The 11 best spots for ribs in Rotorua

The best place I've been to to celebrate a birthday so far. My niece absolutely enjoyed her 21st here. Thew buffet was above my expectations. Not like all the other buffets, and the view wasn't absolutely spectacular. The gondola ride was included in the package as well. The customer service was brilliant. Everything was amazing. A must do. Thank you to everyone at Stratosfare, I'll definitely be back.

Stunning scenery and plenty of things to do up there. It really is a beautiful view and a great family dining experience. With that said, for the price of the buffet, I expected the food to be nicer. It wasn't bad, but somewhat on par with Valentines. Hence why my expectation was a little higher. The service was an absolute stand out though. This was the difference between a 3 star rating and a 4 star.

I loved eating here me and my sisters came here on holiday to celebrate my eldest sister‘s birthday they were very nice even signed her a card and brought out a little plate that said happy birthday to her we were very pleased with the food and the variety the only problem I had with this place was that we had to go on the gondola to get up and down before this I’ve never been on the gondola so that was freaky lol. The staff were really friendly especially this guy I think is the owner he told us seen as we were the last people that we Didn’t need to leave immediately and we could go take photos On the balcony with the view of the Gondolas going up and down Which was very nice of him. 10/10 Experience would recommend

We had an amazing experience at Stratosfare Restaurant! 🌟 The dinner buffet was absolutely delicious with a great variety of food, and the ambiance was both perfect and stunning — such a beautiful setting. All the staff were warm and friendly, especially Yasmin and the F&B Supervisor, who went above and beyond to make our anniversary extra special. They surprised us with a complimentary anniversary platter and a heartfelt greeting card signed by the whole team. It was such a thoughtful gesture that made our evening unforgettable. Thank you, Stratosfare, for such a wonderful celebration! ❤️

Recently celebrated my birthday at lunch at Stratosfare. When we mentioned it was my bday the lovely receptionist gave us a seat by the window with magic views over Rotorua out to the lake. Was a very wide range of food to suit every appetite beautifully presented. The staff then presented me with a surprise slice of yummy cheesecake decorated with flowers and candle. Certainly made it a very special day.🌹

The first view of Rotorua when we entered was absolutely stunning. But after trying the food, I was really disappointed. The selection was very limited, and about half of the food was cold dishes. The bakery section only had one type of bread, and the dessert options were just two kinds of fruit—orange and mixed fruit—along with some dry, lunch bar-quality cake pieces, pudding, and ice cream. There were also very few meat options. I can tell they really tried to cut down the cost. Based on the food alone, I wouldn’t even give it one star, but because of the beautiful view and the friendly staff, I’m giving it two stars. Next time I visit Rotorua, I’ll probably just ride the gondola and choose a better restaurant for the same price

Came here mid week for dinner. The buffet selection was absolutely wonderful. We were given a window seat even though we didn't pay for 1. The food was really great. The service was outstanding. Everything was well presented and using the gondola to get up there was an additional bonus for the evening out.

Ella is the best! Amazing young lady and sweet! Food has always been great here, but tonight my pork was a little tough and do not have crackling. Love dining here though. 🥰

Super busy day today due to Matariki night. However the staff were professional. On top of that the food from this lonestar is really good compared to a few other branches that I have been to. We were not that hungry so we ordered from the light menu. The quesadilla was crispy and the amount of filling was just right. The burrito however was too heavy for me. We were expecting more rice and beans but it was just full of meat even though it was from a light menu. It didn't taste bad but I got tired of it quickly and really wished they had a more balanced taste. The guac and the tortilla chips were good though.

Our waitress Ella was absolutely wonderful, she made the experience cosy and inviting. The food wasn’t as great as it usually is, might be a different chef vut it was still yum. Always love coming here for the country vibes

My partner and I went there on the evening Wednesday 29 October. Sam hosted us, and even though it was her second day, she was absolutely so professional. The place.. divine, and the atmosphere and variety of food/drinks were great.

First of all the waitresses were really cheerful and polite and introduced themselves to us. Secondly they asked us the right questions concerning our meal and were very attentive to us. The food tasted delicious and were of the right portion for one person. My husband and myself were pleasantly impressed by this Lone Star. Thanks for a lovely meal and evening.

