Kai Whakapai Eatery & Craft Beer Bar — Restaurant in South Island

This place has absolutely gone downhill since I last visited in 2019. We ordered drinks along with our food. Our food came out and we completely finished our meals; there were still no drinks in sight. We inquired about the whereabouts of our drinks, the waitress rudely let us know “there was an aforementioned 15-20 minute wait,” (this wasn’t mentioned at all actually) 😂 but regardless of that, we’d already been there for over half an hour by that point and were ready to leave. The restaurant was basically empty as well which makes it even more ridiculous 😂 The food was exceptionally mediocre, probably one of the worst meals I’ve had in NZ so far. On top of that, all the tables around us were covered in other people’s trash, and they stayed that way for the entire duration of our visit. Definitely wouldn’t recommend coming here anymore, such a shame as it was once quite a nice spot.

Edited to add: I did take the time to contact the restaurant as requested, but they never bothered respond so in actuality, it seems like they could really care less. 🤷‍♀️ I had the salmon eggs benedict and it still takes the prize (to this day) as the crustiest meal I’ve had in NZ. I didn’t want a “free drink voucher” to come back next time, I don’t want to come back at all 😂 I just wanted the drinks I paid for in the first place. If it takes your staff 40 minutes plus to clean a table that already has three past order numbers on it, it was not “obvious that it changed quickly” in the least, but rather the exact opposite. I experienced such secondhand embarrassment that I considered cleaning it myself, it would have taken merely a few seconds....

Our first trip to Wanaka and this was our first stop. Our breakfasts were delicious and the coffee was great. Sadly our experience was tainted by the incredibly rude, pink haired barista! We ordered cappuccinos, she plopped down two “lattes” and when I said we ordered cappuccinos she scowled and said oh with chocolate on top. She then whipped the cups away, sprinkled chocolate on top and plopped them down again! I said are these cappuccinos? Thinking I must’ve misheard her earlier. She scowled AGAIN picked up the cups and in the rudest of tones said “I’ll make them again!”. When we eventually received our “cappuccinos”they were really lovely. Unfortunately her bad behaviour had already done damage. When we left I thanked the girl at the counter and also voiced my opinion about the barista. She was apologetic, said she’d be sure to tell the cafe manager and kindly offered a tasty slice to takeaway. I’d definitely recommend kai whaka pai. That particular barista needs some hospitality training or strictly NO interactions with customers. BTW the berry friand was also delicious, thank you. My rating would’ve been 5/5 if it weren’t for the...

(I have given the same review on TripAdvisor. But it needs to be posted here as well, so people know what is wrong with this restaurant.) We visited this restaurant expecting a pleasant dining experience, but unfortunately, the staff's attitude and service were appalling. Despite having a reservation, we waited for an hour just to receive our two pizzas. The server was rude and dismissive, forcing us to show our call records to prove our booking.

As a pregnant woman and dining with our family of three kids, I expected some consideration, but the staff seemed oblivious to our needs. The kids were starving, and I was too. I had to repeatedly ask for our order, only to be met with indifference. To make matters worse, there was no manager on duty to address our concerns.

The experience was so frustrating that I had a breakdown. Don't be fooled by the flashy ratings – this restaurant prioritizes serving alcohol over providing decent service. Look beyond the high ratings and read the lower-rated reviews, which echo our...