Mackenzies Café Bar & Grill at Lake Tekapo: Good Food and Breathtaking Views
Mackenzies Café Bar & Grill is a busy bar, restaurant and café that was located at Lake Tekapo (there’s also another great place to have a stopover here, it’s called Astro Cafe and you can read my post about it here). The restaurant had some of the most unique and beautiful lake views that I had ever seen (by the way, there are very beautiful attractions near this place like the Church of the Good Shepherd and the Mackenzie Sheep Dog Statue). The exterior was made of stone and there was a big, glass window with a sign that said ‘Mackenzies’ in front.
The lunch menu wasn’t very big. But everything on the menu looked delicious. Some of the options were chicken Caesar salad and the soup of the day. There were also vegetarian options like a veggie burger. The kid’s menu had fish and chips and chicken nuggets on it. And the dessert section included cheesecake, Lotus Biscoff cakes and apple strudel. The specialty of Mackenzies was their stone grilled dishes.
At the center of the restaurant, there was a fireplace where huge logs were burning. It kept the restaurant warm and cozy. Even though it was winter, the place didn’t feel cold at all.
There was a well-stocked bar on one side of the restaurant. Bottles of wine and other drinks were arranged on the shelves. There were metal water jugs on the counter. The staff could carry the jugs to the tables and pour out water as soon as the guests were seated.
The back of the café and restaurant had huge glass doors and windows. I could see Lake Tekapo even from inside the café. There was a patio outside but everything was covered in snow when I visited, as you can see in the image above. Sitting outside during the winter months was not so ideal, but if you want you could try.
Most of the tables could seat two people. But there were some booths in the corner for larger groups. I sat down at a two person table and ordered my meal. I was very hungry and I was looking forward to lunch.
The first thing to arrive was the bottle of Sprite that I had requested. The server also gave me a glassful of ice and a straw that I could drink out of. I slowly sipped my Sprite as I waited for the food to arrive. It was early and the restaurant was still quite empty. So it didn’t take long.
I had decided to order their special stone grilled dishes. The Canterbury venison fillet came out on a hot stone grill so that I could cook my own meat. Guests could eat their meat as rare or as well done as they liked. My server warned me to be careful of the hot stone so I wouldn’t burn myself. The venison had a large side of French fries as well.
And the second dish I had ordered was the Land Lover’s Trilogy. That had three pieces of meat. There was beef, lamb and venison. It also came with a stone grill so I could grill the meat myself. The restaurant served this dish with a side of coleslaw. The meat was of wonderful quality and I really enjoyed my lunch. I was so full that I didn’t even have any space left for dessert.
Once I had finished eating, I decided to walk outside and take a look at the lake. The view from the back of the café was just amazing. Snow covered the ground all around me. It was cold but beautiful.
There were mountains and snow covered hills on all sides of the lake. I could see big evergreen trees growing beside Lake Tekapo.
The sky was bright blue and full of white clouds. It was a lovely day. I was very happy that I had come to visit the lake and had eaten lunch at Mackenzies Café Bar & Grill.
