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    Matheson Café

    4.4 (32 reviews)
    ModerateCafes
    Closed 8:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Matheson Café Photos

    MATHESON CAFÉ ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - Matheson Café

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    Zucchini and corn fritters
    Khaled A.

    The view is amazing which makes it a great place just to sip coffee. It's a counter service. We went here for breakfast and I went with the zucchini and corn fritters. It was good but nothing special. Felt it lack a bit of salt. My wife went with the spinach omelette which is again just ok. The omelette is something you can easily cook at home so nothing special. For dessert (yes we eat dessert for breakfast too!) we went with the mud chocolot cake. It was really good and gave us our sugary boost for the morning. Overall a decent place for breakfast.

    Sid J.

    Well if you like looking at mountains and drinking coffee this is the place for it , perfect place to take a photo and post it on Instagram with "this is my view" Coffee was ok nothing special definitely a lot better than most ive had around here it's ok I'm Italian you can trust me

    Flat white
    Sanne B.

    A charming setting near Lake Matheson and with views of the mountains. But if you're taking the walk around the lake, you will get them even better there. The flat white is only halfway decent. Too much foam and milk, and too little coffee. It's not really a flat white and way below the standard of New Zealand.

    Salmon clam risotto with pesto
    Megan G.

    Delightful meal in a terrific location. I'm so glad our hotel suggested Matheson Cafe to us. We ate dinner and breakfast here and were pleased both times. It is set in a serene place that had a stunning sunset. My salmon on clam risotto was savory well cooked tender and flavorful. The chai cheesecake was worth every calorie !!

    Pumpkin macadamia salad with Brie, yum!
    Serena W.

    My favorite place to eat so far on this trip! My husband and I both got the pumpkin macadamia salad and it was soooo good and refreshing. I want to remake it when I'm home! We also both bought some organic juices, bacon egg pie like muffins to heat for breakfast the next morning. A brownie was also a divine reward for the 12km walk it took from Fox Glacier Township!

    view from outside seating
    May-Ling G.

    our best meal in new zealand. make a reservation in advance, as it gets crowded, so service can be slow. we didn't have one, and it was easy to sit outside...so if you have a few warm layers, this can be a good option, or you can always stroll around the lake or hit up the best gift shop the country at ReflectioNZ. you're sitting among pastures and mountains with cows dotting the landscape - it's really gorgeous. the food tasted delicious. we had an inventive vegetarian entree with eggplant and a generous salmon portion over greens. if you're trying to save money, but want to eat in such a nice, natural setting, you can always opt for pizza.

    Tammy T.

    Great food. We did breakfast and lunch here. Got the noodles, lamb burger and bacon egg butty toast. Would recommend all 3 :)

    Rong Q.

    Wonderful location facing the glacier! The overall dining experience was fabulous with delicious food, great service, and relaxing ambiance. We had whitebait salad and lamb loin salad for starters, very rich combination of flavors. The beef short ribs, ribeye steak, and salmon fillet were cooked to perfection. If you're staying at Fox Glacier, I'd recommend this over the other restaurants on the main road of the town.

    Starter: salmon ceviche and lamb salad
    Xiaoting X.

    About 5 min drive from Fox Glacier. Gorgeous view of the glacier and amazing food! Recommended by the resort owner at fox glacier and came in for an early dinner. Was told that the kitchen opens at about 6pm. Made a reservation and walked the lake trails next to it for about an hour. So the food... very creative and great effort. Had the salmon ceviche and lamb salad starter, born interesting. Pork belly for main was the highlight and totally surprised me. Not only it's like pork ramen reconstructed, the broth had a dash of lemongrass or something sour that balanced the salty savory of the pork belly. Loved it!

    Relaxing cup of café con leche

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    8 years ago

    This was exceptional!! The view of the mountains was breathtaking and the food and wine was very good. You have to try the goat gnocchi!!

