Travellers rank NZ’s best eateries
The results are in for this year’s best fine dining spots in New Zealand.
Not a gourmet? That’s okay, there’s a list of top cheap eats as well.
The top 10 lists are a product of the Travellers’ Choice Awards, announced this week by travel website TripAdvisor.
TripAdvisor analysed a year’s worth of restaurant reviews entered by users on its site. The ‘‘quantity and quality’’ of each restaurant’s reviews were determined using an algorithm.
In the fine dining category, Auckland restaurant The French Cafe took away the top prize for its ‘‘haute cuisine’’ and impeccable service, according to one reviewer.
Despite what you might think, restaurants in the glitzy city of sails didn’t take out the whole podium.
Nelson restaurant Hopgoods, with its ever-changing modern menu, came second. A reviewer said the steak was among the best in the world.
Auckland restaurants Clooney and The Grove won the third and fourth awards, followed by Wellington’s Logan-Brown. The ‘‘upmarket and intimate’’ No 31 Restaurant and Bar in Hanmer Springs came sixth, and Mission Restaurant, on the Mission Estate winery in Hawke’s Bay, seventh.
Hippopotamus in Wellington was eighth for its ‘‘peacock-like luxury’’ – a reference to its ‘‘slightly quirky’’ decor.
Queenstown restaurants Rata, run by Masterchef New Zealand judge Josh Emett, and Botswana Butchery, known for its private cellar of 1800 wine bottles, rounded off the list.
The favourite cheap eats for travellers were largely in Wellington, with Little Penang, Aunty Mena’s Vegetarian Cafe, KK Malaysian Restaurant and Midnight Espresso taking four of the 10 places.
But there was an unlikely winner on top of the cheap eats list – Ali Baba’s Tunisian Takeaways in Rotorua.
‘‘Huge portions delicious food!! I would totally go back here. The staff is friendly and really cares about the food he makes,’’ said one reviewer.
‘‘Interesting that the first time I ate Tunisian food was when I was in Rotorua,’’ said another.