We have been to lone star twice now and were impressed both times. The first time however the mussels were in a pot and kept warm which was amazing. And the service was fantastic even though they were incredibly busy. Unfortunately the second time the mussels weren't as good and got cold quickly as they were in a bowl (this is an upper management decision and nothing to do with the restaurant 😊) but the manager did offer to take the mussels off the bill because they were not great. I take my hat off to anyone who treats their customers like this. AMAZING!! We will be back. Hopefully with pot mussels again

Food was really good. Our waitress Ella was really kind and happy to answer our questions about the menu. We spent a nice evening and had a good dinner. We would highly recommend.

First of all, massive thanks to John and Sarah (the owners) for pouring their heart and soul into the food! I can confirm that their chimichangas are on another level, I’d happily drive all the way from Auckland again just to taste that glorious combo of saucy goodness and perfectly cooked dish. And Sarah, please, I beg you, do not take the chimichangas off the menu! The place is a divine food experience. I’ve gone on many rants about food spots (mostly good), but here’s one more reason this one stood out — I’ve never seen my partner finish an entire plate of anything before. Ever. This was a first. I rest my case.

It’s not often you can walk into a restaurant and know the food is going to be exceptional before you even sit down. This is one of those places. Warm, welcoming & cozy atmosphere. Service was above and beyond without missing a beat. Each component of the meal was bursting with flavours that complemented each other beautifully. I will definitely be going back.

Just had a fabulous evening at Saboroso. Superb food, great atmosphere and exemplary service! Thanks so much for making me a zero alcohol, no sugar mojito ❤️

My new favourite latin/caribbean restaurant in the country. Exceptional service from Sarah, delicious food from John. We over ordered entrees and mains and didn't have space for dessert...

Having visited twice before and being convinced it was superb, I returned last night hoping to savour it once more. Unfortunately, it was temporarily closed. Please note it will remain closed until 26th September.

Super delicious food, amazing service, great atmosphere. Sarah and her husband (sorry I don’t his name) are so lovely and accomodating. The drinks were so great, food was the best we’ve had in a while and will definitely be back soon. Pictured is Sangria, passion fruit margarita, Tres Amigos, Tostadas and Chimichangas.

Was wonderful to return to eat at this intimate restaurant. The service from Sarah is so gracious and attentive. Despite all the tables reserved for this evening our drinks and food were served in a timely manner. Margaritas are top notch. Food delicious. We ordered the calamari and escabeche to start. Both excellent. Mains were the prawn stew and chimichanga de Pollo. It is worth booking ahead to eat in this friendly restaurant. We are never disappointed with our meals at Sabroso. Tasty food, served with love.

The Moroccan chicken salad was exceptional. We bought two to go after trying it in house. We would have preferred our coffee a bit hotter especially on a rainy day though.

I came here for breakfast and unfortunately left underwhelmed. The interior feels more like a school canteen than a cosy café, and the only good spot is the outdoor seating where you can at least enjoy the view. From the entrance through to the inside, the place looked visibly dirty, which really put me off. The staff taking orders seemed too serious and didn’t even offer a greeting, which set the tone for the visit. The food itself was just okay – nothing to complain about but nothing memorable either. Overall, I’d only consider this café as a last option.

Food is cooked well and very enjoyable meal Everytime we come service is always excellent was very busy today but still not a long wait not much options on the menu but everything is yum

Great view of the lake! good food but serving’s on the smaller side. not a fan of their chai latte

A beautiful view of the lake with great coffee and food. Awesome staff. Definitely worth the visit.

Great food, friendly and efficient service and lots of parking. We managed to get a table with a view and even saw a little black mittens cat strolling by next door. The (dairy free) banana smoothie was delicious (but a little on the sweet side), the lemon, ginger honey tea was good too. The seafood chowder was very wholesome and had good flavours to it - bread was a little small. The creamy mushrooms with bread was really nice, very generous serve. We took away a strong cappuccino, and that was good too.

