Cuisine: A La Carte, New Zealand
Price Point: Mains from $15 - $35
Ranked: #1 of 13 restaurants
in Taupo
At Waterside you’ll soon discover their reputation for great casual dining and fantastic meals to meet everybody’s needs.
Take in the stunning views of the lake and mountains while you enjoy being looked after by their friendly staff, why not try one of their creative cocktails or specialty coffees.
Fantastic outdoor dining in summer and a fireplace to keep you warm in the winter.
A Taupo restaurant you will want to visit!
Where great food meets the lake!
Map
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Waterside Restaurant
3-5 Tongariro Street
Taupo 3330
Open Hours:
Tuesday - Sunday from 11a.m til late
Phone: (07) 378 6894
Sample Menu *may not be current
Click on menu to enlarge.
Reviews
ChrisJan Hayden - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 6 January 2020
Ka mau Te wehi! We had a fabulous experience! Thanks to both first table and waterside! Right from the get go all has been simple and easy to navigate from securing the booking through first table and leaving the table! This great initiative of first table means our family and I can experience different dining experiences at a more affordable cost. We generally wouldn't go out for dinners of the likes unless special occasion but if the service and food is excellent as a result we are likely to return just because it was amazing! Thank you first table for bringing those to the table whom otherwise might not be. Nga Mhi
Jayde Mitai - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 12 October 2019
We had an excellent return visit to the Waterside restaurant. The food was devine. The Gluten Free options were many, starting with the garlic bread and the salt & pepper squid. The lamb for our main was cooked to perfection and so were the vegetables. For those not Coeliac they enjoyed the mussels, fish if the day and steak. All very tasty and cooked to perfection. And dessert was a decadent affair, with Chocolate pate and Gluten free cheesecake There's that word again perfection and that certainly is what we experienced on Saturday night from the staff to the food. Would highly recommend.
Claire Chapman - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 5 October 2019
Lovely food - we both had the oysters, mine was natural and my friend had the tempured followed by the Eye Steak which melted in your mouth and the pork belly.
Our waiter was Harman who was friendly and helpful.
Yvonne Bancroft - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 3 September 2019
Had a wonderful dining experience at the Waterside Restaurant . We were greeted warmly on arrival and the staff were friendly and informative. The food was generous and delicious. We started with french onion soup and pork wellington both of which were very tasty. For mains we both had fillet steak which was cooked to perfection. There was no need to order side vegetables as they were included and also cooked to perfection. In all a very positive dining experience and we can thoroughly recommend the Waterside Restaurant as a great place to dine
Judy Wilson - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 25 July 2019
We had an amazing dinner at Waterside. The service was great from the moment we arrived. I’m gluten free and the the gf garlic bread was absolutely amazing! We had the lamb and pork belly for mains. Both were delicious, meat cooked beautifully and veges fresh and crunchy. If we were being, the pork belly could have been a bit crispier. When it came to dessert, the waiter took my request to the chef and they adapted a dessert for me. Great atmosphere, food and service. Would definitely recommend Waterside!
Holly Morrison - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 18 July 2019
Fabulous food, fabulous service, fabulous restaurant. We were a group of four dining out on a quiet Monday night and honestly, we were not disappointed. The fire was going inside, making the place toasty and warm, and from the moment we walked in the door, we were well looked after. The waiter recommended the jalapeno poppers as a starter and, wow, were they good!! Thanks Waterside, we'll be back
Carol Milligan - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 27 May 2019
Each item of food we had was outstanding. Very delicious and generous servings. The entrees were very filling, so I would recommend sharing with others if you plan to have a main and dessert. The holoumi sticks and won tons were amazing, as was the chocolate pate. The location is great and the service was excellent. A popular place, it quickly filled around midday. I would definitely return another time.
