Reviews for Botswana Butchery

by Toni
10th April 2012

Went for hubby’s 50th over Easter weekend in Queenstown. Food very expensive for what you get and standard not what one expects for $35-45 dollar main (excludes sides). We ordered entree oysters, 1x dozen, received 11. Just annoying. Location is great and the decor is fabulous, service average. Again if you go 5 star you expect 5 star. Couldn’t recommend.

by Mandy N.
14th February 2012

I ate, as one of a group of four, at BB on Sunday 12th February 2012. Without a doubt it was the best meal I’ve had this year so far, and probably all of last year too. This is not a cheap restaurant so expect to pay for quality. Service was friendly, competent and unobtrusive. Wine list was awe-inspiring. I had the pork dish – a perfectly grilled cutlet, small rillette and some ribs – served with potato salad, apple sauce and watercress containing shards of pork crackling and matchsticks of fresh apple. My companions ate hare, lamb and pork. None of us had any bread or entree ‘cos we were hanging out for the main fare. All of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals. The menu is basically in two sections: fully plated meals with all the trimmings (which we had); and the butchery section where you choose your meat, sauce and side dishes individually. The plated meals were average size. I could have eaten a dessert but my mates dragged me away. Damn, that strawberry panacotta sounded very fine. I’ll be back.

by JulieC
25th November 2011

Went here for a special celebration dinner whilst in Queenstown. Was highly recommended by ex resident.
The food was GREAT and the setting was really nice.
My only gripe is the service – not good.
Had french onion soup – no soup spoon.
Happened to the table next to us – no cutlery for their main course and they took cutlery off another table.
Ordered a bottle of wine ($90). It was dribbled down the side of the bottle when poured and for the rest of the meal the waitress did no top up our glasses.
Lot of chat going on amongst staff. No one managing the staff and keeping an eye on things. Bit disappointing.
Bit of a let down as the food was superb and the kitchen was obviously doing their job really well with great food.

by North2South
21st August 2011

Botswana is an elegant and impressive looking restaurant. The decor is modern with plenty of room inside, seating people both upstairs and down in what looks like a converted large home.

The environment gives you an air of class and expense, but Queenstown being what it is, you could be there just as comfortably in jeans and a hoody as you would in a collared shirt and designer shoes.

The prices are not for the penny-watchers. The menu isn’t huge, but still fairly impressive – apart from the lack of bread. Perhaps we missed it on the menu, but we didn’t see any on the sides or starter menu.

Service was impeccable, and apart from a muddle up with our booking not being found when we first arrived, and being moved seats, we couldn’t fault it.

There is a good selection of wine, including many from local Central Otago wineries.

Our meals were great – but as indicated by an earlier reviewer, you pay extra for the sides. Steak meals and such range in the $30 price range with each additional side approximately $8 each. Which can make your meal about $50pp without drinks added.

Overall we enjoyed the dining experience, but it would be the sort of place that we would recommend if you wanted somewhere to enjoy the service and atmosphere and have a few dollars to splash around.

by Love f.
11th July 2011

Arriving off the plane on Sunday, we were rushed to the BB, for a late lunch. Located on the waterfront in Queenstown, the restaurant is housed in what must have been an early settlers cottage ( albeit expanded through the years.) With a focus on grills there are many dishes to be enjoyed on the main menu, however Sunday lunch and fresh off the plain I opted for the Steak Sandwich which was everything you could ever wish it to be, and at $15 it represented fantastic value. Service was both professional and friendly, even though we were late for lunch, we were made to feel very welcome and an important detail – no one rushed us out the door late on Sunday afternoon.

by CelesteReviews
23rd March 2011

This restaurant is top class. From the bright patterned decor and different sized upstairs dining rooms, to the friendly and intelligent service, to the varied selection presented on the wine list, to the tasty menu. I had been recommended Botswana Butchery before my recent trip to Queenstown, and I’m so glad that I went.

We shared some side dishes and breads to begin with and I had the most amazing risotto combining asparagus, fava beans and mange tout (snow peas), topped with pecorino.

Note: make sure you make a reservation in advance, so you don’t miss out.

I blogged more about my experience at http://celestereviews….

by RD
4th February 2011

I visited here about a year ago now. I couldn’t wait to go after all the great press it has in the cuisine magazine. I was blown away with the food, service, dining areas, menu, wine cellar and the door handles(meat clevers)The best meal i had had in a long time and i cant wait to go back. One comment on this page says how you have to pay extra to have something with your meal, well thats how it works with the steaks for eg you pick your cut of meat or the age the size etc, then all the side dishes are also listed, then the sauces so its all catered just to your liking, the more you want to eat the dearer it gets.