We came to try it out on our way through and unfortunately it didn’t live up to its ratings. The view is amazing, but the cafe is noisy due to the design. Very hard to hear anything. The food was very average. We had items out of the cabinet (which they had a large selection) but the food was just ok. Nothing to write home about. The only item any of us would re order was the custard slice. The boys had iced coffee and iced chocolate. Which both were good. I had a hot large coffee. It was brought out way after everything else and was a touch burnt. Sadly there isn’t enough positive here to bring us back again.

Does this place even have a manager? We came into the store with plates on tables, we finished our meal and the same tables with plates still hadn’t been cleared. Multiple staff members just standing around having a laugh, where are their standards? We had to ask to be given glasses when it should be available at the self service counter. We also received undercooked rice that’s mushy and got it changed to fries. Has to be laziest nandos we’ve seen in nz.

If you order a salad that includes avocado then I’m sorry, but one small cube the size of a dice is not what I call a portion of avocado. Nice place but come on - sort it out. At least they are not like their branch in Auckland where they charge you 3 bucks for ketchup.

A real taste of South Africa 🇿🇦 in NZ, always loved Nando's and miss their witty advertising campaigns. Thanks, Rory - Naked Marketing

Ordered from Nando's Rotorua via Uber Eats. Food arrived with chips missing from order, (added the chips seasoning and dipping sauces tho), also 1 of the chicken meals was meant to be lemon herb, but was plain and tasteless apart from the burnt taste. Tried calling the store for over the last 3hrs with no answer, in attempt to sort over the phone prior to leaving a review.. The best part of the order were the pre packed choc mousse and the dipping sauces. Definitely don't recommend ordering from here!

nando's is the home of the best chicken for me. lots of nice flavour and aroma. we love the different levels of spiciness of their sauces. spacious and cosy ambiance. took good 30 minutes before they served our order though.only 2 staff on and im not sure if they are prioritizing uber orders than dine-in customers. last time we were here, rice not cooked! the staff did not know how to process the barcode in the app. i was not able to avail my points. disappointing

Superb Food, Fast Service – Highly Recommended! Had a fantastic experience at Nando’s Rotorua! The food was super tasty, and the service was excellent — we were served within just 5 minutes of placing our order. The Chicken Platter is a great choice — generous portions and very flavorful. We also tried the veg wraps and burgers, and they were delicious and satisfying. The fries were perfectly seasoned and crispy, adding to an already great meal. Don’t miss trying the variety of peri-peri sauces with different spice levels — they really elevate the flavors. The restaurant is clean, well-managed, and welcoming. Highly recommended for a tasty, quick, and satisfying meal in Rotorua!

Nando never disappoint , their chicken is so tender and tasty. If they put more effort into the side dishes, they will be more successful. The fries are not too good? But they are called a chicken restaurant for a reason

Full credit for the prompt service in the drive thru and the great service. The banana shake was delicious The burger however wasn't that great, the lettuce was so thick and brown rotten parts. The pattie was cold, and I only live about 5mins out from the store.

Very popular place. Staff were very busy but still capable of providing professional service, let alone table service at that. The food was good but the prices are expensive. I understand with today's economy businesses need to market up their products in order to make a profit and cover overheads, and wages, but am glad we were only passing through on our travels home. Having this was a treat but could never have this often. Too expensive for a family of more than four people. Apart from the financing, had the whole American diner vibe all in all, good experience.

Fri 4th October -Drive through dinner order. The drive through woman who served me was not at all concentrating- had to repeat order several times due to lack of English. Order was unusually fast- we checked the bag and everything was there. BUT OMG- there patties are now rubbery and tasteless , they have changed the patties. I will never return now. Good one - cheap n nasty

Ordered a buffalo ranch meal and chicken strips. The chips didn't come out so I had to go back up, and they came back unsalted and burnt, couldn't eat them. The ice was empty in the drinks machine so had a warm coke zero to wash it down. The tenders were terrible, cold, small and bland and somehow even the ranch to dip it in was bland. The table we sat at was dirty and covered in red Fanta, we had to clean it ourselves and the entire time we were here we didn't witness a single table being cleaned or washed down, which I'm certain would breach food restrictions back home after Covid. I wasn't expecting fine dining and this is the first time I've ever been to a Carl's Jr but I can confidently say this is the worst fast food I've ever had. I consider myself lucky to be visiting NZ from a country that doesn't have Carl's Jr.