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Great view. Ordered the Matheson Breakfast. Other than the burned hash browns and the salty mushroom, the breakfast was average.

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    Matheson Café Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - Matheson Café

    The cafe, located right near Lake Matheson, has mountain views and both an outdoor patio and floor to ceiling windows that allow you to enjoy it.

    Mentioned in 4 reviews

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    The Greedy Cow

    The Greedy Cow

    4.9(10 reviews)
    74.1 km
    $$

    Best cafe in Tekapo…read more We stopped by for breakfast all 3 days we were in the area and our flat whites (one regular, one with soy) were consistently great. The muffin flavor rotates daily. We tried the banana caramel, chocolate and Nutella flavors and all were delicious (& not too sweet). The berry French toast is also delicious. We also tried the curried chicken wrap which was tasty, and minced meat pie which was decent. Service is great and staff is friendly. You are given a number if you decide to eat-in and the drinks are brought timely. The food may take awhile, but it's fine since you can sip on your drink in the meantime. Communal tables available with a fair amount of seating. Cute vibe. Lots of parking. Definitely our favorite spot.

    BUSY brunch spot on the main drive in Lake Tekapo but probably the one eatery with the best…read morequality. THANKFULLY, they give you an overestimation of wait times, at least for food, my Croque Madame (19.5 NZD) coming out very fast to the picnic bench just outside. FRESH ingredients and despite only having 1 egg, the free range egg was actually quite big with a mostly runny yolk. I did wish there was more bechamel sauce perhaps because it was a little dry. I practically almost finished this before the boy was able to fetch my Flat White for me, the baristas positively inundated by in-cafe orders alongside walk-up window ones. It was already quite crowded at 9AM on a Friday, so VERY popular, but with reason!

    Photos
    The Greedy Cow
    The Greedy Cow
    The Greedy Cow - Snacks and Sammie's, they also have pies!

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    Snacks and Sammie's, they also have pies!

    The Last Kitchen

    The Last Kitchen

    3.9(14 reviews)
    4.4 km
    $

    Slooow service. We were asked to wait 45mins before they would let us place our order. Once…read moreordered, the food took 35mins. When it came, half of it was like warm, and the other half was a good temperature. This could be excused if they were very busy, but they only seat 20 people (one meal came out of the kitchen every 5-10mins). Having said that, the lamb shank and vegetarian delight (plus chicken) were very tasty... so as long as you have time you should be ok. The waiters were confused by the simplest of things: whether the wine was by the glass, whether to collect our plates or not, and brought me - cider instead of a beer (my order was clear). To top it off, they miscalculated the maths as we were paying and tried to charge us $20 extra.

    It hurts my heart to not give a better review because I I thought that the woman that waited on me…read morewas great. With that said, I ordered the fish and chips and they were the most disappointing I have ever had. I received one piece of fish with some fries. The fish was soggy, the tarter was tasteless and they don't have malt vinegar. When I asked for malt vinegar, the server said she had never been asked for it before and had no clue what it was. She gave me white vinegar instead. To be clear, not all vinegar is the same. If you are going to have an item on the menu then I believe it is important you understand what options people may want. I order fish and chips a lot as a pescatarian and never have I had a restaurant not carry it. Unfortunately, the food was so bad that I left 1/2 my meal and went to the gas station for snacks on a long drive to Christchurch. If you choose to eat here then I would not get the fish and chips.

    Photos
    The Last Kitchen
    The Last Kitchen
    The Last Kitchen - Blue cod

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    Blue cod

    The White Pub Café & Bar - Apple crumble with ice cream

    The White Pub Café & Bar

    4.7(3 reviews)
    4.2 km
    $

    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!!

    Photos
    The White Pub Café & Bar - Pasta Carbonara

    Pasta Carbonara

    The White Pub Café & Bar - Beef Cheeks

    Beef Cheeks

    The White Pub Café & Bar - Shoestring fries

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    Shoestring fries

    Matheson Café - cafes - Updated June 2026

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