Rata

Very busy at dinner and short staffed also the waitstaff were friendly. We had shared plates of cheesy donut (simply the best bite size with honey), sough dough with marmite butter, huge lamb shoulder ( yum). Didn’t like the blue cod which was a small portion and didn’t taste fresh. The entrance is difficult to find, just walk past the government office on the corner of Ballarat street. Parking in Queenstown is a nightmare. End yours by parking in the Ballarat parking station, free in the evening.

Lovely fine dining, relaxing vibe, some of the best cocktails I have ever had and the friendliest staff

Great service and food. Good wine recommendations! Better direction on Google of where the restaurant is? Had trouble finding the restaurant!

So grateful to Rātā for making our evening perfect! We told them our son had just gotten engaged and we were coming to celebrate-they made every effort to create the perfect experience. Champagne, special dessert, and the food and service impeccable. 5 stars 🤩🤩🤩

This was the best food I ate in NZ. Absolutely perfect from start to finish. The crudo and the wagyu in particular were incredible. The waiters and bar staff were also amazing. All round excellent experience that I wish I was able to again sooner, but I'll be half way around the world.

A nice and quiet little restaurant in a small alley way, away from the busy Queenstown. We opted for the lunch set menu $85 per person. Our favourite was the sourdough on marmite butter. The remaining dishes in the menu were relatively average compared to the price range. The drinks were great. Staff were attentive and professional.

Love all the starters especially the sourdough and the duck parfait. The mains are on point. My personal favorite is the black cod, the combination is great. My least favorite is the wagyu. It is of course a really good piece of meat but the combination didn’t work well. Having an alternate sauce or adding more veges than the only carrot would surely balance the oiliness of the meat. Looking forward to visit again.

Great restaurant. Wouldn't be surprised if it ends up in the Michelin guide. The food was excellent. Even the side salad/dish we ordered was phenomenal. Nice atmosphere as well. Our waitress was super as well, think her name was Paula? (Blonde with the pony tail)

Good food, but not amazing. Nice atmosphere and the staff was really great. The fish dish was excellent, although it was a small portion. The potatoes were very good. The Wagyu beef was not very good in my opinion. It was average. I would eat there again, but it is not what we expected, people had raved about eating there.

Really enjoyed a few of the dishes. 1-lamb dish was one of the more enjoyable versions of lamb I've had. Ribeye was tender but most interesting were the stuff on the side - asparagus with lamb bacon, and lamb meat flakes and capers over feta cream. The flavors perfectly balanced the richness of the lamb. *chef's kiss* 2-honey cherry dessert was a perfect mix of milky creamy honey fruity. Felt like a dreamy dessert that came from foraging. 3-duck parfait over flaxseed beet chip was also delightful. Perfect mix of textures. The mousse tasted like foie gras. 4-I really enjoyed the tomato consommé we started with. It came out of a tea pot and did taste a bit like tea. Umami and complex and refreshing. 5-salmon was great - smoked eggplant purée on the side went well with it. I liked that it came with koji butter, and was served with sourdough and marmite butter. Marmite tastes similar to soy sauce so it went really well with the salmon dish. Other dishes were also good even if not quite as memorable as the above. Overall the food excelled at complex flavor profiles. I thought the food itself was equivalent to somewhere in between a Michelin one and two star. Service was a bit uneven though waiter was friendly. Ambiance was pretty casual.

I booked a reservation here due to the good reviews it has. We got the tasting menu which was one of the best i've ever had! Everyone was very nice and always checking on us. All the dishes were tasty and the amuse bouche was heavenly. Don't miss Rata if you're in town!

Tried to call them to make a last minute reservation and got voicemail. Hung up,,, and a few minutes later THEY called me back. Add a star just for that call back. Managed to accommodate us for dinner. This place is tucked in and not obvious from the street. Very friendly staff and service. Loved the food - highly recommend the duck parfait, salmon- (really really melted in your mouth), lamb (which seems to be a staple in NZ as expected?) Highly recommend for some fine dining.