The service was friendly and quick, and the place had a cozy, casual vibe that made it easy to enjoy the meal. Definitely will come back!

Amazing service . They go above and beyond customer expectations. Without even asking they gave 2 complimentary burgers because last night's burger was cold. Faye is the best manager in Rotorua. Carls jr beats every other driveway takeaway food. Fresh,hot food with amazing service thanks again Faye I will be back 🔥♥️

Enjoyed our day trip and finished with great food and excellent service. The store was so clean..

The pies are so amazing! Good coffee too. Great place, friendly staff! Can't recommend enough.

Super yummy Not just the pies but also the fries Different take on fast food, these yanks loved it

The Staff was very Helpful wanted a pie that had just sold out was tol d if I could wait 10 mins There would be one there yummm

very tasty pies and friendly service, the best brand for all the pie lovers in my opinion!

excellent pie shop and friendly staff. good range of pies and piping hot

Jesters pies are just the best. Costumer service here is just great with friendly hellos and how are you

disappointed at service they totally ignored us and was also aragunt And then there was a lady not able to use iPad and neither did they. they couldn't help her at all

Called in for 4 hot drinks to go. I'm old so do counter service only. Alison was beautiful, cheerful and efficient. Got my drinks quickly, and although they were quite busy, Alison gave every appearance of being well organised and not being flustered. I asked how long had she been there...two years....I wish her well.

Went to McDonald’s today at 4pm, some food was well done but my sister had grease dripping off her burger and her partner found a hair in his burger. The service was fast but they were not busy at all so I’m shocked with our meal prep. Overall thanks to the weather for a beautiful view.

Two different times I ordered no salt on the fries through the drive thru, the fries were covered in salt and soggy as hell. Should have been freshly fried.Today they charged me 7 dollars for a cup that changes colour. I paid $18.70 for a happy meal and cup.The TV commercial that was just on said they were 2 $ Absolutely disgusting 6/9/2025

How good is the Food when the Staff decide to order Pizza instead of enjoying their staff Discount ?? It's a MacDonald's, the food was pretty average, chip oil was old, Under staffed and under cleaned, reminded me of how bad they were starting to get in Australia, at least the New Zealand ones haven't reached the point where you can smell the toilets in the Restaurant. I feel the staff do their best, but owner is under staffing to fill his pockets, a situation where the staff do the best with what they have !! Would I recommend it ? No Maybe if your in an Extreme Rush ! Go to Misso in Te Ngae Shopping Center, its close by and you'll get better value and better food.

DO NOT COME HERE. AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THE COMPANY Lets get the "good" out of the way as itll be quick. The workers and manager all seemed to be laughing and having a good time. Its great to see people having fun while they work and to me, thats very important.. AS LONG AS THERE IS ACTUALLY WORK HAPPENING. Moving on... Absolutely disgusting restaurant on the inside. Fries all over the floor in the eating areas and trash/sauce left all over tables. Understandable if the establishment is busy and teaming with customers. But including me and my partner, there was a total of 5 people inside at a quiet time for the drive thru as well. It even looked like someone had started cleaning and then stopped before making any real effort and never returned to finish the job. Maybe due to a rush in customers but that definitely wasnt the case while we were there to say the least. Also rubbish and lids/empty cups scattered across the kitchen floor were visible too which doesnt look good for cleanliness and hygiene in a restaurant. Food was also unfortunately a bit of a joke. The extras that were ordered were not put onto the food. The boxes that the food came in were also broken and had the food sauces spilling out of them all over the contents of the bag and looked assembled by a blind man. Truly a shame to have to post this but the 3 star overall rating before mine really speaks for itself.

i ordered 9 frozen cokes for my team and when we get them 5 out of the 9 where so call “deflated” as they say and it was only half full. not happy

Had a new McCrispy after having tried one in Auckland and liking it. This store managed to put me off it. Burger was thrown together with about 6 pieces of sliced lettuce and a small blob of a mayo which I am certain was not special new mayo they have for these burgers. We were buying for my mokos and I bought on impulse based on the Auckland burger. I have been disappointed at this outlet many times before so I should have learnt my lesson.

