Review Kai Whakapai Cafe, Restaurant & Bar - Wanaka

We just chanced upon this eatery while exploring Wanaka and we liked it's vibe. I was happy to see its menu as it had multiple vegetarian options. Being a mushroom lover, I found the pizza option Field mushroom + walnut pizza very interesting. However, I don't like white sauce too much and had never tried a white sauce based pizza so was a little apprehensive too but I followed my instinct and ordered it. I am so glad I did, the pizza was soooo yum. We loved, the right blend of mushroom, white sauce, walnuts and cheese... i can still recall its exact taste (writing the review after more than 10 days). The pizza is quite big too, we ordered one pizza and one portion of potato wedges and they were enough for 2 of us. The potato wedges were also crisp and nice. The staff is pretty friendly and helpful. Would definitely go back to the place. Pro tip - Choose the outside seating if you are going there on a nice sunny afternoon, you'll love the vibe.

Great breakfast at Kai Whakapai in Wanaka. Loved the honey scone and big breakfast. Coffee and hot chocolate were top-notch. The eatery has a cozy atmosphere, making it a great spot for a relaxed and satisfying start to the day. Highly recommended for a tasty breakfast experience.

Very yummy smoked salmon pizza , highly recommend. 🥰🙏🏻 staffs are very friendly, introducing beers based on our preference , great recommendation , thank you! ☺️ there was live performance singer too outside which the speakers are inside so we can hear as good as if we were sitting outside. Two thumbs up 👍🏼👍🏼

Pizza was good, service was fast. They have a huge beer on tap selection to choose from. Convenient for a meal while checking out the lake. Had the meatlovers and margherita pizza

We ate here for breakfast one day and the meals did not disappoint. The coffee could’ve been slightly hotter and the lady taking the orders could’ve been a little bit more precise. Ended up with the wrong order but still tasted okay. Great views from upstairs

Chill vibes with friendly servers ready for a quick chat when not serving. They have 16 craft beers on tap - BEER HEAVEN to me. I was recommended the Vacation Hazy Pale Ale (cos I'm on vacation!) - love it, refreshing with a tinge of citrus. Had it with beef burger w cheddar (I was told blue cheese is a killer combo) and hot chips. The 2nd time I had the Kai Time Hazy IPA - refreshing more intense than the Vacation. Didn't get to try the steak sandwich but it looked delicious too. I would term this a high energy place.

Excellent location. We walked in for lunch. Varieties of main meal is not much to choose from. Open steak sandwiches, beef burgers, and pizza are all yummy. Good customer services.

My friend and I were craving Pizzas for so long and this Salmon one was looking delicious on the menu. Let me tell you it was better than our expectations and warmed us during a windy day ! This place has a great menu throughout the day, that you mustn’t miss !

We love to come here and have a pizza when we stay in Wanaka. I've tried Margherita and meat lover pizza, I like the former more. It's tasty enough and simpler (and cheaper!) Usually we order a cup of hot chocolate or flat white, I think they are both good and not too expensive. Also tried fried wings and fried chicken. Personally I am not impressed by them, but my friends like the fried chicken. And the staff are always friendly and polite. That's another reason we like here.

These guys are known for their award winning beers, but if you there during the day, get a cappuccino, it's the on the money. Did have mushroom pizza which was OK too. Live music happening when we were there

Super long wait for coffee with staff chatting and taking their time to get orders out. I waited a painfully long time for 2 coffees. However, it was the best long black I had our entire trip so all was forgiven!

It is busy and noisy place serving good dishes. The description on menu is very elaborate to what is served - i mean, i was disappointed with the quantity of food served.

had the bagel, taste very nice, will be back again for sure, relaxing feel as well.<br/>friends had the steam bao which is very nice too.<br/>only downside is the selection is abit lacking

Came here after a hike. The large coffee is ginormous which made for an epic time. That’s all I got so can’t say much. Good ambiance. Nice chair

Staff were really friendly in this popular cafe in Wanaka!<br/>Ordered the open steak sandwich and a bowl of wedges. Wedges ($12), which were served with sweet chilli and sour cream, were amazingly crispy! However, was mildly disappointed over the sandwich ($22). Portion size looked big, only due to the giant doughy onion rings placed on top, but the actual sandwich was quite small and not very filling. Although, beetroot relish was a nice twist on the typical sandwich!

Thank you for the great service!<br/>We came by early in the morning for a quick take-away coffee & bite to eat. The service was on point from everyone within the restaurant and the food/coffee was great. But what really made the experience a 5/5 rating was the fact that the waitress saw my husband and I carrying several items and went out of her way to open the door for us. Please keep up the positive energy and great service as its a joy to be treated with such warmth!

Negative rating<br/>Very disappointing. Has been over rated <br/>We as tourists tried lots of places & concluded food in NZ is much better but this place was a let down. Thankfully this wasn’t the first place we tried in NZ. <br/> <br/>Tried salmon hash cake & warm Asian salad. Salmon wasn’t fresh at all. The egg is supposed to be runny but it wasn’t. The sauce in the salad was disgusting. Iced tea was yuk. <br/>Even the behaviour of the people serving wasn’t appealing <br/>

Great little cafe close to the beach, very central on the main strip. We came here twice for a convenient coffee stop and they were quick and delivered our fix aptly. There is outdoor seating with shade, and a good selection of cabinet food. It does seem a bit chaotic at times but that simply adds to its charm.

