This was published 4 years ago
Queenstown, New Zealand: Best places to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner
Chief executive at The Rees Hotel Queenstown, Mark Rose, is also a trained chef.Credit: Stefan Haworth
QUEENSTOWN
THE EXPERT
Kiwi as: Try a Marmite scroll from Queenstown Cafe.
Chief executive at The Rees Hotel Queenstown since its 2009 opening, Mark Rose is a trained chef and a specialist in food and beverage services who has managed vineyard and winery operations as well as landmark hotels around the world. The Rees is hosting a range of "Queenstown in Winter" culinary experiences. See therees.co.nz/en-gb/culinaryseries
BREAKFAST
Try a Marmite scroll from Queenstown Cafe and ask for it warm. Fluffy white pastry with swirls of Marmite and cheese – it's Kiwi as, and goes so well with their coffee, made with rich Underground beans from Christchurch. Crafted by Taranaki-born Ellish, it is arguably the best coffee in New Zealand. This cafe shares a space with a print and signage business – and you can buy a sign or some funky stationery while there. (87 Gorge Road, Queenstown).
LUNCH
Head to Tatsumi and try the Canterbury Wakanui Beef Tartare Yuzu. It's a classic French dish with a Japanese makeover and even more wonderful for showcasing great local and NZ ingredients. It features grass fed Canterbury beef, spicy Yuzu Kosho, wasabi and rocket. Match it with locally-made Zenkuro Sake. Owned and run by Koichi and Yoko, it serves all-day tapas plates and a lunchtime degustation. See tatsumi.co.nz
APRES SKI
At The Rees, you can tour our award-winning wine cellar, with more than 200 different wines from NZ, Australia, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Italy, Spain and beyond. Do the Taste 5, which pairs five Central Otago and NZ wines with canapes created by our award-winning chef Ben Batterbury. There are some great choices, but the cheese dishes are popular. Try for instance, a Dragon Bones Late Harvest Riesling with Whitestone Windsor blue cheese. See therees.co.nz
DINNER
La Rumbla in nearby Arrowtown serves awesome cocktails and has a funky wine list that can be paired with tapas made using local ingredients. One of my favourites is the grilled Fiordland Octopus with chorizo, salsa verde, spring onion, preserved lemon. The fresh local octopus is chargrilled to bring out a smoky flavour and add some texture. The spicy accompaniments finished with citrus make it very bright on the palate. See larumbla.co.nz
DRINKS
Lodge Bar is a grown-up waterfront bar in Queenstown serving great cocktails, made with spirits from local distilleries. It also has a wine list showcasing the great wineries of NZ and small plates by Matt Lambert. My pick is a dish that features roasted diamond clams done with bacon and Worcestershire sauce. The crunchy Cloudy Bay clams are perfect with a glass of Felton Road Chardonnay. See roddandgunn.com/au/the-lodge-bar
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