I ordered cheesy garlic bread and it was good. I went back the next night to get more, but it lacked cheese and one was a bit burnt. To top it off the cheesy garlic breads were an extra $2 surcharge compared to the night before.

Ordered two pizzas which supposed to be large size, but they were flying in their boxes as an astronaut in open space. Pizza's taste wasn't well and cut was so uneven and wild, so my kids had to fight who gets the bigger piece. I would recommended this place only if it was located in a desert, but with plenty alternatives around the town I would say big no.

It’s better compared to the Pizza Hut on fairy springs but $8 for this amount of chips is crazy and we went back to show it but was just told this is the amount you get.

My girlfriend and I order a simple cheese pizza and a lava cake. its not that hard to make but somehow the messed it up. they put pepperoni on my cheese pizza (how do you even mess that up) and just to put the icing on the cake they didnt put any icing sugar on our lava cake and it was also burnt.

I had another disappointing experience with Redwood Dominoes when I ordered cheese fries. They charged $10 more for less quantity and wasted an extra $5 for very little cheese on it. There were no spring onions, and the taste of the cheese was the worst." I m sharing here because it’s same owner and redwood staff turn off the reviews.

They were so bizzy and only had 4workers on...they were getting smashed..they kept their composure and did everything they could to keep people happy

I arrived from Wellington this Avo. After resting, I just ordered and picked it up before closing time. Thank You Team for working back to back to Help us Customers to have the best Meal Possible, during these Hard Times. Spoke to Vishnu, the Manager - Very kind and thoughtful about the business. Everyone loves Pizza. Stay Strong 💪, Smile and Have the Biggest Bite.. Cheers.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Had an amazing experience here! The paratha was perfectly soft and buttery — just the way it should be. The biryani was packed with authentic flavors and had just the right amount of spice. Also loved the onion bhajiya — crispy, fresh, and so delicious. The service was warm and welcoming, and the atmosphere felt cozy and comfortable. Definitely a must-visit if you’re craving quality Indian food in Rotorua! Highly recommend and can’t wait to come back.

Chicken Parathas is only the one dish we like here. Not very happy with onion pakora (very oily).

Had dinner today at Air Indian Restaurant in Rotorua with my family and absolutely loved it ☺️! We ordered a mix of vegetarian parathas like aloo, gobi, and mix that all were super delicious, buttery, and perfectly spiced 😋. The curd and tangy pickle on the side were a perfect match. Great food, good vibes and also the staff were friendly n welcoming too, we’ll definitely be back!

Had 3 different curries yesterday, loved all three,especially the chicken Tikka masala and the korma, which have had before. First time for other family members, so new customers will be coming to you.excellent food and service. Thank you

They had a deal on their board for 20.99 which containedcurry, rice, naan and drink and did not offer that when ordering. Instead they charged 24.99 for the dish, naan and drink sold seperate. This was in my opinion not good customer service I asked many questions, so a good patron would of attempted to sell you their restaurant and service. Food was serviced hot and fresh, the butter chicken tastes very much like watties canned soup, we decided to eat in the restaurant and a nice bottle of cold water was delivered to the table. Naan was cooked fresh. I will give them a 3 as I feel strongly that good patrons should take careof the customer

Wohhh what a amazing authentic Indian taste. Had gobi paratha and it was amazing. Portions are super huge and at reasonable price. They serve the same along with yoghurt or butter depends on your choice. Service is super fast.

Best service I've ever had, this was such a cool experience. I phone ordered and to my delight the phone the call was so groovy,customer service superstar so friendly so helpful, go to pick up my order greeted with the biggest smile, the shop smelt delicious, I thanked him for his service and he thanked me for ordering (so cute) food was amazing,cooked perfectly smelt delicious,tasted better then it smelt. 100% great experience will be back.