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.

Majestic view, splendid food, fantastic service. Came here without a reservation and got seated…read morealmost immediately in these window seats.

ok you heard it here first folks. since reopening a month ago (oct 2023) I think this might lowkey…read morebe the best bang for buck in all of New Zealand. specifically, the Panorama Room is an offshoot restaurant separate from the other ones in the hotel (which are mediocre bars and buffets) run by the chef that has won best chef in the entire country several years in a row. he was on site when we dined. the three-course fixed price menu is actually quite delightful and the views are of course phenomenal. service... okay not great but fair given how out of the way this place is. can't imagine that something of this caliber would exist in the USA (even the fanciest restaurants in Yosemite fall short) but clearly they're trying something here, even if it's a bit bizarre (think someone putting a white linen napkin on your hiking pants for you). all in all, we think it was one of the best meals of the trip and would recommend. (Nov 2023)

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.

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.

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.

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.

Please read this!!!! On the 4th of November 2025 i…read moreaccidentally left my expensive swanndri jacket on the back of my chair and when i realised a day later i immediately called Shelly ( the Manager ). Unfortunately i was half way back to Queenstown and was leaving the country for a few months a few days later so i tryed my hardest to organise to get my top back as it was really dear to me ( sentimental value) and expensive, one of the waiters were keen to help but was overruled by Shelly , she said this wasn't possible and despite me saying i would pay for a courier to have it sent to me she said no instead she would keep it for me in the second draw of her filling cabinet until i returned in April 2025, and i completely trusted her, my mistake ... When i returned she claimed she had never seen my jacket and never had a conversation with me at all. She said if it was important to me i wouldn't have left it there. Super sketchy place and based on this situation, seems to be a super sketchy manager/owner! Watch your possessions while in this sketchy place .. tbf food was quite nice and waiters were really friendly Haha .

Ehhhh. One of the only options in Fox Glacier but I wasn't impressed. I thought it was confusing…read morehow you had to wait to be seated, but there was no clear host stand anywhere near their two entrances. The tables completely surroundings us got their water immediately and food before us, even though we were sat first. We didn't have silverware until after we got our food, and even then it's only because we requested utensils. I ordered a hamburger with potato wedges, a $2 upgrade. When I got large fries instead I just ate them because I had already waited 45 minutes for my food. Turns out my waiter didn't even put the wedges on my order because we weren't charged extra. It took almost 90 minutes for this meal, which just seems insane given it was a casual rural restaurant.

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.