Review Francesca's Italian Kitchen Wanaka - Wanaka

An amazing Italian restaurant! We ordered both pizza and pastas and both were excellent. The margherita pizza was thin, crispy and baked in their wood fire oven to perfection! The beef gnocchi looked amazing and tasted just as good. Their entrance is a little hard to find, it’s to the left next to the small creek. Highly recommended!

My friends and I (group of 4) had dinner at this establishment. The vibes were really positive, service staffs were attentive, and the food was delicious. We had the beef gnocchi, margarita pizza, seafood linguine, and lamb sausage pizza. For desserts, we shared a tiramisu and a lemon tart. Highly recommend the dishes we had. :)

We decided to go in last minute and they were able to fit us in even though there were tons of bookings for the night. The atmosphere and aroma is inviting as soon as you open the door and the staff was extremely friendly and attentive. We talked with the manager/owner while & he even recommended local cafes for breakfast in the morning. We ordered multiple items from the menu and everything we had was delicious, we even got desert, which is something we rarely do, and finished every bite! Highly recommended!!

Visited with a group of 9 people on a Thursday night and it was packed so thankfully we had a reservation made. Pizzas were tasty. Pasta was a little over cooked as I prefer my pasta to be al dente. Mushroom risotto was superb. Overall, restaurant serves decently good food and the setting is good for a big group.

The polenta fries were pretty good. Crispy on the outside and slightly chewy ok the inside. The rest of the dishes were on point as well. We were seated next to the door and the wind rushes in whenever someone opens it. It kinda dampened the experience. Excellent experience otherwise.

had dinner for 2 on Tuesday night. booked last minute through the phone, received a nice table. the atmosphere and setting was really nice and romantic. the service was great and waiters were attentive. the food came quick however pizza was kind of burnt and the dessert (choc cake) was really difficult to enjoy as it was really hard and stale almost. the dish i do not recommend is the seafood linguine, it was bland and seafood was almost tasteless. with the help of heaps of salt and pepper, it was reasonable. the highlight food was definitely the polenta fries! crunchy hot and truffle was very complementary. the other highlight was the tiramisu, definitely a recommendation for a dessert.

A nice and quaint Italian restaurant! We ordered a single pizza along with a starter and both were great. The parma ham pizza was thin, crispy and most of all airy. All their pizzas were baked in their wood fire oven which added that extra element to each of them! Highly recommended!

Great place to have amazing pizza and pasta. The caprese salad was terrific, and the Vitello Tonnato was good, but a little too filling for me for an appetizer. The Royal Burn Lamb Finocchiona Sausage pizza was great, along with the Seafood Linguine. Make a reservation, and enjoy.

🍴 Francesca’s Italian Kitchen Wanaka Taste Rating 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 🏮 Review 🏮 Oh my, this Italian restaurant is outstanding. The truffle fries are delicious, the pizza is excellent, but what’s truly astonishing is their dessert, Tiramisu! Sweet and paired with their coffee liqueur, it’s absolutely divine!

My wife and I had the most amazing experience here!! She had secretly booked the outdoor green house seating, which is literally a mini greenhouse with heating! That was so fun, and the service we had was so much fun too!! The owner made it his mission to take care of us after learning we were soo to be new parents, and absolutely made our night!! I ordered the mushroom risotto and with so many different mushrooms contained, it was a taste explosion!! My wife ordered the soft shell crab lasagna which she loved immensely also!! They offered the non alcoholic gin for her to accompany which we really appreciated, and the owner ensured I wasn't without a beverage as he wanted to celebrate with us!! We just had an amazing time, and the food was delicious 😋. Thanks again, and we will definitely be coming back!!

Totally delicious! We had the Beef Carpaccio which was to die for, followed by pizza and the gnocchi with beef cheeks and pecorino. Amazing food, would definitely go again and recommend to any one who loves good food!

Fab meal and great staff. Just popped in and able to squeeze us in. A really enjoyable time which totally recommend.

The Ragu Bolognese with pappardelle is to die for!!! Best bolognese I’ve ever tried. The service was A1 as well.

