The food is just beautiful, we had dinner here the 2 nights we stay in FJ and we have no complaints at all. wonderful service, kind staff and lovely meals, what more could you ask for!More

Really nice buffet breakfast but a little more variety of fresh fruit would not go a miss. A barista would also improve it

Most of the food we ate in New Zealand was fabulous. Given that, I was a bit disappointed with Caravans. While the sauce was good, the lamb was overcooked and the potatoes were oily. The apple strudel was OK, but had too much crust for...my taste.More

The restaurant was quiet when we visited as it was the quiet season. However, the service was good and the food was delicious. There was a variety of dishes on offer to suit a variety of tastes and appetites.More

I would have preferred to give this restaurant 3.5 stars but there you go. Staff were a little snooty when we booked our table, as we had just come in from walking I guess, and didn't look very smart. Seemed reluctant to let us have...a table. Starter was good, and puddings were luscious, but the sous vide duck was as tough as old boots - I guess we should have sent it back. I'm going off sous vide now as a method of cooking, as I had lamb later in our trip at a different restaurant, and that was also quite chewy. Regarding the menu, we were really looking for food with a New Zealand slant, but their menu options were very limited with that regard. I don't remember seeing lamb there, but the green lipped mussels we had for starters were huge and wonderful. Staff were very attentive though, and the wine was good. Great views from the upstairs conservatory. Would I go back? I'm not sure.... But my husbands main course was good, so perhaps if we'd chosen something else off the menu, it would have been a solid four star and good recommendation. There are steps to both restaurants to my recollection, so would be difficult for disabled folks to visit - although maybe there was a ramp on the downstairs restaurant, I'm afraid I can't remember.More

There are not many options in Franz Josef as there are only a handful of restaurants. I reckon Canavan's is the most high end one (arguably the most expensive). What we pay for is good quality ingredients, very nice presentation of the food, great ambience...as the restaurant overlooks greenery and the glacier peaks. Since its in a hotel, it is also much less rowdy then independent restaurants. Our orders included fish of the day and the very tender beef. Upon knowing we are celebrating my daughter's birthday, the manager presented us with a complementary cake!More

This review is in relation to Caravans as a restaurant for the dinners we had on two nights while in FJ not as part of the hotel to which it is attached. The hotel and breakfast in this location is the subject of a seperate...review. We arrived in FJ on Christmas Eve and not knowing how busy the place would be we decided to pre book dinner in this restaurant for Christmas Eve as well as Christmas Dinner. The first was Ok the second was a BIG mistake!! Christmas Eve: The staff and service was good and attentive and the meals we ordered were quite enjoyable except for one dish. This was a vegetable lasagna. Now this should be reasonably easy to prepare but the dish delivered was tasteless and nearly inedible. Unfortunately, when collected virtually untouched by the staff no questions were asked about it being barely touched. Christmas Dinner: This was a big let down. Staff service was Ok but they were really just working a busy floor and did not really want to get involved in problems or issues. The three course meal that was served (a selection from 3 dishes for each course) was, to say the least, terrible. The food when served was only lukewarm or cold (this is Ok if it is a cold dish but they weren't all surprised to be cold!!!!) and generally quite bland and tasteless. A steak that was ordered medium rare and suggested as being only available as medium was served well done, was tasteless and practically inedible. This would certainly rate as one of the worst dining experiences we have ever had and the only positive point was that after complaining to management representatives we were given a credit for the price of the meal which had been prepaid due to it being a Christmas Dinner and I would thank the staff for this.More