The food was very tasty, but as amazing as I was hoping based on other people's reviews. The service was great. Everyone was very attentive

We ate here last night. As expected the servings were small but all were elegantly prepared with New Zealand products. Wife had Blue cod covered with ?Sweade a root vegetable the color of mango sliced paper thin and paired perfectly with the fish. One in our group had the lamb and felt that it was the best so far in Australia and NZ on our trip. They make a dish that merges white and dark meat chicken together into a steak that my friend just didn't like (can't see why anyone would order Chicken from a Michelin star chef but...) so the waitress immediately took it back and brought him the blue cod with out hesitation. From a prior yelp review I tried the Coal Pit Pinot Noir by the glass and totally agree best Pinot on the trip so far! My kingfish crudo appetizer was the overall winner

Come to New Zealand for it's natural beauty and welcoming people but stay for the food. After a fabulous meal at Ahi in Aukland, the meal at Rata might have been even better. Ambiance was nice. Large, open, modern room but still very warm, with plenty of spacing between tables. Since you are at your table and relaxed, order one of their exquisite custom cocktails. I had the All Source and it was amazing. As good as they are, do not have to many as the extensive wine list offers many great options. After a drink, moved on to the snacks, and the two I tried ( potato burnt butter rosti and duck parfait) were great. Agnolotti and leek confit starters were both very tasty. Mains were the lamb and wagu, both perfectly cooked and incredibly delicious. Service was excellent as was the Coal Pit Pinot. In sum, an all around excellent dining experience. A must visit when in Queenstown.

Great food and amazing experience! I highly recommend. Loved the mint, basil, and oregano dessert and duck appetizer. We did the taste of New Zealand menu to get the full experience. It is a great option if you do not want to worry about picking out the favorites.

Service was lovely. Was expecting a bit of a wow factor with the food, but nothing was terribly outstanding / new. Would still go back though as it was a great night; service, food and ambiance!

Wonderful food, wonderful staff. Our absolute favorite place in Queenstown proper. Nothing else to say.

Really fantastic experience with better flavors than the crazy expensive, showy dinner at another restaurant the night before. Rata was by far my best meal in the past 10 days of my trip to the South Island. The service was fantastic, the only minor complaint being that it a little rushed. The recommendations were spot on for me. The presentation was understated but lovely. The combination of flavors in the cheese doughnut with honey, truffle, jalapeño delighted me. The fish, the veggies, all beautifully cooked. The dessert.....sake ice cream, sweet miso drizzle, perfectly crunchy sesame cracker was phenomenal!! I want to go back for another meal ;-) .

Wonderful food! Not the biggest menu but every item that our table of 6 ordered was delicious!! I would go back for sure!!!

Blown away. I would've eaten here every night given the chance. Loved the ambiance and the food, drink, and service were impeccable.

Fantastic food and even more fantastic wine pairing. Highly recommend visiting and enjoying the creative and flavorful meal.

Just finished a long day of snowboarding at the Remarkable. Wanted to treat ourselves to something nice, but honestly wasn't very hungry. We were more tired than anything else. We decided to come to Rata because of the reviews we saw on Yelp sounded great and the Beef Wellington caught our eyes! Unfortunately, we were told that it was only available as a Prix Fixe. We honestly weren't hungry enough to order a Prix Fixe meal, we just wanted to order the beef wellington to share. Oh wells. The Gurb. Goat cheese profiteroles $12. Highly recommend this dish for an appetizer. It appetizer came with 6 small light puff pastries filled with goat cheese. Very good, it was savory and slightly sweet. Perfect. Pan fired Hapuka $44. The pan-fried Hapuka (aka Groper) was cooked perfectly. Very tasty with crispy fish skin on top. Highly recommend. Roasted Brussels sprouts $12. This was the perfect side dish to complement our Hapuka.

Best meal I had in New Zealand. Every dish was well balanced in every way - tastes, colors, textures, and sometimes even a nice mix of temperature. I stopped by for lunch and got the cheese roll, lamb rump and chocolate pavé - I would recommend all those as they were good and are more of the kiwi selections

Great on all counts. The food and service were excellent and a relaxing atmosphere. Totally recommended.

Excellent! Not cheap but the food was really good. The waiter was attentive and knowledgeable without being intrusive. We really enjoyed the experience.

Most amazing restaurant in New Zealand's South Island! We lo it so much were making reservations for tomorrow night, and we're foodies from San Francisco. So we dined here 3 nights in a row. We loved the smoked lamb but my favorite is the venison with the rhubarb chutney. The hapuka was also fabulous. The last night we sat at the bar and had a lovely conversation while Jacob, a true mixologist, mixed some wonderful cocktails. The duck fat infused bourbon is delicious!

