Stratosfare Restaurant & Bar: Best Buffet Dinner in Skyline Queenstown
I wanted to try a premium buffet experience while I was in Queenstown (by the way, I stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel during my visit here). And the Stratosfare Restaurant and Bar was just the place for it!
There were a few people at the restaurant reception. I waited for my turn.
I got a voucher for premium dining drinks. The drink options were beer and cider, tea, coffee, juice or soft drinks (you can also read my article about my visit to the Ice Bar).
There were tables for two people and tables for four or more people. I found a table to sit down at.
The first thing that I ordered was a drink. I got an apple cider. It was by a special New Zealand brand.
Then I decided to check out the food at the buffet. There was tomato soup. Guests could serve themselves a bowl of soup and top it with chili flakes, croutons or even shaved parmesan cheese.
The buffet also had different kinds of bread that I could eat with my soup. There was freshly baked bread with sesame seeds and ciabatta bread. I could serve myself with a pair of tongs.
The other soup option was sweet and sour soup. It contained chicken and egg. It could be topped with fresh lemons, sliced chilies or garlic.
There were so many different kinds of vegetables at the buffet. I saw carrots, broccoli and potatoes along with Pad Thai noodles.
Other sides were corn ribs and vegetable fried rice.
Then I moved onto the salads. There were lots of different kinds of salads at the Stratosfare. There was a creamy Caesar salad and a balsamic beetroot and Brussel sprouts salad.
Guests could also add additional things like cheese, grilled bacon and croutons to their salad if they wanted to.
I could see caperberries, anchovies, a special Caesar dressing and lettuce.
There were also other interesting salad ingredients like roasted peppers, sundried tomatoes, celery and mesclun leaves. I had never even seen some of the food items before!
But there were also normal items like olives, carrots, onions, jalapenos, chickpeas, baby corn, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries.
They had two kinds of salad dressing.
The Indian section of the buffet had Basmati rice and mushroom masala.
I also found some mixed vegetables in some light gravy that would taste quite good with steamed rice.
Other vegan options were stir-fried green beans and tofu and a plant-based lasagna.
Condiments like bell pepper and apricot chutney and tomato pepper relish added lots of flavor.
I even found steamed mussels and a prawn and green papaya salad in the Asian section (speaking of Asian cuisine, I also had a great experience eating Korean food at the Mapo88 Restaurant here in Queenstown).
There was Nicoise salad which contained fish and eggs.
A large bowl held tiger prawns. They could be eaten with lemon wedges and a cocktail sauce.
One section of the buffet had different kinds of sushi, served with wasabi and pickled radishes. There was even vegetarian sushi.
The other options were chicken, tuna and salmon.
I looked at the cheese options. I could see Brie and Havarti.
There was also Cheddar and Blue Cheese.
People could make a cheese platter with figs, apricots, mango dip and beetroot relish.
Different kinds of crackers and crostini would be ideal to eat with the cheese.
Cold cuts like salami and pastrami had been laid out on trays right next to the cheese.
I also found pickled onions, capers, black olives and other small treats.
The slow roasted ham and smoked chicken breast looked quite good.
I went to another table and found steamed dumplings in a large bamboo steamer right next to a huge tray of crispy French fries!
Other options were potato gnocchi and some freshly cooked macaroni.
Guests could choose whichever type of pasta sauce they wanted. There was a creamy mushroom sauce, tomato basil sauce, a cheese sauce and a carbonara sauce with bacon.
Condiments like chipotle BBQ, mint sauce, mustard and tomato sauce had also been served. People could choose any sauce to eat with their meat.
There were some fresh and fluffy Yorkshire puddings in one bowl.
I also found a Spanish beef stew. It was very rich and had a lovely tomato base. I served myself some of the stew.
There was a counter where fresh Wagyu beef was being served.
The beef looked very pink and delicious. It was roasted just the perfect amount.
I went to see what other kinds of meat and fish were available. They were all lined up on one table so people could pick and choose their favorites.
The grilled sausages looked really good. The meat section was emptying out quickly. People were eating a lot of it.
The chicken had a lot of gravy and some of the ends looked nice and charred. The beef was pink and juicy.
There was also squid and fish for the people who loved seafood and didn’t want to eat red meat. I liked that there were a lot of options for everything.
Finally, I decided to check out the desserts section. All the desserts and pastries looked cute and tiny. There was a three tier stand filled with coconut macaroons. They had been perfectly baked and were dusted with coconut.
There were tiny lemon tarts with a meringue topping. The top was lightly toasted and golden-brown in color.
There were also tiny blueberry cheesecake pieces. They looked too pretty to eat!
I also found black forest cake slices, each topped with cream and a cherry.
The crème brulee was served in individual cups and the top was golden-brown.
There was also a pan of walnut brownie.
The apple cinnamon cake had also been baked in a pan so I could serve myself as much as I wanted.
The pavlovas were topped with fresh fruits.
There was berry panna cotta with blueberry compote on top.
And there was also a bowl of fruit salad for anyone who wanted something healthier.
The vegan jelly was served in individual glasses and looked interesting.
Different kinds of candy were displayed in glass jars.
There were tiny glasses of chocolate mousse.
And I could see little metal cans filled with pudding.
