Really nice ambience inside with a very open patio area outside. Service was fine and you're…read moreconnected to a server by pressing a button at your table. Seemed to work well. We tried the bait fish omelette appetizer. It was amazing with the mayo sauce on it. Actually not so great without it. For our mains, we had the bangers and mash and the pork ribs. I would recommend the bangers and mash, but not the pork ribs. They were dried out, overly drenched in sauce on a bed of french fries. The french fries were fine, but not my favorite type and became soggy quickly with all the barbecue sauce. I definitely would not order the ribs again. For dessert we had the sticky pudding and it was excellent. A good variety of wine and beer choices. We recommend the Alice May export gold beer and the Villa Maria Pinot Noir.

It's got kind of a mix of different foods. The story of the restaurant is cool. The placemats…read moreexplained the namesake of the restaurant. We had the pan roasted chicken breast and the bangers and mash. The chicken breast was really, really dry and tough. I loved the abundance of accompanying vegetables though. Taste was average. The venison bangers were better. Not too gamey. Service was a little inefficient. The servers didn't have assigned tables. We had about 4 different servers helping us at various times. They were all really nice but seemed to be running around helping whomever they see.

Snakebite is named after their signature beverage, which is a 50:50 mix of their berry cider and…read moreusually a beer, selections from a lager to a Hazy IPA possible. Otherwise, they also have other alcoholic beverages along with some beers on taps. The freshies from Altitude Brewing -- namely the annual Hazy IPA, "Cones of Gratitude", brewed with Riwaka from Eggers Hops (ICONIC kiwi hop butt logo) -- was ordered in earnest, its dank, passion fruity notes savored to max effort. Probably my favorite NZ-style IPA to be had. I much preferred the Altitude beers on tap to the Snakebite concoction, the cider being quite natural, slightly fermented, and a little too funky. In addition to beers, food is to be had with pretty much every Asian cuisine under the sun. We had some Tumeric Chicken Kebabs which were a little dry and room temp though the peanut sauce was a yummy and required pairing. Prices are what they are for one of the few operating restaurants in the Franz Josef area. It served well for the afternoon downpour which made its appearance upon our arrival for lunch.

We enjoyed the cashew chicken and the Thai beef salad for a mid-afternoon lunch during a…read moreweather-induced power outage in the area. Both had fresh ingredients with just the right amount of spicy flavor. The portions were generous and filling. Atmosphere was cozy. Figuring out that we needed to order at the counter was a bit confusing, and gathering details about the drink offerings was a little harder than it needed to be. Overall, I recommend Snakebite as a place to try when visiting Franz Josef.

Located a little off the Main Street but still very close to the action…read more Service was so friendly and accommodating, although we were there is february, so very busy time. Food was delicious! Get the chicken schnitzel and burger, you can't go wrong.

Kind of a mountain bar ambience. Very, very casual. We really enjoyed the beer on Tap, especially…read morethe export gold handle brew. We tried the crispy pork cracklings and the baked Camembert cheese for starters. The Camembert was excellent. For our main course, we had the chicken schnitzel dinner with french fries. Also, excellent and highly recommend. For dessert we tried the mud cake, but it was disappointing and dry. I wouldn't order it again. Prices are reasonable service was friendly and attentive.

Good place to have a drink and dinner after a day of exploration. Had the fish and chips, which…read morewere excellent. Service was good.

What a great place! Friendly service and efficient. Seated right away at a table with a fire. The…read moresalad came quickly and was delicious. Conveniently located right in Franz Joseph walking distance from hotels, activities, grocery store, shopping and views of the snow covered mountains. Would recommend trying this restaurant if you are in the area.

The worst pizza I've had in more than 20 years. Frozen pizza from the grocery store is better than…read morethis. To be honest the other dishes that we watched come out looked pretty good. Management if you're listening, if you're not going to do something right, then don't do it at all. Pull the pizza off the menu!

Not many restaurants to choose from in this small town, but we made an excellent choice in coming…read morehere! All 4 of us ordered different dishes and we were all pleased with the food as well as the service. Pictured below is the Gaeng Panang Curry. Initially, the dish presented to me was way too hot, spice-wise; i had asked for mild. The server took it away with apologies and the replacement was perfect.

