Big Fig

Big Fig is responsible for a whole lot of smitten feelings and happy bellies wandering around Wānaka. Food is served up canteen style, but you can forget stale peas, soggy pasta and dry old bread – Big Fig does quick food with class.

Everything is made in-house, the fresh pitas included (the dusting of flour on the worktop and the chicken rotisserie in the background is all the evidence you need to see that things here are fresh). Championing ethical eating, the meat is free range, and free too are the sourdough starters on the counter. Served in tin plates reminiscent of camping days, expect to see variations of salads with couscous, bulgur wheat and lentils in the cabinet, and slow-cooked meats thanks to the Middle Eastern twist. Choose from small, medium or big servings and add meat depending on your taste.

Sweet things also show hints of foreign heritage – Persian cake with almonds and chocolate, lemon pistachio cake and carrot cake with cardamom and dukkah. If you’re coming for breakfast or to grab lunch on the run, the filled gozlemes are a hit, and the colourful smoothies are too pretty to pass up.

Open from early until late, Allpress coffee keeps caffeine fiends happy while hoppy happy beer drinkers will be pleased to see there’s craft on tap. Wine drinkers needn’t go without either, with a modest but definitive menu scrawled artfully on the blackboard behind the counter. Plenty of inside tables and big picnic benches out the front encourage eaters to stick around, although you’ll need to be in quick during the busy times – this place fills up fast.