"Queenstown's award-winning lakeside table — book True South for Ben Batterbury's Otago produce and degustation, over Lake Wakatipu at The Rees."
True South Dining Room is the fine-dining restaurant of The Rees Hotel, set on the shore of Lake Wakatipu a few minutes from central Queenstown. It is one of the region's most decorated rooms, an fine-dining table that pairs a wall of glass over the lake and the Remarkables with cooking rooted firmly in Otago and the wider South Island.
Executive chef Ben Batterbury builds the menu around locally sourced South Island produce, blending Maori tradition with European technique. The kitchen leans on ingredients such as West Coast whitebait, Stewart Island blue cod, salmon, crayfish and Bendigo Station merino lamb, alongside venison and game. The menu changes monthly with daily tweaks, offered à la carte or as a six-course degustation, with a deep Central Otago wine list. A full degustation with pairings sits in the upper ($$$) range.
The room is built for the view: floor-to-ceiling glass framing Lake Wakatipu and the mountains, calm and well-spaced, best at dusk as the light drops over the water. Service is polished and well-drilled for a destination hotel restaurant. It suits a long, marked-occasion dinner; book the degustation ahead, request a lakeside table, and allow time for the courses and the wine matches.
For an anniversary, a proposal or a client dinner with a view, True South is one of Queenstown's clearest choices: the lake, the degustation and the calm room all serve the occasion. A natural anniversary and proposal table, and a strong business-lunch booking.
Not for a quick casual meal or a tight budget — True South is a destination hotel fine-dining room built around the lake view and a long degustation, not a drop-in dinner.
True South is at The Rees Hotel, 377 Frankton Road, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, a few minutes from central Queenstown.
Executive chef Ben Batterbury leads the kitchen, building monthly menus around South Island produce with Maori and European influences.
The menu changes monthly, but it leans on ingredients such as West Coast whitebait, Stewart Island blue cod and Bendigo Station merino lamb; the six-course degustation is the full experience.
It is a destination fine-dining room; à la carte is moderate, while the six-course degustation with Central Otago wine pairings sits in the upper range.
Yes. Book ahead and request a lakeside table for the Lake Wakatipu view, especially for the degustation.
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