Lisa McGuire - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 20 April 2019
What an awesome restaurant, highly recommend this establishment to all believe me you won't be disappointed with the food
Kylie Peters - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 23 March 2019
Incredible view of the lake and the food was fresh and delicious. Loved the starters - best onion rings we have had in Taupo. Friendly staff and a welcoming atmosphere. This wasn’t our first visit and it won’t be our last.
Carrie Robinson - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 21 January 2019
My boyfriend and I dined here and it was wonderful! Even though at times the staff were a little slow to tend to us (because they were trying to train up new staff for the summer season which we totally understood) those who came to tend to us were really lovely with lots of smiles! It also gave us more time to relax in between courses! The food was awesome, we really loved their crispy pork and salmon mains- highly recommend! Their cheesecake special and freakshakes were as we were told quite intense, but we loved them too! Really big portions as well, so recommend sharing entrees or sharing plates (we had the beef balls which was my favourite and the calamari which was hot and crispy) to start unless you have a pretty big appetite! Would definitely recommend dining here, and would definitely definitely come back. It was a really nice place to eat, thanks for the lovely start to our holiday!
Brittany Young - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 13 November 2018
Fantastic food with good size portions for my 4 hungry males! They were extremely impressed with the Freaky choc shakes - Yum yum!!! Our service was great & the atmosphere really relaxed. Even as locals we certainly appreciated the beautiful scenery. We would happily come back here again. Thanks to the staff for a memorable meal.
Y Lund - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 7 October 2018
Really lovely dinner at Waterside.The staff were friendly, helpful and efficient and the food was delicious! Was totally impressed with the crack of my creme brulee! Would definitely eat here again and recommend to others! Thank you, Waterside for a lovely evening :-)
eve jones - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 28 June 2018
Four of us ate there. All meals were amazing. Best steak ever. Lamb was tender and perfectly cooked. Fish delicious with tasty sauce. Service so friendly and welcoming. Will definitely recommend to others. Try the rhubarb crumble. Delicious!
Margaret Beck - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 18 June 2018
Everything was perfect from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. Our waitress was fantastic!! The food was amazing, we had breads and dip to share as well as the chicken wings (which were out of this world), and then for mains I had the Pork Ribeye and that was to die for, my partner ordered the Steak Eye Fillet and he really enjoyed that as well, the steak was cooked a little over but it was still delicious!! We would definitely come back here again, and First table was such a great idea!!
Shevanna Sullivan - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 12 May 2018
LOVE - 3 of us girls had a feast!
The entrees/starters were so appealing we had to order 5 between us! and enjoyed every moment of it, the prawns were delicious and the sauce for each item was a perfect match. The drunken chicken with blue cheese sauce was our favourite. When mains came we were already so full but managed to finish! i had the steak which was cooked perfect and the dish had the ideal accompaniments.
Will 100% return with the friendly service and the beautiful view.
Ashleigh Crighton - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 5 March 2018
Great location and even better food. We ordered the waterside platter and 3 desserts, the sauce that the mussels came in was divine, the freakshakes are an absolute must have! Everything was delicious :)
Holly Garriock - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 22 March 2020
We had a lovely meal, the staff were very attentive but not in your face and the food was great. Thanks
Pam Walker - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 19 March 2020
Delicious food and lovely service!
Madeline Carpenter - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 15 March 2020
Our 52nd Wedding Anniversary so we wanted it to be special and it was! Beautiful food and service. The venue is in a great position with good views of the lake. Would thoroughly recommend, we will go back.
Glenda Fry - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 16 March 2020
Lovely place for a bite before the Ballet!
Rachel Mariu - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 10 March 2020
Another amazing meal - huge portion sizes. Girls loved it a well
Nicole McHardy - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 13 March 2020
Amazing food and service as I have come to expect, but so refreshing when it happens so effortlessly.
Well done to the team. Will be back ❤️
Rebecca Thorley - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 11 March 2020
Great food and service A+
Irene Schischka - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 9 March 2020
10/10 on food as well as service
Julie Habib - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 4 March 2020
Awesome customer service. I ordered sometning and forgot to ask for the GFA option. They were great and remade at no cost. Always available to help without being overly attentive. The serive was great!
