellent service. It did not disappoint.

  The setting is beautiful with views to the lake and mountains beyond. The food is spectacular, every course was delicious, so fresh and amazing combinations of flavors, was definitely one... read more of the best meals we've ever had and we've eaten all over the world. Merci for making our 10 year anniversary special. If you don't eat here you're missing out big time.

  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

  This is hands down the best meal i had during my entire 14 days trip in the South Island. Definitely amongst the top 10 meals , I had for ... read more past 18 months, which is saying a lot, since i have visited some top tier cities/countries...More

  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.

  Bistro Gentil was absolutely amazing! Price is fantastic, servings are very generous and the staff go far beyond to make your evening so special. I cannot fault one thing about... read more this restaurant. They made our evening perfect, from answering all and any of our questions about the menu, to generously providing us with a glass of bubbles to celebrate my partners birthday. The food was incredible. With every bite, the texture and taste of these meals was even better than I was expecting.

Perfect. Sensational. Incredible. We will be back, time and time again

  The food was good, the service attentive, the tables are well spaced, the restaurant had a nice buzz but not too noisy for conversation. All the makings of a very... read more pleasant evening

  Recommended by both the waitress in the pub and our accommodation host!! Stunningly good. Casual atmosphere yet slightly poshy. The food was the winner. Monk fish was sensational and the... read more cheese board outstanding. Great bottle of French Chablis. Well worth the $’s. Attentive service. Would...More