PJ’s Queenstown: The Winemaker’s Honest Guide to Eating & Drinking Well

PJ spends a lot of time in Queenstown. A lot. Officially, it’s because we source some of our finest fruit from Central Otago and the relationships we cultivate down there are as important as the wine we make. Unofficially — well, have you been? The mountains are extraordinary, the lake is impossibly blue, and the restaurants and bars are genuinely world-class. Someone has to do the research.

Over many, many visits (we’ll leave the exact number undisclosed), PJ has quietly assembled what we’re confident is the definitive insider’s guide to Queenstown’s best tables and best bars. These aren’t the places you find by Googling. These are the places you find by showing up, again and again, until the staff know your name. Consider this your shortcut.

RESTAURANTS

Rātā

The benchmark. Rātā is Josh Emett’s love letter to the South Island, and it shows — in every beautifully composed plate, in the way the dining room feels like a clearing in native bush, in the depth of the wine list. Produce-driven, seasonal, and genuinely exciting. If you’re only booking one fine dining experience in Queenstown, this is it. Make a reservation well in advance and don’t rush — this is a dinner to linger over.

Botswana Butchery

Velvet, dark timber, five fireplaces, and steak that borders on theatrical. The Botswana Butchery is an institution — lakeside on Marine Parade, warm and opulent, with a wine cellar that deserves its own postcode. Order from the Butcher’s Block, order the Central Otago pinot, and settle in. There is nothing quick about a meal here, and that is entirely the point.

Tanoshi — Cow Lane

There are two Tanoshi locations — go to the original on Cow Lane. Tucked down an alley that feels lifted straight from Osaka’s back streets, this is the version with the character, the booths, the teppan grill, and the atmosphere. Gyoza, teppanyaki, cold Japanese beers, a sake and whisky list longer than most wine lists — it’s brilliant fun. Ideal for a lively mid-week dinner when you want something different. The locals love it, and so does PJ.

Amisfield

Near Millbrook, overlooking Lake Hayes with the Remarkables as backdrop — Amisfield is a genuinely special place. Executive Chef Vaughan Mabee has earned every accolade the New Zealand food world can bestow, and the degustation menus here are among the most exciting meals you’ll eat in this country. Very fancy. Very good food. Very, very good wine. Budget a long afternoon and surrender to it completely. Book well ahead — this one fills fast.

Blue Kanu

Vivid, vibrant, and unlike anything else in town. Blue Kanu calls its culinary style “Polynasia” — a joyful collision of Pacific and Asian flavours that really works. Share plates, bold cocktails, floral-shirted staff, a hula-hut bar, and a room that buzzes with energy. It’s the restaurant equivalent of a great Central Otago rosé: unconventional, a little surprising, and absolutely delicious. Don’t overlook the duck nachos.

Fergburger

Non-negotiable. Fergburger is an international institution that happens to be on Shotover Street, and PJ has strong feelings about it — specifically, that no visit to Queenstown is complete without one. Open until 2:30am, which is exactly when you need it. The queue is real; the burger is worth it. PJ’s recommendation: the Codfather. A fish burger of such transcendent quality that it briefly makes you question every other fish burger you’ve ever eaten. Go late, go hungry.

Joe’s Garage

The original Joe’s Garage opened in Queenstown in 2000, in what used to be an old Post Office sorting room. It still has that energy — laid-back, loud, genuine, and very good. It’s where you go the morning after a big night, or any morning really, because the coffee is excellent, the food is satisfying, and there’s always a good tune playing. The kind of place that makes Queenstown feel like a town, not just a destination.

Ayrburn

Near Millbrook, Ayrburn is what happens when someone creates an entire food and wine neighbourhood from scratch and does it beautifully. A beautifully restored heritage property housing multiple dining and drinking experiences — Billy’s, the Woolshed, a bakehouse, a butcher and deli. It’s a brilliant place to spend a lazy afternoon: wine tasting, a long lunch, a wander. The kind of spot you arrive at with loose plans and leave having decided to move to Central Otago.

BARS

The Bunker

Hidden down Cow Lane behind an old wooden door — easy to walk past, impossible to forget once you’ve found it. The Bunker has been a Queenstown institution since 1997: crackling log fires, quality craft cocktails, old-school cool, and a rooftop terrace for those clear alpine nights. It starts as a cocktail bar and becomes something more as the evening deepens. The upstairs bar stays open late and plays excellent house music on weekends. A quintessential Queenstown experience.

Little Blackwood

Perched on Steamer Wharf with the kind of view over Lake Wakatipu that makes you reach for your phone and then immediately put it down because no photograph does it justice. Happy hour runs from 4–6pm daily, live music fills the room most nights, and the artisan cheeseboards are the ideal accompaniment to a Gibbston Valley pinot or a well-made cocktail. Heated decking in winter; open doors in summer. One of Queenstown’s most consistently lovely spots.

Bardeaux

Tucked into Eureka Arcade off The Mall, Bardeaux is the bar for people who take their wine seriously and their surroundings seriously, too. A huge open fire, low lighting, excellent music, knowledgeable staff, and one of the most comprehensive whisky collections in Queenstown. The Central Otago pinot selection is exceptional — ask the team for something a little off the beaten track and they’ll deliver. Sultry and sophisticated without being stuffy. Exactly right for a nightcap after a big dinner.

Bar Up

Upstairs at the corner of Searle Lane and Eureka Arcade — and you will need to look for it, because that’s rather part of the charm. Bar Up is a winter cabin of a bar: low ceilings, roaring fireplace, comfy couches, fine wines, fine whiskeys, and bartenders who know their way around a cocktail. In summer, French doors open onto a balcony with lake breezes. The kind of spot that locals keep deliberately quiet so it doesn’t get discovered. Consider it discovered.

Little Mez

Descend the neon-lit staircase below Margo’s restaurant and enter Queenstown’s underground tequila and mezcal playground. Over 80 agave spirits, a thoughtfully curated cocktail list, and bartenders who genuinely love what they do. Can’t decide? Order a “Trust Little Mez” and let them guide you — an excellent policy. The Mexican-inspired snacks are worth ordering. The vibe is warm, moody, and just a little bit dangerous in the best possible way. PJ’s kind of bar.