Renee Carman - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 2 March 2020
Friendly efficient service from the waiting team, food came out promptly and was great. Awesome desserts!
Keith Walshe - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 28 February 2020
Good food, very accomodating of requests and food allergies, good view. Good value specials even without First Table discounts. Would recommend.
Benjamin Roberts - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 27 February 2020
Nice lakeside dining venue. Ordered the chicken breast main and the chocolate pate and both were very tasty. Had a nice friendly waitress, the visit was only let down by the host - just needed a more friendly approach and attitude from him.
Amber Brereton - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 22 February 2020
We were given a nice window table with a great view across the road to the lake. The food was very tasty, nicely presented and ample sized servings. My lamb rack was huge and perfectly cooked. We will certainly come here again when we are next in Taupo.
Marla Williams - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 16 February 2020
Lovely meal, excellent service, a great atmosphere and fabulous company. The Lamb Rack and the Salmon were delicious and so were the Fush & Chups. An enjoyable evening had by all.
Wednesday 12th February
Leola Sharp - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 12 February 2020
The food was delicious hot and served in good time. Wait staff were very attentive
Karen Oldfield - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 9 February 2020
Fantastic food! Very accommodating and a great range of food
Stacey Walshe - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 8 February 2020
We were spending the weekend in Taupo to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. As we are from out of town we turned to First Table to hopefully guide us to a great restaurant. Waterside Restaurant is ranked #1 so we looked at their menu and it had a great range for both ourselves and our children (aged 20 and 12). I had already decided from the online menu and photos to have the chicken breast and chocolate pate and boy it didn’t disappoint. Every mouthful was delicious and my daughter also indulged in a chocolate freakshake after she saw one go past us to another table. Service was great, friendly staff and made our anniversary dinner very special. Thank you Waterside Restaurant, we look forward to visiting you again hopefully when we come to Taupo in the future.
Tania Hodge - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 7 February 2020
Nice friendly atmosphere, would go again
Trish Henry - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 31 January 2020
Amazing food and great service, me and my sister had a lovely lunch.
Teigan King - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 29 January 2020
Lovely staff. Really friendly. Food was excellent. Will definitely go back here.
Maggie Sawtell - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 30 January 2020
One of the best spots to dine if you want a lake view. The staff were welcoming and the service excellent. We enjoyed our meal, and the lamb in particular was done to perfection.
Lynne Fauchelle - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 29 January 2020
Wonderful staff and delicious food, all four of us thoroughly enjoyed the evening! Thank you so much!
Nikki Keys - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 21 January 2020
The waiting staff were very friendly. The food was amazing. Highly recommended.
Brett Shilcock - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 19 January 2020
Great food, Great service. Will be dinning there again in the future :)
Tara Young - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 16 January 2020
Food not as good as usual but still okay. Great service and location
Grant Jorey - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 14 January 2020
Yummy food quick and good service
Eileen Gillard - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 14 January 2020
Lovely lunch will certainly go again
Alison Small - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 8 January 2020
We all walked away full and had an amazing time. Food was awesome - will definitely be back
Nicole McHardy - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 8 January 2020
We escaped a cold southerly blast to be warmly seated at Waterside and enjoyed watching whitecaps dancing across Lake Taupo from our comfortable table close to the window. Our waiter was very efficient and cheerful, making this dining experience quite homely. We all enjoyed our mains (fish of the day, lamb rack and one steak) with no complaints; and sumptuous desserts finished off a very pleasant evening for us and our visitors. As we discussed our evening, it was apparent that Waterside scored highly and we would gladly return. Well done and thank you for a most enjoyable First Table experience!
ChrisJan Hayden - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 6 January 2020
Great choice of share plates and mains. We tried a platter which was beautifully presented, everything tasted wonderful and the service was exceptional.