Rata is a beautiful restaurant. The service when first coming into the restaurant was warm and welcoming. As we walked past the bar to be seated, the bartender was also very welcoming. After that the experience went downhill. Our server was nice but was not knowledgeable about the menu and didn't really help with recommendations. We ordered clams and a salmon special (beet marinated salmon with salmon roe). Both dishes tasted ok but not memorable. After the appetizers there was a lengthy wait without any updates before our main course. The wait was about 17 minutes. Felt longer. The main dishes came out. We got lamb and pork belly. Both dishes were fresh and good quality but once again lacked anything memorable. We asked the for the bill immediately after and the waitress didn't both to ask if we wanted dessert or anything. Maybe she sensed we wanted out. In summary, Rata has high potential as Queenstown doesn't have a lot of upscale places but we left very disappointed and went to eat beef Wellington at a bar near the water right after.

Very impressive food and brilliant service. The environment is good as well. Wellington beef, lamp shoulder, pork belly and the Bullarf oyster are amazing. The hot drinks are special and good for winter season.

My wife and I recently experienced the perfect dinner at Rata. We started with a pair of appetizers: the Cloudy Bay Storm Clams and Goat Cheese Profiteroles. The clams were tender and sat in a pool of a rich, buttery, and briny sauce. The side of sourdough bread was perfect to soak up the sauce. The profiteroles were heavenly! Rich creamy goat cheese sat between a pair of airy pastries and topped with a light sweet honey. For our entrée we split the Rata Classic Beef Wellington which, according to our server, is the restaurant's specialty. Wow! This was a mind-blowing dish! Perfectly tender juicy meat was wrapped in a soft flakey pastry which soaked up the meaty juices nicely. Tender mushrooms added a nice earthiness to the dish and the side of flavorful red wine au jus was a perfect compliment. Only a limited number of these dishes are prepared every night so I recommend an early reservation to get one. My wife and I had 6pm reservations and the restaurant ran out of the dish around 7:30pm. For dessert we ordered the Cinnamon Oysters which were fluffy cinnamon muffins with airy and lightly sweet cream and topped with powdered sugar. Rata is a must visit when in Queenstown.

Being one of the upscale restaurants located in queenstown, this place is constantly busy. Service is slow so allot about 2 to 2.5 hours for a meal for two with two dishes. We had called weeks in advance to let them know that I am gluten free and dairy free vegetarian and was surprised that off the menu, there were only sides that I could order. I started off with a beets salad which was a small portion or a started portion and tasted great and one of the better dishes. Then for my entree - ordered a side of cauliflower which had a curry sauce and a side of potatoes but was decent at best. It's a side. Potatoes were deep fried and had the texture of fried potato skins with a soft interior. My husband ordered octopus to start which was good but not amazing and lamb which was juicy and succulent which he enjoyed more. For dessert, they sent over assortment of sorbets with interesting flavors and one being carrot sorbet which was the first time I've ever tried it. It tastes like froZen carrot juice. Although I appreciate the gesture for trying to accommodate to vegans, I think a main entree or a main vegan dish would be better suited.

Food, service, and ambience was a solid 4 , edging towards a 5! Service was bit slow. Waitress was pleasant.

An exceptional meal for our table of 13 people. The first plate was goat cheese profiteroles dribbled with honey, and it continued to amaze through every course. When the bone-in lamb hit the table, our chins were not far behind. And the don't leave without trying the house-made salted caramels. A huge thank you to the staff in the front of the house for dealing with our cancel/book issues and an even bigger bravo to the entire back of house that delighted us throughout the evening.

My family and I are first time visitors to New Zealand and decided to spend New Years in Queenstown. Had a lot of good food in the USA, but this is on par with some of the best I've been to. Have to say, there wasn't a bad dish in what we ordered and a little pretense, my family is half vegetarian. They had really nice options for specific dietary restrictions. I had the duck breast, which was extremely succulent and combined well with the mushrooms and purée. The mushroom risotto was also excellent. For dessert, we had ordered the macaroons and the cherry and chocolate ganache which were both rich and tasty.

Honestly, the food is just okay. The service is awful. For the price, I expect great food and great service. I'd spend my money elsewhere. We booked an anniversary dinner there. We had a few drinks (solid); goat cheese profiteroles (cute but slightly stale); and the shared lamb dish with salad and asparagus. This was good, but nothing earth shattering. Same with the sides, which were a lightly dressed salad and bacon sautéed asparagus that I could make at home. Dessert was great though, the pavlova was nicely balanced. Our waitstaff was basically nonexistent. We had to flag her down to order more drinks, to see why our main dish took over an hour, to get the dessert menu, to get an ACTUAL dessert menu because she gave us the wrong menu, to get the check. And when we left, we passed by at least 5 employees and no one said thank you or good bye or held eye contact. I was honestly very confused--am I at an actual restaurant that prides itself on service? Why didn't I just get a lamb roast at the grocery store? Seriously.

