Bienvenue au Bistro Gentil
Appetisers:
- Oyster, mignonette/8 ea
- Manuka smoked olives/8
- Rosemary ciabatta and butter/9
- Chicken liver parfait cigar, quince paste, ash/8 ea
- Mushroom croquette, aioli/6 ea
- Salt cod croquette, preserved lemon mayonnaise/7 ea
- Beef croquette, onion caramel, spicy mayonnaise/7 ea
- Earth board, selection of 3 cheeses, house chutney, walnut, croutons, ciabatta/37
Entrées:
- French onion soup, gruyere crouton/16 small/23 large
- Aged beef fillet tartare, radish, egg yolk, soy gel, miso mayo, crispy shallots, croutons/26
- Seared yellowfin tuna, buttermilk dashi, wakame, pickled fennel, citrus kosho, sesame tapioca cracker/27
- Baked goat cheese, beetroot relish, roasted butternut, walnut crumb, crispy kale, butternut purée/25
Principals:
- Deboned duck leg, creamy leeks, mushroom & duck breast, peach chutney, cider jus/53
- Market fish, vongole, potato darphin, parsnip purée, bouillabaisse lobster sauce, spring onion and chives/50
- Royalburn lamb rump, creamy polenta, yams, garlic emulsion, harissa dressing, comté cheese, hazelnuts/54
- Salt-baked swede, smoked labneh, pumpkin seeds, black garlic gel, vietnamese oil, puffed rice/44
- 200g Angus reserve beef fillet, red onion relish, potato dauphines, café de paris butter, onion caramel/65
- Pork tenderloin rolled in bacon, jerusalem artichoke, cavolo nero, mustard seeds, cider jus, shallots/53
Accompagnements:
- Bistro’s signature truffle fries/15
- Perlas potatoes, tarragon butter, crème fraiche, parsley, leek ash/17
- Fried brussels sprouts, medlar dressing, preserved lemon mayonnaise/15
- Steamed broccoli, blue cheese sauce, pumpkin seeds/16
June Trust The Chef:
- 3 Course $69
- 4 Course $79
- 5 Course $95
Our Trust the Chef menu for June is designed as a true seasonal dining experience, inviting you to step back and let our kitchen lead the way. Available in either 4 or 5 courses, each menu is thoughtfully curated by the chef to highlight the best produce of the moment. While it may occasionally draw inspiration from our à la carte offerings, the dishes are composed to create a more complete and expressive journey.
Desserts:
- Mini Bistro dessert /8
- Vanilla crème brûlée, peanut crumb, berry sorbet/20
- Plum cheesecake, caramelised banana, banana crumb, plum coulis/20
- Dark chocolate mousse, chocolate custard, crumbs, sea salt tuile/20
- Pear and blueberry compote, oat crumble, frozen yoghurt, dulce de leche /19
- Dame Blanche, vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate ganache, nuts/19
- Selection of house-made ice cream and sorbet/17
- Affogato, vanilla ice cream, espresso, liqueur of choice /24
Bon appétit !
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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.
pietrr2023
November 16, 2023
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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.
Goodandsimple
May 22, 2021
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