We had dinner on Valentine's Day and it was amazing. The clams are as entree were one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. Great service and fantastic suggestions for wine. Couldn't have asked for a better night. Thank you �

Knoshi and beef cheeks and rubarb pie for dessert absolutely awesome and great comfort food

I could eat the Beef Carpaccio morning, noon and night - so many amazing flavours on one plate!

Amazing food! Amazing pizza! Actually the last pizza cheff, from Brazil was brilliant!!

Had made a booking, when we arrived they had cancelled our booking. Terrible reaction they had as they offered us another table but we can only have it for a hour �

Stunning food. Friendly staff, beautiful presentation, complex flavours and a good menu. Value wines. ...and they do great pizzas!

I am a local and love this place!!!!!

Cozy restaurant serving classic Italian food done well. Not spectacular, but simple and good. Love the beef cheek gnocchi, but the prawn rigatoni is bit tasteless.

The food is quite authentic and nice. It's however slightly on a very safe and bland side.<br/>You must instruct the server before hand about your palate and I'm sure tehy will serve the best food according gto your choice!<br/><br/>Loved the Mushroom dish and the Meat bolognese pasta.<br/>The dish was lacking in salt and seasoning for me but,<br/>The meat was so tender that it was falling apart. The parmesan and the sloppy sauce with the Al la dente pasta, and the greens giving it a perfect crunch!<br/><br/>Set amidst the beautiful landscape of Wanaka, just loved the whole feel and dining experience! ❤️😭<br/><br/>#MehtabolismRecommends 💯

What an experience. The food was great. The pizza was to die for along with the potato skins as well as the mushroom bruschetta. Service was super friendly and so glad we went to this gem.

It was my first time at Francesca’s (20th December 2018). The plan was to go elsewhere but that place couldn’t accommodate us and Francesca came to the rescue.<br/><br/>I quite liked how the menu is quite different to your usual run of the mill Italian restaurants. I had the cured meats for starters and I have no complaints about that.<br/><br/>Mum and I shared a half and half pizza. I had the Parma pizza whilst she opted for the Tartuffo. The Parma pizza wasn’t up to par. It was way too salty and whilst I can understand they were trying to be creative with the toppings some of it just didn’t fit. <br/><br/>I would probably try a different pizza next time or perhaps try their pastas.<br/>

Party of five plus one child for lunch. Easy atmosphere, comfortable and warm setting. Service was quick and friendly enough. Polenta chips with truffle aioli were excellent. I had the mushroom risotto, very delicious but quite rich, so I couldn’t finish it. Garlic bread was crispy and tasty. Pepperoni pizza was okay, and the crust could’ve had a few more minutes in the oven. The prawn pasta was basic and everyone had food envy of the ragu bolognese which was by far the tastiest/ best option. I would certainly come back next time I visit Wanaka/Queenstown. Good value for an authentic experience.

Don't Judge a Book by its Cover!<br/>On a recommendation, we made a reservation for dinner. Though the food was reasonable, the service was awful; we were served after an older couple who arrived after us, we weren't offered anything else to drink than tap water (and didn't feel like we needed to beg for it) and we both felt they couldn't get rid of us sooner. I'm not sure what the problem was and when paying for the bill, I was too upset to advise the female staff member that if they didn't want us in their restaurant, they should have not wasted our time or money! Luckily, we then went to WGK and received amazing service and dessert, which made up for the evening. After this experience in Francesca's, we won't be returning ever again and will be advising my surgical colleagues to also not waste their time!

Decided to pop in here for dinner on our first night in Wanaka. On entering we were told the restaurant was busy and we would have to vacate within an hour which we agreed to. Strangely, the restaurant remained half empty with plenty of two person tables the whole time we were there. <br/><br/>We shared a pizza which they allowed us to halve in type, which was done fairly nicely. Fairly standard dining experience otherwise. <br/><br/>We still don’t know who they were waiting for.

Love it! Headed to Francesca’s for dinner around 7 and they were pretty much full. Luckily they were able to fit us in for an hr dinner. We ordered a half-half pizza to share, my half being the pumpkin, pesto and feta pizza. It was so good! Definitely the best pizza in Wanaka! Also ordered a glass of the elderflower liqueur and prosecco mix which was so refreshing! Really good vibes, fresh and modern decor with fabulous staff! Great menu and drinks options. Highly, highly recommend!!

