Review Cow Restaurant - Queenstown

We stumbled upon this restaurant by pure chance, and what luck it was! The food was incredibly delicious, and the atmosphere was very inviting. However, the service left much to be desired; they weren't particularly friendly or attentive. Don't miss out on their amazing bread!

Amazing location and with awesome food!! We tried garlic bread, pasta and salad.

Yeah that famous garlic bread is famous for a reason, so delicious! They have half portion options for their food which is so great! Also fun to add to the chalk walls in the bathrooms

The staff here were great and seemed to be happy to be there. I went for a late dinner (9pm) and the staff were very welcoming. Dining solo they offered half serves of the garlic bread (delicious) and spaghetti. The salad was so nice too. All round one of the best value meals I had in Queenstown. Would absolutely recommend!

Good hearty food in a rustic old style farmhouse. We had the portofino pizza (highly recommended), spaghetti bolognese (a classic done well) and the spaghetti with chicken livers (delicious). Portions were decent sized and good enough to share. Prices are on the high end but that's pretty much what to expect when in Queenstown. They don't take reservations, so just show up early and put your name down for a table. Service is efficient and food is out pretty quickly.

Amazing food, great ambience. A hidden gem among the numerous eateries in queenstown. Pleasant staff with great energy.

Highly recommended! The rustic cottage, fireplace, old school bar and extremely generous portions. The staff all of them was really helpful and friendly. Garlic bread and pizza was so delicious!

We took a couple of attempts to get to The Cow for lunch, as the info regarding open hours was contradicting on their website and Google. Eventually we got there. The place is small and cosy. We ordered Her Majesty pizza, their famous garlic bread and soup of the day (tomato). The pizza was absolutely delicious! The soup was spicy and hot. The bread was absolutely divine. We couldn't finish all the food and the lovely waitress brought us a pizza box before we even asked. The service was very warm and caring! Definitely will recommend to others! I will get back again next time.

Unbeatable experience! The rustic cottage, fireplace, old school bar and extremely generous portions. The staff was really helpful and friendly. The food and experience is worth the wait and you can enjoy your drinks while you wait for the table. They gove you options for half and half pizza topping and pastas are also available in half and full sizes which made it a perfect choice for our family with 2 kids. Highly recommended.

Food was excellent especially the pizza much better than the pasta. but the garlic loaf was sold out by 6pm. Also service left much to be desired.

Great pizza. The pasta Bolognese was homey, hearty and just great. The pepperoni pizza was also good!

They were open earlier than usual due to the marathon event and the chef was kind enough to make us the sauce specially for our dietary needs. I highly recommend the spaghetti (Dipollo) it was spicy and with each bite you can taste the rich flavor (Perfecto) 👌 It didn't take long to make and the portions were good as we ended up taking half the Pizza take way. Garlic bread is huge and delicious 🤤. The atmosphere is warm and music is lovely and even when crowded the noise is not bothering It must be something with how the building was built really nice and friendly staff who are on their tippy toes and are quick to attend your service.

Loved this place. Was recommended to me from the man I sat next to on the plane and wow what a great find. Pizza, pasta and their special garlic bread is superb. Highly recommend if you are looking for somewhere to eat in Queenstown.

Because we were the tourists, people there suggest us that you will get veg pizza here and once we entered there, the place was filled with Indians. Felt so welcoming.<br/>Pizza was so fresh and delicious.<br/>It is a cute tiny place

Wayyyy too hot inside to sit. I think they’ve forgotten its summer! Sat outside as there were three tables out front some with heaters as once the sun goes down it gets chilly! <br/><br/>Was a wee bit shocked at the cost of a small pizza ($28) as I’m a stingy old bird and may not pay that at home but it was worth it. Great gooey garlicky fish, mussels and prawns and plenty for two of us surprisingly. <br/><br/>Washed down with a Monteith’s Lager and Lemon Lime & Bitters.

Love the Cow - from the cozy atmosphere, delicious gluten free pizza to the great wine menu. I love how it’s never changed over the past 25 years and is consistently good. The roaring fire is pretty good in winter too!

I love this place! It has such a warm and cosy atmosphere nestled away from the hustle and bustle of Queenstown's town centre. We came here for lunch and ordered the Her Majesty's pizza and we were not disappointed! Who would've thought celery on pizza would taste so good! The pizza crust was thin and crispy, just the way I like it.

The garlic bread is amazing. Just order it !!

