amisfield bistro & cellar door

delicious food! could not recommend more. bestfoodwe have had since arriving in queenstown almost a week ago. did read a few reviews on here before coming so we were dubious but the staff were lovely and friendly. we had the three course trust the chef and did not mind not having an a la carte menu. it was nice to leave it up to someone else to choose for a change. if you're looking for an average kind of meal with meat and five veg don't come here, but if you're looking for excellent dishes with outstanding flavours give it a go. oh and the presentation of the dishes was like art on a plate.

all round a fantastic experience. a lovely setting and a really professional set up.

having no menu is a bit random for me, this is a set menu where you don’t know even what is coming “trust the chef” which is fun but u might get a dish you just don’t eat as it’s not something u like.

but thefoodwas all super fresh and tasty. a few dishes lacked a bit of punch but the 2 fish dishes were tasty, and a huge lamb leg to finish of was one of the best bits of lamb i have ever had, that was 11/10. another highlight was the bread with a lamb butter spread. amazing the lamb flavor it had

freaking love this place. thefoodis awesome, they have a great drinks list and the view is to die for. we come here every year when we visit queenstown and have never been disappointed. they have a trust the chef menu and it is awesome!

go for the wine, but definitely do not stay for the food.

front of house was a bit pompous, the rest of the staff were generally friendly.

thefoodwas absolutely nothing special, every meal we have had in queenstown / wanaka over the past week has been better. including hole in the wall type cafes. the price you are paying does not match up to thefoodthat is being served. ($140 pp, 8 course dinner)

to much “thought” has gone into the presentation, silly stories about thefoodand not enough into the actual taste.

our waitress would repeat a script she had probably been fed by the chef that was completely absurd each time a dish was brought out. a block of charred butter was placed on a plate with a group of rocks, the waitress said that one of those rocks was actually a piece of butter. she suggested we might try to figure out which one was butter by gently tapping on each rock. it was extremely obvious what “rock” was in fact butter, it felt like some absurd type of theatre. every time a dish came out some other anecdote went with it, it always felt like they were trying to hard.

amisfield might have had an excellent restaurant from looking at the reviews, but it is definitely not one now.

new zealand. we’re a young country. it would be fair to say that for most of our existence, we’ve hung our culinary hat upon cuisines from other cultures and lands – british, french, asian. we’ve fought over who invented the pavlova, whether marmite is better than vegemite and which three veg should accompany the meat. things are changing rapidly, however, with a group of passionate chefs and restauranteurs working feverishly to change the way we see new zealandfoodand ingredients. at the pointy end of that charge is chef vaughan mabee of queenstown’s amisfield bistro. with renown forager peter langlands at his side, vaughan is creating a symphony of sublime dishes that showcase native new zealand ingredients in ways this country has been missing.

visited wednesday with 7 friends and was very disappointed
service was poor and the chiefs choice which was our only option forfoodwas very poor
staters were terrine with a small loaf of bread entree was salmon and a bowl of kale
the main was a shoulder of slow cooked lamb with a sprinkling of potato, no greens offered
$75 a head extremely poor value for money no where near their usual standard
have been to amisfield many times before but this bad experience will mean none of us who were there will visit again

perfect location when you've run out of things to do in queenstown and need a little tlc. the staff here provided that and were very attentive throughout our entire time at amisfield.food5/5 (go for the cheeseboard) facilities 5/5 (beautiful vistas) staff 7/5!! will definitely be back on my next trip to queenstown

spectacular setting to enjoy some amazingfoodand wine. a must do when in the area! i recommend booking in advance as it can get full.... and treat yourself to the pinot gris.

my favourite restaurant ever. a new chef maybe? all dishes ok but they use to be sensational. good service & a great way of eating with shared plates. can't beat the view. maybe everyone else is catching up with exceptionalfood& service. it's just not quite the same.

amisfield bistro is a solid 10/10!

thefoodwas exceptional with the wine complementing thefoodand experience very well! you're set in the heart of otago wine country and at the base of the remarkables so it's picture perfect.

if in queenstown this place is a must!

what's not to love, great wines, outstanding setting and a taste adventure carefully curated by the chef... well worth taking a few hours out and soaking it all up. we choose to 'trust the chef' and enjoy a little culinary journey. all in all thefoodwas as gorgeous as the scenery which surrounded by snow capped mountains was pretty spectacular. the menu changes often but today the highlights for me were the roasted rib eye and the greenbone sashimi. i wish i'd taken photos to show you because they tasted even better than they looked but you'll want to do as i did and put your phone away and just enjoy the vibe or even a bit of petanque. i should mention the service, which was relaxed and served at a pace that allowed plenty of time to savour the degustation style dining. make sure you book in advance!

in a nutshellfoodwas 10/10 service was about a 2. very slow on ordering and delivering drinks. having to ask for more water and pouring yourself is not what i would expect. meals were very slow due to the fact our meal was given to the table next to us even though they didn't order that.foodwas exceptional though and at the end of the day that's why i go places.

went back in 2019 and as a 3 chef hat restaurants the experience was to die for... one of the best i’ve had. every dish well thought out and so much flavour. loved it

my last visit was so disappointing that i will not only not return but will also actively recommend others go elsewhere.  this used to be a favourite but now it's the very opposite.

on this occasion, the service was ok, not especially warm or friendly. thefoodwas quite honestly below average. none of the flavours or flair that the menu used to be known for were present. it was bland and not very well presented either.

i do feel that for $100 for lunch and a glass of two of wine (that was just my share) the service andfoodshould be top-notch. their publicity over recent years has probably gone to their heads and they are so busy with visiting aucklanders (and royalty) that the local market is obviously of little interest to them.

i had chosen this winery for dinner as it had been ranked on cuisine's runner up for best winery restaurant and i was visiting queenstown for a weekend so thought i would give it a go.  

i had booked for dinner however i didn't realize until i had turned up that they were only doing a 'trust the chef' menu, so i had no say in what i could eat only what i couldn't eat.  i wish they had told us that when i had called to book it and also that if we had dietary requirements that the whole table would have no option but to have the same meals that i had cause of it.  i felt like it had limited my husband which i didn't think was fair on him since there were some things on other peoples tables which he would have wanted.  i also didn't like that every table got something different so sometimes we would getfoodenvy and see what we got and compared them to others.  

in terms of the food, i found half the dishes to be quite good, the others just average.  the fish was well cooked but was a bit on the salty side and the pairings with the fish didn't have much flavour either.  the short rib was way too salty, mine was less so than my husband but i think cause i mixed it with the mashed potatoes so it might have dulled the taste a bit.

my opinion is that i liked the idea of trust the chef but i wish it were executed a bit better since all the dishes are shared platters not individual portions which i think would be better than what they have currently.

the amisfield bistro is about 15-20 minutes drive out of the main city and is attached to the local vineyards. the bistro looks like a scene taken out of a movie; it’s a large brick building surrounded by an open picturesque landscape with mountains in the background that truly takes your breath away. upon entering, the place is well lit with extremely high ceilings with exposed beams and wooden furnishings. it had a very rustic vibe that sets a unique dining atmosphere. there’s also a cellar attached to the bistro which allows for sampling and sales of their wines. tonight we are eating from the “trust the chef” menu. for nzd$55 pp, the chef will dish up two starters, a seafood and meat main for each person. we’re only gettingfood(with our own separate order of wine) but for a little bit extra, you can get matching wines and a dessert. duck rillette with spiced plum jam and to