Mt Cook Alpine Salmon Shop

We drove here specifically for the fresh salmon sashimi, and it absolutely lived up to our expectations. The fish was exceptionally fresh, clean, and flavorful—exactly what you hope for when ordering sashimi. It was clear that quality and freshness are a top priority, and every bite was a pleasure. What made the experience even more special was the setting. The view is truly outstanding, with crystal-clear, deep blue water stretching out as far as you can see. Sitting there and enjoying such a beautiful scene made this one of the best lunchtime experiences we’ve had. The atmosphere was peaceful and refreshing, and it felt like the perfect place to slow down and enjoy a great meal. The restaurant does get very crowded when large tourist buses arrive, which can make the place feel busy and noisy for a while. However, this is completely expected given how popular the location is. Even with the crowds, the food and the breathtaking scenery more than made up for it. Overall, it was a fantastic stop for lunch, and we would gladly make the drive again just for the sashimi and the incredible view.

This is one of those must stops when you’re in the Lake Pukaki area. You’ll find some of the freshest farm raised salmon here. This place is generally filled with a tourist, but it’s easy to get in get your salmon sashimi and there’s lots of spots outside with the most amazing view of the lake to eat your salmon. The salmon sashimi is reasonably priced and definitely worth purchasing and eating there. You could also purchase smoked salmon that is packaged that you can take away with you. Be careful that rubbish is highly controlled in this area and you’re only allowed to dump the rubbish from the food that you purchased here so take all your other rubbish with you. Also, there are restrooms here, but you have to pay a nominal amount to use them. However, everything here is spotless and clean and everyone is very friendly.

The place seems to be run by a team of Filipino staff. Unfortunately, our interaction at the counter was not the most pleasant, as the service felt somewhat unfriendly and dismissive when customers were asking questions. A warmer and more welcoming approach would certainly improve the overall experience. In general, the attraction felt a little overrated and may not be a must-visit, especially if you are planning to spend time or money here, as there are other places nearby that may offer better value. Do note that the toilet facilities require payment — $2 by cash or $1.50 via electronic payment — which is something visitors may want to be prepared for.

Highly recommended. View is gorgeous. Quality of the salmon and pricing is much superior to another place a short drive away. (One of our group described it as "sky Vs ground" with this place being the sky). Quality of wasabi is also superior Vs the place a short drive away. Warning: they close early here, 5pm. Also there's only outdoors dining, if the weather is beautiful as we had, it's the most incredible views and fresh salmon. If not, just get it takeaway. Con:The soy sauce quantity is rather limited ( would recommend one change - addition of pouring onto a small plastic container which might help with cost, reduce plastic waste, and make eating easier - the tiny soy sauce packets are very difficult to pour out and risk spillage, as the table stains outside attest to, takeaways I get has to be limited). If they can also add ginger then that'd be even better. Was in the Mt Cook area for 2 days and ate salmon for breakfast twice here. Would definitely return. Ps: they have vacuum packed salmon and they give you ice to take those away, which I'll be bringing to family for Christmas eve the day after tomorrow. They will clearly mark and advise how long you have to consume the salmon.

We stopped at Mt Cook Alpine Salmon Shop and had the salmon sashimi, which was absolutely delicious it was so fresh. Easily some of the best sashimi I’ve had, and well worth the stop if you’re in the area. The only downside was that it was a bit annoying to be charged to use the toilet, especially when you’re already a paying customer. That said, the quality of the salmon itself was outstanding and definitely the highlight.

The salmon was super delicious and incredibly crunchy, with a perfectly balanced taste. We came back twice! The sashimi is genuinely unbeatable. It was quite windy to sit outside, and finding an empty spot inside this small shop was a challenge. With better weather, the experience would be completely perfect.

Fresh alpine salmon here is well priced and delicious. Nice seating out the back, they offer chopsticks and soy/wasabi. There’s also a little viewing gallery nearby with a nice view of mt cook and some windows too. If it’s peak season it will be busy. Heaps of Asian tourists come for the sashimi!

Located at the bottom of Lake Pukaki, beside the hydro-electric dam, the salmon fishery produces the finest quality salmon. Fed for health and not for weight gain, the quality of the salmon is excellent. And looking up towards Mount Cook gives a spectacular vista of Lake Pukaki. Well worth a visit.

My gosh, what a beautiful stop by the lake. The owner was so friendly, informative, giving us ideas of what we could do in the area. The sashimi was also fresh, and the exhibit was cool too.

