Here at Rata for our anniversary meal we finally tried an order of NZ savory little restaurant donuts. Satisfying starter that lead into a large lamb shoulder, a side of Brussels sprouts, and a miso "ice cream sandwich" dessert. All impressive. Go! read more

Tasty food and nice ambience, deserving of a Michelin star' We went late and they seated us right away and that staff was great when one of our party fell ill. read more

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. read more

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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. read more

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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! read more

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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. read more

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 read more

Rata - Oyster with a citrus dressing. Had to try one! Delish - New Zealand Near Me - Queenstown, OTA

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Was looking forward to Rātā based on reviews and was looking for a real NZ meal on my last night of holiday. I ordered the wagyu short rib. It was very very fatty. Maybe ate 1/4. The waitress never came to ask how my meal was. She finally came to ask if I was done. Just was not the experience expected based on reviews. Left pretty disappointed. read more

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. read more

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. read more

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The food was very good, and in general, the service was nice. But the service was very slow. Really liked the Wagyu steak as well as the lamb, and the potatoes were first right. I'd give it five stars, but the waitress would disappear for stretches, and getting our water glasses refilled Was a problem. But overall a nice place for dinner. read more

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

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. read more

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

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 read more

Rata - New Zealand Near Me - Queenstown, OTA

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! read more

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! read more

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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 ;-) . read more

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

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. read more

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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. read more

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! read more

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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. read more

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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. read more

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

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

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

Rata - Octopus and potatoes. - New Zealand Near Me - Queenstown, OTA

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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. read more

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. read more

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. read more

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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. read more

Rata - New Zealand Near Me - Queenstown, OTA

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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. read more

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. read more

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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. read more

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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 read more

Rata - New Zealand Near Me - Queenstown, OTA

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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!! read more

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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. read more

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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! read more

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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. read more