Lake Bar

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#16 of 73 Restaurants in Wanaka$$ - $$$, Bar, Gastropub, Vegetarian friendly

+64 3-443 2920+ Add website

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Hours

Sun

11:00 am - 1:00 am

Mon

11:00 am - 1:00 am

Tue

11:00 am - 1:00 am

Wed

11:00 am - 1:00 am

Thu

11:00 am - 1:00 am

Fri

11:00 am - 1:00 am

Sat

11:00 am - 1:00 am

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.0

717 reviews

#16 of 73 Restaurants in Wanaka

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Local cuisine, Gastropub, Bar, New Zealand, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options

“... then shared the mussels in green curry (delicious) and the fish and chips.”

“We had the most amazing chowder, calamari, venison and roast vegetable salad.”

“Fish and chips were very good.”

“The venison rack and the beef short rib were outstanding.”

Location and contact

155 Ardmore Street, Wanaka 9305 New Zealand

+64 3-443 2920

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Is this a diner?

Yes

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Details

Manage this business?

PRICE RANGE

$6.00 – $30.00

CUISINES

Bar, Gastropub, New Zealand

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours

FEATURES

Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Television, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music, Waterfront

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4.0

717 reviews

Excellent

355

Very good

246

Average

Poor

Terrible

Oztraveller333

Brisbane7 contributions

Superb service and on New Years Eve!

Dec 2019 • none

We booked only the night before New Year's Eve as we were concerned we would not get a walk-in table. We were able to book a table for 8:30, guaranteeing us not only a seat for our meal but a table for afterwards leading up to midnight. We ordered the cheesy garlic bread on ciabatta which was the best we've ever had! So tasty we devoured it and struggled to fit in the mains. Both mains ordered were huge and great value - the beef burger and chicken burger, both with chips. The beef burger was the winner. Every other meal we saw served looked delicious! We also ordered a jug of soft drink for $15 and it filled about 6 glasses worth! Such great value for money. Other places had a cover charge, but not the Lake Bar. And they were packed!! Not sure why you'd go anywhere else. Staff were super friendly, service was quick and we never felt rushed along. They managed to serve a table of almost 20 people their meals all at once which we were impressed by. We stayed around for a while after dinner and then went to check out the scene on the beach. It was mainly under 18s so after a bit of a stroll we returned to the Lake Bar for a couple of drinks. Definitely recommend this place for service, great food, friendly staff and a nice atmosphere!

Written 3 January 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

EMG0117

Auckland Central553 contributions

Very pleasant meal

Oct 2020 • none

We were most pleased with our dinner here a couple of weeks ago. The outside tables were bustling with people, inside the restaurant the place started to fill during our meal. I had the Caesar salad with grilled chicken; my daughter had the lemon pepper calamari salad - both were large helpings - great value for money.

Written 6 November 2020

Builder Tom

Christchurch35 contributions

Fantastic service, great food!

Jan 2020 • couples

We met up with another couple for dinner here, the staff were very accommodating, and were even happy to let us move to a table out of the sun when requested. We were allowed plenty of time to choose entrees and drinks, and then just as much time to choose dinner. The garlic bread was delicious, and the beef rib was fantastic as well, especially for the price. All up we were allowed to cruise through our meal, and the lovely staff were only too happy to let us stay for nearly 3 hours

Written 26 January 2020

WFD

Dunedin2 contributions

Absolutely useless

Jan 2020 • family

We waited 1 hour and 20 mins for our meals and they came out either cold or not cooked properly, the excuse was it was the time of year but we were told it was going to be 45 mins. The owner has no idea how to host people and gave half our table free drinks and said that's it...this place is a joke, dont come here, you'll be disappointed

Written 4 January 2020

244vickib

Your whole group behaviour was appalling to say the least. You were told of delays, it was the busiest time of year in our region. You were abusive, loud, threatening to staff and management and never in our whole 17 odd years in hospitality had we ever had to call police in to escort people from our restaurant/bar until your group. You never paid for the meals or the drinks and then as a personal attack vented on Tripadvisor - I think you need to go away and GROW UP

Written 10 January 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Anita O

Mannheim1022 contributions

Flawless Dinner

Nov 2019 • none

We first went there in the afternoon for a drink at the bar. Not very busy except for some people sitting at the lake view terrace... What a change in the evening! The place was packed, and a "receptionist" advised us that waiting time would be 30 minutes. (It did not take that long in the end but a reservation is definitely recommended.) We ordered a bottle of Shiraz at the bar and took a look at the dinner menu. After 15 minutes we were shown to a table. We chose blue cod and the venison rack on a red wine jus and both were absolutely delicious. The atmosphere was lively and the staff was friendly. It was a nice evening.

Written 21 March 2020

355rebeccag

Dunedin103 contributions

Long weekend dinner

Oct 2020 • couples

We did not book a table here and the place looked fairly busy but we thought we would try our luck to get dinner here. After a quick look around they said yes and offered us a choice of a couple of tables. We were seated & given menus and said someone would be woth us shortly to take drinks food orders. They were busy so were happy with this. After about 5 minutes another couple came in and sat at the other table we were offered. We ended up leaving without ordering when those people had staff taking both drinks & food orders, before anyone had even checked in with us sitting at the next table. Was pretty disappointing but we ended up getting takeaway food from a place down the road and eating it by the lake. It was much more enjoyable. We had a perfect view of the lake and it was much cheaper.

