Plateau Bar + Eatery

The special thing about this restaurant is the concept. You have to order a few plates you can share with the people on your table. This way you can get a taste of everything. We loved the food so much, so many different tastes and combinations of spices! So good! The service staff were super friendly and one of the fastest waiters/waitresses I have ever seen. We weren‘t even sitting down completely and they already brought us water and gave us recommendations. I would definitely come back. (Special recommendation: NZ Green Lipped Mussels)

One of the best meals during our NZ trip. The tapas were amazing with so much variety. The staff were very attentive, always wearing big smiles. The atmosphere was spot-on, the place literally glowed with warmth, you can feel it once you enter the place.

Really nice place, food not able to fault and very accommodating to some dietary requirements when ordering, only down side we got charged full price on happy hour items and didn’t notice until we got back to our hotel.

I wanted to like this place. Plateau Bar + Eatery—the name alone whispers promise. Taupo backdrop, glowing reviews, premium price tag. You expect something memorable. What I got instead was a forgettable dinner with a side of regret. Let’s start with the beef eye fillet. A steak should arrive with presence, not pity. This one came in looking like it had survived a heat lamp hostage situation—wilted vegetables, muted color, zero personality. The steak itself? Rushed. No crust, no depth, no soul. Just protein and a plate trying to pass for fine dining. Then came the market fish—the kind of dish you hope will redeem a meal. It didn’t. Dry. Flavorless. Like it had been abandoned on the grill while someone checked their phone. Fish should be delicate, layered, whispering flavor. This one barely muttered. The Korean Fried Chicken? Best of the bunch. Crispy, decent seasoning. But then—out of nowhere—a lonely lemon wedge, as if someone thought, “Hey, maybe this’ll fix it.” It didn’t. Citrus and gochujang? Not this time. The service? Fine. Polite. Not the problem. But when you charge premium and plate mid-tier, that’s the problem. Food at this level shouldn’t feel like an afterthought. So no, it’s not a bad restaurant. But it’s also not the elevated experience the hype leads you to believe. It’s the kind of place that makes you check the bill twice and walk out wondering what else you could’ve eaten instead. If you're headed there, go in eyes open. And maybe bring a plan B.

We had an excellent meal here tonight, every dish was delicious. Highly recommend 👌

Kids had lovely kids meals whilst we shared some plates. The ceviche and prawns were really delicious and we couldn't fault one dish. It was all beautifully presented and amazing to eat. Lovely server too.

This review is so late but we visited as a group from Auckland in May. We called around last minute to restaurants trying to find a spot to squeeze us in and luckily Plateau were super accommodating… to fit us in they gave us the room away from the main area which gave us privacy. The food was AMAZING!!! The service was EXCELLENT… the drinks 10/10. We are coming back in July :) Definitely recommend!!!!!

The best place to dine in Taupo hands down. If you want the best food and service in the region, go there. If you own a hospitality business and want a masterclass in how a busy restaurant should function, go for a meal and observe how well trained staff operate. We are only in town briefly and will be going back before we leave as once was simply not enough.

Great share plates for a late lunch. We had the shrimp, pork dumplings, and Korean fried chicken. The Caesar type salad wasn't great though.

We went to plateau last nite and had an excellent dinner of the small plates. Loved the calamari, beat salad, grilled carrots and beef tataki. Our server was perfect. We could not recommend more highly.

As the name suggest I think the food was good but its was plateau-ed a bit . Positives :- Glad to find a fine dining place Fish of the day : snapper with lemon n butter sauce with potatoes n some veggies . It was nice dish , fish had a nice sear , loved the sauce with champagne. Negatives :- Lamb : it was totally missing any type of seasoning . It came with polenta side , which I personally think didn't go with protein at all , lamb in itself was perfectly cooked but dish as overall was boring Ambience was nice , service was great and wine was amazing but half of the ppl were happy on table while other half disappointed , also limited to zero options for my vegetarian friends .

Outstanding meal. Smaller but satisfying portions which were deliciously plated and incorporated wonderful flavors. We left extremely impressed

Friendly service and food was average. Ate here around 4pm in a weekday and the place was full of drunks screaming at the top of their lungs. And there was no football or rugby game going on. Food we had the fish sliders. One small piece of fish on each slider, 80% bread and butter. Also had the smoked salmon and goat cheese crostini which was better. Water was never refilled during our meal despite waitress coming by to check if everything was okay. When we were done had to goto the bar to pay as we could not find our server to give us the bill.

TLDR: Great place for fine dining in Taupo, especially for the lamb and beef. After talking with a couple of locals, Plateau seemed to be a place worth checking out for some good food. After eating at Plateau for both lunch and dinner on separate days, I would agree it is worth checking out. I wouldn't say it's the best meal I've ever had, but it's one I certainly enjoyed. For lunch, I shared the seafood platter, which came with steamed mussels, smoked salmon, calamari, grilled prawns, clams, oysters, and garlic baguette. Overall, I'd say this was just okay. Some aspects of the platter, like the mussels and prawns were pretty good, while others, like the calamari, oysters, and clams were a bit disappointing. It doesn't taste as fresh as I'd like and was a bit pricey at $55 NZD. Dinner, however, was much better. If you have no dietary restrictions, I'd go with the lamb rack and beef eye fillet entrees for dinner. However, many of the other entrees sounded delicious and the menu can be seen here: http://www.plateautaupo.co.nz/menus/evening-menu/. The lamb and beef went well with their sides and was cooked so well. It's a decent amount of food as well and if you're not absolutely starving, you should be full after the meal. At $39 NZD each, I would gladly pay that amount again. Service was great, in my opinion. Some of the older reviews note that service was bad, but I had no issues in the two visits I had to Plateau. Overall, one of the better places to eat at in Taupo.

