Three weeks in New Zealand - 4/12 - 5/4/2024

Day 22-Dinner at Sherwood, Queenstown-5/2/2024

Nestled at 554 Frankton Road, Sherwood is part of a repurposed 1980s mock-Tudor inn, now reimagined as a two-hatted (equivalent to 2 star Michelin in the U.S.) sustainable restaurant and hotel celebrated for its connection to nature and quality of experience. Sherwood Restaurant stands out as a sustainably minded, garden-to-table culinary experience that brings the essence of Central Otago’s seasons straight to your plate. Under Chef Chris Scott’s vision, every dish and drink is rooted in locality from the soil to the serving. The restaurant operates its own organic garden, grown on-site, which largely secures the ingredients that make it to your plate. Anything not cultivated there is sourced locally, such as wild thyme from Kawarau Gorge, mushrooms from above Lake Hayes, and wild berries from around the basin.

As soon as you walk in the restaurant you see a beautiful large bar.

This is the view from our table looking at the bar at the end.  We were one of the first people to arrive at the restaurant.

The restaurant has a warm timber accent and is very welcoming.

View of the bar from our table.

We had a really nice table overlooking the whole restaurant.

Next to our table there is really nice and cozy fireplace.

Executive Chef Chris Scott brings deep culinary experience from the Michelin track in Europe to Melbourne’s hat-rated kitchens and New Zealand’s own Rātā. Under his direction, menus are hyper-seasonal and respectful of ingredients, emphasizing their natural character with simple, clean preparation.

Hoa ordered a Old fashion and I ordered a glass of red wine.

Cheers!

The dinner menu features wood-fired flatbreads and we selected a Wood fired flatbread with Royal burn lamb bacon, tomato marmalade, pecorino, rosemary.

Hamachi crudo, preserved tomato, fennel, nasturtium

Fresh, delicious, and beautifully presented.

Waygu bavette, cipollini onion, salsa verde

Wonderful Waygu Bavette that is cooked to perfection.  So delicious!

Porchetta, Cauliflower, ruby cabbage, elderberry

 The porchetta was especially delicious, perfectly cooked with crispy skin and tender flavorful meat.  I also like the ruby cabbage and elderberry which are paired perfectly with the Porchetta.

Cheers to a great meal. 

As you can see the restaurant is now full with lots of people.

Beautiful bowl of panna cotta with butter cookie crumble and some type of native berries

We shared the panna cotta and it was very good.

As we are leaving the restaurant we passed by the open kitchen with Executive Chef Chris standing at the counter.

The kitchen is very large with a pizza oven at the end of the room

The bar as we are exiting the restaurant.

We drove back to downtown Queenstown and we are at Queenstown Bay.  Beautiful fall day.

The pier at night is so beautiful.

We had a memorable dinner at Sherwood Restaurant in Queenstown, a place that truly celebrates seasonal, garden-to-table dining. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, with the rustic charm of wood, greenery, and candlelight setting the tone. The food was outstanding with each dish prepared with care and freshness. The porchetta was especially delicious, perfectly cooked with crispy skin and tender, flavorful meat, while the wagyu bavette was beautifully seared and melt-in-your-mouth tender. Both dishes captured the essence of Sherwood’s thoughtful, ingredient-driven approach, leaving us impressed with every bite.

NEXT...Lake Hayes