Muttonbird — Restaurant in South Island

Looking at all the great 5 star reviews on Google, we just had to try when we came to Wanaka.

We were here for dinner just last week on 20th May and ordered the mutton bird mix which is $68 per person.

Essentially, this is similar to Japanese Omakase where the chef chooses what you eat for the day. Mostly, these turn out great and this was no exception.

The mix turned out to be 8 dishes.

The mutton bird sourdough with fennel butter is a great starter. Warm and oh so fragrant with the fennel butter. Chicken liver parfait was such a surprise! Smooth, refreshing and the crispy crouton completed the dish. Chickpea tofu with tomato sace is soo good! I would order this again. It tastes like Singapore Chili crab sauce on a well fried tofu. Awesome! The blooming onion is nice and crispy. Tuna carpaccio is delicious! Very refreshing and the fish was sweet. Market fish crudo with green Chili is this bomb! I loved this dish and love how the Chili sauce with mint just makes this so palatable. Jerusalem artichokes could be a full dish on its own. Filling, fragrant and love what I believe is goat cheese that makes the base. Market fish with sides of potatoes and salad as a main. The fish is marinated with turmeric and curry leaf and tastes great. We did find it a tad salty but otherwise, awesome. Branch creek honey semifreddo was the dessert and such a good way to end the dinner.

Needless to say, we were completely stuffed by the end of the meal but wished we could have a bigger stomach to eat more. That, imho, is testament to the success of the restaurant.

Highly...

A real let down with all the warm reviews and positive conversations around town. We were instantly greeted when asked if we had any dietaries with frustration and rudeness, despite me writing that my friend had a fish allergy in the reservation. He told me I must not have included it, when I know I did because everywhere else we ate, they immediately said "who has the fish allergy" when we were served. And even if somehow I missed it, his rudeness was absolutely unnecessary. I suggest he and the chef (who I believe may also be one of the owners) read the book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. The glares the chef gave my friend could have cut glass. I don't know what he was SO angry about. How many people come there who are vegetarian, don't eat fish and wouldn't even think to mark that on a reservation these days. Maybe don't put so much fish sauce in every single dish. There are many other ways of getting flavor into food, as a chef myself, I know this. I had been talking up the restaurant to my friends who were visiting from the US, in part because the whole town seemed to be fundraising for the other owner's personal battle with cancer, something my wife had gone through herself last year and I felt compelled to donate to myself. We just moved to town and were excited to try it with our friends. I was thoroughly embarrassed by the service we received, which made the whole...

I changed my lodging to Wanaka so that I could try out Muttonbird, a restaurant that opened not too long ago after coming across it online. I went for the Muttonbird Mix which features an assortment of most of their dishes, which is quite a lot of food for one person.

The food might change from time to time but you would probably still see signatures like the Blooming Onion, home-made Sourdough with coffee butter, Jerusalem Artichokes appearing. I had a great time at Muttonbird.

I find the food to be on the fusion side of things but with product and ingredients from around. While there are some misses, in particularly the Black Origin Wagyu, which had a little too much going on. However, overall it was a fun, interesting experience which makes you think about the food you are having and wait for the next dish in anticipation of what would the kitchen prepare next.

Go to Muttonbird with an open mind, and recommended to bring friends along too, to try more food and have a nice conversation and you will enjoy the experience there. I had a great time.

The service was excellent and atmosphere was not too uptight, and quite casual like being in a friend's dinner party. It was comfortable and goes well with the vibe of the cuisine too.

The price tag is rather reasonable too at 72-80...