Just dropped in for dinner at Francesca’s - last minute decision for some spontaneous Italian. Have to say - a very astute decision on my behalf. Pizzas were sublime - we had the Parma & Patata - pizza base was exceptional and an eclectic mix of flavours. The wife had the Prawn pasta (can’t recall the exact name of the dish) - she described it as simple but delectable. All in all - fantastic value for money, greT service and very family friendly. Highly recommend!

Had the braised octopus casarecce, merino lamb shoulder pappardelle and potato skins. I really loved the texture of the pasta, it tasted very fresh.

Simply amazing. Best gnocchi (braised beef) I've ever had. Everything was amazing, Great service too. Can't stop thinking about it. Also had a good selection of wine

Firstly the Italian wine selection is amazing! Such rich flavours. The gnocchi is to die and so creamy. Such a great vibe inside. Dessert was yum! But not as good as their mains. Will return asap when in wanaka again

Pleasantly surprised but the food decor and service it was also great value! Wine selection and ambience was also great! Really recommend the prawn linguini!

I'm from the USA and on the recommendation of my niece who lives in Queenstown, my sister and I dined at your restaurant today. The food was not as good as I was led to believe. In fact, the kale salad was very dry and tasteless with a few walnuts and 3 or 4 very thinly sliced apple wedges. The cheese was transparent. My sister's pizza was just ok, not great. Would I recommend this place to others? No.

A fantastic rustic-feel Italian kitchen (albeit in a brand new building!). The food is very hearty and filling as you would expect, great selection of traditional Italian fare and NZ wines. Not such a great selection for Vegetarians, so we requested a special meal which ended up being just perfect. Make sure you book - even on a weeknight.

Located just behind Speight's at the Town Circle, Francesca is a busy place. Reservations during rush hours are advised.<br/><br/>The service was fine, while the food was better. We ordered some Salad and Vegetarian Agnolotti Pasta, which was really good.<br/><br/>Overall, it's a pricey restaurant, but worth going for the excellent Italian cuisine.

I have been going to Francesca's on and off since it has opened and it's more often then not a fantastic dinning experience. I went there yesterday and I just wasn't as impressed as I usually am. The pizza I ordered was really charcoaled and not as tasty as usual. My friend got a salad and although it was delicious the proportions for $20 was far too small. The restaurant was near empty so no reason for the errors. <br/>

A modern interpretation of Italy meets Wanaka. The outcome: delicious cuisine in a stylish setting. Our group enjoyed good service and a variety of dishes. A favourite amongst my friends was the Beef Gnocchi. I decided to go for the authentic Woodfired pizza and had narrowed it down to two choices so thought I'd get the waitresses opinion. Guess what, I could have my cake and eat it too! Half Parma and half mushroom and truffle oil. They were both delicious but if I had to go with just one next time round, I'd choose the mushroom and truffle oil again, outstanding. Very enjoyable evening, thank you Francesca's.

Once we found Francesca's, there just didn't seem to be any reason to eat anywhere else in Wanaka. So we didn't. But over four days, we ate and drank our way through as much of the menu as we could manage, and found all of it to be magnificent!!

Gnocchi was incredible, best meal I have had in a long time. Great friendly staff and service. Will be hard to try other places I would like to go back and try everything on the menu.

Went in for dinner had the slow cooked beef gnocchi it would melt as you breath on it. Was soo soft loved every bite...#PERFECT and the polenta chips with Truffle aioli. Chips crispy and the aioli was well balanced not overwhelming. Great meal on a freezing wanaka night definitely recommend this place!

Francesca’s happened to be the best place we’d eaten on the entire trip, and also happened to be some of the best food we’ve eaten outside of Italy.

Just off the lakeside Ardmore Street in Wanaka, Francesca's Italian Kitchen is tucked in behind the Speights Ale House, in a modern building. We had a reservation on the Friday evening the four of us visited, which was handy as it was pretty busy. The menu features plenty of classic Italian dishes, including lots of shareable entrees.

This is a great Italian restaurant, tucked away in the ski service town of Wanaka.<br/>Menu is generous and food quality is great.<br/>A welcome change to the typical cuisine of tourist hotspots.