2 reviews in one day?? This is going back to the days in my prime. Rookie of the Year me when I got yelp elite in 2 months. I'm back on the grind and ready to catch up on reviews. There is so much beauty in New Zealand. Green everywhere, open fields, mountains, farms. And another thing they have plenty of is lakes. Gigantic lakes. For some of us in America we're lucky if we can even see water. 115 degree heat and even the swimming pools are drying up. But here in the summer the weather is perfect and the views are incredible. Ok that was filler because there's not much to say about this place. Tiny little gift shop/fresh salmon cafe at the edge of Lake Pukaki. The freshest salmon sashimi I've ever had! It comes in a small and large size. They have a few other food items and coffee but I mean... It's called SALMON cafe. Have to do it. There's a woman working there, a bit older. She's a bitch. You'll know as soon as she talks. Don't ask for more wasabi, she'll just complain at the fact you didn't buy any from the shop. She also yells at foreigners because their English isn't great. Not a good look. Salmon was a 5 stars and the service was a 1. I'll give them a 3 because the view was fantastic. But have some patience Susan who hates her job and life. I don't know if her name is Susan but she looks like a Susan. Give them a try though.

A paradise for salmon lovers. Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon is one of two salmon spots in Twizel, the other being High Country Salmon. High Country Salmon is a salmon farm that offers salmon feeding, but Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon was in the direction we were headed (north). It's situated right on the border of Lake Tekapo, lending to some amazing views of the lake whether or not you want salmon to go with it. The shop is small, with most on-site seating options being outside at the picnic tables. It shares a space with a very humble visitor center that's mainly a wall of brochures, and there's restrooms in the building next door. While the shop offers a variety of salmon products, my boyfriend and I were only interested in their salmon sashimi. It's $10 for 100 g and $35 for 500 g, but a 20% discount that day brought our 500 g down to $28. The salmon is ridiculously fresh, the cuts are good (as verified by my sushi chef friend), and it's an amazing deal given how much fish you get. I had brought out some cheese and crackers purchased earlier, but I quickly discovered that unaccompanied salmon with a dab of the provided soy sauce was the better choice. All in all, this place is a must-visit for anyone who appreciates fresh-to-death salmon.

Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon is one of two salmon specialty shops you'll find in the area surrounding Aoraki / Mt Cook National Park. This shop is located at the Lake Pukaki Visitor Center (temporarily closer) along SH8, so there's ample parking and stunning views of the lake's glacial blue water and, on a clear day, Mt. Cook itself. Their offerings are less extensive than the nearby High Country Cafe, but their products - primarily sashimi and smoked salmon - are delicious. 100g of sashimi is $10NZD while 500g is $35NZD! The sashimi was fresh with a decent amount of fattiness. Hot smoked salmon comes in several sizes but I opted for the 200g for $15. I liked that it wasn't overly salty but still had a nice smoky flavor; couldn't necessarily taste the oak on which it was roasted, though. If you're a salmon lover like me, then it's worth taking a pit stop here for 1) the salmon, 2) the view, and 3) the bathroom (of course)!

These guys make some pretty bold claims for the way they farm their salmon: 100% sustainable, no antibiotics, healthy fish due to constant exercise (swimming against a 3 mph current), the purest glacial water available.... The best thing is...the fish taste seriously different than your run-of-the-mill farmed salmon you buy from supermarkets. I brought a ~ $40 USD filet of smoked salmon back here to Atlanta from NZ just the other day, and not only is the meat tender yet lean, but even the texture of the skin is crunchy- not floppy! It's just a completely different taste. I also tasted the sashimi sold on site. Normally people would prefer more fatty salmon for more flavor- but these slices were much leaner, but were tastier than the fattiest salmon slices I've had- and I have had quite a bit of salmon in the past 5-6 years. Some of you may say that I've just drunk the kool-aid sold by these guys. But man the fish is truly something else. I liked it so much that I'm thinking of contacting the American distributor to ship some over here... Check out their website- it's pretty amazing. I hope my review doesn't get shafted by the yelp filter since my enthusiasm may be misconstrued as a shill....

The place is remarkable both for the spectacular views and the freshness of the fish you can get. We were fortunate enough to get the buy 1 take 1 promo for the salmon sashimi style which was 500 g buy 1 take 1 for a total of 1 kg for only 35$

NZ$35 for 500gm of Salmon Sashimi - fresh and delicious! Also bought hot smoked salmon for NZ $15. It was pretty good and went well with salad.

Amazing sashimi salmon! The view here is what made me stop but the salmon was such a nice surprise. Nice and friendly staff as well. They'll give you ice if you don't plan on eating it right away.

This unassuming outpost of a local salmon purveyor inside an information kiosk sold such amazing sashimi we went back a second time on our way out of Mount Cook! Salmon sashimi was incredibly fresh, delicious, and very inexpensive ($10NZ for 10 large pieces!). Highly recommend stopping by if you are into salmon sashimi or smoked salmon (which we didn't have but is probably just as good).