I honestly expected more for what the price was. Very nice ambiance but the food was just okay- I got the goat cheese puff pastries, clams, and heirloom tomato salad. First two were so salty that I'm pretty sure I chugged an entire jug of water in the first few minutes. The heirloom tomato salad was delicious but pretty pricey for what it actually was. Drinks were good so I would recommend coming in for a nice cocktail, mocktail, or glass of wine.

On my last night in Queenstown a local sent me to Rata to enjoy what he called was a "gourmet meal in a casual environment". And he was so right. Rata sits a little off the tourist row but still walkable if you are staying in any of the hotels in Queenstown. I called for a reservation and was lucky to get in as the place was packed on a Tuesday night. The decor is modern with lots of wood accents, open kitchen, plenty of windows and a huge rainforet mural on the back wall. We started with two the the highly touted appetizers, the kingfish crudo with watermelon and wasabi ( my favorite) and the seared beef with mushrooms ( almost as good). For my main, I had the lamb rump and my friend had the blue fish. And for our side, fresh green and wax beans which are my favorite! Both were beautifully plated and tasted even better. And for dessert, we had the salted caramels which were simply delicious! Dinner for two with drinks ran about $200. Service was efficient and very pleasant. NAND the crowd was a little more "mature" if you know what I mean, versus some of the other places in town. A very nice place for dinner while in Queenstown and you don't even have to dress up!

Very chic atmosphere and plating. The goat cheese profiteroles were delicious, as was the warm bread with root vegetable butter. Hubby had the venison which he loved (first time trying venison), and I got the vegetarian dish which was carrots wrapped in filo (was so-so). Service was extremely good, and our waitress from France was amazingly bubbly and kind - loved her! Dessert was the best part - the cheesecake was delicious and uniquely plated, and the chocolate lava cake with chocolate hazelnut spread was gooey and just what we were looking for. Parking was a challenge in the downtown area, but we found Uber to be a good alternative. Might even go again while we're out here! Recommend.

I was expecting a lot, knowing the reputation of this restaurant. The fish crudo was very good. The deer as a main meal was delicious too, perfectly cooked. However it wasn't hot enough. The dessert was original and the passionfruit sorbet was delicious, but the macaron wasn't perfectly executed, not so soft in the mouth. It was still a very good meal, but for 50$ for lunch, I find it a little overpriced.

The atmosphere was very nice and we were able to be seated immediately. It's tucked away hidden from the street. The staff was friendly and warm. I liked the bites better than the actual main course or sides. We got the goat cheese profiteroles and they were lovely (a little heavy on the honey in my opinion but great nonetheless). The beef tartare was also very good; I liked that it was served on, was it a crispy pork rhind?! Haha. I ordered the lamb shoulder dish with the lettuce and potato side and I would say...pass. order the lamb rump instead and don't get the lettuce side. Reasonably priced. I liked my experience but don't need to go back.

Had the lunch special: 2 courses for $28. I I got to say, you'd be mad not to try this place. The meals were absolutely stunning, lovely service and very pleasant atmosphere. Actually thinking of going back again tomorrow ;) haha

Superb! Amazing! Delicious! My experience at Rata will be one I'll never forget! The restaurant itself has a beautiful interior so sophisticated yet homely, the service was impeccable, friendly & attentive and the food WOW just wow! Speechless.... I highly recommend the ravioli-entree and the salmon-main & for cocktails 'Bruce Banner' I wish I could rate this restaurant 6 stars, don't for a second hesitate to visit Rata it's everything you would expect from a 5 star restaurant and more!!

Had lunch here before flying home from queenstown - the experience was fantastic - the service was impeccable and the food was absolutely fantastic!! We started with the kingfish crudo and tartare - the crudo was amazing. We followed with the pork belly and blue cod - so good. Will have to make it for dinner on our next visit!

Make a visit to Rata if you are in Queenstown! We ordered a few appetizers and for our entree the beef wellington! One of my favorite appetizers was the salmon. I would go back just for that! The goat cheese profiteroles were really cute and tasty! We shared the beef wellington which came with sides, it was such a huge portion! My husband ended up finishing most of it. Everything was delicious and the restaurant ambience was great!

