Review Federal Diner - Wanaka

I’ve always only been to Urban Grind for my cheese scones whenever I’m in Wanaka until a friend suggested Federal Diner cos he thinks they make better coffee. Although I’m not a coffee drinker, I am a scone lover. Verdict? The coffee is good but not consistent apparently BUT the cheese scone is the best one I’ve had. The crust of slightly burnt cheese just tastes better with each bite. And it was so moist and moorish on the inside, it didn’t even need butter! Although tucked away in an alley, you still get some view of the mountains, even from the inside. Ooh, and it is table service. With a smile. Definitely friendlier than the former.

Absolutely amazing banana bread. It’s enormous so sharing is recommended. Great hot chocolate, eggs on toast, and bacon butty too. Staff were very welcoming and attentive. We’ll be back for sure.

Lovely food and service. Everything was fantastic and it all was ready very quick. Great breakfast spot with the family

Our favourite go to for coffee and lunch. Great service, amazing food, perfect coffee. What more do you want?! The seafood chowder is to die for!

Yum yum. Have become a bacon butty fan since arriving in NZ. This one was very tasty with an egg added. Daughter loved her eggs Benedict. Plus we also had a buttery croissant, scone and fantastic lattes. At first we thought they had gone out of business but just keep walking down the alley and you'll find them. Worth the hunt!

Nicely tucked in a corner, this place serves pretty yummy scones and egg benedict's! Kids' pasta n pizza were wiped out in a flash. Nice ambience with an efficient set of crew!

Outstanding food! Appreciated that they made our bacon extra crispy and poached eggs over hard as requested. Especially enjoyed the organic offerings. Staff were very kind.

Great little find, superb and attentive service, great food (Scones, granola, eggs - every meal was a winner). Cannot recommend highly enough! (Table in the gorgeous sun just made it all even better!)

Tucked away in a little alley, it can be slightly hard to find. Reasonable prices for wanaka food scene. Must have - date scones. Fluffy and crispy on the outside. Absolutely delicious.

Excellent food options with awesome service from the Staff. Tried alot of dishes all was good and very nice.

Ordered the vegan toastie with gluten free bread and vegan cheese. Yummy and definitely better than average. I also ordered fresh beet juice, small but yummy. Highly recommend. Friendly staff. A bit hidden, in an alley, next to 2 other cafe. It is between two shops.

The food here was great! The eggs were super well done and the cheese scone was perfect! Highly recommend

Great coffee and scones. We were served by an gentleman who gave exceptional service and was really kind. After l wished l asked him his name. We would most definitely visit there again when we come back to Wanaka.

Absolutely 5 stars. One of the best breakfast places I've ever been to as for nice, cheery vibe and INCREDIBLE food. Wow

Can't wait to get back there for brunch. We went there for my wife's birthday. Food, atmosphere, and staff were all Brilliant 👏.

Perhaps the best eggs Benedict in Wanaka or even south island! The cafe is hidden in a small alley and they are one of the few cafes that open real early for breakfast. Service was prompt and quick and the breakfast was really delicious! Coffee was also top notch.

Great place! Popped in for dinner 3 times over a week it was so good. Had seafood chowder twice (absolutely superb!) and beef roti once (messy but super tasty - almost identical to one from Madam Woo / Hawker & Roll). Service was quick and friendly, prices a little high but ok considering tourist town. Highly recommended and will be back next time in Wanaka.

Busy public holiday in Wanaka Central, everyone wants a good nosh and java...very happy to be greeted by a friendly staff she has her hands full and more. She made room for us to sit inside and took our caffeine withdrawal seriously. The coffees hit the spot! My vegan toastie was elevated by the savoury granola and my hubby's mushrooms are fried to perfection. Sorry for the influx of Aussie but Federal you handled it with grace! Many many thanks.

What a find! Amazing food from a great menu. Lamb burger with beetroot infused in the pattie. Coffee was pretty good too. Friendly staff were very accommodating with our little baby too

Wow the best food in alongggggggg time. The pumpkin almond dish was amazing and the shared lamb dish brilliant too. Oh and omg the crumble and sticky date to die for. Well done I'll definitely be back keep up the great work.

