Autumn Food Experiences in Queenstown

If you’re a food enthusiast, you probably know Queenstown’s reputation for spectacular food and wine (not to mention the burgeoning craft beer scene). Here’s a selection of our favourite autumn food experiences to connect you with the produce and people of this special place. Kua hora te kai, eat well.

Top Autumn Dining Spots in Queenstown

Queenstown has a real diversity of culinary offerings, from fine dining to international flavours to gourmet fast food. In recent years, there’s been a growing focus on sustainability – the destination is working towards being carbon-zero by 2030. This is great news for foodies, as local, seasonal ingredients take centre stage, and more eateries embrace garden-to-plate. Queenstown's also the gateway to the Central Otago wine region, celebrated for its Pinot Noir, with 16 cellar doors to visit within a 30-minute drive.

Rātā

This light, airy space is in the centre of Queenstown, surrounded by a grove of native beech trees and rātā garlanded by fairy lights. Rātā is owned by Michelin Star chef Josh Emett and celebrated restaurateur Fleur Caulton, while head chef Michael Bickford shows an impressive commitment to sourcing local ingredients.

The menu has witty takes on Kiwi classics such as a Speights sourdough with Marmite butter and fried yeast, or their take on the iconic Southland cheese roll, with mustard, cornichon jam and fried yeast. Some of their autumn dishes include blue cod with spinach, Brussels sprout and salmon roe, individual mutton pies with tasty, flaky pastry, or duck breast, spiced duck sausage, fermented celeriac, and prunes.

Sherwood

Sherwood Restaurant is guided by what grows in their kitchen gardens and known for their delicious garden-to-table food. Head chef Chris Scott says, “The garden writes the menu. The produce only lasts for a certain period and then it’s gone for another year.” They also forage produce from the Whakatipu Basin, with flavours like wild thyme, birch bolete mushrooms, and fruit from trees planted by early European settlers appearing in dishes.

Early autumn means goodies like tomatoes, garden pesto, homemade cordial with black Doris plum and anise hyssop, Cardrona lamb belly on the bone, figs, wild apples, and candied walnuts. Their delicious woodfired sourdough flatbreads showcase the best of their garden produce in a hyper-seasonal way.

Amisfield

Amisfield is an organic vineyard, winery and restaurant overlooking Lake Hayes. Awarded three hats by the Cuisine Good Food Guide six years in a row and named New Zealand's best restaurant in 2023, Amisfield’s head chef Vaughn Mabee’s pedigree is impeccable. He worked with Martín Berasategui in Spain and René Redzepi at Noma in Copenhagen, before returning to New Zealand to create his own legend.

Dishes are made with vegetables, herbs, and meat sourced and foraged from the Queenstown area as much as possible. Mabee may even serve you game he shot himself. Meals at Amisfield are as much about storytelling as they are about delicious food, as staff share the local provenance of ingredients and the story behind each dish.

The Millhouse at Millbrook

With a seasonal menu of delicious dishes, the Millhouse at Millbrook Resort is on the site of the farm’s original flour mill, with the old water wheel still a feature. The space has flagstone floors, and a roaring log fire with views over the mill pond and the golf course beyond.

Many of the ingredients for your delicious meal arrive fresh from Millbrook’s kitchen garden and orchards, where they also keep free-range chickens. Other produce is sourced from local farmers. Autumn specials include delights like wild hare served with leek, oyster mushroom and tamarillo, a wild mushroom and potato cake with duck, and creamy rice pudding served with fig biscotti and apple marmalade.

Aosta

The signature of great Italian food is the way it heroes simple, quality ingredients, elevating them into something sublime. Aosta in Arrowtown brings northern Italian flavours to the Whakatipu Basin. With a philosophy based on terroir and seasonality, it’s the perfect place to encounter ingredients sourced from local farmers and growers.

Autumn brings delights like kumara and truffle ravioli with sprouting broccoli & fresh sheep’s ricotta, wet-aged Angus beef Scotch fillet with cipollini pearl onions, almond mustard and pinot noir glaze, and their signature kina pappardelle with crispy leeks, hen’s yolk, and shaved Stewart Island paua. Arrowtown is exquisite in autumn, as the leaves turn on the deciduous trees planted the length of historic Buckingham Street.

Gibbston Valley

Set in the region’s oldest vineyard, Gibbston Valley Winery Restaurant is a glorious autumn destination. Soak up the buzz of vintage or enjoy the mellow gold of the vines, while choosing from autumn bistro classics like risotto with wild Otago mushrooms, confit garlic, and truffle oil, or roasted grapes with prosciutto and seasonal herbs.

Meanwhile the Lodge Restaurant at the Gibbston Valley Lodge and Spa offers a five-star evening dining experience with local, seasonal, sustainable produce, including produce from the vineyard gardens, alpine venison, beef and lamb from local high-country stations, and fruit from Cromwell. Try their degustation menu matched with their organic wines, then take your favourite drop home with a block of Whitestone Cheese Co cheese from the cheesery.

