Astro Cafe

Perched above the lake with sky for ceiling; carrot cake moist and warm-spiced, pies flaky with honest mince, and coffee pours bright. Windows wrap the horizon, telescopes wink next door. Service is breezy, not pushy. Road up is gravel; come calm. On windy days doors slam and tea cools fast, still the view taste like extra sugar.

The views were lovely but the cafe is just lacking in every way. Food there isn't worth half of what it costs and the options are poor. My partner ordered a vegan sandwich which was just onion relish in a sub and cost $16. What was even more disappointing is that it had melted cheese stuck to the side (notice it on the picture on the bottom of the sub) so they obviously cook all the vegan and non vegan stuff together. If I you can't eat dairy you should be worried about cross contamination here. I would advise just bringing your own sandwiches up. It is also incredibly busy and hard to get a seat, it could be the busiest place I've been to in NZ. They are really missing out on an incredible opportunity to offer a great service in a fantastic location.

Absolutely loved Astro Coffee! The coffee was incredible – rich, smooth, and just what I needed after the hike. And the view? Next-level. Sipping a great cup of coffee at the top of the hill was simply breathtaking. The atmosphere is unbeatable – cozy, relaxed, and full of good vibes. Highly recommend making the climb – it’s 100% worth it!

It costs $8 to drive up to Mt. John Observatory. We waited in line for nearly half an hour to drive up, as only one car is allowed up when another comes down. However, the view from the top is absolutely stunning. This café is blessed with one of the most beautiful natural backdrops—it’s truly breathtaking. I didn’t make a purchase this time, but I did take a look at the prices. The food is noticeably more expensive than in town, though the coffee prices are still reasonable. Next time, if I come in the morning, I’ll definitely grab a coffee. With a view like this, it’s well worth it.

Apart from the stunning location, this café has little to offer. The food is overpriced, the coffee is average at best, and we waited nearly half an hour to be served.

Located in the top of mt.john summit. Need to pay 8 dollars for drive up to the hipp but it really worth it! I ordered hot chocolate and wait for aeound 15 min. Just a normal hot chocolate that you can find elsewhere but considering the beautiful scenary, it amazing!

40 minutes of waiting just to place an order, as every 3 minutes a lady responsible for order went to the kitchen to help her colleagues and was there for next 5-10 minutes. We were forced to buy the take away coffee, even though we saw that normal cups are available. Probably it was because there was an hour to the closing and the staff was not very keen on washing the dishes. The view is beautiful.

This cafe used to be a tradition for us - we'd come here each time we were in the area. Unfortunately we probably won't be visiting again, because the place has gone rapidly downhill. Their menu is gone - even though their website still mentions a kitchen, you can't order any meals, only cabinet food and cakes. When we arrived at 1pm (2 hours before closing time), the entire hot food section was empty and our only option was 1 out of 3 cake choices. It's also very, very, very crowded. There wasn't a single indoor seat available when we arrived (despite it being a weekday) and there were long queues. Oh, and you'll pay $8 to drive up the mountain, by the way. They appear to now be owned by the conglomerate that also owns the stargazing tours and the diner downtown.

Hiking to the top of Mount John is awesome, the views spectacular. At the top of the mountain is this cafe with espresso drinks and sammys and the like. Pretty much everyone up there except for me and my gf drove to the top. the majority spent their time taking photos of each other while holding up espresso cups. You know, cuz they're sophisticated. Awesome view bad vibe.

5 stars just for the views of Lake Tekapo. The food is cafe style, meat pies, sandwiches, baked goods. It's all good, but not great. The chocolate brownie was the one standout. Eating the food with this gorgeous view is something truly special.

Great view but sadly the staff seems incompetent. The wait took ages and the workers seemed to be in over their head.

Getting to the summit of the Mt John Walkway is an absolute treat and it is super nice to have a cafe available at the top. Ordered some coffees and a carrot cake which were good. No complaints here.

Surprisingly the best food we found was in the astrology museum, must gets are the cheese scone, flat white, and the blueberry muffin. The Astro cafe is next to the grocery store next to the holiday park at Lake Tekapo. Inside it is a cool cafe with the large brass telescope next to the dining area. I thought the food was excellent and arguably the best cafe we went to in New Zealand. I also visited the Astro Cafe on the top of the mountain but there is a fee to take a drive up to the top or its a 1 hour hike, plus I think the food/flat white at the bottom of the mountain was better. I think that this cafe is a great stop for breakie and worth a visit for the flat whites.

DO NOT GO. We tried to go and found out you have to pay an $8 road fee just to drive there! Once we arrived they said they didn't have EFTPOS working and if we wanted to wait around for 30 minutes they were going to try again when their manager arrived. Completely unprofessional! We weren't going to wait around until 11am just to have a coffee. That's ridiculous! They could of told us they didn't have EFTPOS BEFORE PAYING A FEE JUST TO DRIVE THERE! Their food didn't look very good either, but we couldn't taste it! They didn't have an ATM either. What a total waste of time.

The view here are immaculate! You don't have to purchase anything to be here, it's open to the public. That said, the carrot cake and coffee here are wonderful!

Great cafe that offers the best view in Lake Tekapo. Lots of natural lighting and friendly service. Bagels are baked in house and very tasty even with just cream Cheese and pesto. They also sell postcards and stamps unique to the observatory's status.

Awesome This lovely restaurant overlooking Lake Tekapo was awesome, food and coffee exceptional, staff friendly with a great service. We stopped for brunch, good choice of food and cakes to die for! The drive up is amazing with fantastic views.

Good flat white coffee with wonderful scenery of Lake Tekapo. It would be very enjoyable to have a break there. The road was a little bit difficult to drive.

Good service, really good coffee -and huge cups- in an amazing place with a beautiful view. Nice stop in Tekapo to enjoy the superb surroundings!

Long waiting time to get the drinks to the table. My cappuccino tasted bad, did not finish it. The Americano was good though. Very nice view from the top of Mt John

Tiny coffee shop with amazing views! The flat white and chai latte tasted great while admiring the beautiful lake and surrounding mountains. Just don't get blown off the mountain if you're there on a windy day like us!

All dishes are very super. Sausage roll which I ate was especially good. In winter it is very cold because of the top of Mt. John however the cafe inside is pretty warm.

Cute cafe offering the perfect views of the lake and surrounding mountains. We just enjoyed the view and cappuccino, but the menu looked good. The hike is not exactly easy on a hot day, but certainly worth making the vertical climb for the views!

Great view with great coffee!!! Highly recommended!!!it's absolutely one of the most beautiful cafe in NZ!!!But,regrettably,because of the weather,I didn't see thousands of stars here at night !!! Would come again in future!!!