Delicious food. Great drinks menu.. loved the deli Also :) Happy, helpful staff. Great vibe. Kid friendly too! Highly recommend

It was a great night for 2 couples. We were waited on by the owner who was very engaging and friendly. The fondue for four was wonderful. We were able to have as much bread that was needed to eat all of the cheese. The lamb shoulder with lentils for two and a side order of Brussel sprouts was excellent, tender and tasty. The serving size was perfect for three of us with leftovers to bring home. Finishing the meal with sticky date pudding was a perfect way to end a great evening. Well done Federal Diner.

Appalling service from our waitress who put a huge damper on our experience. Food was average and we weren't even allowed no tomato on our dish. The waitress just asked us to pass it onto someone else on our table, could have easily been taken off the plate. Her attitude towards her job was disappointing and she showed no enthusiasm or friendliness towards us. All around a terrible experience. Annoying because we had heard great things now this has tarnished our opinion on the restaurant.

Absolutely fantastic meal! Service, food and wine selection and atmosphere perfect. Best place in Wanaka by far. Keep up the great work 👍

Very disappointed - grumpy waitress who wanted our order before we had seen the menu and then never came back! We left and spent our money else where.

Stopped here on our NZ road trip as had been recommended by a Wanaka local. The cheese scones and coffee did not disappoint. Service excellent. Enjoyed a chat with a fellow Scot working at the diner.

Awesome food and service. � our waiter was very lovely and sorted our extra wishes as well.

The food was great and staff friendly. Would definitely go again and recommend to friends

I love the coffee at Federal. The barista knows his stuff. The foods always good but the best thing, the staff are always so welcoming.

I love the place and staff food is the best coffee is to

The place for coffee and breakfast in Wanaka. Great bacon butty had by us and a bit of food envy happened watching the food coming out to the many neighbouring tables.

Spent Xmas Eve outside Federal Diner, had a really lovely meal and all the staff was great.

Second day on a row at Fed Diner/Fedeli - the pork roti lunch dish is fantastic - and my daughter loves the vegan cakes - hope to sneak in again before we leave next week

Went here for a quick pick up based on other reviews. Tried the Almond croissant and  brioche. Both were pretty good and the coffee was good as well.<br/>Did not have time to go here for a full breakfast. Next time !

We stopped by and got the eggs Benedict which were simple but delicious. The eggs were hot and runny. The coffee was a bit bitter however. Friendly little cafe

Just had the most incredible breakfast at the Federal Diner & it was absolutely delicious! The place was a buzz with plenty of atmosphere yet the food was on our table in no time! The turmeric latte is to die, I most definitely be back!

We came here for breakfast on a busy Saturday morning, it was the first place we walked past coming out of AirBnB, what a little Gem.<br/>The staff were very friendly & happy, the coffee was delicious! (Even my #coffeesnob partner rated it) & our breakfast was filling & tasty. Very reasonably priced too. We will probably walk back down for some snacks & lunch from their little takeaway deli next door.

I stumbled across this little hide away place on one of my strolls of Wanaka.<br/><br/>What drew me to the menu was the 'Vegan toastie'. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of Vegan options for this place. So one morning before hitting the mountain I decided to try their vegan toastie. Their 'Vegan toastie' was on a bed of crunchy crusty bread with whole sauteed mushrooms and spinach, spicy salsa verde and an interesting savoury granola which consisted mainly of pepitas, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, buckwheat groats and hazelnuts.<br/><br/>I paired my toastie with a chai spiced tea which was syrup based and had it with almond milk, usually my preference is for loose leaf chai tea brewed in almond milk however this is quite nice and quite spicy so I was a lovely change from my usual. <br/><br/>Overall my experience that Federal Diner was a pleasant one and really set me up for a long day snowboarding on the slopes.<br/><br/>#veganoptions #wanaka #vegancheese

We had a delicious breakfast in this bustling little cafe hidden down a wee alley way - the coffee was fantastic and the food was really tasty. Presentation was also on point! The only issue was the open style kitchen and cafe style meant that it was so noisy we couldn’t hold a conversation.

We went for dinner and it was absolutely delicious! We had the fish of the day, risotto special and the Angus steak and all were amazing. If you have a big appetite, I'd say get a side as well. Highly recommended!