Rata gets 5 stars from us. The great service really made the experience. The staff was kind enough to seat us without reservation on a busy night. The waiter had excellent knowledge and descriptions for the items on the menu and his poetic expression of the items sold us. The food items are definitely not your standard food selection, but they were unique and interesting in their own way. In true high end fashion, the portions were small and leave you able to try more, lending great courtesy to their dessert menu. Their cheese tray was the highlight of the experience. We chose 5 from the 8 different cheese choices and were not disappointed as they added an assortment of honey, jams, and breads to make it a mouthwatering treat. You will pay for this experience, but if you are willing to spend a little more for a good meal and great service, this would be your restaurant in Queenstown.

Very nice restaurant but it was so hard to get a reservation. I called so many times and left messages but nobody took the time to call back. We got in very late, just because was getting close to closing:)))))) Very nice service, good atmosphere and vibes. The food was delicious and I liked the presentation but I don't care everybody says is the best lamb, I would say this: we were not served the best piece of lamb shoulder. We got what was left. The good pieces went to the first orders that evening. I was disappointed: a very fatty shoulder with very little real good meat on it. I would probably not try as hard to get a table there next time. I found other great options in my favorite NZ town!!!

As a professional chef, I don't expect every single thing I order to be perfect, but at least 1-2 things to be memorable. We went to rata and everything was memorable!!! The octopus, brown bread with smoked butter, lamb rump, profiteroles... The only thing that wasn't my favorite was the dessert, the banana cake was a bit dry or the bread pudding from the banana dessert. Other than that it was the best meal I had in NZ.

Honestly this is one of the best meal I had for many years! Maybe because we are on holiday? Haha.... The restaurant vibe is awesome, great quality cutlery. I ordered a mojito, it's very refreshing and tasty, we both had entree, main and dessert, 6 different dishes and all amazing! We couldn't fault any dish, and especially loving the dessert dishes, the lychee Panna cotta , surprisingly good!

I had my birthday dinner here this year. It did not disappoint. I had the lamb shoulder and it was amazing. The meat just peeled off the bone.

We made reservations to celebrate my moms birthday in Queenstown at Rata over a month in advance, and it was definitely worth it. The food was divine. The only dish we weren't 100% sold on was the beef tartare, it had a very distinct ketchup-like taste to it. Everything else was spectacular though. I'd give the service a B+, but the food made up any gap there.

Hey look, this is unbelievable bad experience in here. The food was ok but portion size was small as! That slow cook lamb with two small sides worth $90?!! Also write on the menu that is for 2ppl! No bloody way! That just like a normal main in other places.

Rata tata tata! I just shot you. Not really, don't worry. You are not injured. You can go back to reading other reviews. I came here with my lady for dinner. I don't think it was a full moon, but there's a 1/29 chance that it was. Cool decor. Lots of plants and green things. Good drinks. Good food. Good plants. Good.

We came to Rata off of a recommendation of a sommelier at Gibbston Winery just down the road. After a disastrous night before trying to find a place to eat on a Saturday night without a booking, I was glad to find rata had availability after phoning them. The dining room is beautiful with an open kitchen and warm lighting. The menu is simple, divided into bites, starters, and mains. We got the beef Wellington, venison, and line caught gurnard. The venison outshone the rest - it was perfectly cooked, earthy, and juicy with a nice char. My Wellington, though I ordered it medium rare, came raw. Although still tasty, I had to send it back to get them to bring it to a true medium rare. This is why Rata gets 4 stars instead of 5. If you charge $50 for a beef Wellington, you'd better get it properly cooked. Also, why is Wellington on your menu? From a Michelin star chef, I'd expect a reinvention of an old classic dish, not a subpar version. The puff pastry crust was also soggy and not that appealing. I was pretty disappointed. Mom enjoyed her fish - it was fresh and cooked well.

While on our vacation in New Zealand this restaurant was highly recommended and a reservation. We were not disappointed. The cocktails at the bar were wonderful and inventive. When it came to the dinner service was delightful impeccable but not stuffy and my husband and I shared an amazing lamb shoulder that fell off the bone

Just wanted to recommend this spot to all. We enjoyed our meal very much! Easy to book a few weeks earlier online. Thanks to all!

Get the beef wellington. Get the beef wellington. Get the beef wellington. I hear it sells out but we went during the week, had a later reservation and it was available. i would highly recommend getting a reservation for the weekend. Everything else was good but the beef wellington really stood out.

Steak! Yum. Lamb rump - delicious. Off the menu ravioli, awesome. Great start to a QT vacation.