The Bistro

A truly amazing 6-course meal, with accompanying narration by Jude, the chef, sommelier and owner. Inventive dishes, with layered, multiple flavors - and some clever construction tricks. Wine pairings were generally excellent - although I wasn't really convinced by the tisane. We added a half cheese board on a whim at the end. It might have been the highlight of the meal, although the competition was tough.

One of our favourite European-style restaurants with fine dining qualities. The environment is superb with the right level of background soft jazz music. Consistently great food and exceptional service! We love the cured fish entree, Golden roast pork belly, grilled scotch fillet, and the golden plum sorbet. Absolutely Devine!

It’s a gift of my trip! The food is impressive, better than some of the same level restaurants in SYD. Very fresh and yum, especially steak, starter and kids meal. Love it!

This place is amazing! Small, intimate, great service, beautiful and tasty food...the whole package! We enjoyed sparkling water, a Manhattan (perfect), the Rocket pear salad, fish cakes and the Scotch filet. Afterwards we finished with the white chocolate, coconut cheesecake, a peppermint tea and a glass of The Bistro Pinot Noir. The way the team (owner, wait staff, and chef) work together to make this a well paced, wonderful experience is such a gift...kudos to them! I can see why they have so many wonderful ratings and star status. Long live The Bistro!

Delicious food, not the cheapest, but worth every cent. Personable service. Nice cosy atmosphere, tables not crowded.

The Bistro never disappoints. Beautiful cooked and presented food, with great service and attention to detail. Taupo #1 choice for sure.

Simply amazing! Jude you’re a scientist/chef and host with the most! Thank you for a stunning evening, tasty food, blissful atmosphere and service with a smile.

Enjoyed a fantastic meal at The Bistro Taupo. The scotch fillet was cooked perfectly and full of flavour. The service was friendly and efficient, and the atmosphere made for a really enjoyable dining experience. I highly recommend for anyone visiting Taupo.

Thanks to many excellent reviews, we reserved a table at The Bistro Upscale ambience and delightful service Enjoyed Grilled Scotch fillet of Greenstone Creek beef, truffles and chestnuts, Red spiced saute vegetables, and chunky fries We highly recommend

My husband and I just happened to be in New Zealand at the same time as some friends from college and we decided this was the spot to meet up! Service was beyond excellent with our waitress taking her time to explain our options and make suggestions when we asked. Our water glasses stayed full and she was quick to respond whenever we began to look around for service. We enjoyed appetizers, main courses, and dessert while dining in and every bite was excellent. Their wine pairing suggestion for the steak was perfect and while the price was a bit higher due to the upscale decor and menu, I found it to be extremely worth it. Highly recommend!

This place was recommended to us by Nate, a Bartender we met in Petone. He said "it's the only place I would go to eat there". Man, was that guy right. From start to finish the food was impeccable and delicious. Probably some of the best food we have had in New Zealand. Elevated food and reasonable. Just go.

Me and my husband were driving into Wairakei in the early evening and were searching for a place to eat dinner. We were happy to see that there were reservations available so last minute. We were pleasantly surprised with our experience! Every dish that came out was so delicious. Every dish is so detailed and the flavors are so well thought out. The service was excellent and all the food came out pretty quick. We found out that this is a family owned business, and they should be proud of their restaurant and the craft they bring! If you're ever in this area, please try The Bistro, you will not be disappointed!

My first sit down meal in NZ and it did not disappoint. The star was the jus balsamic reduction with the lamb sirloin wrapped in bacon with seasonal veggies. I enjoyed swirling each bite with the various plating components. I opened pleasantly with the rabbit chicken liver terrine. It had a unique texture and played off the mushroom and onion pickled accompaniment. Wonderful assortment of NZ wines. The staff was great and gave me wonderful hints for my stay in NZ. The decor is a bit blaise with several tables and a bar area. it was dark on dark with anonymous furniture. The let down was the apple tart. It did not reach the height nor the acumen of the other courses. The scented vanilla ice cream was the only thing I finished. Who serves dessert with a knife? When it's piles of phylo dough with little apple accents.

I mean where to start... you get the choice between a set tasting menu or an " à la carte menu ". We had chose to go for the " à la carte " for dietary reasons and oh my good was it good. We had as an entree the snapper ceviche and the sea food soup. It was delightful. As mains we got the vegan option which was very diverse and very worked in a tasty way. And we also had the beef option I would not know how to describe it. It was some kind of smoky funky taste that was mesmerising. On a couple of crunchy veggies and a subtle truffle sauce. All in all this place is very good and worth the try.