Standard pizzas

This place is overrated. We have been asked to come back in 20min which was 9pm. We still had to wait further 25min before we were assigned to shared tables. Also, one of the female staff was racist as which I have never experienced in Auckland. The food was tbh below average no where near deserve this price. Not recommended for Asians who cant stand racist staff.(I nearly threw away the dishes, when I had to ask for forks n knifes two times.) Not recommended for people who has been to Prego Restaurant, Amano or GoodeBrothers. Compared to any of these reataurant, this place charges more and in terms of taste other three restaurant mentioned are wayyyyyy better. Just grab Mc.<br/>

Excellent, great atmosphere and friendly staff.  We ordered a selection of the Pizza's and Chicken Wings.  Good value for money, high quality ingredients will be back for sure, love this place.

Love the ambience of this small restaurant. The rustic decor and fireplace is a perfect setting for intimate dinners. I had the best seafood pasta. The serving is good for sharing as well. The corkage fee is a bit too expensive though.

Food was great. Customer service, not so great.<br/><br/>For the whole evening, it felt like we have been rushed to finish our meal by the staffs as they kept cleaning up the dishes constantly, even though we were enjoying our dinner?? After taking away almost everything on the table, they asked us if we want to have anything else several times, we said no, and a few minutes later, they left the bills on the table???Then we got up to the cashier and said we wanted to pay, we took out our NZ EFTPOS CARD, and then she asked whether this is a NZ card??? I cannot understand the difference made for that question asked? <br/><br/>At first, we thought that they might need the table if they had a long queue, but when we left, apparently they were not that busy.

Absolutely amazing food. Italian cuisine at it's finest. Solid portion sizing with amazing quality for it's price. I partook in the seafood pasta and had no regrets. Highly recommended!

Tourists, locals and wanderers, if you are here in Queenstown then must go this wonderful restaurant. The ambience will fetch your heart... Perfect candle light dinner for dates too. The warmth from fireplace will make you cosy and comfortable. I have been thrice and my favourite among the menu is vegetarian annie and freshly baked garlic bread. They have spicy tangy jalapeño and tobasco sauce which goes perfect on pizzas. You can thank me later. 😬

Great experience, great food, great atmosphere. Best meal I’ve had in queenstown. I would highly recommend this restaurant to any pasta or pizza fanatic.

WORST service in Queenstown, don’t waste your time. Called to book a table for my family of four for dinner and was told they don’t take bookings but just ‘come on down’. That we did and were immediately told there was a 25 min wait on a table, they would take our name down and let us know when it was free. The line of people waiting for a table was already 3/4 stretched through the middle of the restaurant so I asked if they can take my mobile down and call when the table is ready and we could have a walk around outside rather than taking up room in the already overcrowded restaurant. Nope they don’t do that here but we thought 25mins won’t be too bad. So we proceeded to wait standing up in the stiflingly overheated restaurant as there were no available seats amongst many others doing the same, in the waiters way as people pushed past. <br/><br/>50 mins later was told a table was coming up and the waitress pointed to it. As soon as it was cleared, a lady who Im assuming is the owner who just stood watching rather than assisting the overrun waitresses the majority of the night decides to allocate the people after us on the list to that same table. Confused I approached to ask the waitress why that had happened as we were next on the list when she said not to worry there was another table coming available. We finally get allocated a table and the owner decides to come over and say ‘move over, people are sharing this table with you’ and proceeds to tell two people who were clearly friends of hers and had been there for only 10 mins to slide in to the booth with our family. I approached the owner and said I was very confused as we had been waiting for almost an hour after being told it would only be 25 mins and that she had allocated others on the list after us a table and now was telling us someone who had only been in the restaurant for 10mins is sitting with us. I showed her my name on the list and where she had crossed other names off underneath mine and seated them before us. She just shrugged and rudely said ‘what don’t you want to share?’. <br/><br/>Firstly, we had never at any point in the hour we had waited even been asked if we were happy to share a table. If we had been told upon walking in that it would be close to an hour wait and you may have to share a table well then we could have made an informed decision on whether or not to dine there. Secondly, we had seen at least 8 families be seated in the time we were waiting and not one were asked or told to share tables. Thirdly, to tell us to ‘move over’ after finally being seated after almost an hour of our children standing up in the restaurant corridor just so the owner could seat her friends who had been waiting all of 10 mins without even asking us if we minded is completely unacceptable. <br/><br/>The last straw for me was the fact the owner was completely unapologetic and couldn’t have cared less when I voiced my concerns and could offer no explanation. She seemed quite glad in fact to see us leave and have the table free for her friend. NO restaurant is worth putting up with such disgusting service. Queenstown hospitality at its lowest. If I could rate it lower I would. Went around the corner to a lovely place with great food and service with a smile...just as it should be.