Hit and miss. We booked ahead and dined as a family. My order of pasta was enjoyable but my partner was disappointed with the risotto. Kids liked the garlic pizza bread. There is no set kids' menu but staff were willing to adapt the menu to suit with half serves and specific ingredients omitted. Efficient wait staff in a busy restaurant where customers may feel a little rushed to move on so the table can be used again.

Highly recommended. I'd read food reviews on another site so decided this would be the perfect place to celebrate my birthday which coincided work our holiday. We are a group of 11 and the food did not disappoint. Great value and beautifully made. I personally loved the gnocchi and everyone enjoyed their meals. great atmosphere and lovely staff. We'll be back next time we're in wanaka for sure!

We had a lovely meal here, however I will give one caveat, it is a pizza bar so don't expect a full menu. Once I got over my initial disappointment the food that was served was of high quality and standard. I had the gnocchi and beef cheeks which was rich in flavour and texture.<br/><br/>Make sure you make a reservation as you don't want to miss this popular spot.

Great food with excellent service to boot!! One of the best carpaccio I've had!! Go Go Go but reservation recommended or else you probably won't get a table!!

It’s always a good sign when you walk into a restaurant on a weekday evening, and the place is full (especially when you’ve made a booking in advance!). I was initially undecided as to whether we should spend our one and only evening in Wanaka here, especially given the relative abundance of authentic Italian food in Auckland and Hamilton. Fortunately, we were not in any way disappointed.<br/><br/>Pictures don’t do the food here justice – the flavours are deep, rich, and well-coordinated, every part of the dish contributing to the exquisite whole. My braised lamb pappardelle with olives, spinach, and parmesan ($25) was superb – the pasta was done perfectly, and the braised lamb was tender and juicy. The SO had fettucine bolognese ($22), which was rich and meaty, albeit simple. We regretted not ordering a pizza, after watching one of the guys in the kitchen load the dough into the woodfired oven – judging from the enthusiasm with which the couple at the next table finished theirs, it must have been good. However, the pasta was deceptively filling, and after finishing our sides of potato skins fried in truffle oil, ordering a pizza was certainly out of the question. Next time, for sure!<br/><br/>We had their cannoli for dessert, crisp pastries filled with custard cream which were delicious and delicate, well worth the $4 each. The SO had an espresso martini cocktail ($18) to finish – that was perhaps the only disappointment of the evening, as it tasted remarkably like… espresso.<br/><br/>Service was good, remarkably efficient and quick considering the number of people dining. There wasn’t the homely, personal sort of hospitality you might find in smaller Italian eateries, but that was to be expected in a restaurant of this size.

I was lucky enough to get out to Wanaka and try out this Italian restaurant.  It was a beautiful day outside so we sat out in their lovely outdoor dining area and enjoyed our time away.  <br/><br/>The wait staff were attentive and helpful in guiding us with our choices and after much deliberation (everything was tempting!) I decided on the spinach cannelloni.   We ordered a side dish to go with our choices and the mans came out in good time.  I had a bite of my dish and it was to die for!  The spinach and ricotta was so velvety and creamy but didn't feel heavy at all.  I loved every bite of it, the only thing I wish was for a bit of bread on the side so I could dip in all the leftover tomato base!<br/><br/>After our mains it dawned on us they forgot our side dishes so we had to ask them about it and they had realized that it had been forgotten so we had to wait for that to come out, although if I had known it was forgotten I would have told them I didn't need it anymore but I guess they had put it through as soon as I had asked them about it.<br/><br/>Other than that I would say this was an enjoyable experience and would highly recommend it.

We arrived at the restaurant on a Wednesday evening without a reservation and were seated speedily. We shared a salad of blue cheese and pears (figs on the menu but these were unavailable and we were offered the option of having pears instead); I had duck ragu with pappardelle and my wife had bolognese ragu with pasta; both excellent and the pasta tasted home-made; we then shared a superb dessert of lemon curd with Italian meringue. The wine list was very good with plenty of wines available by the glass - we had two glasses of Italian red each and the bill came to $117.<br/>I was intrigued by the pizza oven - we have a wood fired pizza oven and I rarely if ever order pizza out as they are never as good as the ones we do at home; however the pizza bases appeared to be nice and thin and were cooking quite quickly so I will order one next time.<br/>This restaurant is sorely needed in Wanaka and I look forward to eating here again