Ratings and reviews

Travelers' Choice2022
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere

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Food and ambience

Local cuisine, Seafood, European, New Zealand, Contemporary
About
Located in Queenstown’s historic Archer’s Cottage with spectacular lake views and signature roaring log fires inside and out, Botswana Butchery is one of Queenstown’s most stylish restaurants. The ambiance is warm and welcoming all year-round, with its roaring log fires, luxurious dining environment and private dining suites to accommodate from two to 30 people. The restaurant prides itself on exemplary levels of service and attention to detail at every stage of its wine and service delivery, by knowledgeable staff. It offers a sumptuous menu full of flavor and is consistently rated as one of the resort town’s most popular restaurants, since opening in August 2008.
PRICE RANGE
€27 - €82
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Gluten Free Options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Late Night
CUISINES
Seafood, European, New Zealand, Contemporary
FEATURES
Seating, Highchairs Available, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Accepts American Express, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Reservations, Private Dining, Wheelchair Accessible, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Waterfront, Gift Cards Available
Reviews (4,104)
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LanguageEnglish
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Traveler rating
2,640
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Reviewed 2 days ago via mobile

Ticks all the boxes and it’s worth it - service, food and wine all outstanding. Extensive selection of meat as you’d expect, along with a wine list to match. Other classic menu items also available. We shared the excellent Chateaubriand with a bottle of equally...good Rockburn Pinot. Louis was very professional and made sure we had a great night. Relaxed, classy setting. It’s not inexpensive, but it’s worth it.More

Date of visit: February 2023
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Reviewed 5 days ago via mobile

We booked this restaurant seven - eight months in advance, as we missed out last year when we visited Queenstown . Wow, was it worth the wait!! Everything exceeded our expectations. The food: sublime Service: friendly, prompt and warm Ambiance: romantic with a cosy fireplace...and amazing view of Lake Wakatipu. Thank you for making my 50th birthday a special occasion! Highly recommended, but don’t forget to book!More

Date of visit: August 2023
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Reviewed 5 days ago via mobile

Highlighting the positives first and foremost: the meat (and quality) on offer was absolutely fantastic. Could not fault the lamb and steak. If you’re looking for The sides, however, probably lacks in its worth in value. Duck fat potatoes lacked The “not so great” (or...should I say is “non-existent”) is…service. There’s a blatant disregard from the outset, and the perceived “cashed up” (and I use this term very loosely) reigns supreme. It’s a fascinating observation in 2023, especially for somewhere like Queenstown that has felt the impacts of COVID in the last 2 year (you’d think we won a chance to be served by royalty and the service was expectedly sloppy but it’s OK because they’re simply “royalty”) so rather than allowing everyone to experience what’s on offer, “special attention” is afforded to only a few. Several instances we were forced to wave someone down for attention, despite the abundance of staff walking around and practically grovelling to a few others.More

Date of visit: August 2023
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Reviewed 1 week ago via mobile

The service was almost as bad as the food. The clam chowder was basically béchamel sauce with undercooked carrot, bacon and two tiny mussel shells but only one with a mussel in it. There was no hint of fennel and it tasted predominantly of flour…...The French onion soup tasted like onion gravy that would ordinarily be served on Bangers and Mash at a cheap pub counter meal. The bread was stale or lightly toasted but served cold - either way it was terrible. The acoustics were shocking and the staff were arrogant and dropped the meals on the table on the way past… The only good thing was the wine, but given we had to pour it ourselves we would have been better off purchasing it from a bottle shop and having it at our hotel. The service and starters were so bad we cancelled our mains and left. This restaurant has nose dived and is being resuscitated by a reputation earned in times gone by.. we overheard a large group of men joking about the poor standard of the food and service as we were paying for our ‘experience’…More

Date of visit: August 2023
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Reviewed 2 weeks ago via mobile

Delicious food and great service. We took our daughter and were in a side room with some other families which made for a relaxing time.

Date of visit: July 2023
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Reviewed 3 weeks ago

Nice spot. Very cozy ambiance. Great menu. Explained very clearly by a knowledgable waitress. will return

Date of visit: July 2023
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Reviewed 4 weeks ago via mobile

Absolutely loved our lunch. Service & food was faultless surpassed our expectations, loved it. Highly recommend. You will not go hungry. Views to die for

Date of visit: July 2023
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Reviewed 4 weeks ago

Fabulous location right on the lakefront almost alongside Eichardt's Hotel. We went for dinner on arrival to Queenstown and chose it as our final lunch spot on our last day. The dinner was fantastic however we ordered the prawns and oddly just received heads on...most of them. The rest was so good and the service impeccable - we went back. I've tried the Sydney location and it's NOTHING like the Queenstown original which is disappointing for the brand overall. Highly recommend the beef risotto with saffron. The desserts are not to be missed and the overall ambience is perfection. Log fires and stone walls. Great view out over the lake. Just a hop step to the hub of Queenstown shopping etc.More

Date of visit: June 2023
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Reviewed 4 weeks ago

