Review The Spice Room - Wanaka

What a discovery. Incredible food and fantastic service. They have a great kids menu and were great with our three year old, the owner spent time talking to and playing with him. ‘Indian street food’ starter and their special venison curry are delicious. I wish I wasn’t only travelling through so they could be my local.

Lovely food, great service, we tried the Wada Paao, Mango Chicken, Butter Chicken, servings of Basmati rice, and shared a garlic naan.

Enjoyed a lovely meal at this restaurant which is not alongside the mainstream restaurants on the lake front but located somewhere with great parking and lovely decor inside. The service was fabulous with some great cricket banter. The food was incredible and I would have to say the best naan bread I have ever tasted. The owner was very kind and even offered to make wraps for us with the leftover curry and naan. Great value for money also - highly recommend. Thank you for a lovely dinner.

Guys, do you deliver at Queenstown? Just kidding! Thanks for the best Indian food ever and the warm hospitality ❤️

This is by far the best Indian in the South Island. The chefs are incredible, especially chef Rahul, always cater to my dietary requirements and the food is delicious. Everyone is the restaurant is really friendly and nothing was to much.

Good food, food service and good ambiance. The flavours were quite authentic and the staff Was also very polite and friendly. Loved the decor of this place as well. Superb location - so close to lake wanaka. Slightly on the expensive side but definitely worth trying. Highly recommended !

Food is amazing , staff really friendly. Tried the mutter paneer with garlic cheese naan the first time and it’s now my favorite dish :) would definitely come again. See you team !

Super cozy place that have THE BEST VENISON CURRY EVER! if you're in town and want to get something a little on the spicy side, I think this is the place for you. Butter chicken for starters, but I highly recommend their venison curry. You can totally taste how fresh the meat is, and how good of a combination was that venison and the curry. It's like it was alive in my mouth. Anyways, very very delicious!

Very friendly and accommodating staff, we had a party of 6 arriving late in the evening. Restaurant was clean and inviting, every dish ordered was delicious. I would recommend.

A great find. Unassuming from the outside but a lovely atmosphere inside. Really friendly service and if you like your curries thick and creamy with lots of meat and veg and flavour this is a great place to visit.

If you are in wanaka or queenstown and want to have indian food this is the best place to treat yourself. food is yummm.. Go get it :)

This place is fan bloody tactic Best Indian we have ever had As always it’s ten out of ten

Looking for Indian food in Wanaka?? Look no further. Best Indian food and Amazing Service with a Smile. Highly Highly Recommend.

3rd time in a couple of weeks & has been excellent every time, great place

Amazing food ,spicy ,nice flavour . Service can be better ...need to smile more when greeting customers . One of the best Indian restaurant in Wanaka and Queenstown �

Delicious food, fabulous service. Highly recommended.

This review is primarily for the service (or lack thereof). We felt really unwelcome and almost as if we are asking for free food. The worst thing being that even after we raised the feedback, they seemed absolutely unconcerned and unapologetic about it.

Great authentic Indian cooking, I must goto place when visiting Wanaka, the decor is pleasant and the staff are very friendly and helpful.<br/>I had the chicken jalfrezi, the chicken was moist and the vegatables where fresh, cooked but crisp.

They have a truck called "the Buddhas corner" and boy, they have the nicest butter chicken and noodles ever. The guy who manages the truck is the sweetest and nicest soul I have ever come across. He truly loves his customers and his customer service makes the whole company stand out!

The place was all reserved on a Monday. The staff still managed to accomodate us for an early dinner, with warm smiles.<br/>The ambience was pretty basic. Three rows of tables, a covered gas fireplace and a waiting area. The food on the other hand was very close to authentic indian. It makes sense that a cuzine is modified a tad bit to cater to a wider audience palatte. My order consisted of spice room dal, butter chicken, paneer tikka masal, raita, garlic naan and butter roti.<br/><br/>The chicken was moist but was too sweet for my taste. The dal was amazing. Slow cooked to perfection. Thick and buttery. The paneer was very soft and fresh.<br/><br/>Wanaka, you got a gem.<br/>Pricewise: $55 for 2 (without drinks)<br/>Returns: yup

Excellent Indian food. We had paneer kulcha (very good), mixed Sabzi ( very good again), pulav ( not that great). Service was good but I found the place a tad bit expensive.

We ordered veg biriyani here and that came out to be above average. So all those who are looking for vegetarian indian dishes can give it a try.

Had dinner at the spice room in Wanaka during our NZ road trip. We planned on ordering the wild goat curry but it wasn’t available. The waiter informed us that the goat meat they had wasn’t good enough quality. We ordered a lamb and seafood curry instead with naan as sides. We also ordered a bottle of Pinot noir. The food was outstanding and the Otago Region wine which was recommended by the waiter was great too. The service was outstanding! I can only recommend anyone that loves fragrant, delicious Indian to go to the spice room in Wanaka. 💯

Food was ok but the this restaurant is way too expensive for the quality of food they serve. <br/>They add a lot of food coloring and food is very oily . instead try visiting sagun Indian restaurant when in wanaka good food and better price

Really good food ... quite surprised as didn’t have much hope for a good Indian meal out in Wanaka.<br/><br/>Daal - good<br/>Chicken tikka masala - very good<br/>Lamb chops - very good<br/>Naan - good<br/><br/>Over all food was excellent.... might be a bit on the pricey side.<br/>Would I go again?<br/>Definitely!

