Matheson Cafe

Absolutely fantastic experience! The latte with oat milk was smooth, and perfectly balanced. The beef bagel sandwich was just as impressive: fresh, flavorful, and filling in all the right ways. The atmosphere is warm, welcoming, and a great place to relax. On top of that, the service is truly amazing—friendly, attentive, and genuinely passionate about what they do. All around excellence. Honestly, they deserve a beer for how well they do everything here. Highly recommended!

This is a beautiful spot before / after the lake walk or even just to admire the view from the deck! However, should be noted that the food is overpriced as you’re paying the location/view premium (eg the breakfast bun is $22). That said - the bun was substantial in size but lacked seasoning / bit dry, and coffee served to us spilt - which of course happens from time to time, however there was no acknowledgment / apology or serviette provided by the waitstaff to tidy up the mess. All that said the cafe is definitely not to be missed even for a coffee and a sit down to admire the view.

A lovely setting at the start of the lake matheson walk. The service was quick and there’s plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. I ordered the Bennie bagel and it was cooked to absolute perfection - crispy bacon, runny eggs, fresh pesto and smooth hollandaise. Would highly recommend. It cost $28 so slightly on the expensive side!

What a beautiful location for a cafe & gift shop. Spotlessly clean with great views of the surrounding mountains. We had a good coffee, flat white, nicely presented with creamy texture & ample strength. Food looked delicious but we only had time for coffee. Outside & inside seating available.

This was an excellent find. It would have been even better if the clouds hadn't been hiding the (apparently) epic view. The excellent lunch more than made up for it though.

My husband and I really enjoyed our lunch - chicken ramen, cheese cake and iced chai latte with a nice view of the mountains. Good portion of food, tasty and good value for money.

Went a little out of our way to eat a late breakfast. We have been traveling through New Zealand for the last six weeks and this was by far the best morning meal we had eaten. My wife’s Japanese-style soy scrambled eggs and mushrooms came out perfectly silky and tender and my Osaka-style Okonomyaki was excellent. We watched Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman loom in and out of the late morning mists and even though the place was busy with customers, it still felt cosy and wonderfully congenial.

I went to Lake Matheson Cafe really enjoyed the whole experience. The atmosphere was prefect and cozy ,and the view of the mountain absolutely beautiful. The coffee and food was delicious. The staff were friendly everything felt well-preprare i would definitely come back again and highly recommended this cafe to anyone visit the area 😊 its prefect stop before or after exploring Lake Matheson

This place is an excellent view of the two main mountain peaks. The food is really good as well. Nice ambiance. Excellent hiking trails.

Beautiful location, a must stop when making the little trek to see the beautiful mirrored lake. Views of mountains are incredible. Good food and cute little shop.

really good hot chocolate and spicy chai latte we came for breakfast and all their Benedict's were cooked to perfection. The staff was also really sweet when they came to serve us.

Of all the places on Earth that would have every right to suck, this has got to be high on the list. Its patio looks directly at Aoraki with nothing but waving grasses to intervene, and you'd most likely stop there to eat after more stunning views of the Southern Alps reflected in Lake Matheson. So basically they could serve slop and everyone would probable be fine with it. Instead, Matheson Cafe fed me the best salmon benedict of my life! It didn't have to. But it did. Their salmon, surely local, was hot-smoked, ridiculously plentiful, and incredibly flavorful. They put pesto in a tidy pile on the eggy, lemony hollandaise, which sounded weird when I ordered it, but it was made mainly of peas and fresh herbs and was green and tangy. There was a bagel on the bottom instead of an English muffin, which could have gotten way too bready, but they sliced it thin and so it just soaked up much of the sauce and remained a sturdy enough base without getting soggy. The only thing that wasn't perfect was one of the two eggs was poached too hard and the yolk didn't spill out. Normally that's a benedict's death knell, but here the rest of it was so good I didn't even care.