Amazing food and beautiful decor/ambience. Our local AirBnB hosts highly recommended this place so we decided to check it out. Turned out to be a great decision! We had the scotch filet steak and the freshly-caught fish of the day from Hawkes Bay. Service was also great and the price was reasonable. We'll be back again if we stop by Taupo in future!

Absolutely amazing, without a doubt the best food and service we've had since being in New Zealand. A MUST TRY

WOAHHH! If your on the fence, don't hesitate, just do it! I walked in with flip flops, after a day hike, and I was treated and seated immediately without a reservation and without the staffs hesitation. The place is nice and at first I thought they might turn me away, but they didn't and I'm glad because the food was outstanding. We were given a chefs treat and some home made bread upon seating. I scarfed this down due to my hunger, which helped me the. eat the rest of my meal much slower. There's was one main waiter and what I assume was a secondary/runner, yet the service was spot on! Hats off to them. We ordered; Beet Salad - based on other reviews I ordered this and while I give it a 5/5 it was the least favorite of what we ate because everything else was just amazing!! Sous Vide Calamari - 10/5 - DO ITTTT!! Omg I almost licked the plate and to think I was hesitant to order this. Got it because the server said it was a house signature dish - he def undersold it, which I told him after that he should def have people order this. The deep fried capers, fresh butter cream sauce, mixed with perfectly cooked calamari - I'm not exaggerating on the PERFECTLY cooked. Fish of the day - 10/5 - Well, I was suppose to share this with my husband and was very reluctant to do so after I had the first bite... the flavors paired perfectly and I'm just amazed how delicious they made carrot purée taste! Lamb - 5/5 hubby got the lamb, he loved it, I liked it but was so caught up with my fish I got too full to really enjoy this. I also new I'd be ordering dessert so I purposely stopped myself. Créame brûlée - 5/5 ... it's sous vide, had to try, and it didn't disappoint. The flavors were amazing, the sweet crispy sugar crust was perfect... it was just perfect!!! No pictures sorry, not sorry!

Another amazing experience in New Zealand. The chef/owner wowed my socks off by actually coming and sitting down to explain how their short rib was made and took the time to chat with us. That alone was 100/10. Super down to earth and humble guy with a love for food! My kind of person. Now the food. Everything was made with very fresh ingredients. That is so important and overlooked in some places. Here rest assured it is and a lot of time goes into everything! I had the duck which can be made really oily in places and I'm not a fan of it normally. I had good duck in Montreal once. This was incredible, not oily at all. Really tender! I even ate the skin which is normally a no for me. It was crispy and full of flavor. I had the gnocchi and roasted veggetables on the side. It was fantastic in the reduction/au jus it was all in! I also decided to replace the mushrooms with the beef short rib tortellini. That was fine with a minor up charge (just not a fan of mushrooms). It was BEYOND AMAZING. It was so succulent. That's the best word that comes to mind. It was so tender and flavorful I stole half of my friends. :D Friend had the scotch filet which was cooked perfectly. Normally medium rare comes out blubbery and looks funky and tastes overcooked. Here it was done perfectly so viewers know that when you ask for it cooked a specific way it comes out that way. I normally like medium well, and I would eat medium rare here again any day. And then finally I actually asked for a dessert menu because they had cheese. I had the cheddar and holy wow the presentation was spectacular. They do not skimp on that whatsoever. I got like 8 accompaments for one type of cheese. The chef was also kind enough to come out and explain what everything was. Great experience and the servers all answered my questions and were very sweet. No was rude whatsoever! Would gladly come back and definitely one of if not the best place in this town to eat. Thanks again for the amazing hospitality.

Very delicious food. Staff was great and helpful with suggestions. The portions were good sized and the fish was so fresh! The lamb was also a great option and hokey pokey ice cream for dessert was a great ending.

It's #1 in trip advisor for a reason. Food and service is amazing. I orders the duck and the sauce and vegetables were prepared so well. The wine selection, cheese, and desserts make this an all around a wonderful place to enjoy a night out. Kids meal included lamb ribs which were crispy and tender. After dinner, we ran into the friendly couple from The Gables Lakefront Hotel as they were enjoying a date night. We were so glad we choose a local favorite as this was our best meal on our trip here.

The most amazing bacon wrapped lamb I've ever had. We didn't have a reservation and they allowed us to sit at the bar and even allowed us to eventually move to a table. Would definitely go back!

