Bistro Gentil

  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 is, far and away, the best restaurant in Wanaka. My husband and I have enjoyed a meal here every time we come to Wanaka, but we also had... read more our rehearsal dinner here the night before our wedding and everything about it was wonderful....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!

  What a dinner! Drinks, food, service and atmosphere were unbelievable, and very good looking chefs. Excatly what you are looking for on a girls night out.Good size portions; they don't... read more skimp on food here. French onion soup was a meal in itself. And if you are a dessrt person, be sure to stop here. Will definitely be back.

  We had high expectations and it delivered. First off the wine experience is top notch. The ability to taste all types wines before you get a bottle is... read more fantastic. The sommelier worked with us in getting the right wine for our taste. The best part...More

  Oh. Wow. Came here with my parents (75 & 80), and we were simply blown away.
Incredible view and lovely staff who genuinely seem to enjoy working there. ... read more />
My mother normally “chooses badly” even in top London restaurants. Here she was just bowled over. I can’t remember the last time that happened.
The cauliflower soup was incredible. Her lamb was the best of a faultless main selection.

Just an extremely rare experience.
I often love the food in NZ restaurants but this was simply on a different level.

  A winery for tastings in the future and French bistro by night. The best meal in NZ to date. Confit duck leg with tart plums and sweetcorn puree and the... read more best creme brulee ever. Loved being able to sample various local wines by choice of...More

  After reading the reviews of Bistro Gentil we decided to go there for our special anniversary dinner. So disappointing! Overall the meals were poor to good.The Royalburn lamb dish that... read more I chose was overpowered by the merguez sausage in taste and quantity. There was very little lamb on the plate in the 2 lamb dishes that our group had! So I would rate this dish as being overpriced. However the venue, service and wine list was excellent.

  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.

  We have a meal here each time we visit Wanaka, about 4 times each year. The food is always excellent- always a special night.