Food was just ok ok.... this happened last year....we had pre booked our buffet in this place..... four of us went there for dinner,.. everyone ordered for buffet as we had booked it before itself..... server came with samosas(some starter) for four of us.... we got pissed off, how can we share 2 when we have ordered for four.... he said that's it.... we kept silent..... and he has got 1 curry for four of us..... it's ridiculous..... no value for money.... no respect to customers..... I would never ever visit this place again..... 😐

Great food, great atmosphere and great service. <br/>Lovely little restaurant in Wanaka that satisfied all our cravings. <br/>We got two mains that were beautifully cooked, full of flavour and just the right temperature. <br/>The restaurant smelt amazingly of the spices they must use and was very clean. <br/>Service was polite, warm and welcoming from the moment we walked through the door to the time we left. <br/>Would definitely recommend and will be back!

We visited the spice room for dinner and sadly a little disappointed with the food. Ordered the Malai Kofta and the Dahl Makhni. Both dishes looked great but were seriously lacking in flavour. They were both quite bland which we found unusual for Indian food. On a positive note, both dishes were served at a mild spice level which was exactly what we ordered. Hopefully this is just a one off experience and your meal will be delightfully more flavoursome!

Popped over to Wanaka for some Indian, and where better to order takeaways than here. I was surprised to see the entire restaurant full to the brim, and our order was ready in a timely fashion. Maybe it was the high altitude or my unqualified palate, but everything tasted better than normal and we ordered a good selection. If you're looking for Indian in Wanaka then this is your place...

This place is great!! Highly recommend, the Mixed Tandoori Platter and Dhal was fantastic. The Naan bread was equally good. If we had more time we would have REALY indulged!

No reservations but with a bit of a wait, we were seated. Cozy and comfortable layout. If you have kids, they have a small selection of books and blocks plus crayons with a kids menu to entertain. The scallop salad, butter chicken, subz bahar, naan (peshwari, garlic, plain) were excellent. The korma was good but not awe-inspiring and that was the only thing that wasn't fabulous. The menu had a good range of vegan/vegetarian/gluten-free/dairy-free options compared to the carnivorous selections. The local wine selection is brief but well-suited. Looked like a full bar but we only had wine and tea. Bathroom was spotless. Would def return if we passed through again.

<br/>What a fantastic restaurant, a hidden gem In Wanaka. The food was absolutely delicious the best Dal Makhani and Paneer Tikka Masala with Onion kulchas..Loved it 😊<br/>Great options for Vegetarians!<br/>Good service n Fantastic dining experience!!

After some online research, I picked the Spice Room for dinner, and I wish I hadn't. After reading many glowing reviews I was thoroughly disappointed. Not only was there no spice in my curry, when my companion pointed this out we were brought out about a tablespoon of chilies. We added these to our almost flavourless dishes and the became somewhat enjoyable. It wasn't until we got our bill that we learned they cost an extra 3 dollars. Another surprise on our bill was the additional charge for rice. I had looked at the online menu and noticed that rice was listed as an extra $0.90. Not a big deal, but on the menus we were given I noticed it wasn't stated, instead it was written as all curries came with rice. I order the tikka masala, not immediately asking for rice with it, and was surprised to see this extra charge on my bill. When asking about it, the server pulled out a different menu to show us where this extra cost was stated. The lamb in my curry was so poorly butchered that half of it was inedible, even my knife couldn't cut through it. Instead of fatty pieces of lamb, I mainly just had chunks of lamb fat. All in all, overpriced, poor service and bad food. I recommend you find somewhere else to eat.

It was indeed a fresh and healthy take on authentic Indian flavours. Try their Mixed Tandoori platter and 'Bhuna Ghost' (lamb) to entice your senses.

At the top end of Wanaka's main thoroughfare, The Spice Room 'Indian Kitchen and Lounge' had a fairly modern look. Inside the glass roof let in plenty of light giving the place an airy feel.

Takeaway order leaves me waiting and waiting..... If you are prepared to wait and I mean wait twice as long as the time they tell you it will be ready .....the food is delicious and authentic. I recommend phoning ahead and placing an order well ahead of the time you wish to pick it up.

Great service - don't get me wrong. But the food....? Average. What was disappointing was that every dish we ordered - there were four of us - was bland in the extreme. You can't have a mild Vindaloo, or a hot Kurma: asking for either is like asking for a vegetarian steak.  We weren't offered the usual, oxymoronic option of "mild, medium or hot" as to whether we wanted a traditionally mild Indian dish chillied up to Phall,  or a Madras dumbed down to confectionery: The 5 dishes arrived totally devoid of the charachter we were expecting. Totally, bloody hopeless, and a heap of money spent on a culinary disater. Nicepremesis, great service, awful food: these guys are so puffed up with their imagined success, the dog's lost sight of the rabbit. Try Pizza Hut tonight.

This place is a seriously good Indian. I would hazard I've eaten here ten times and never been disappointed. <br/>Goat Nawabi is great, as are their Tandoori items. <br/><br/>Have tried Palak Paneer there three times. The first time it was bland, the second it was perfect, and the third time it randomly appeared with chicken in it rather than Paneer.. which might annoy a vegetarian I guess.<br/><br/>But great service and fairly reasonable pricing by Wanaka standards.

The Best Meal, of 3 so far in Wanaka<br/>Entree, the Cashew Marsala Salad, I loved<br/>Its always been a favourite when I "Go Indian" and this was a good one, well worth a try<br/>The Onion Bhaji was also good, some nice Flavours above the norm, I would have it again<br/><br/>Mains, We shared the Garlic Chicken, and the Venison,<br/>the Sauce on the Venison was good, but the Meat was not to my style, however the Garlic Chicken made up for it.<br/>The Garlic Chicken really was super,<br/>Pop in and try it.<br/><br/>Entree pricing, fair and reasonable<br/>I felt that the mains were priced above what I would pay in Wellington or Auckland, but "the lovely T" corrected Me, and<br/>As I said, the best meal so far in Wanaka.