We had the chicken tikka masala, garlic naan, Thai chicken basil, and pad Thai with shrimp. The…read morefood was tasty and excellent but the price was a little high

Located on the 2nd level of the Te Waonui Forest Retreat, this is the nicest restaurant in the…read morearea. Each night, they have a gourmet prix fixe menu offering 5 courses for $130 or you can order them individually a la carte. The food is quite good and I found it highly unexpected to find such gourmet food in such a rustic setting. My first course was a delicately deconstructed lobster dish. My second course, some type of grilled fish. There was a sorbet palate cleanser and then my main course of beef followed by an amazing flan type dish for dessert. You need only look at the pictures to see how delightful the food was. And know that they also have an extensive wine list with wines by the bottle or the glass. Service is spot on and you can tell that these folks want to please you as the guest. Many are students on work visas and it was fun to hear their stories and to understand what brings them to the area. This restaurant also serves the breakfast for the hotel, which is great and has anything you might want. Know that all items are out on the buffet and there is not a chef making the warm dishes to order but if you have a special request, they will do their best to accommodate you. The ambiance, while casual, has nice views of the surrounding forest and there are tables also out on the deck. It's almost funny to be eating gourmet food with everyone around you dressed in casual clothes! If you are in the Franz Josef Glacier area and looking for fine dining, look no further. The Canopy is the best there is in town!

Excellent food. Stunning sunset window views. Somewhat clumsy and inexperienced server, but her…read morecheerful attitude helped me forgive her mistakes. Other servers we interacted with were spot on pros. Plan to go early before that noisy tour bus group shows up. It's a hotel restaurant. Even though there were parents ignoring their loud children nearby too, we were glad we went for the food, and recommend The Canopy highly.

This place is an excellent view of the two main mountain peaks. The food is really good as well…read more Nice ambiance. Excellent hiking trails.

With Glacier views and a serene setting, Matheson Cafe is the perfect combination of delicious…read morefood, relaxing and ideal location. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, you really can't go wrong here. We opted for dinner and needed a reservation as it is a popular place in town. It was the perfect choice to see the sunset over the glacier. If staying in town for the night, this is the way to go. Food was just as good as the locals said it would be. Service was quick and our server was very attentive and checked in with us often. Everything here was fantastic. The only thing (not the cafe's fault) is the bugs around sunset and once the sun goes down are very annoying. After sunset, we along with the other guests at nearby tables all requested to move inside to enjoy the rest of our meal. They were use to this request and able to accommodate all of us right away.

This may have been the only place open for dinner. It had a lot of cars in the parking lot and was…read moreclose to where we are staying. We walked thoughts bar side with a lot of people and a commotion going on. We found out it was horse racing. We worked our way to the dining room side where it was not busy and finally someone showed us a table with menus. Our server was very nice but was managing the dining orders plus the bar side. She definitely needed help. We started with shoestring fries and an Apple Cider on tap. I ordered the Beef Cheeks and my husband ordered the Pasta Carbonara as entrees. They were both really good. My beef was so tender that I cleaned my place . I'm glad we hiked today.

Haven't had any bad food in Fox Glacier, but White Pub was the best of the four places we sampled…read more May have been a dollar or two more than other Fox restaurants for a similar dish but you definitely get quality for that extra dollar! Servers were friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient; food came quickly, and the place had a great, social vibe. There's a lively pool table in the bar area. You know it's good when the classy locals hang at the bar (as opposed to the local who's drunk at 1:00pm on a Monday and hitting on the waitress...which we witnessed at another place in Fox). My wife loved that the whole place was warm. Good, free WiFi. And delicious dessert!!

This place was a gem! Had the avocado chicken salad as well as a side of the sweet chili and aioli…read morefries and my mate had a burger with wedges. It was all phenomenal! The waitress was very kind and attentive and the other staff behind the bar were also friendly and helpful.

I stayed at the collocated hotel and ate here a few years ago. While doing so, I had the best lamb…read moreI've ever had. So when I came back to Fox Glacier, I had to come back and have some more of that delicious lamb. Bottom line? They came through again. We each ordered the lamb shank. You can get either one or two; I got one and found it to be enough. The lamb came on the bone with some vegetables on the side. The lamb came with a savory sauce that had a touch of mint. The meat was very tender and practically fell off the bone. Once again, it was truly excellent. We ordered dessert and got the walnut brownies with a scoop of ice cream. They were quite good. Other than that, the service was great - I thought they were pretty fast in getting the food out. In the end, this place is great, and I'd absolutely recommend eating here. As for the lamb, it's still the best I've ever had.