Francesca Restaurant: Authentic Italian Cuisine in Wanaka
One of the prettiest and fanciest places to eat in Wanaka was the Francesca Restaurant (which is the opposite of the rather simple Kai Whakapai Cafe where I had breakfast). It’s an Italian restaurant. As soon as I entered, I was fascinated by all the lights hanging from the ceiling. The furniture was vintage and old fashioned. There were flowers and potted plants everywhere and a set of wooden shelves separated one side of the restaurant from the other.
I really liked how warm and welcoming the restaurant seemed. A few people were already sitting at the tables and eating their food. I took pictures of some of the decorative items. There were ceramic pots and glass jars. It looked like an old grandma’s kitchen.
In one corner, I could see a set of triangular shelves. Statues of people’s heads were kept on the shelves. The chairs were made of wood and cane. The walls almost looked like they were made of mud and earth. It was a very rustic and simple looking restaurant. But it was very pretty in its own way.
I loved the hanging lights. There were climbers and vines everywhere. It gave the restaurant a touch of greenery that was lovely.
First, I ordered a cocktail. It was really light and fresh. It was topped with a slice of lemon and was a pale yellow color. I sipped my cocktail slowly and waited for my food to be brought out. I was sure that everything would be absolutely delicious.
The first thing that Francesca served was an appetizer to eat with the cocktail. It was a crispy cracker that was made with onions. It had a nice onion flavor and was very crunchy. I quickly finished that and waited for the rest of my food.
Then there was the kingfish tartare. It was raw kingfish that had been chopped really small and mixed with things like pickled green strawberries, apples, daikon and some mint leaves and chilies. It was almost like a salad. It tasted really fresh and I quickly finished it along with the cracker.
Next was the arancini which was chowder flavored. I had never had chowder arancini before. It was topped with a fennel salad and some thinly sliced radishes. There was a lot of flavor in the dish.
The first main course was the pasta tortellini. The tortellini had been stuffed with lamb. It was topped with pecorino cheese and chili oil. It was really tasty.
Next I tried the venison ossobuco, which was served on polenta and venison jus. The restaurant had also served baby carrots with it. The meat was soft and tender.
I had also wanted to try a vegetarian dish so I had decided to get the Jerusalem artichoke gratin. It was topped with cheese and baked until the cheese turned golden brown. I really enjoyed it.
Menu of Francesca Wanaka
Francesca had many innovative things on the menu. Apart from various kinds of pizza, there was also risotto, spaghetti, gnocchi and meatballs. There were many dishes that I wished I could have tried.
Francesca sourced all their ingredients from local farmers. They had provided a note with the names of the farms and how far they were from the restaurant.
Francesca also had a varied drinks menu. There were different kinds of cocktails, local beer, non-alcoholic beverages like kombucha and ginger beer and even classics like Old Fashioned or Espresso Martini.
There were two whole pages full of wine. There was sparkling wine, rose and white wine.
Other options were many kinds of red wine, whiskey, vodka, rum and gin. Guests could pick whatever they wanted.