We had the BEST breakfast sandwich and beautiful coffee! I highly recommended this relaxing, wonderful place-- along with the hike right beside it. A highlight of our trip!

With Glacier views and a serene setting, Matheson Cafe is the perfect combination of delicious food, relaxing and ideal location. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, you really can't go wrong here. We opted for dinner and needed a reservation as it is a popular place in town. It was the perfect choice to see the sunset over the glacier. If staying in town for the night, this is the way to go. Food was just as good as the locals said it would be. Service was quick and our server was very attentive and checked in with us often. Everything here was fantastic. The only thing (not the cafe's fault) is the bugs around sunset and once the sun goes down are very annoying. After sunset, we along with the other guests at nearby tables all requested to move inside to enjoy the rest of our meal. They were use to this request and able to accommodate all of us right away.

The view is amazing which makes it a great place just to sip coffee. It's a counter service. We went here for breakfast and I went with the zucchini and corn fritters. It was good but nothing special. Felt it lack a bit of salt. My wife went with the spinach omelette which is again just ok. The omelette is something you can easily cook at home so nothing special. For dessert (yes we eat dessert for breakfast too!) we went with the mud chocolot cake. It was really good and gave us our sugary boost for the morning. Overall a decent place for breakfast.

Well if you like looking at mountains and drinking coffee this is the place for it , perfect place to take a photo and post it on Instagram with "this is my view" Coffee was ok nothing special definitely a lot better than most ive had around here it's ok I'm Italian you can trust me

A charming setting near Lake Matheson and with views of the mountains. But if you're taking the walk around the lake, you will get them even better there. The flat white is only halfway decent. Too much foam and milk, and too little coffee. It's not really a flat white and way below the standard of New Zealand.

Delightful meal in a terrific location. I'm so glad our hotel suggested Matheson Cafe to us. We ate dinner and breakfast here and were pleased both times. It is set in a serene place that had a stunning sunset. My salmon on clam risotto was savory well cooked tender and flavorful. The chai cheesecake was worth every calorie !!

The location, architecture, and decor of this cafe is excellent, as is the coffee! The service is good. As for the food, we loved one dish and didn't care for the other. The cafe, located right near Lake Matheson, has mountain views and both an outdoor patio and floor to ceiling windows that allow you to enjoy it. The setting is modern and well-maintained. Our Americanos were great, but the food was mixed. I loved my lamb burger, but my husband's lamb curry really lacked flavor (it seemed like they forgot to add salt and other basic seasonings). The service was efficient and friendly. Overall, a nice spot!

My favorite place to eat so far on this trip! My husband and I both got the pumpkin macadamia salad and it was soooo good and refreshing. I want to remake it when I'm home! We also both bought some organic juices, bacon egg pie like muffins to heat for breakfast the next morning. A brownie was also a divine reward for the 12km walk it took from Fox Glacier Township!

Wonderful location facing the glacier! The overall dining experience was fabulous with delicious food, great service, and relaxing ambiance. We had whitebait salad and lamb loin salad for starters, very rich combination of flavors. The beef short ribs, ribeye steak, and salmon fillet were cooked to perfection. If you're staying at Fox Glacier, I'd recommend this over the other restaurants on the main road of the town.

Great food. We did breakfast and lunch here. Got the noodles, lamb burger and bacon egg butty toast. Would recommend all 3 :)

About 5 min drive from Fox Glacier. Gorgeous view of the glacier and amazing food! Recommended by the resort owner at fox glacier and came in for an early dinner. Was told that the kitchen opens at about 6pm. Made a reservation and walked the lake trails next to it for about an hour. So the food... very creative and great effort. Had the salmon ceviche and lamb salad starter, born interesting. Pork belly for main was the highlight and totally surprised me. Not only it's like pork ramen reconstructed, the broth had a dash of lemongrass or something sour that balanced the salty savory of the pork belly. Loved it!