Written 26 October 2020

Brian K

Croydon27 contributions

Great location but very poor service

Jan 2020 • couples

Positives are that the food is good and the location near the lake is great. The service is however very poor. We went at 5pm when it was relatively quiet It took quite an effort to get our drinks and meal orders in and they were fine when they eventually came. We were then completely abandoned and nobody cleared plates or took dessert orders. Eventually we went to the bar paid and left with half hearted apologies. The staff are young and friendly but lacking in any concept of good customer service.

Written 29 January 2020

Lucy S

Gore33 contributions

Ok, small improvements and it would be nice.

Apr 2021 • couples

Had the calamari salad. It was nice but needed more dressing as lacked a little flavour in the actual salad (calamaris were pretty delish). One thing I don’t like though is large pieces of lettuce as personally I find it lazy not to cut it finer. The thing I find annoying though is the tomatoes were well and truly pre cut and then popped back in the fridge and by the time I ordered my salad the tomatoes had turned floury and flavourless. It’s a shame as saving time pre cutting them ruins the flavour and takes 2 seconds to cut and toss on the salad. Never got asked how we found our meals, barely even saw a waitress except to get a drink and order. What I found interesting. They had a sign out the front saying ‘Fare game Fiordland Venison’. I asked what made it fare game, and the waitress said it’s not farmed. I asked is the deer shot out of a helicopter and she didn’t know. Farmed is a much nicer cut of meat generally as the helicopter shot deer is generally a lot cheaper and tougher meat.

Written 6 April 2021

Vince

Auckland2 contributions

Absolutely satisfied!

Jun 2021 • none

Noticed the place visibly from the lake and in great location. Nice & comfy feel inside, great service from the waitress if I recall from Montana, USA? always checking if we needed anything and topping up drinks. Ordered the seafood chowder which was massive, biggest serving of chowder I've seen with the toasted bread thing to go with it. and best tasting chowder too! Ordered the mussels which had a lovely sauce that had a Thai feel as nice and spicy. The Rib-eye for mains was PERFECTLY cooked and melt in your mouth delicious with salad and fries... one word...YUMMMMMY! Paid $140 for 4 meals including drinks and totally worth it for the value of portion and taste quality. Was 2 of us so they were quite impressed we finished the meals lol. Will definitely go back if we're in Wanaka again.

Written 24 June 2021

Deb L

Tugun17 contributions

Great location with generous food portions

Mar 2020 • none

We chose this bar because of it's great location directly opposite Lake Wanaka and were pleasantly surprised. Our choices were from the tapas menu. The garlic bread dusted with parmesan was an extremely generous portion and the BBQ'd prawn cutlets were to die for! Both dishes were very reasonably priced. Washed down with a pint of our favourite NZ beer we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Lake Bar.

Written 13 March 2020

Ross

Auckland Central41 contributions

Fantastic food & value for money!

Nov 2020 • couples

We dined at Kota last night and found the staff to be very professional and the food excellent value for money. Our starter was Okra with burnt chili mayo and was plenty for two! Onto the terakai crispy cauliflower (which was the best I have ever tasted) and then the beef shoulder with egg noodle and a green curry sauce. Amazing flavours that complemented each dish. We found Jiwan & Martha to be the perfect hosts and supremely attentive, not forgetting Sophia on bar duty. Our evening cost $135 which included beer, cocktail and vino. If they were to charge 15% more, I don't think anyone would blink. Well done to all the team at Kota!

Written 14 November 2020

Kym D

Rolleston41 contributions

On holiday

Jan 2022 • family

The service was amazing The waitress was friendly and very informative and helpful. She informed us about the specials and took our drinks order and told us that there is no hurry for us to order our food. The waitress made conversation with us asking where are we from and also gave us some tips on what we could do in wanaka. After a few drinks we ordered some food and it came out really quick. The food was absolutely awesome.

Written 20 January 2022

Laura R

Wanaka4 contributions

The wait is too long.

Jan 2020 • family

Good food, big portions, but the wait for our meals trumps the food itself. Have been twice lately and both times the wait was too long. We weren’t made aware that there could be such a long delay and when we brought it up with staff, we were told that it’s because the restaurant was busy even though there were only a few other tables of people when we were seated. Didn’t see any meals come out of the kitchen for at least half an hour.

Written 10 January 2020

Krissy99

1 contribution

Terrible service

Jan 2021 • friends

Came in with partner and friend on our holiday. As I am gluten free (Coeliac) Bought other food from another place for partner and friend and was going to buy food for myself and the others were going to have beers. Was told we could not eat there with the other food. 100% do not recommend. It is hard enough for me to eat out as it is let alone be turned away

Written 12 January 2021

Sezpards

2 contributions

Yum

Sept 2020 • solo

I ordered the fish and chips and it the fish was fresh, batter crispy and perfect, salad was nice and good potions....however my only complaint was that the l tartare sauce was the worst I’ve ever had. It didn’t have any flavour! I would recommend you guys get a new one 😁 even a little homemade number with chunky pickles would be the bomb!

Written 1 September 2020

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