Astro Cafe Lake Tekapo Mount John: Great Place for a Stopover in the South Island
Mount John in New Zealand’s South Island is an elevated area overlooking the majestic Lake Tekapo (the Church of the Good Shepherd, Mackenzie Sheep Dog Statue and the Mackenzies Café Bar & Grill are also located near this place). This little mountain station is a short 15 minutes drive from the state highway, which made it really fast and easy to reach. At the peak, I found this beautiful and modern looking eatery, the Astro Café.
At first glance, it didn’t really stand out from its surroundings. The entire building is made from gray steel and glass. I believe the glass was installed to allow those outside a full and unobstructed view. We’ll get into the views later and you’ll see what I mean.
The first spot I checked out upon entering the café was its chiller, where several baked goods were on display. Astro Café offers both sweet desserts and well as savory sandwiches. However, I think I arrived a little late as there wasn’t much left. They still looked delicious, especially their brownies and carrot cake. There was even a piece of Halloumi sandwich left.
I appreciated the fact that they labeled all their pastries well, not just with descriptions and prices, but also how gluten-friendly and vegan-friendly they were. For me, prices were pretty reasonable and affordable. You could get a slice of cheesecake for $14 and brownies were $9 each. Apart from these, their Black Forest Cake ($14) and Choco Mud Cake ($12) also caught my eye.
From the inside, Astro Café is really spacious, and you have a good view of the surrounding mountains. I really liked that their roof is also made of glass, so everyone (including me) gets a good look at the sky overhead as well.
Some parts of the café were decorated with space-themed murals, like this corner. There was a table for customers to help themselves to various condiments. There’s also a chiller where you can take cold drinks.
This brings me to their impressive beverage menu. Most of their drinks are hot coffee and tea, ranging from $5.50 to $7.00 each. For coffee, visitors can choose between drinks like Short Black, Long Black, Americanos, Flat Whites, Lattes, Cappucinos and Mocaccinos.
They also have several more unique coffees to choose from, including Chai Latte and Matche Latte. Non-coffee drinkers are not left out, as they have Hot Chocolate and a hot Lemon Ginger Honey drink.
Tea lovers will enjoy their interesting selection of hot teas for $5.50 each. They have some common selections like English Breakfast and Earl Grey, but the Kawakawa Fire tea caught my eye. Wonder what that tastes like?
Once I made my orders, it was time to go outside and enjoy the views. The hills surrounding Astro Café are really something else.
The best way to enjoy your food and drinks at Mount John is outdoors, so that’s exactly what I did. You can see that the Barista really put in an effort into the Latte art and drew pictures that represented their café name perfectly.
Thankfully, Astro Café has quite a bit of outdoor seating, and the weather was great when I visited Astro Café has quite a bit of outdoor seating, and the weather was great when I visited so quite a few of us sat outside.
The Astro Café on Mount John is a great stopover if you ever find yourself in the South Island of New Zealand. For me, it was a place that allowed me to slow down, and just feel calm and at ease. The good coffee added to that special experience, so I would highly recommend visiting.