Hand down the best garlic bread I’ve ever had! The atmosphere inside is cosy, rustic furniture and dim lighting. Great for a special dinner.

Do not go here (unless you want to catch a cold)...staff coughing non stop and just plain rude.<br/>Ordered seafood pasta which was weirdly mushy and creamy - it was meant to be in white wine sauce...the spag bol sauce was watered down.<br/>Having said this, the garlic bread was amazing and this place does have potential.<br/>

We came in and were told it would be 25 mins wait time, we were waiting for more than an hour and pretty much ignored throughout, staff were inattentive. We had to wait for another 40 mins for the food to come out and really, the food was not worth any of those waiting times. Food was below average!<br/>The only good thing about this place is just the atmosphere, the place is cute with fire place and cute decoration. But it does smell with smoke everywhere.<br/>Will we come back for the food? Definitely not. Such a disappointing experience. We wouldn't mind to wait if the food was superb but it really is below par

An Over rated place in Queenstown.<br/><br/>People were raving about this place in new zealand and hence we decided to check it out.<br/><br/>Finding the place is a task itself as it is located in one of the tiny by lanes of queenstown central. The ally is dimly lit which makes it difficult to find and you get a bit suspicious as well. When we found the place the seating was all empty outside which made me wonder if the place was even operational.<br/><br/>At the entrance they have these doors which used to be used in all the cowboy movies when he enters a tavern or a pub.<br/><br/>Once inside I just fell in love with the ambience which had that old rustic Italian vibe to it . The place is also well heated to keep you warm during a chilly night.<br/><br/>The waiters were a bit overwhelmed having a full house and could not give attention to all the tables on time. When we told our waitress we wanted to eat only 2 items for 3 people her attitude changed. Rather than paying attention to our table she was busy chit chatting with the cashier. <br/><br/>NAPOLATANA SPAGHETTI : Freshly made spaghetti just tossed up with some chunks of tomatoes in a basil sauce. The dish was well seasoned but since I had high expectations. This dish let me down.<br/><br/>VEGETARIAN ANNE : A normal pizza which I have had a numerous amount of times . The dough was normal and the base was not crispy but very soft. The ingredients to be found on this dish were the usual mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, chilly flakes and mozzarella cheese.<br/><br/>Hope you find better places to eat at in queenstown with the wide variety available there since this was average.<br/>

Amazing food, definitely worth the visit. We had the garlic bread (it's huge) vegetarian pizza and the mushroom spaghetti, it was all so divine. Apparently they are the oldest restaurant in town now. Cozy little restaurant with a fire place inside. Great on a cold winters night.

The best restaurant in Queenstown. I stayed in Queenstown for 5 days and all my lunches and dinners were here since I love pizzas a lot. The place is very well made and the staff is very welcoming. The plain pizza with jalapeños is a must have here.

If I could rate this place higher than 5 star I would. This place is a class act in every way. The service is world class, and the food is better. I used to come here as a kid and the menu nor the restaurant have ever changed. Love love love.

Great atmosphere, great food. A bit of a wait later in the evening, but if you are willing to wait around for abit- it is definitely worth it

Get there early :-) The iconic Cow is a must stop for any self respecting amateur diner visiting Queenstown. Roaring fireplace, the smell of garlic bread, the old schist historic cottage setting, wooden rustic atmosphere.. just makes such a perfect apres ski setting it's not funny. Our pizza was fantastical! The service is very friendly, and the cosy atmosphere alluring for those amateur diners visiting!

It was pouring in Queenstown when we were super hungry and happened to find this place by chance. I love vintage things and hence I instantly felt connected to this place. It could be a little dark for few people but candles gives aesthetic feel to the place. There is mostly a wait for 20-25 min so please be prepared also do not visit if you are not happy to share your table. You meet people from different parts of the world telling you about their journey and you become a part of their life instantly, it's amazing! Food- the pizza bolognise as well as Anne (veg) both were beyond delicious. They were light and wood fired fresh, the staff was very nice and the bartender kept the waiting customers busy with his chit chats. The place has a beautiful fireplace which adds to the drama along with huge copper containers and mud vessels all around the attic. Overall - I am delighted I visited this boutique restaurant, the only reason I didn't give it a full 5- cause our wait was longer than we expected. Enjoy!