We came here on a busy Sunday morning. The staff were nice but it was a little bit awkward waiting around for a table. They split up our group until there was room for all of us so it worked out in the end. It definitely has a "diner" feel about it with the large glass windows and open kitchen which is pretty cool. It took quite a while for our food to come out and half the table were finished before the last person even got their meal - but, the food was delicious - eggs were cooked to perfection. Prices were just a little higher than average but I was satisfied with that!

Food was great, the chicken curry soup was delicious and the decor of Federal Diner was awesome, service was pretty good too. Only thing that stopped it from being a 5 is that we had to wait a while for our food. Overall would recommend 😊

The food here is consistently good, but this place seems to get overwhelmed when it is busy on public holidays. My baked eggs became fried eggs. The roti roll is great - sad that they don't start serving it until 330.

Awesome atmosphere, great buzzing cafe and yummy food. Ordered the bananarama smoothie and the rottie roll, my friend has a glass of local roase and the soul soup, both delish!

Cute but a bit too hipster for me. Off the main strip along the lake, but still great views from it even though it's set in the back streets. I was there on a lovely summer morning and it was heated inside to what I thought was an uncomfortable temperature. <br/><br/>The coffee was pretty decent and the food was generally good. I ordered the polenta and halloumi dish, which came with some (to me) very spicy tomato relish on top which wasn't listed on the menu and honestly ruined it for me a bit as I never would have ordered it had I known. <br/><br/>It's a bit over-priced but then it's in Wanaka after all. I'd still like to come for dinner though for sure, specially since they do great web-based deals. Nice change from the lakeside options.

Rated this a 4 as I didn't manage to eat here because ran out of time. But first impression is great friendly service as the guy made me a good iced coffee and was willing to serve me even though it wasn't proper opening hours yet. <br/><br/>Decor is trendy, simple industrial and has a lovely courtyard with mountain ranges in the background. Would love to be back here with my mates. <br/><br/>Thanks for the coffee :)

An unsuspecting cafe in Wanaka, set off the main tourist strip, you probably only know it is there if you are in the know.<br/><br/>I decided to give this place a try as I heard their cheese scones were something to talk about and since I was craving for a scone, in particular cheese scones, I had to try and see how they rated compared to some of my favourite places in Wellington. <br/><br/>This cafe serves a selection of breakfast and lunch items, with a small amount of freshly baked counterfood items.   There is also a small courtyard for those who are after some vitamin D.<br/><br/>A popular cafe with the locals.<br/><br/>Please check out my website for a more indepth review.

Presented really well... However. Terrible chicken burger which I ordered, literally plain cooked chicken with half melted cheese and strange aioli. Gluten free bread was a positive - but they ordered from elsewhere. Also the milkshakes (banana and berry) taste like plain, thin milk. Would not go back. Gluten free brownie was not bad, but again, not good.

Coffee was average. If you get a get one don't get a double shot because a single is quite strong in the first place. A little loud but awesome vibe. Also a little on the pricey side as far as coffees go!

It's not on the main drag, nor is it apparent from the street. But Federal Diner is a cosy friendly delicious hideaway for breakfast or lunch

Great place for breakfast - warm and good service. I am not a cooked breaky guy but if you want to breakout this place has super food and the maditory healthy breaky on the menu

Baked delights tempt you as you walk in past the kitchen counter – pastries, scones and bikkies and the smell of coffee hangs in the air, tempting me order one as soon as we take a seat.

Good location, food & coffee....but systematic problem of coffee arriving 10 mins after food. Complained 2 months ago and staff responded well; complained yesterday to be told that food and coffee are prepared separately so what's your problem!!!!! Customer service 101 needs revisiting big time.

Having read about Federal Diner and it's extended hours for dinner (seasonal) in the AirNZ mag, we had to go. Seven of us went along, we had booked but you don't have to. The restaurant was busy and buzzing, not too loud that you couldn't have a conversation, service was perfect (Emilie runs a very sharp front of house), the menu was simple , still offering good choices, and the food was delicious. Portions were not monumental in size but after some tasty tapa's for starters the mains portions were ideal. Like the menu, the refreshment list was not enormous but offered a great selection plus a couple of blackboard choices too. Emilie and Brona, you are onto a winner here, we will be back &amp; we will recommend (we already hear amazing things about your brunch offering) Thanks for a most enjoyable dining experience. Cath &amp; Brian