Sunfire Queenstown — Restaurant in South Island

Wow! So originally we were only going to stop for some hot drinks before hoping on the TSS Enslaw. But we were swept in like a warm hug on a icey day by the staff.

My gosh...everything was perfect. Firstly the lovely, kind and pleasant gentleman who seated us, made us feel so welcomed and tempted us with Lemon Curd French toast! Do yourself a favour...order it. But! Dont share (my mistake). This was phenomenally good. One minute it was there ...next minute :-) Gone.

Then the hot drinks - best mocha ive ever had. A perfect balance between chocolate and coffee. That is an art to get right.

We were so impressed....that we came back for lunch. Our kind and knowledgeable waitress remembered our hot drink orders and once again we took their recommendations for lunch. We had a beautiful fresh tomatoe soup and wagyu seared to perfection.

I also enjoyed watching and listening to the chef and team as they dealt with a busy lunch crowd. Hearing them call orders, timings and take pride in what they do was heartning to see. Plus from my vantage point I also got to see other delicious creations going out.

This place ticked all the boxes... Warm and inviting decor, right kind of vibe, unbelievably skill and competent team and food that creates memories.

I know this is probably a bit gushy for a review.....but honestly one of the best dining experiences ive had in a while.

Thanks team SunFire. You made our trip...

Delighted that we stumbled upon this fantastic gem in Queenstown!

We were warmly welcomed in by the maitre d who naturally broke the ice and made us feel at ease. He also explained the best places he could get us seated, so thank you for your recommendations!

We were served by Liam, who was equally cheerful and helpful. He made our night delightful, and was constantly checking on us to make sure everything was good. He also took the time to explain to us how some of the food was made and what gave it the devine flavours.

The food was absolutely devine. Definitely the best tasting food at a restaurant in recent memory. I had the market fish which was out of this world, I really cannot put into words how good this was. My partner had the sunfire chicken dinner, which she said was an amazing explosion of flavours in her mouth. We also shared the Arrow squid, which was perfectly cooked, and in the most flavour-rich tomato sauce. My partner also had the strawberry kiss mocktail which was nicely balanced, one of the best mocktails I've ever had, and I'm a non drinker.

Can't rate this place enough. Only downside is there's not one back home in Sydney, but we'll definitely be back next time we're...

The food here was good, well prepared with quality ingredients. Keep in mind that Queenstown is a tourist venue and some of the food we've had elsewhere in town is reflective of a greater interest in making a buck, rather than putting out a great product. All that said, Sunfire was one of our better meals in the area. The venue is nice, albeit a bit chaotic with boats coming and going and tour groups passing by.

My only complaint about the restaurant was the service. It took us a good long time to see our server and after ordering drinks, 'a couple more minutes' to review our options turned into 15 minutes before we were able to order. My biggest beef is waiting for a check once the table has been cleared and the neighboring table finally got fed up and went searching for their check. I was able to pounce on the woman with the cc-machine when she was done with my neighbor. There seemed to be sufficient staff, but they were frequently talking with each other - perhaps this was an experience related to taking a late lunch.

Even with the less than stellar service, I'll probably return as the food is still better than many of the...