Superb i will be back

by Dan
3rd November 2010

I went with a large group of friends a month or so ago. The place was fantastic with all the little nooks and crannies. Over all everyone had wonderful food and the only thing that keeps it from getting 5 stars was our waitress being extremely informal. Not rude, just a little too much info about her private life. You;d expect that at say, Lone Star, but not at a place like this.
I’d definitely go back for more though!

by Sue
10th August 2010

I have been to this restaurant in 2009 and again in 2010. I would say it’s one of the best restaurants I have EVER been to. The food is exceptional, the service amazing and the ambiance is wonderful. If you get the chance ask for a private dining room. For lunch they will also pick you up and drive you home in a Bentley for Free. We went twice during our one week stay in Queens town in 2010 and cannot wait to visit again.

by munchy
15th January 2010

I had been wanting to dine here since it opened as I’d heard some good reviews so arranged to meet my friend here for lunch. Visually it’s appealing but you’d think being on the lake front you’d get more of a view. On a sunny day you just don’t want to be stuck in a gloomy dark interior and there are only a few seats available outside.
I wanted a steak but was put off by the fact that I’d have to pay extra for everything to go with it so ended up just ordering off their basic lunch menu – the cheapest thing was the Caesar Salad but even then I had to pay another $4 extra for the egg and bacon which SHOULD be already be included in any self-respecting Caesar.
My friend was out of luck, unfortunately. The kitchen were uninterested in putting together a vegan lunch for her and since they couldn’t even guarantee the fries were cooked in vege oil she went hungry.
All in all, not very satisfying.

by Glen B.
20th September 2009

Last night was our third visit to Botswana Butchery and I have to say things have gone down hill from the last couple of visits. I would have given this restaurant a 5 star rating for our first visit but 3 stars is all it gets now. The main let down is the service, while it was friendly it was a bit to familiar and not as professional as it could be. Now the service would have been good in a more casual setting but you are paying for what should be a fine dining experience and it was just a little clumsy and a few mistakes crept in.

On the food front the Tuna Tartare was OK but the beetroot flavour just overran the dish so much that you couldn’t really taste the tuna. For the main I had a steak (Angus Rib Eye) which was good but not outstanding. The horseradish side packed a punch – be warned.

On the dessert front I went with the Affogato – It did what it said on the tin and was a nice ending to the meal. I did have dessert jealousy however – I would recommend trying the Pear and Almond Torte with Pear ice cream.

by norma ferguson
5th May 2009

I was in Queenstown in February and discovered the delights of the Botswana Butchery.On 2 occasions for drinks only overlooking the beautiful lake and also in the upstairs cocktail bar. This enticed us to return to try the dinner menu as the service we received from the warm friendly staff was excellent. We were not disappointed as the food was superb and our only difficulty was choosing from the menu as everything was very appealing. So you will not be surprised to learn that we went back again on our last night in town. Our only complaint was the smokiness of the open fires both in the cocktail lounge and at the front area of the restaurant. It was quite unpleasant, however the staff addressed this problem to the best of their ability although i think gas fires would solve this issue very easily.
We are returning to Queens town next week and will look forward very much to the Botswana experience especially their delicious food. Highly recommended

by R Del Piccolo
6th April 2009

I visited this restaurant by chance, while strolling the streets of Queenstown, looking for a Steak-House.
Although the place was very busy and I had no booking, I was accommodated in one of the private Room for two.
The service was corteous and efficient, the quality of the Steaks was almost perfect, although my wife’s steak was slightly too cooked to be suignant, the side dishes and bread were just perfect, and the Creme Brulee’ was one of the best I have tasted.
The private room was comfortable, bar the bit too noisy music ( turned off at our request )and the overflowing smoke coming from the log fire. ( an open window overlooking the lake corrected that )
I was pleseantly surprised when the account arrived, I would have paid the same amount anywhere in Perth WA, for an average meal.
I considered the service to have been above average, the food very good and the value for money very satisfying, a special credit to the Manager from Brindisi and the waitress from Ferrara, who looked after us professionaly, wearing the most affable of smiles, blended with impeccable savoir-fair.
Would definatly visit again…….

by Colin McGhee
16th March 2009

Despite Kevin’s review, we didn’t get to sample the ‘acclaimed’ food on offer because of the chaos that ensued in the restaurant. Despite having drawn our observations of a dis-functional front of house to the MD (Claire Abbott) who assured us that things were in control, we spent an hour and a quarter drinking, had starters and were informed it would be another 15 minutes (at least) for our mains (2 rare steaks).
We paid up and left in disgust.
Unless you can buy from the kitchen and cut out the middle-chaos I would suggest you try Pier 19 or Flames where the ambience, welcome and quality is something the BB should observe.

by Kevin Maxwell
12th January 2009

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal here. The decor, furnishings and restaurant design/layout are unique and definitely set the place apart. There are even two seat dining rooms for a more private or romantic meal. The service was very good. The food was well presented and tasted great. Well worth the visit.

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