Pier — Restaurant in South Island

Our conversation revolves around the food that we had while in New Zealand and one thing that she missed the most was oysters. We didn't eat any oyster after our first meal in Oyster & Chop, Auckland.

Therefore, I searched for a place where we could enjoy the oysters and at the same time, the scenery of Lake Wakatipu. Pier Restaurant appeared in my search - located right in front of the Steamer Wharf.. it had the strategic location of fronting the lake. We were seated outside near to the heater because it was very cold at that time. ◾Fresh oysters - comes in half or one dozen, we opted for the former. Cravings satisfied!! ◾West Coast Whitebait with potato fritters, citrus butter, sourdough and herb aioli - despite the not-so-appetising look, it actually quite delicious ◾NZ Seafood Linguini filled with green lipped mussels, clams, blue cod, salmon, rocket, almond pesto, and grilled Turkish bread. They were very generous with the amount of seafood which we appreciated. Good till the last slurp. ◾Mulled wine - actually we were curious on what mulled wine was, having seen the station just right outside the restaurant. Later only we got to know that it was spiced wine which served warm or hot but still alcoholic. I could taste the cinnamon in the wine. Let's say that it was not our glass of wine ◾Rabbit Ranch Pinot Gris from Central Otago is the perfect pairing for the oysters

Small ones were very excited to see the ducks around, and they quickly finished their meal before running over to buy food for the ducks... Which was great because we could enjoy our meal in peace without having to rush...

I am not a person who writes online reviews. But in this case I felt I must do this because of the humiliating treatment my family and friends had on 5.50 pm , 24th August 22 at this restaurant when we turned up to have dinner. The day before when we turned up in person to make a booking for the next day, the waiter at the time told us they don't accept bookings and this is a walk-in bar. She also told us to come about 5 to 6 pm to get a table. The following day my wife and our friends (senior couple) turned up at 5.50 PM and was relieved to see one table was available. But to our shock the waiter said no tables available. When we showed that table, he first said it's been reserved. We told him we were advised no bookings accepted by the restaurant and came at this time as advised. He then said angrily we should have done it on line and said the people have booked months in advance. When I questioned this he rudely told us to leave and don't come back. Accused us as being rude instead. We are a respectable seniors who were visiting from Sydney and came to have a good holiday in Queenstown. Instead the racist, rude and arrogant demeanor of this restaurant shocked us. We left the place peacefully. I have to say this is the worst place we have ever visited. If you still wish to go, be ware. My best advice is to avoid it. PS: We the went and had a wonderful time and an excellent dinner at a bar nearby called Surreal Bar who were...

DATE OF VISIT: end of February 2020 SERVICE: beyond 5 stars VIEWS: 5 stars FOOD: 5 stars RECOMMENDATIONS: Pan Seared Scallops, Truffle Parmesan Fries (see my pictures) LOW CARB OPTIONS: Oysters, Mussels, Pan Seared Scallops, Salmon Salad

I chose this restaurant for their menu as I LOVE SEAFOOD and living in Arizona, we don't get much fresh seafood. It's a rather small menu but delicious, nonetheless.

The staff was INCREDIBLY friendly and so helpful. We walked by in the afternoon and put our names down for dinner and they were so accommodating giving us a PRIME spot outside where we can stare at the absolutely spectacular views! There were actually customers that snuck in and sat on the patio right as we were going to be seated and the staff politely told them they had to wait for a table and got both us and them sat. I absolutely appreciate when staff steps up to make sure that everyone is honored.

I am a sucker for scallops and would 100% order these again. They were seared perfectly (not overcooked). I wanted a little something more with my 3 scallops and the truffle parmesan fries were EXCELLENT. I am also picky about my fries, I don't like fries that are battered, I prefer them smooth but crispy and these were exactly that! This was almost a year ago and I still think about this meal!

We plan on returning to Queenstown and this would definitely be...