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  While on holiday in NZ we visited Wanaka and celebrated my wife's birthday in this restaurant. Excellent food, good service and a nice and special way to choose your wines... read more (I won't tell you more, should be a surprise).

  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

  This restaurant has it all. Amazing location with views onto the lake, charming building and interior, a French inspired cuisine to die for and very kind and subtle staff. Just... read more perfect.

  Saturday night was a wonderful experience, lovely surroundings, greeted with a friendly smile on arrival, seated and offered a drink, completely unhurried to decide what you would like, mouth watering... read more flavoured food, when your food is placed in front of you, a full eplaination of what your plate contains is given by the wait staff.
Wait staff all gentle lovely people and very attentive.
You must make reservations before going.
Totally recommend this restaurant. Will certainly go back.

  My husband (woo!) and I recently wed in an intimate ceremony in Wanaka, New Zealand, and we chose Bistro Gentil for our celebration dinner with our family that evening. Sinead... read more from Bistro Gentil was my main point of contact from my first email, and she was so helpful and accommodating with all of our requests. On the night, I was thrilled when I found that she was also our host for the evening. We opted for the 5 course tasting menu with matched wines, and Sinead was very happy to accommodate deviations to the menu for those with dietary restrictions or non-drinkers. Every single dish was world class, and the wines were some of the best I've ever tasted. The atmosphere of the restaurant was warm and welcoming and we loved having our own little private area with stunning views for the night. We are so happy that we chose Bistro Gentil to top off the best day of our lives!

  Joined friends for dinner and enjoyed a superb meal with a great selection of local wines.
One of the best dining experiences we have had in Wanaka. Starting with the... read more service and assistance from very well trained and polite staff.
Not a huge menu but choices to savour. Beautiful presentation, good sized portion and an excellent description of each course.
Very highly recommended - pricy but you get what you pay for in this restaurant.

  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!

  Both indoor and covered patio areas offer casual elegance in atmosphere. Go around sunset and you will hopefully get beautiful glowing skies from the patio. The food is superb. And... read more even more, the service is very good, a rarity in New Zealand.

  3 of us opted for the 3 courses for $69. The beef tartare, asparagus with the goat's cheese etc and the beef belly croquette with the torched goat's cheese all... read more proved to be top quality and very flavoursome. The fish of the day was monkfish and voted the best of the 3 mains although the beef fillet and lamb backstrap were also praised by all. Everyone was also happy with their dessert.

Service was nicely paced and friendly and the ambience was very pleasant. We thought, given the quality of the food that the price was good value. We hope to return on our next trip to Wanaka.

  We had excellent food our entire wonderful Backroads trip but Bistro Gentil was my favorite.
Beautiful setting, comfortable seating, elegant casual decor. Servers were excellent, even serving our group of... read more twenty.
Great vegetarian options - I am pescatarian. Loved all three courses, had a goat curd and leak appetizer, moki fish entree - fish cooked perfectly, and creme brulee with sorbet for dessert. My husband had a cauliflower based entree that he loved.
Wine was good - like everywhere in NZ.