Arrived for our 8:30 reservation and were lead up two flights to stairs past many empty tables and seated at our table. We were immedietly shocked by the room these tables were in - a fire place but no table clothes like downstairs and tables...very close together. With a few quiet noisy tables it felt like a pub bistro, not a fine dining extablishment! It certainly was not the intimate vibe we had experienced on previous visits downstairs. We asked to move somewhere quieter and this was arranged we moved to the middle level of the resturant in a small side room with leafy wallpaper (and white table clothes). Not sure it fits the atmosphere but much nicer space! Service was friendly and prompt. Server informed us that a number of the meat cuts were not available. Scallop and pork belly entree was delicious however the charred octopus was under seasoned and cold. For mains we had the lamb rack and another steak plus duck fat potatos and a beetroot salad. Creme Brulee dessert. We were overall very happy with these meals. Given the many fine establishments in Queenstown we will likely not return again. Tip - request to be seated downstairs!More

Date of visit: June 2023
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Reviewed 5 weeks ago via mobile

We ate here twice while in Queenstown for two weeks - the first time was so unbelievably good that we booked again right away! Entrees are small and playful and delicious, and the main courses are much more substantial and divine. Service was exceptional both...times, we felt so taken care of by such warm and lovely and interesting people, and were given excellent recommendations. Could not recommend Botswana Butchery more highly for a really special night out!More

Date of visit: July 2023
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Reviewed July 7, 2023

Very Poor Service! We were really looking forward to our mates 50th birthday celebration and chose Botswana Butchery well in advance. On arrival we could sense that our table assistant was inexperienced. As we were ordering our main course, one of the other staff whispered...in his ear and we were then informed that there may be an electrical outage to disrupt service. We were initially happy to wait out any disruption. As time went on, we became more disgruntled by the shocking way the issue was dealt with. Not once did the management come and apologise or explain what was going on and after over an hour of them serving us drinks we had to request for some bread to be served. Our table assistant was very vague about what exactly the problem was and did not engage with us even though they had little to do as other patrons started leaving. Eventually we were told the electricity had been sorted but we decided to leave because of the terrible way they had managed the incident and did not deserve our support. We were horrified that they still charged us for the bread and had to wait further for them to escalate our reasonable suggestion that the bread be provided as a complimentary gesture on the principle that our long awaited celebration night was potentially ruined by the way they had dealt with the crisis. Can’t say we will be prepared to support Botswana Butchery again either when visiting Queenstown or at our hometown in Sydney!More

Date of visit: June 2023
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Reviewed July 4, 2023

Well located with views of the lake. A busy spot. Our table had a view of the kitchen and we were able to watch how the staff interacted and coped with the volume of food going out which was pretty good. I had a fillet...steak (rare) which was absolutely amazing cooked evenly all the way through. Its always an issue for us to order steak as we eat very well at home and are usually dissappointed with the steak offerings from most places. I ordered it here due to a reccommendation of my son and it was a good one. Absolutely melt in your mouth and so evenly cooked through. It would be considered one of the more expensive places to eat in town but worth it. Put it on your list!More

Date of visit: May 2023
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Reviewed June 22, 2023

We were very disappointed with our meal at Botswana, I chose a risotto with hare which sounded so interesting but was tasteless and actually gluggy. My sister had the lamb rack which arrived cold and underdone. Staff were lovely and changed our lamb but just...wasn't up to scratch for a fine dining restaurant.More

Date of visit: June 2023
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Reviewed June 9, 2023 via mobile

Botswana Butcher is a must dinning experience when visiting Queenstown. The service was impeccable, with a menu to delight any meat lover. Highly recommend the lamb and venison, cooked to perfection!!! Be sure to book so as to not be disappointed.

Date of visit: June 2023
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Reviewed June 8, 2023

Had dinner at Botswana Butchery and was very impressed with the meal. It is fine dining but also well sized portions. The lamb rack was delicious as a main and the seared tuna was the best I have ever had as entree, recommend both of...these with the duck fat potatoes as well. The fire out the front was great as well.More

Date of visit: June 2023
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Questions & Answers
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BecM381
October 1, 2018|
AnswerShow all 9 answers
Response from Vicki-Lee Q | Reviewed this property |
Not really, more a romantic night out without kids
1
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Carissa E
February 20, 2018|
AnswerShow all 6 answers
Response from brala519 | Reviewed this property |
no it's not a byo restaurant
3
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Peterpamdrake
April 2, 2017|
AnswerShow all 5 answers
Response from Explorer234775 | Reviewed this property |
It's available on their website. The slow cooked Lamb Shoulder was the BEST I've ever had anywhere in the world!
1
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BOTSWANA BUTCHERY - QUEENSTOWN NZ - Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone Number - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about Botswana Butchery - Queenstown NZ

Botswana Butchery - Queenstown NZ is rated accordingly in the following categories by Tripadvisor travelers:
  • Food: 4.5
  • Service: 4.5
  • Value: 4
  • Atmosphere: 4.5