Seasonal Central Otago Specialities

Autumn is harvest time in Central Otago. The wider region is celebrated for stone fruit, with peaches, plums, and nectarines still fruiting in March, while apples and pears begin their season. Elderberries and damsons grow wild around Queenstown, often near the ruins of goldrush cottages.

The sweetness of root vegetables come into their own, with kūmara, celeriac, parsnips, and squash all ready to harvest. Tomatoes and chillis are plentiful and delicious until the first frosts. In April and May, the first leeks of the season hit our plates.

Foragers know where to gather wild giant puffballs, birch boletes, and porcini, while local growers produce oyster mushrooms, enoki, and tawaka.

Other local, seasonal specialities to look out for include wild game introduced to New Zealand, including fallow deer, red deer, chamois, and Himalayan thar. These species put pressure on the local ecosystem and need to be hunted regularly to keep numbers in check.

If you enjoy fish and seafood, trout are fished in Central Otago high-country rivers, while salmon, blue cod, snapper, gurnard, and other sea fish come from the waters surrounding Southland, along with paua, kina, and crays. Bluff Oyster season starts in March.

The garden-to-plate movement in Queenstown means there’s a cluster of restaurants with abundant kitchen gardens serving up produce you won’t experience anywhere else. We’ve mentioned Sherwood, Millbrook, Amisfield, and Gibbston Valley. Also try Walter Peak, Headwaters, Kinloch Wilderness Retreat, and the Hilton for seasonal tastes of the region.

Insider Tips from Queenstown Foodies

We asked local Queenstown foodies for their recommendations for their hidden gems, and they gave us a few of their favourite ways to experience the region's culinary heritage.

1. Drop in for an ale with the good sorts at Canyon Brewing in Arthurs Point who frequently team up with local community groups to back local projects. Their Be Here Now ale is a collab with Sherwood. Quench your thirst while supporting local biodiversity projects and contributing to a cleaner, greener Queenstown.

2. Don’t miss the Pie, Pint & Pinot event at Arrowtown Autumn Festival. Beer and pies are truly a match made in heaven, and we’re not talking any pies, but locally-made gourmet pies paired with craft beers or a delicious Pinot from Mora Wines.

3. Also, in Arrowtown, try the new Rifters Arrowtown Vodka. This locally produced spirit is produced in partnership with Love Queenstown, every bottle sold will support local climate and biodiversity projects in the region. Inspired by the thyme-scented breezes of the region and pristine glacial water.

4. Try a high-country farm tea. Take the TSS Earnslaw over to Walter Peak High Country Farm – a sheep station since the 1860s. The farm tour includes afternoon tea hosted in the Colonel’s Homestead with its lakeside gardens. Everything is freshly baked at the station. The table is laden with classic Kiwi goodies like homemade sultana scones, pikelets, and iced buns. Real NZ even share a couple of family recipes online.

Beyond your Plate – Other Foodie Adventures

There are many fun things to do in Queenstown to enhance your dining experience. Queenstown is a gateway to Central Otago's renowned wine region. Vineyard cycling tours are one of the best ways to combine spectacular scenery with delicious wine and the chance to meet a winemaker or two. An off-road cycle trail leads from Queenstown into the Gibbston valley so hire a bike or take a guided tour for a knowledgeable local commentary.

Queenstown has a fast-growing craft beer scene, with a group of six breweries doing interesting things with local ingredients, and some picturesque brew bars to visit around the town. Try a craft beer tour to sample the local brews in style.

If you like to meet Central Otago makers and growers, Royalburn Station’s paddock-to-plate regenerative farming ethos can be sampled at their farm shop in Arrowtown. The Remarkables Market is a prime opportunity to sample local produce and connect with local producers every Saturday.

To get hands on while you’re here, book a cooking lesson with French chef Fabien Simon in his teaching kitchen. Fabien offers a wide range of classes from rustic Italian to sweet treats. Or try foraging for yourself in the hills around Queenstown – a great way to discover local history and take in the beautiful scenery while hunting for tasty, seasonal flavours.

Queenstown retreats combine food with wellness and revitalisation. Aro Ha grow almost half of the delicious, fresh produce they feed their guests and staff in their permaculture food forest to nourish their guests’ body and spirit. Or work up an appetite on the many walks surrounding Glenorchy, before dining on hearty soups and stews cooked in cast iron camp ovens and served up at a shared table at the Great Glenorchy Alpine Basecamp.

Share your Autumn Queenstown Food

As you explore Queenstown’s abundance of delicious foodie experiences this autumn, share your favourite flavours with us on Instagram and #QueenstownLive. Mauri ora. Be well.