Ridiculously slow service which caused us to miss the view of the mountains reflecting in the lake on our single day in Fox Glacier. After Susan took our order, explained the menu, and brought drinks she disappeared and was never seen again. About 35 minutes later, Stephanie brought our plates and refilled drinks. When we asked the manager Esther what happened, she explained that there was a long wait "because we were very busy" and that Susan had to leave half-way through the dinner service "because otherwise she won't show up tomorrow". Sorry, but if you want to be regarded as a professional full-service restaurant you need to start acting like one. Hire a professional front-of-the-house manager, put an experienced crew into the kitchen, and properly train your wait staff.

Several friends said this is the best restaurant in Fox Glacier. It's about a mile out the side road from town. It's located in a beautiful area with a nice view of the valley. They have plenty of seating. I decided on the salmon fillet. It was great. Service was ok and the view from our table was great. We visited in Mar 2017

our best meal in new zealand. make a reservation in advance, as it gets crowded, so service can be slow. we didn't have one, and it was easy to sit outside...so if you have a few warm layers, this can be a good option, or you can always stroll around the lake or hit up the best gift shop the country at ReflectioNZ. you're sitting among pastures and mountains with cows dotting the landscape - it's really gorgeous. the food tasted delicious. we had an inventive vegetarian entree with eggplant and a generous salmon portion over greens. if you're trying to save money, but want to eat in such a nice, natural setting, you can always opt for pizza.

5 star for the views, 5 star for the service, 3 for the food taste and price. We were able to see Mt Cook in the morning hours with no clouds! However, the food - Kumara soup was very meh, salad was okay, all the main course dishes were above $30 and did not seem worth it.

This was exceptional!! The view of the mountains was breathtaking and the food and wine was very good. You have to try the goat gnocchi!!

One cannot beat the view or the food. Situated in beautiful southern island of New Zealand this CAFE serves a beautiful breakfast looking out on the New Zealand Alps. There's also beautiful landscaping along with birds particularly fantails that can be seen. Coffee here as everywhere is prepared one cup at a time.

Great view. Ordered the Matheson Breakfast. Other than the burned hash browns and the salty mushroom, the breakfast was average.

Great place with mountains view and warm atmosphere. Menu is not very big, but all food was awesome. Take table outdoor and enjoy your linch or breakfast. We had risotto with seafood, soup of the day, couscous salad and we have nothing bad to say about every meal. It was delicious.

It's obvious that this place was built as just a at for hookers to stop and get drinks and sandwiches or such. However the adaptation for formal dinner service works well. The food is good (if limited selection) and the wall of windows facing the mountains was well done. My one suggestion to management: get proper steak knives!

lamp sandwich not bad. salmon Rice is a little too less and rice is from india I think, not my favorite taste.

Stunning and quiet views. The food is also good but a little bit over priced. The best plate we had at this place was the risotto but Don't order the pizza with squash and meet.

Primary spot before heading to lake matheson, didn't expect much of the food but I ordered the lamb burger and was blown but how good/juicy the lamb was and the balance of the taste with the vegetables and burger. It was perfect. The service is also welcoming, friendly, and helpful. I would've came back for dinner if I could.

Delightful café with views of Fox Glacier and Mt. Cook. Service here is both chaotic and slow, but the café is beautifully designed with floor to ceiling windows providing a breathtaking view of fields and mountains. The food is remarkable. I ordered an entrée of risotto-stuffed eggplant, which came with a nice side salad topped with crusty parmesan croutons, and my husband enjoyed the fish of the day. We shared two scoops of yummy Bailey's Irish cream and white chocolate flavored gelato, which was a real treat after our brisk walk around Lake Matheson immediately prior to dinner.

Good food can be hard to come by in these small towns , but the Matheson Café is hands down the best meal I've had yet in my trip across New Zealand. Hot chocolate was spiced and the Cumberland Sausage lunch was absolutely to die for.