Definitely definitely definitely make this your go to destination if you are staying in Lake Taupo. The landlord at my chalet recommended this restaurant. I called and booked a table - it was a bit late but I figured it would be worth the wait based on the recommendation. It was a good call ! I had the chef's tasting menu and my only regret was not taking pictures. The food was incredible. Life's too short. If you are staying in Lake Taupo - spoil yourself and visit this restaurant- you won't regret it.

Lovely place. Had the bistro wild rabbit & chicken liver terrine to start, followed by the pork belly and confit of duck! Excellent service!

This place is totally solid. I was most impressed with the scallop appetizer. The flavors are refined and the presentation is very good. The waitress was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu and the specials. The restaurant itself is nice and clean, not too dark and overall very inviting. The rest of my meal was excellent. If you come early (right when they open) you probably won't need a booking, otherwise schedule a booking to be safe.

Great dinner. Had the fresh snapper w/Brussels sprouts purée & salad. Busy place, come early or make reservations.

Based off other Yelpers recommendations, we recently stopped in at The Bistro for dinner en route to Turangi. We didn't have a booking and it was a Friday night but luckily we arrived early (5pm) that were able to squeeze in before a 6:30pm booking. It seems the Bistro is a popular spot - I'd definitely recommend booking in advance if you can! The menu is polished modern European. I wouldn't quite call it fine dining - it's a bit more relaxed than that. I opted for the market fish of the day which was hapuka, pan fried and served with kumara puree, sautéed vege and an aniseed foam (I think it was star anise?). The fish was the freshest I'd had in a restaurant for ages, which is surprising considering Taupo is land-locked. In fact, overall the dish was beautifully prepared, cooked and well-seasoned. We also order a side salad but didn't need it - the servings are generous - and compared to Auckland prices extremely reasonable. My only criticism is that the music, décor and uniforms are all a bit dated. Not to worry, if you after a quiet dinner but for those who like a bit of atmosphere, this perhaps is not the spot.

The Bistro is probably one of my new favourites. Passing through my old home town, Taupo we decided to stop for some dinner. The meals were amazing, I ordered the duck and my partner, the fish of the day. Both were cooked perfectly and full of flavour, first time I've had duck and I love it! Presentation was great also. The service is great, very polite but friendly all the same (no uptightness), and I admire the fact that they don't use notebooks to remember orders, it's all in the details! The location is easy to get to, a shame it's opposite Dick Smith but you can't help that. Inside is low lit and inviting, great for couples, families and large groups. Pricing is surprisingly affordable, it's nice to see fine dining quality at a Joe Bloggs budget. Recommended! Keep it up Jude.

Delicious birthday dinner. We ordered both specials and were blown away by the fresh and dynamic taste. The service was great. I recommend calling ahead of time to make a reservation.

Very tasty and enjoyable dinner. We arrived on a Thursday evening and our party of 2 was seated immediately despite not having a booking. We both had the catch of the day and it was delicious. Service was excellent. It was loud inside but didn't affect our conversation.

Excellent in every way. Fish special (bluenose) was terrific. Butternut squash soup was delicious. Best of all was the chocolate lava cake with chocolate ice cream. Service was good, nice environment. We would certainly go back if we were ever in the area.

Food was fantastic. We were walk ins. Service just took a very long time as they were very busy. Would recommend and go back.

Great food (with lovely vegetarian options), great service and in an easy to access location.

Excellent food and lovely staff in this small and unpretentious restaurant. We thought it the best restaurant in Taupo.

Looking for somewhere to take friends for dinner I came across the first and only review for the Bistro on Yelp, so booked table for four on Saturday, just as well as all the tables filled up. Nice decor, Interesting looking menu, attentive staff on arrival, but the outright winner, was the food. Between us we tried different starters and mains, all delicious. The only downside was I was feeling so full after my crispy pork belly main that I failed to be able to try any of the deserts. Next time. Which will be very soon. Excellent, now they have another five stars.

We enjoyed a very pleasant Friday evening dinner. Food and service was very good with a good selection. It had a reasonable wine list to choose from and the prices were quite reasonable. I had the beef/steak main and a really nice Witloof salad for a starter. Both were very tasty and well prepared. My wife had a really nice salmon starter and the fish of the day special. The latter was very good and I regret not choosing that in hindsight. Reasonable value for money.

Enjoyed another impressive dinner last night at Bistro! Can highly recommend a visit here. . Top food and service, you won't be disappointed!

Great service and really delicious food! The gnocchi, oysters, fish special, and cheese platter were pretty amazing. Would definitely recommend to anyone!