This was one of the only places open on an early chilly morning in Wanaka. When I say chilly it definitely was & I needed a hot flat white badly! The flat white came out looking very good, but wasn't hot enough & needed strength which is unusual in NZ as they always do double shots standard. The other snack we had was fine though they always manage to do great salad rolls & they are always huge hence being very filling

Beautiful location, get a table upstairs and you get to see the prime location, lake wanaka, food is good, staff is very friendly. Got latte and french toast and they were yum

Kai Whakapai is a small cafe/bar across from Lake Wanaka. Always good vibes - breakfast, lunch or dinner. They've got a great selection of beers. The menu has a bit of everything and the food is so good! Presented beautifully too ;) Staff are lovely and waiting times are pretty minimal. Only downside would be there's not a lot of room to sit.

每个菜都有香菜很尴尬，而且非常碎，不吃香菜的朋友一定要注意跟他们说你不要caraway呦！除了汉堡，量都比较少，特别是面条和米粉类食物（如图所示）咖啡很浓郁，楼下小哥特别幽默，整个人非常嘻哈，同行的男性友人很喜欢他，流连忘返不愿意离开，嘴里一直在提他，这就是爱吧！应该下次还会来吧。

The waitress, who wore glasses and was in her mid thirties or forties was horrible, she told my friends and I "sucks to be you!" as we didn't have our passports with us - mind you, we had barely said anything to cause offence to her.<br/><br/>The beer I had a day earlier was good (without ID) but her recommendations the previous time were average and we had no opportunity to get dinner as it was packed. Won't be going back if the same lady is working.

Love the place, location especially. Staff is amazing!!!! The place and the staff has that vibe which will make you walk-in again and again. <br/>Love the beer! <br/>Cheers!!! 😉

Great little cafe and evening dinner right on the lake!! Popped in for lunch eats and had a delightful meal! Menu looked great but decided to try the veggie lasagna in the window! Tasted great, a tad too cheesy but was complimented with a green salad on the side. Also ordered some chunky chips with both aioli and sauce which were great! Had a delightful chai latte and will definitely be popping back to try out the menu!! There's also an upstairs eating area which we didn't realise til we'd finished which would've been great as downstairs was quite bustling and outside a little nippy!

With a lovely atmosphere, outdoor seating and some excellent beers on tap, Kai is an excellent bar to visit.<br/><br/>The service is good, but it gets really busy here. The food and drinks are superb. The bartender was kind enough to recommend the local beer as per your requirement.<br/><br/>We also saw a DJ bring it on on Saturday evening. Quite a wonderful atmosphere. Do visit this bar. It's very easily distinguishable on the Ardmore Street.

Massive as serve of chips... Mind you for $9.20 you'd expect it to be! Easily feeds 4 people. The tuatara drop they have is great for those who enjoy a good boutique beer. Just perfect in the afternoon sun. <br/><br/>The live music created a great atmosphere for the NY holiday crowd. Kudos to the band. Will definitely come back! Word on the St is the barrista makes a mean cuppa joe.

Recommended by my airbnb host and right at the lakefront, I could see it was a popular stop as it was packed with people! It is order at the counter and because it is a bar shaped counter right in the middle of the cafe it was hard to queue up without blocking somebody. <br/><br/>I didn't enjoy it much because I just arrived to quiet Wanaka but somehow this cafe was too much for me and the bags I had. Finally ordered my cappuccino and had to wait for quite a while (should have known since the queue was long). <br/><br/>No doubt the beans they used were good (Supreme coffee beans). However my cappuccino was quite milky and at the end of it I realised they put sugar in it?!!! Or maybe it was just the chocolate topping? No idea, but it was very sweet. <br/><br/>But I'm sure the food here is good as there were lots of people here. I for one probably won't get to try it. <br/><br/>Ambience - busy but good view <br/>Service - no table service and staff were too busy

They've got the best pizza I have ever had, conjun chicken pizza is really good, I love the cream cheese on the top, that is awesome!!! Brunch is not as good as pizza I suppose, but still recommend to have thow

Rustic as in old &amp; dirty and well in need of a tart up.<br/><br/>Expensive cold food &amp; indifferent staff.<br/><br/>Both orders totally wrong and both cold. Prepared microwaved food. Asking for our pricey breakfasts to be heated up resulted in microwaving to thermonuclear heat.<br/><br/>$50 for two breakfasts &amp; 2 coffees....disappointing.

We had amazing coffee, full breakfast (very nice) and buckwheat pancakes and marscapone yummy. Very vibrant atmosphere and professional service. Thank you:)

The Eggs Bene to cure a hangover after the Rugby World Cup final were sooo good! Good strong coffee and a relaxed atmosphere meant you could hide in the corner behind your sunnies and no one cared. The service was quick and polite. Will be back!

You cant deny how good the eggs are. I enjoy dining here for brunch whenever I am in Wanaka as I like the menu and the coffee is well made. Only downside is the ‘cool kids’ vibe. It can be quite intimidating especially in Winter when its full of young jibs.

Been here several times, always the same - brusque service but great food. It's almost intimidating being confronted with the uber-cool staff and I can imagine some visitors being a bit taken aback by the rough and ready style. However, they poach their eggs perfectly and make great coffee, which comes with a sweet thing on the side, last time a lemon macaroon.<br/>Not the place for a romantic date but great for a quick weekend brunch.