Sort & Filter

Bistro Gentil

Restaurants key icon.
A waiter pours red wine into a large wineglass on a table laid with three savoury dishes and two table settings.
Looking past trees outside Bistro Gentil into the covered and enclosed courtyard dining area.
The interior of Bistro Gentil where a big roll of brown paper with handwritten lettering is mounted on the wall beneath a lantern.
Birdseye view of a table laid with glasses of wine, a plate of pieces of fish with multiple toppings and garnishes, a small candle in a blue glass and an asymmetric dish of toast and bits.
Looking across the grass to the enclosed dining area at Bistro Gentil underneath established trees.
A meat dish on the table, surrounded by two other savoury dishes, glasses of wine and clean side plates.
Restaurants key icon.

MondayClosed.

Tuesday6:00 – 9:00 pm.

Wednesday6:00 – 9:00 pm.

Thursday6:00 – 9:00 pm.

Friday6:00 – 9:00 pm.

Saturday6:00 – 9:00 pm.

Sunday6:30 – 9:00 pm.

76A Golf Course Road, Wānaka

03 443 2299

Instagram

Facebook

Website

Courtyard Formal

A fine-dining Wānaka restaurant boasting a love affair with French cuisine, Bistro Gentil serves excellent meals in a beautiful, sultry interior. Sample local, award-winning wines by the glass alongside your pick of appetisers, entrées and principal dishes, or allow the chefs to take the reins with the five-course tasting menu, where for extra you can have the whole meal matched with wines too.

Led by Head Chef Mario Rodrigues, the clever kitchen team puts a spin on typical flavour combinations using fresh, seasonal ingredients from the kitchen garden and the bountiful surrounding region that is Central Otago. The menus combine the best of New Zealand produce, cooked French style — à la française, with a modern twist — think French onion soup, chicken liver parfait and West Wānaka merino lamb rump. It would be silly not to indulge in dessert, with crème brûlée, poached fruit crumble, and, of course, fromage, also available.

Set in a beautiful spot just a short jaunt out of town, Bistro Gentil offers a tranquil respite from the busy town centre below, where dining outdoors with Lake Wānaka in the distance is often the best seat in the house. Whether you come for the food, the wine, the art, the view, or for the wine tasting earlier in the day and never left (Bistro Gentil doubles as Maude Tasting Room), the team at this modern-rustic restaurant hopes it will become a special place for all its guests.

Words by Rosie Morrison & Photography by Anna Briggs

Information not correct? Report an error

Location

76A Golf Course Road, Wānaka

Nearby Places

Burrito Craft

Close up of a person's hands holding a taco.
Place Wānaka
Restaurants key icon.

Easygoing vibes make this permanent food truck a non-pretentious spot to park up and enjoy some food, al fresco style.

Rhyme x Reason

Groups of people sitting inside drinking beers in the sunshine in the high-ceilinged Rhyme and Reason taproom in Wānaka.
Place Wānaka
Bars key icon.

A brewery slash tasting room and bar, visit this sunny spot for a pint or fill up a rigger for takeaway.

Fearless

Sports bottles and other accessories on display at Fearless, Wānaka.
Place Wānaka
Fashion key icon.

Fearless is a store with a purpose.

Wilson & Dorset

Close up of sheepskin cushions of different shades of brown at Wilson & Dorset, Wānaka.
Place Wānaka

We love to sit down. But it wasn’t until we plonked ourselves on a Wilson & Dorset Shaggy Bean Bag and lounged on their sheepskin rugs that we realised just how good putting one’s feet up could be. What a revelation.

Similar Places

Kai Whaka Pai

Customers sitting on tables outside the bar.
Place Wānaka
Bars key icon.

An absolute town institution, this place is humming with people Monday to Sunday, winter through to summer.

Big Fig

A flatlay plate of food on a table at Big Fig in Wānaka.
Place Wānaka
Cafes key icon.

Operating by the motto ‘slow food served fast’, Big Fig dishes up meals with a Middle Eastern twist.

Cork Bar

Brown leather booth seating at Cork, Wānaka.
Place Wānaka
Bars key icon.

The place to go for evening drinks, Cork has an impressive array of wines, beers, fine spirits and cocktails. Served by bartenders who truly do know their stuff, it’s likely you’ll develop an infatuation with this bar very quickly.

Hāwea Hotel

Inside the restaurant where people are dining and looking out the windows over the lake.
Place Wānaka
Accommodation key icon. Bars key icon. Restaurants key icon.

How do you like the idea of enjoying your morning coffee from a private balcony, with uninterrupted views of mountains encircling one of the country’s largest lakes?

Featured in

Back Blocks

The Back Blocks of Wānaka.
Neighbourhood Wānaka
You’d be silly to think all the beauty in Wānaka resides on the lakefront, take a short jaunt out of town to discover Back Blocks. Some of the best in the business lie beyond the lake, featuring brew bars, preserved fruits, and French restaurants. Nicknamed the ‘Back Blocks’ of Wānaka, this neighbourhood is home to a faultlessly friendly bunch of brewers, growers, and foodies. The quiet and pristine area is favoured by locals when the township gets busy over the holiday period, and visitors will revel in the spaciousness of it all. When you're finished gaping at mountain views, pull up a chair and dine at some of the best eateries in town where the service is immaculate and the wine is grown in the backyard.

Impress Your Tastebuds with Wānaka's Most Delicious Dishes

A staff member holding three plates of food at Kika in Wānaka.
Story Wānaka
It’s important to get a taste of whatever place you’re visiting, and the best way to do that is to simply get out and about and sit yourself down at some of the neatest restaurants in town.