We dropped by around 7:30pm and the place wasn't too packed. Our group of 4 started off by sharing the Monteith's crushed apple cider, which tasted crisp and refreshing. Then, we put in an order for the seafood platter, the ribs, fries, fried chicken wings and drumsticks platter, and the esquites, sweetcorn, coriander, chipotle, warm tortillas. While we were waiting for the food to come out, we decided to split a beer flight. The waiter was kind enough to let us replace one of the beers for the cider since we loved the cider so much! The food took almost an hour to arrive, which makes me suspect they must have forgotten our order for awhile. We devoured all our food since we were starving from our day long hike. We really loved the seafood platter and the ribs platter, but the corn tortilla dish we could have skipped. We ordered the flourless chocolate cake for dessert, but it was a complete miss. The texture was too dry and tough and none of us liked it.

Presentation, service, food, excellent!!! I had the lamb and beets salad it was amazing!

Good seafood platter with beer sample to start the dinner. Lamb loin had good quality meat but I wasn't a fan of the sauce. Overall pretty solid place. Seems to be a very busy place for locals and needs reservation.

Food is exceptionally good. Beautifully presented and delicious. Thank you for a wonderful service!

First off, the cauliflower soup was DIVINE. It was silky, velvety, and perfectly seasoned. Perfect for a winter evening here in Taupo and even challenged the artichoke truffle soup at Guy Savoy in Paris! The beer selection was very good and varied. They even offer a beer paddle of 6 200 ml beers for $20, which is a pretty good deal considering how much beer you get! Service is superb. They are attentive without being overbearing and are honest with you about the selections. They were also incredibly patient with my American ignorance and multiple questions. Unfortunately, the lamb didn't quite live up to expectations. 4 small slices of over-cooked lamb lay atop some smashed potatoes and puréed cauliflower. I was so disappointed in how overdone the lamb was (especially after how high the bar was set with the cauliflower soup!) and it didn't seem right to bring it up considering the small portion of meat provided. The sides were OK, but not amazing. Definitely a let down, but the service, beer selection, and soup bring the rating up to 4 stars.

4.5 stars :) Would have eaten more but ruined my appetite at prior place sorry! We didn't book but they let us have a high table which was good. Big group of guys in for a repeat visit we heard so good start indication it was a great place. We shared 3 entrees, very yummy. Rabbit ravioli, scallops were amazing. Good wine. Very good service. The rugby was on so we were lucky enough to be able to see the big screen while enjoying dinner and drinks. Bonus!! Nice atmosphere. Would def go back but would book in advance. Visited August 2015

I ordered a eye fillet steak for $38. I Waited 30 mins from time I ordered my main and when it came out it was the smallest peice of eye fillet with just ok mashed potatoe. Service was average and atmosphere was really cheap and cold feeling. I travel to taupo alot and can say I would never eat here or recommend it to anybody. Very expensive and under deliver.

Totally impressed. Nice atmosphere, great service, great selection on the menu. Everything cooked perfectly with quality ingredients well matched. Wasn't going to do dessert but in the end we did - so glad as they were the best desserts we have had for a long time!

Pretty solid restaurant/bar, but nothing special. I ordered the Prawn Linguine which was fine - just a little sweeter than I generally care for. The beer on the other hand was awesome. A great selection of delicious beers. In terms of ambiance, Plateau seems like a nice date outing. The restaurant is classy with a romantic feel, yet casual enough that you don't really dress up for it.

This restaurant was recommended to us by our hosts and we've had the best seafood platter ever. Everything was so fresh and very well prepared. The service was great and the atmosphere was very inviting. We would highly recommend this place.

I was dining here with my brother and it was the best food i had in newzealand. I had the pork belly and the lamb, whereas my brother had the soup of the day and the taupo eye. Both was grilled "au point" medium rare, exactly what we ordered. As a dessert we had the lemon tarte and chocolate tarte, it was like line a peace of heaven. The service was friendly and what i expect from a high quality restaurant. Absolutely recomendable spot!

Main dishes came out 30+ minutes after our appetizers. Water wasn't filled the entire meal until we asked them to. Food was bland, spicy duck fat potatoes didn't taste like duck fat the the spicy tomato sauce was sweet! Zero spicy at all.

Lovely place with good service and and a midrange price food is delicious and worth the money. Had a dinner there with my gf. Totally worth it. Recommend it to people who have a special occasion or just want a "fancy" meal.

seafood and lamb is strongly recommend. My daughter was very like fish and prawn. Seafood is absolutely fresh. I believe you will like here if you come. I give five stars Plateau bar plus eatery. It is near madonnas and Burger King.

Great people great staff! Friendly talking to the bar crew in between their orders. Were on task and knew when to react. Good restaurant!