We found this place by chance and it was a very pleasant surprise! The ambience is like an old Tavern and the pizza was amazing! Absolutely worth it. I'm looking forward to coming back.

Cute little place in Queenstown. It'll give a vintage feel and beautifully done up. We had a veg pizza and a pepperoni pizza along with the famous garlic bread and some really delicious red wine. Overall everything was pretty good.

On our last night visiting Queenstown we dined at The Cow, which doesn't look much from the inside but ended up being our favourite restaurant. Service was immediate and friendly the moment we walked in and we were seated straight away. The interior of the restaurant is very rustic and has a homely feel to it with wooden tables and chairs, booths and a log fire going - very nice when the weather turned chilly!<br/>For food we ordered a garlic bread and a large 'Her Majesty's Pleasure,' both to share. The garlic bread was incredible and by far the best we have ever had. The obviously homemade loaf was cooked perfectly with a crisp garlic coating on the top. The pizza was also by the far the best we have ever had. The crust was lovely and thin but still retained a crunch to it without getting soggy from the toppings. The toppings were tasty, fresh and on the generous side which is rare at most pizza restaurants! The cheese was tasty and the tomato sauce delicious. In term of portion size we had more than enough - we managed to finish the garlic bread but took half of the pizza home to have for lunch the following day.<br/>We would definitely have come again if we had been in Queenstown any longer. The entire dinner was a delight and absolutely worth the visit.

If one wouldn't be looking for it, one would easily miss The Cow located at the end of the tiny cow lane. However, it is one of the best places in town - great crowd, good music, a lively atmosphere and some amazing food. Although we ordered a takeaway, our food took 10 minutes to arrive and we simply got lost in the amazing atmosphere of the restaurant. The staff was quick, courteous and helpful. Coming to the food, the pizza was delicious, the burger was okay, but the garlic bread could have been much, much better. However, visit The Cow at least once during your visit to Queenstown - you won't be disappointed!

Located in the tiny Cow lane, this place is a Hidden Gem. Make your reservations in advance as waiting times are long.<br/>It has an excellent old ambiance with a fireplace, where people can wait and warm themselves up.<br/><br/>We enjoyed some excellent Vegetarian Pizza and Australian Lemonade. The crisp pizzas here are just yum!<br/>Just felt that they should have chopped the olive toppings instead of putting the seeded olives in completely. So, just be wary about that.<br/><br/>Overall, a wonderful place to enjoy a meal with a beautiful rustic ambiance and delicious food!

A warm and cozy setup in a little alley on cow street. 'The cow' does justice to it's name,by looking very much a cow shed.!! Awesome pizza,lovely soup and the greatest garlic bread.!! Must visit when in Queenstown.

This place seemed so full of promise when we walked in. The atmosphere was awesome and the restaurant was really lovely BUT the food was horrible. I don't normally leave bad reviews but the food at The Cow tasted like Legos tinned spaghetti sauce. None of us finished our meals and for $20 a bowl you'd expect a little more love. The service was lovely, albeit a little rushed to get us out of there to make way for the next table.

Best pizza in queenstown must go restaurant.and don't forget to have garlic break its just yum 😍 luv the restaurant nice atmosphere. Serve crispy pizza with lots of cheese luv the bread

From the outside, the Cow looks like a quaint little old timey cow shed. And historically it was! It is a little bit awkward entering the place as there is no real sign to enter. Just a dark coloured door. Inside it is quite dark n warm which is nice. They do some pretty good pizzas and pasta. We had a round of pizzas. They were incredibly pricey. $23ish for a small pizza. One of the most expensive I've had in a while. They were tasty thin crisp ones but just an FYI they were very oily. Almost unnecessarily so. The staff were friendly and talkative so no issues there

Love this cute little stable restaurant inside out but hate the queue and wait - it is so small there are limited tables you have to share them. BUT the food is definitely worth the wait! One of the most delicious pizza and pasta we ever had! The seafood pasta had generous amounts of fish,clams and prawns and the sauce was unforgettable! A must try in QT - maybe go earlier to skip the queue.

Such a great place! It was so busy we had to share a table with another couple. But the means came out incredibly quickly and everything was amazing!

