The Wobbly Kea Restaurant Reviews

Great coffee...even the Kea likes it when he gets the chance.Well worth a stop.

would never visit again. cold service. as you walk in you promptly get "what do you want?"
drinks are well over priced. not a nice place to stop at all.

Delicious homemade food, cosy inside, nice outdoor seating with wild keas hanging around for entertainment. What's not to love?

Stopped for lunch. The menu was small but delicious. Highly recommend the nachos, there was plenty to share between two. Great service.

Great chips, very clean and tidy! We will definitely stop here on our way through again! We were very impressed 10/10

Had some food here on our way back from arthurs pass. The pasta was dry and there wasnt much of a sauce! Portions were good for the price.

The chicken curry was excellent. Fish and chips were also good. Lovely spot to relax and enjoy a good meal.

Good brews. Learnt a lot about kiwi beer sizes. Had a few handles of ale before stumbling into the gutter. Friendly staff were down for a yarn. No matter how strange my questions/ idioms were. Good times.

Fine for a cafe in the middle of Arthur s Pass. Simple food and good portions but hard restaurant for vegans. I ordered the Mediterranean Salad and felt I could make it at home. I also ordered a bowl of chips and I was pleased with the large portion size. Pro is that if you use the toilet, there is a clean, fresh towel to dry your hands every time

I ordered the halumi salad.
Unfortunately it was a real dissapointment as it was so basic with no seasoning and compromised of half a bag of lettuce leaves halumi and the odd walnut (as described on menu) but lacked any flair, flavour and imagination. It could so easily have been so much better.
The chef was not impressed that I gave fair and polite feedback. He was seriously grumpy.
Other meals were ok. Quite high prices but remote location so to be expected.
A shame I will not be reccommending people try the place .

Friendly staff and nice food (albeit a touch expensive).

Very good coffee. Good food all home cooked. Salmon sandwich and chicken curry are my favourite. Stop there when ever I go through pass. Worse the wait!!! Smal cafe not so much staff but heaps better then across the road railway through

My husband and I decided it would be nice to stop and have lunch in Arthur's Pass on our way home from our honeymoon. We were the first people there, and were keen to sit down and have a meal if it were a bit warmer, as it was very cold inside and outside was also cold, so it would have been nice to sit and have our meal in a warm environment. We politely asked if they could please put the heater on, and instead of being offered a seat and greeted warmly, we were given a lecture on how my husband was only wearing a t-shirt and his warm pants and he should put a jumper on. I was dressed very warm and was also very cold. We waited 5 mins for the lady to come back and nobody did. So we left, as we felt very unwelcome.

Wife enjoyed the hot tomato soup, I enjoyed the bangers and mash

Disappointing place. No outlook and expensive rather substandard food. The market is limited so it will be able to get custom whatever, but the place on the other side of the road is better.

Terrible experience. We were asked
to leave by the manager who seemed to think he was a bouncer kicking out drunks when in reality we all bought coffees and tried to hang our coats up to dry. We had just done a beautiful walk in the pouring rain. We all bought coffees and asked if the radiator could be turned on to dry are things. The manager said no and the staff seemed terrified to even ask to start with. We moved our coats but still the manager was unsatisfied and came out to have a rant. The anger was directed at kate who had asked politely about drying are coats. Kate is far from confrontational so the threats aimed at her took us all by surprise and we left baffled trying to
work out what had happened to make the man so angry. Such a horrible experience.

Went for dinner, it was the only restaurant in town open. We had pizza which was premade but pretty good albeit pricey. The menu is very limited but it is in a pretty remote location

Soup was okay and the chicken Curry was good. Unfortunately the fish and chips smelt off and the chips and salad were average. Price on the high side at $26 each and $15 for soup and a bread roll. Service was quick but they looked utterly miserable and disinterested, clearly comfortable in being the only choice in town. Wouldn t rush back.

Staff were extremely rude, especially woman at the bar. Unwelcoming, unfriendly place. We chose to leave. I don't pay to be snarled at.My advice is forget it and go to the cafe across the street instead. Staff there were friendly, nothing was too much trouble. Nicer view and pies/cake were good though it is a simple self service.

