Mt Cook Alpine Salmon Shop

I absolutely love Japanese food and sashimi, and have had my fair share over the years, but I was genuinely impressed by the quality of the salmon here! The freshness and natural sweetness of the fish really stood out. I was with three others who do not usually eat much raw fish, so we were hesitant to go for the 500g value pack and started with just 100g. But once they had a taste, they couldn’t stop either! We ended up buying four 100g packs, which ended up costing more than the 500g! And to top it all off, the view was absolutely stunning. Honestly, could not have asked for more.

Honestly, should be a 4.5 star Sashimi is fresh and neatly packed with chopsticks and soy sauce and wasabi. Smoked salmon tastes good when eaten with sandwich. The view is great, but can be hot in the afternoon. Small shop but serves it's purpose well as a pit stop. Many tourists, toilet is clean.

TL;DR Fresh, high-quality salmon makes this a worthwhile stop, but limited indoor seating and the absence of hot food options feel like missed opportunities. Full review Food: The salmon sashimi was exceptionally fresh, with clean flavour and firm texture. The hot smoked salmon—though not actually served hot—was also excellent, rich in flavour and well-balanced. It’s clear they know how to handle their product. That said, it felt like a missed opportunity not to offer simple hot food options. Even reheating their own smoked salmon or offering grilled versions would’ve made the experience more complete and appealing, especially for those looking for a warm meal. Ambience: There’s very limited indoor seating, which may be an issue during peak hours or in poor weather. The space feels more like a takeaway stop than a dine-in venue. Would I return? Yes—for the quality of the salmon. But I’d love to see the concept expanded with hot food offerings to match the quality of what they already sell cold.

This is definitely a very popular salmon shop. They sell sashimi-grade, super fresh king salmon. As salmon lovers, we picked two packs — 500g and 100g. The salmon itself is the best we’ve ever had — fresh, no fishy smell, even better than what we had in Japanese sushi restaurants. The owner also kindly provides wasabi, soy sauce, chopsticks, and Korean chili paste (available for purchase if you need). However, we noticed the 500g pack had more lean cuts, while the 100g pack had more fatty belly parts. It would be better if they could mix them together, even if it doesn’t look as neat. Also, the price is something to think about — NZD $100/kg is quite expensive, but considering the location and the beautiful views, it still feels worth it.

Did not have a good experience ordering from this shop. The salmon itself was good and the view was spectacular. We wanted to order the 500g sashimi packs but could see it was not on display beneath the counter; when questioned if there would be more stock the answer was just “No”. We ended up buying some 100g packs but when we checked again not even 20 minutes later, they had re-stocked the 500g packs. I understand the store can be busy with customers and tourists but would appreciate better communication from the store staff as I would have been happy to wait a little.

Fresh salmon with a view! Stopped by the Mt Cook Alpine Salmon Shop and it was such a treat! The shop is right by the lake, with a stunning backdrop of turquoise water and snow-capped mountains—it’s hard to imagine a better setting for a meal. The salmon sashimi was incredibly fresh and flavorful—definitely a must-try if you enjoy raw fish. For those who aren’t into sashimi, they also have delicious hot smoked salmon and a creamy salmon spread, so there’s something for everyone.

A little overhyped for a drive here. Bought the smoke salmon, then found the same exact brand in woolsworth for much cheaper. Overall everything is great. Although could do with more wasabi and soy sauce. 500g of sashimi and just 4 packs of soy sauce and wasabi is not enough. The spread was great but couldn’t keep for long due to the spread couldn’t last long enough in the unforgiving sun.

Free salmon feeding available. The sashimi was fresh and really delicious against the backdrop of stunning mount cook views. Would come back if I had the chance.

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).