Had heard a lot about this place from the locals and this was indeed an amazing place to eat... The pizzas were out of the world... Never had Such pizzas earlier... The veggies were farm fresh... Oh yes & the wine.. Smooth and thick... Cheers !!! 5 stars for the ambience.. Thumbs up !!!

Plenty of parking for my pushbike! oh and the pizza is amazing!. Great place, amazing pizza! Recommend the bolognese and her majesty's pleasure. Go heavy on the Kaitaia fire sauce it is amazing!

Homemade garlic bread. The homemade garlic bread was soft n fluffy with generous portions of garlic and oil. Had the house special pizza, was a tad salty probably from the pepperoni but overall a good place to get ur pizza fix.

Ok... Just ok.. Don't get me wrong... Pasta nice. Pizza nice. Homemade garlic bread nice... But for the prices these burglars charge I expect a little more than just nice... $ 33.00 for a plain Med Mushroom pizza just highway robbery... Maybe I just been spoilt by Melb pricing.

Cosy restaurant with OK pasta. Food: Depends what you ordered, you might get different opinions, hence inconsistent. The garlic bread was excellent - great garlicky and buttery flavour with crispy crust. My chicken liver spaghetti was great, but my partner's chicken with chillies was a little on the watery side. Also only spaghetti was available, no other forms of pasta.<br/><br/>Service: The waitress was attentive and friendly.<br/><br/>Atmosphere: They have a rule that you might need to share a table with other guests, so make sure that you are OK with it. We were lucky to have the whole table by ourselves, but it could be awkward if we had to share the table and sat so close to the others. Otherwise it had a nice warm fire and interesting decorations and art work.

Great Italian in Queenstown. Great, no fuss, traditional pizza and pasta. The menu is small, as is the restaurant itself, but the atmosphere is great, and it's warm and cosy with the fire roaring.<br/><br/>They don't take bookings, so go early or wait until later, but definitely give it a shot if you want good pizza in Queenstown.

The best. Maybe the best Italian place I've been to! It has the perfect atmosphere with the dark lighting, open fire, exposed wood and stone and plenty of tables tucked into every nook. There is no bookings but it is worth the 30 minute wait we had for a table. It is also BYO so we bought in our bottle of red to enjoy ($10 corkage). We were seatied in front of the fire place and ordered some of their famous garlic bread to start. This was amazing!! A loaf of the freshest and crispest bread with garlic smeared over the top and extra butter provided to add to each slice you cut off. Serious must be experienced by all. Then for main we shared three pizzas. The seafood (incredible chunks of fish), bolognaise (the perfect pizza) and her majesties (a bit of everything that worked well). The pizza was hot and they all tasted super. We left as full as we've been in a long time and satisfied we had just eaten close to the perfect meal. I couldn't rate it highly enough. A must in Queenstown.

The most chilled out restaurant in Queenstown <br/>One of the best and tastiest place to eat in NZ <br/>the garlic bread is a must <br/>This place delivers an exotic taste

this place although a little small, is one of the liveliest places in queenstown.<br/>the staff is very friendly and courteous, and although it was totally packed, we got our order within 10 mins.<br/><br/>was a little disappointed with the food though. the pizza v ordered wasnt that great and the garlic bread was very very mediocre.

A very welcoming atmosphere with rather average food.<br/> <br/>Our soup starter lacked any tasty which is hard for a blue cheese soup. The pizza we shared was ok but nothing special. Feels like a place surviving on the past.<br/><br/>If you have to have something with your beer stick to the pizza.<br/><br/>Since there is lots of choice around we wont be heading back.

Visited the Cow Restaurant out of nostalgia since we last dined there 15 years ago. Sadly the standards have dropped. The lettuce leaves in the salad were so big a knife was required to cut them into bite size portions. But no knife was supplied. The seafood pasta was bland and light on the seafood. The homemade garlic bread was the only redeeming dish.

When I ordered the half portion of the spaghetti bolognese, I kind of expected it to be half the price but it isn't. It was okay, not bad but nothing spectacular.

Oh my god! That is all I can say about this place!<br/><br/>It is absolutely amazing, from the food to the service to the decor! Its tucked away down a little alley and I assume many people would miss this place unless its recommended to them. It is BRILLIANT! My mouth waters just thinking about it.

food is plain and low-end, service absent. rushed through meal. would not recommend.