You can't go wrong with the happy staff and yummy curry. Always a good choice

Walked in to check the menu weren't really greeted at all stood around for a bit and decided just to walk out and check across the road . Decided nah we will go sit down for a meal here asked if they could light the nice fire place were told just need to check with the manager, okay . Server then had a jab that I wasnt dressed warm enough and should just put a jacket on then went to peel potatoes out back instead of serving or asking the manager about the fire place.... Won't be back and also would recommend you don't bother with this place

Awful . Waitress looked stunned when I asked if they had gluten free bread ! In desperation ordered a pear & halloumi salad , just a huge bowl of spinach , rock hard pear & old walnut pieces with the thinnest strips of over grilled cheese . Either eat at Springfield or wait til you get out of the area .

Food arrived much quicker than advised (really busy at 6.45 pm on a Wednesday in Feb). Staff helpful and friendly. Vegetarian pasta tasty...big bowl, couldn't finish. Far better than expected from previous reviews.

You know when you walk into a bar or restaurant and there is that air of complacency around the staff and fit out. That feeling of I really can't be bothered with customers and the money they spend - the Wobbly Kea has that feeling throughout the experience when you go there

Nice place to stop for a coffee. Friendly staff, ok coffee.

This was some of the best sausage we had in NZ! Delicious, home-style meal! My Indian boyfriend was very surprised with the spicy chicken curry as well. He said "this is what you actually get in India".

The lady (European) behind the bar perhaps needs to rethink her career in hospitality. She was incredibly unwelcoming and far beyond rude. I honestly don't know how this cafe keeps the business alive in this covid era! We took our friends from Australia to this cafe only to be lectured, sneered at, and before we finished the meal the woman cleared our plate and started cleaning the table, not to mention hoovering. We were so shocked we left. There were two other couple outside who had similar treatment. We joked about how they wouldn't have any customers if the cafe across the road stayed open. Be warned, take your hard earn money and spend it else where. If you don't believe me, read the reviews. I wish I had done that!

What a fabulous space. We ordered Pizzas they were amazing as was all the other yummy things we purchased. Happy tummies all round.

Ohhhh Boyyy What a treat!! We stayed in Arthur's Pass for 1 night. We decided to have a few drinks and have Dinner. We ordered the Chefs Special Chicken curry with Bastami rice & poppadoms 10/10!!Amazingggg. And the Pizza and Fish & chips with salad were very tasty too. Big serves. Don't go in too late as Lock up time is 8pm!

Beautiful spot, with a beautiful view. Staff seemed tired and over worked. Manager seemed quite aggressive to other customers. Power is shut off unless you pay, and even if you have purchased a meal it seems you have to ask for it to be turned on. Atmosphere just had an edge. It is very expensive for what is a very average situation.

This place is in between mountains so one would expect to pay a little more than your average centrally localed restaurant.
Price wise- it was fair.
Staff service- good.
Good quality- everything we ordered was delicious. We ordered the mushroom soups and chips with gravy and cheese.
Atmosphere- warm and cosy.

Do not recommend at all, cold day heaters not going, staff member was rude, not a friendly feel at all,

Poor Service .. No recommendations... Asked for fish and chips... said it will take 20 mins and asked me to order Pizza... ordered it... it took more than 30 mins

Fantastic place, great atmosphere, nice selection of whiskey and friendly staff.

The Pizza's are huge and delicious! Our family favourite here. The chips are pretty good too

Very expensive place.... $32 for an average pizza (we had the wobbly pizza) and $24 or so for the beef nachos which was pretty gross... the 'beef' was gluggy and fairly tasteless, not enough sour cream or cheese for the amount of meat either... Taking big advantage of the fact they're the only place to eat... bring your own food if you come to Arthur's Pass!

Absolutely delicious! Great atmosphere, fabulous food.

After ordering food, We encountered a bad experience with attitude from one of the bar staff.

Nice little homely dinner, great place to stop on your way through Arthur's pass.

