Kaitahi Chef’s Table & Lodge

Accommodation key icon. Restaurants key icon.
Accommodation key icon. Restaurants key icon.

24 Kingsdale Park Dr, Aokautere

027 603 9991

Kaitahi Chef’s Table & Lodge in Aokautere is an intimate hosted dining and stay experience set amongst native bush. Their focus is on connection to place and people, so guests sit together while courses are prepared and presented by the chef. It feels personal and unhurried, more like a dinner party than a standard sit-down meal.

Menus follow the seasons and draw on Manawatū producers. Some ingredients are grown on site, others come from the owners’ Mums’ garden, and the rest are sourced locally. Beef appears often, kaimoana is a favourite, and kaupapa Māori informs the wider food philosophy. The result is grounded, flavourful dishes that speak to where you are and the many hands that played a part in bringing the kai to your plate.

For those who want to roll into bed after their meal, two luxury guest suites make it easy to turn dinner into a full escape. Their ‘Ultimate Getaway’ folds in two nights’ accommodation, a chef’s table dinner with matched beverages, an in-room dining moment and slow breakfasts. Sustainability sits at the centre of the lodge’s operations, with solar power, on-site water treatment and composting where possible, plus an open invitation to uphold the Tiaki Promise while you stay.

The hosts are warm and present without hovering, happy to share the stories behind the objects in the room and the food on the table, or to point you towards walks, galleries and local favourites around the region. Whether you book the table, the suites or both, Kaitahi offers a calm, neatly curated way to enjoy a quiet, memorable night in good company.

Words by Katherine Dewar & Photography by Supplied

Information not correct? Report an error

Location

24 Kingsdale Park Dr, Aokautere

Similar Places

Victoria Esplanade

Large palm trees lined up on both sides of a road.
Place Palmerston North
Stay and explore key icon. Wellbeing key icon.

Great cities around the world have at least one thing in common… they have preserved and prioritised green spaces.

Nero

A cosy nook of the restaurant with blue tile.
Place Palmerston North
Restaurants key icon.

Nero, a family-owned modern bistro, has made a name for themselves in Palmerston North over the last twenty years with consistently great food and service.

Ebony Coffee Roasters

Building exterior of Ebony Coffee Roasters with a group of people standing outside.
Place Palmerston North
Goods key icon.

Ebony Coffee has been roasting coffee in Palmerston North since 1996. Their Featherston Street roastery, espresso bar and barista school represent and celebrate every stage of the coffee brewing process - even growing.

Mouthwater Coffee Company

A man in denim ordering at a red caravan.
Place Palmerston North
Cafes key icon.

A familiar and very welcome sight in Palmerston North, Mouthwater Coffee Company is out to prove that there’s more to food and drink carts than quick, grab-and-go...