rātā

as fans of josh, we were keen to try out his new venture in queenstown. we ordered the bite menu of cured meats for an entree to share. when it arrived we were quite surprised by the lack of imagination & finesse of the dish, although quite tasty the portions were tiny & the presentation quite amateurish, that we comment on how josh would have reacted had we served this up to him on an episode of masterchef!
the mains arrived & unfortunately they were both only just luke warm. the beef fillet was delicious, but the side of mash was cold, and the blue cod was dry. we did mention to the waitress that our food was cold, & they did take off the side dish from our bill.
overall would we return, maybe, but disappointed in the experience.

the meal that my partner and i enjoyed at rata was faultless.the service was flawless and it is a dining experience that i shall remember for as long as i live.the main reason that i am writing this review is to say to rosalie who complained about not being able to get a drink at 10.30pm is this...its 10.30 at night the staff have had a long day and most probably wish that you would leave so they can clean up and go home to their families or hit the town themselves!!as a hospo myself i feel that people who over stay their welcome in a restaurant are very tiresome and need to cop on to themselves. back to the restaurant i was so impressed with the food and service,the staff knew it was my birthday and when my dessert arrived "happy birthday" was written in chocolate on my plate which was a lovely gesture.thank you to all the staff at rata for an amazing experience.

so good, the beef wellington is so nice. even it takes 50 mins to wait and i will say definitely worth to wait that long. can't describe how i feel and i just so happy i can have a good meal like this! everything is good, the service, the dessert, the smoked salmon...highly recommended!!

this meal was fantastic. well worth the price. my favourite dish by far was the salmon but everything else was stand out. especially my hot toddy and the truffle mash special. the only reason i wouldn't put 5 stars is because the duck spring rolls in my main were quite salty, our lovely waitress didn't seem fully informed about the cheese options and i feel like i've had better meals at other restaurants that don't have michelin chefs so i guess my expectations were a bit high.

my partner and i booked in here almost as soon as we knew we were coming to queenstown, so the anticipation was pretty high. through reviews and first hand accounts we were told to expect something special. rātā did not disappoint.

i had the seared beef starter and it was ah-mah-zing. my main was the venison loin and cheek ehich wad very well balanced and i finished with the manuka honey custard with the sponge and it was delightful but wasnt quite as good as the first two courses.

i would recommend this place to anyone going to queenstown and looking for something special.

that is the most famous place for fine dining in queenstown. we had two entrees and one feast that night but in fact only one feast was enough for two people. we had the ox tongue and the cheese roll for entrees. the ox tongue was super tender and it took little work to cut. the cheese roll tasted light, but the soup kind of ruined its crisp skin and then the taste. the feast was lamb shoulder. it was quite huge, but we still finished it because it was delicious. the lamb was juicy and tender and the honey sauce was surprisingly perfect for matchup. i also like the eggplant inside. finally, the service was great, the staff was kind and warm. she offered many recommendations to us.

fine food and the best restaurant in town. amazing spot with is falling snow outside 👍🏻. recommended

i couldn't agree more with the reviewer colin p. everything we ordered, the waiter returned, saying that they had run out of stock. don't they buy groceries to serve to the customers? it seemed to me that they were lazy and purely cunning indeed. it's as if they were trying to feed us what they had in stock, which was absolutely ludicrous. i don't understand why this restaurant gets any recognition. i wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone. i have been to top restaurants in europe and this sort of incident would never happen. the food was average, nothing amazed me. i could have cooked all those myself, to be honest. the proportions were quite small, as colin said. however, it didn't look appetizing or beautiful on the plate like the french do it either. the waiter had a terrible attitude about him too. i mean, can't you find waiters that read your menu properly? another disappointment was that josh emett was nowhere to be seen. perhaps busy shooting masterchef? i suggest he focuses on his one restaurant that he has in queenstown. it seems to be a train wreck. the good reviews here are probably from his friends and family. trust me folks, his restaurant is one from hell.

expectations were high and we were not disappointed. there is a real magic in the food presented and it was a pity we did not have time for a return visit while in queenstown.

starting with the goat cheese profiteroles and duck tongues, this set the tone for the evening. rata is a place where you have the ability to venture away from the norm.

john dory and pigs tail for main and finishing off with cinnamon oysters. a true adventure in food.

great select of local wines by the glass.

will be back - soon -

a must eat in queenstown. every single dish was flavourful and perfectly cooked. you’d expect a slump after a few dishes but it never happened, every dish was as good as the last. can’t wait for the next time i can eat there.

absolutely one of the best restaurants we’ve ever been to. the food, the service, the ambiance were amazing.

we had the cloudy bay storm clams and cured big glory bay salmon mousse to start with, then pan seared bluff octopus. we decided to get the lovely goats cheese profiteroles as well - as pretty much every table ordered that for starter. well, totally worth it.

for mains, we had aged beef fillet & pan fried hapuka - they’re just sensational!

as for dessert, we had strawberries, white chocolate & kawakawa mousse, milk crumble - it will be rude not to.

went to rata on my birthday with a group of 20 or so. the waiter was so friendly, amazing and very attentive all night. we were so happy with the set menu and group raved about the trevally starter! not to mention the cocktails and atmosphere. if i could rate rata 6/5 stars i would.

josh emett’s rata is a fabulous restaurant situated in the middle of town in a superb building. has a fantastic outdoor area where the natural stone keeps you warm if the suns been roasting them all day. unfortunately only drinks can be consumed outside.

cocktails are strong here very good wine list also.

went for a spread of dishes. cloudy bay storm clams are amazing i was blown away by these. the goats cheese profiteroles came out on a rock and were delicious too. id heard of the southland cheese roll but though id try the fancy version and oh my god was this thing good i highly recommend this one. beef tatare was presently beautifully tasted good too.

mains were pan fried blue cod, stunning, and the venison loin also stunning. threw in some potatoes too. little bit dry for my liking so gove these a miss

must try restaurant in queenstown.

it’s not as good as expected. we wait for a long time for the meat but not taste very good for as. for the side the price is expensive than what we expected. the drink with no alcohol is very nice.

the managers must be listening because the service here is second to none. from start to the waitress holding the door open for us as we left, we were looked after. the food was incredible and the lamb with harissa cous cous (not shown) was probably the best tasting meal i have ever had. the fact they were separated showed they knew what they were doing. the pork belly was good but probably not unique enough to have as a special meal. the espresso martini was also world class. 10/10