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The Cow

4.1 (89 reviews)
ModerateItalian, Pizza
Closed 12:00 pm - 12:00 am (Next day)

The Cow Photos

THE COW ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Touristy
Moderate noise
Good for kids

Recommended Reviews - The Cow

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Fresh garlic bread
Lo K.

The best place I've eaten in a Looooong time. Definitely the best spaghetti I've ever had at a restaurant. The server was at our table as soon as we sat down asking for a drink order. The homemade garlic bread is second to none. It is baked and then has sautéed garlic poured over it. It was chilly however the fireplace was on and it felt amazing. I can't wait to visit again.

Salad
Vince L.

It's a cute location being in a little house. There's a chimney with smoke billowing out. We thought initially that it was a wood fire pizza place. Turned out it was a fireplace. The pizzas are cooked in an electric oven. It was busy, but you can wait at the handful of bar seats at the back of the restaurant. Service was friendly and quick. Food was just so-so. The side salad had chunky vegetables topped with some sprouts. We got the Queen's (I forgot the exact name) but it's like the top combo pizza. I'll have to say that it was a bit weird for my taste. It had celery, sliced tomatoes that made it watery, and not enough seasoning. I think The Cow is a bit over rated.

Seafood Pasta
Courtney T.

Ambiance: Such a cute little spot hidden off of Cow Street in Downtown Queenstown. The oldest restaurant in town which was honored by a rustic interior and a roaring wood fire. Food: disappointed by the food unfortunately. The house made garlic bread was very good. The loaf was huge and plenty of butter was provided. The pizza bolognese was fine. If you're from the US, the best way I would describe the sauce is tasting like Beefaroni. For the price of about $29, it was nothing amazing. I got a seafood pasta which was also fine. The mussels were pretty fishy tasting but the cream sauce was good. Overall a cool spot to eat but not worth the price.

Outside seating
Tim B.

Do not miss the Cow! The most interesting building in Queenstown with fantastic people, good beer and food, and great service! I wanted to go here every night but we always had something else planned. When we finally got here it was everything I had hoped for. It's so old looking inside and just cozy and warm and amazing! Just pizza and pasta and garlic bread here but that's good enough for me as long as they bring beer! I would like to go to a place like the Cow every day. I so wish there was something like it near me. Don't visit Queenstown without stopping by!

Outdoor seating area
Megan D.

Friendly service and great food! It's an awesome looking bar and restaurant. We we're sat outside and they even had blankets you could use as well as outdoor heaters. Very warm atmosphere :)

Onion soup
Kai A.

5 star for the waitress who was trying not to crack under pressure as she was the only one serving yet managed to do a great job of ensuring business was running smoothly. 3 star for the dishes. Garlic bread- baked in-house. We followed directions: cut in the middle and serve from there. It was a bit dry for me despite the butter provided on the side. R Onion soup- more sweet than anything. Other than that I think they would have been off serving French onion soup instead - only thing the soup was missing was the cheese. Bolognese Spaghetti- not much of a fan but my husband said sauce was savory, and seasoned well with the spaghetti cooked al dente. If it was up to me, I'd say try another resto unless you're really keen on giving this spot a chance.

Half prosciutto half bolognese
Richard K.

I had the pleasure of dining at The Cow while on vacation in Queenstown last week. It was wintertime so stumbling upon this hidden pizzeria in the cold was a nice surprise. The first thing I noticed was the ambiance. The building looks like it'd been built centuries ago with it's exposed brick walls and roaring open fireplace. We sat in one of the built-in bench tables right across from the fireplace which kept us nice and toasty. Our order was simple: half and half pizza (prosciutto and bolognese) and a couple of mulled wines. The food itself wasn't the best pizza in the world (mind you my favorite pizzas are thin crust, brick oven pizzas from New York or Italy) but it did the job. Also, the mulled wine was a little fruity without spice, but again, it did the job. The service was friendly and our waitress was on top of providing us everything we needed. All in all, I'd visit for the ambiance and convenience, but I wouldn't expect to be blown away by their pizzas.

Leo O.

Came here for dinner with a group or 3 adults and 1 infant and we were able to get seated without an issue. We ordered the Napolatana with mushrooms, Her Majesty's Pleasure, and Seafood spaghetti. I thought all the dishes were good, but not one particular one stood out. The crust for the pizza is thin crust, which is what I prefer. They did not hold back on the toppings and with every bite you were able to eat some toppings. The sauce wasn't overly salty but also didn't fe like it had a strong tomato base. The sauce wasn't overly special. The seafood spaghetti wasn't bad. All the shelled seafood came de-shelled, which was nice, but could also imply other things. Th staff were super polite and helpful. They were very accommodating to our requests for extra napkins, plates, utensils. Overall this is a solid place and wouldn't mind coming here again. Service was great. Price is on the expensive side, just like all the other restaurants in this resort town.

