New Amisfield Menu Guaranteed to ‘Fire up’ Diners

Queenstown’s iconic Amisfield Restaurant and Cellar Door is embracing the new season with a contemporary lunch offering that deviates from the set tasting menu format it has become famous for.

Lunchtime diners will now have several delectable choices to make as Amisfield launches à la carte dining, with a focus on dishes cooked with seasonal ingredients over a new fire pit in the courtyard.

The move to cooking outdoors in the fire pit not only adds a little theatre to the dining experience, it means dishes are infused with the smoky flavour profile that can only come from cooking over coals.

Many of the dishes will also be prepared in front of the diner or served onto diner’s plates at the table, resulting in a truly interactive experience.

The new menu includes whole crayfish, new season asparagus and mushroom entrées, while diners can choose from The Whole Fish, The Whole Lamb and Venison Wellington for the main event. Cooked over embers, the meals promise to be as impressive as the spectacular vista Amisfield enjoys amongst the vines.

Other dishes that the restaurant has become famous for, including the Paua Pie with blackfoot paua, manuka smoked potato, and brisée pastry, return to the menu.

Amisfield’s Food & Beverage Director Tony Stewart says the new lunch menu represents the work of a small but dedicated group of fishermen, hunters, gatherers, and farmers, and the introduction of the à la carte menu gives diners a less formal approach to the menu, whilst still delivering the standard of excellence the restaurant is renowned for. The result is a dining experience that is chosen by them while being interactive, playful, theatrical and, above all, delicious.

Dinner will continue to feature the set tasting menu that Queenstown locals and visitors have come to love over the years.

Carefully curated by executive chef Vaughan Mabee and his team, dinner consists of a tactile 18 flavour combination menu where the seasons and availability of local produce determine the menu and take you on a curated epicurean tour of the Central Otago region. 

Mabee says seasons set the rules and as a chef he is always dictated by what’s happening around him.

“We work hard to give you something special that you can only get from here in Central Otago and a lot of that is from the friendships we’ve formed with people that either gather or fish for us. It really directs exactly what we’re giving you when you come here to Amisfield.” 

Diners enjoying the à la carte menu for lunch or experiencing the set tasting menu in the evenings will be able to soak up the ambience of the Central Otago landscape whether it’s in the chic dining room, outside courtyard or in one of the private glasshouses.

All menus have been designed to complement the wines produced from Amisfield’s 93ha organic vineyard and winery. The restaurant and cellar door are the only place that guests can sample all of Amisfield’s current releases alongside a selection of older vintages from their library.

The restaurant is open for lunch Wednesday to Sunday from 11.30am to 3.30pm (5.00pm Sundays) and dinner Thursday to Saturday from 6.30pm. The cellar door is open seven days from 10.00am to 6.00pm.  Bookings are essential and can be made online here or by calling the restaurant on 03-442 0556 or emailing [email protected]  

For more information visit amisfield.co.nz

Facebook: @amisfieldwinery

Instagram: @amisfieldrestaurant