Tarun Ahuja - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 3 January 2020
The countryside platter was awesome!! So was everything else, of course. Cheesecake for dessert was fantastic, especially. And great service as well, overall fantastic experience. Thanks!
Frances Goddard - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 30 December 2019
I misplaced my purse, then had to go to the police station to retrieve it...so was late for my 11.30am lunch...but Waterside restaurant were very understanding, and kindly let us use our half price food booking...we were off to a good start. We had shared a seafood platter which was beautifully presented, and delicious. Great service, and nice atmosphere. Thank you guys
Pamela Ngan - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 28 December 2019
Had a great time at Waterside, ordering off the specials of Snapper and spicy chicken burger.
Glimpsed one of the Freakshakes whilst eating and knew we had to have one. The waffle caramel one and the monthly special, this time of Christmas Pav - had to be done. Messiest dessert ever but so worth it.
Thanks for the great service too,
Sarah Bennett - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 22 December 2019
From the moment you walk in the door, you are greeted, seated and served. The restaurant is very popular and filled up quite quickly.
As a plant based eater, I ordered the crumbed mushrooms with fig jam, minus the blue vein ranch dressing for entree and tofu and chips for main. It would be wonderful if there were a few more PB/Vegan options.
The atmosphere was good, I enjoyed my meal and the service was great so I would recommend The Waterside to others.
Ferne Walden - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 21 December 2019
Seafood salad very good, remaining dishes fine, sparkling water charged, great location overlooking lake, very good waitress.
Ian &jan Allott - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 15 December 2019
We had a very pleasant experience in restaurant.
Food was delicious and Staff was very courteous and understood how to deal with customers very well.
Claudia Mageski - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 8 December 2019
The food is always amazing here, the chocolate pate desert is a must for chocolate lovers. Great location, lovely staff, very enjoyable experience with new items on their menu too at lunchtime too
Dave Powell - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 10 December 2019
Pretty good place. Food was not as good as expected but inside the price range advertised. Would be back based on the atmosphere.
Dan McQuoid - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 7 December 2019
From the first greeting to the farewell we were impressed by the service combined with flavoursome food made for a great lunch.
Peter Ritchie - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 6 December 2019
Friendly service. Lovely food. Great ambience.
Grant Jorey - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 1 December 2019
Had a good atmosphere, fantastic view of the lake with good food. Really friendly staff and not pushy.
Diana Roa - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 3 December 2019
Service was 10/10
Caela Williams - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 30 November 2019
The contents of this review have not been published as it breaches our review guidelines.
Lois Hockly - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 26 November 2019
Staff was very friendly and accomodating.
Noel Ramos - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 22 November 2019
Great food, delicious cocktails and fantastic service..
Dianne Watt - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 16 November 2019
Lovely food and service with great views
Lisa Soden - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 11 November 2019
It was a great experience overall. The girl that served us was amazing in terms of customer service. We had a great view from our table, looking at the lake and the people doing parasailing. Lovely atmosphere inside the restaurant. The waiting time after we ordered was not long at all, which was great. The food was lovely too. The oysters were so nice and so was the steak. We will definitely go there again.
Inoke Tuirara - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 8 November 2019
Outstanding service and food!!!
Ignet Gloy - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 10 November 2019
Great location- enjoyed the view. Service was friendly and food was beautifully presented
Susan Watson - dined at Waterside Restaurant on 4 November 2019
Overview
484 reviews
We escaped a cold southerly blast to be warmly seated at Waterside and enjoyed watching whitecaps dancing across Lake Taupo from our comfortable table close to the window. Our waiter was very efficient and cheerful, making this dining experience quite homely. We all enjoyed our mains (fish of the day, lamb rack and one steak) with no complaints; and sumptuous desserts finished off a very pleasant evening for us and our visitors. As we discussed our evening, it was apparent that Waterside scored highly and we would gladly return. Well done and thank you for a most enjoyable First Table experience!