A large Her Majesty. We polished it off in one seating!
Paul I.

Locals favorite for pizza. We stopped in for lunch. Friendly service but looked like there was just one waitress. I felt bad because she was always hustling. We split a large Her Majesty and a salad. Flat bread type crust with ample toppings. The pizza was decent...as an east coaster, need to cut them slack since I am sure NZ is not known for their pizza.

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18 years ago

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10 years ago

Delicious pizza in a lovely restaurant. Be prepared to wait a long time to get a table.

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8 years ago

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11 years ago

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9 years ago

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10 years ago

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13 years ago

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11 years ago

Great pizza, good wine, lovely servers, I'm a really big fan!

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Review Highlights - The Cow

I came here in 2015 and I still think about the pizza Her Majesty's Pleasure from time to time.

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Hell Pizza - Lust deluxe thin stretched

Hell Pizza

3.7(9 reviews)
0.1 km
$$

Such a cool place. Of course I came home with a Hell glass. My friend who went with me loves…read moretelling people that he went to Hell and back with me. But the pizza is very good and the people are great! Enough of a beer selection to get by and not a bad atmosphere for a pizza joint. All in all I'm glad we gave it a try! See for yourself!

Spending a few days in Queenstown, we attempted to dine at some of the specialty, fancier dining…read morerestaurants, but quickly discovered either 1. most places were unexpectedly closed due to staffing shortages, or 2. they required a reservation. So, we decided let's repeat the previous night's pizza & beer takeaway, dining on the waterfront. Previously, we tried Winnie's; enjoying three small pizzas varieties, packed with NZ signature toppings. This evening, on our way back to Winnie's, we passed by HELL pizza & decided to peruse the menu. Creative, flavorful sounding pies, we decided to switch things up & dine in HELL the appeal was the enhanced toppings- a lot of pies were similar to the favorites we had at the other pizzeria, but there were a few more toppings on each comparable pie in HELL (and not just the Gluttony pie haha), plus the ability to be a Creator! Drool! So we ordered a Lust Deluxe snack-size thin pulled & a Creator (smoked salmon, calamari, mussels, mushrooms, onions, prawns, extra mussels, lemon pepper sauce) Oh, I am glad I don't live in HELL; mainly because I would be eating non-stop. The toppings were delicious-hearty chunks, well-seasoned, unique flavor combinations. The crust wasn't anything special, it had a light buttery flaky undercooked dough taste- wish it was a bit more oven charred crispy, but it held all the toppings well, without being too soggy, falling apart. Overall, would recommend!

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Hell Pizza - Creator: all seafood

Creator: all seafood

Hell Pizza
Hell Pizza

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Bella Cucina Restaurant - Spaghetti aglio e olio

Bella Cucina Restaurant

4.1(51 reviews)
0.2 km
$$

Our last meal in Queenstown was here. We had reservations (and it was busy) and were seated…read moreimmediately. We had the back of the restaurant, corner table. Not much to look at but it was a little quieter and away from the ovens back there. Husband had the fettuccine carbonara and I had a margarita pizza. Both were excellent. We started with a Caprese salad which was also excellent. My pizza had homemade crust with the bubbly burnt edges that happens in a woodfire oven. So good. Service was excellent. Parking on street is less than rare so we parked in a lot for roughly $10USD. Great experience.

Like everywhere in NZ, make reservations…read more I'm staying in Queenstown for a few days, and booked this reservation a few nights prior. The restaurant itself is long and narrow, so tables on one side and servers and the kitchen on the other. I ordered bruschetta for my starter & spaghetti bolognese for my main. The bruschetta came out with sliced prosciutto on top which I could have done without. I wished for more tomatoes, onion, and oil. The spaghetti bolognese was flavorful but just ok? Like, I'm not Italian but can make a better version of that at home. Although it's a simple dish, that probably not something you want to hear when you're selling it for $36 NZD. So the overall dining experience was a bit meh. I went to a pizzeria in Te Anau with better flavors. It might be a nice dinner date because the ambiance is lovely, if a bit loud. The service was fine, if a bit on the slow side.

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Bella Cucina Restaurant
Bella Cucina Restaurant
Bella Cucina Restaurant

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The Cow - italian - Updated July 2026

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