Cozy place, friendly service and super tasty spicy check curry !! Due to bad weather we sat there for a long time on the couch and drank tea. Nice atmosphere.

Pretty average. Overpriced and under delivered.
Never gave our table water, nor had any alternative to milk for hot choc (soy milk ect).
Staff were unfriendly and cold, just standing around and talking. Much better to go across the road

All microwave food charging 32$ for a pizza and 15$ for a soup. Had to pay before the food was served... I wonder why... The soup was meant to be a gluten free option which they gallantly did by removing the bread rolls at the same price. Appalling place.

Nice little place, food looked good but didn't eat this time.

$32 for a pizza and they might not charge you to use the power points. When there's little competition you can be your worst and still be the best and these guys know it. ProTip: keep driving.

Good food and service, just a shame the fire wasn't going and the prices are a bit steep.

We entered the cafe to get some coffees on a rainy day and to write our travelblog. After just 15 min. a staff member asked us to pay 2,50$ for using electricity or order a meal, we decided to order a meal later. From that point on the boss looked at us every other minute like we were criminals.
After we ordered a meal we got a couple of hair in one of our meals...its discusting!
The service was not good and we didnt have the feeling to be welcome...which is very sad
The food actualy was not that bad! Its just about the behaviour from the boss and of the staff!

Warm and welcoming on arrival, pizza ,chips and coffee really hit the spot,really recommend stopping and taking 5 and refuelling

The fries were good, however they were extra stingy with the tomato sauce packets! Everything here is inflated expensive - $32 for a pizza!

Ate lunch and cooled my heels in here as I waited out the rain. A good cafe and bar with nice warm interior. Good for a sit down meal and a glass of wine. They have a pretty good and yummy salad. It probably would have been a nice place to chill and hang out at the end of a hike. Too bad they close a bit early (I think last call for food is 730).

Nice location , pretty good food and beer , friendly staff .

Stunning sandwiches, very filling, hot drinks beautifully presented, comfortable surroundings, great music, highly recommend. Lovely hosts.

I am really disappointed, we wanted to have breakfast here, had to wait half an hour for the cafe to open because the opening time on door 10 was specified. When we were finally let in at 10:30 we were told the kitchen would not open until 11, until then there would only be drinks. I would like to give 0 stars, in the end we went without buying anything

Delicious food after climbing Devil's Punch Bowl. Pizza, hot soup of the day, tacos and salad. So yummy. Cheers.

Extremely busy cafe coffee great could do with more toilet facilities

We really enjoyed our lunch here on a rainy winter's day. Generous and well flavoured food done well. Cosy interior with a lovely outside area that would be great in summer. Friendly staff and a welcoming atmosphere. Definitely not a production line pit stop, but a place with charm and views onto the surrounding bush.

Lovely little place and a life saver to 2 sodden individuals looking for a place to warm up and fill up.

Nice, chilled place to be - with a relaxed atmosphere - on a manic summers day in Arthur s Pass. Food and service was pretty good (we polished it all off). Prices on the higher (but not astronomical) side, but that just reflects where you are. Recommended.

Food is beautiful. Prices are reasonable. Portions are too big especially nachos. One serving is enough for two

Great coffee and beautiful artwork doted around for sale. Friendly staff.

Okay food - if you have to stop somewhere then this will do, but there isn't a lot of choice in the area anyway.

In a response to, "could you please get me a menu"

Got a response in a rude way, get it fron counter!

Like if its self service say it like that.

Quite a good place to stop off on the way from on coast to another. Not as flashy as the other place across the road, but cosy and friendly. My wife's coffee was a little strong, but the rest of us enjoyed our drinks.

We live in our van and were passing through. They asked us to pay $2.50 to charge our devices, or order something. We agreed and ordered 1 chips and 1 tea, which came to $14. The place was empty but the server more or less asked us to leave, repeatedly asking to clear our plates. Generally just unwelcoming atmosphere. My advice is to try the place across the street.

Staff not really friendly, and you have to pay an extra for use plugs , even if you order drinks. Expensive.

A pleasant stopping place. Polite staff and good food.