Queenstown Restaurants: A view of the entrance to the Cow Pizza and Spaghetti House in downtown Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand.

Written by Mod Fam on June 20, 2019

Queenstown Restaurants: The Cow

Drinking Cabernet Savignon and rosé at the Cow Pizza and Spaghetti House in Queenstown, New Zealand. A woman cuts fresh, homemade garlic bread while two glasses of red wine and rosé sit nearby.

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Queenstown Restaurants: The Best of the Best

Our favorite of all Queenstown restaurants is the Cow, a small, dimly lit “pizza and spaghetti house” tucked away in one of the alleys of central Queenstown. Fresh baked bread, delicious dishes, and a warm and inviting location make this one of Queenstown’s best out-of-the-way restaurants. Feel free to fight the crowds at some of Queenstown’s trendy new food establishments, but check out the Cow while you’re here, too.

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A view of the gondola outside of Queenstown, New Zealand from the Cow Restaurant. — The Queenstown gondola is visible from the Cow Restaurant, near the waterfront park.

Queenstown Restaurants: A view of the entrance to the Cow Pizza and Spaghetti House in downtown Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand. A young girl stands in the alleyway leading to the Cow.

Queenstown Restaurants: The Cow

Right in the heart of Queenstown, down a winding side alley, sits a small, narrow entryway to the Cow. The Cow is so unique it has its own street name: Cow Lane. If you spend all your time in line at Fergburger (which we also highly recommend, by the way), you’ll miss this hidden gem, a real Queenstown original.

A young girl stands next to burning candles and a large stone hearth inside the Cow Pizza and Spaghetti House Restaurant in Queenstown, New Zealand, on the South Island in Central Otago.

Queenstown Restaurants: A view of the bar and interior of the Cow Pizza and Spaghetti House Restaurant in Queenstown, New Zealand, on the South Island in Central Otago.

The outside seating sits cozily between two tall buildings with stone exteriors, which provide some respite from the hot summer sun. From the outside seats, you can see right up to the gondola and mountaintop recreation area with its bungy jump and boxcar race track. (If you’re feeling super adventurous, sign up to paraglide off the mountain. Ben spent nearly 20 minutes in the air from liftoff to touchdown).

A young girl eats a mouthful of spaghetti noodles at an outdoor restaurant table at the Cow Pizza and Spaghetti House in downtown Queenstown, New Zealand, in Central Otago.

We’ve come to the Cow every time we’ve visited Queenstown for at least the last 15 years. I would describe the food as comfort food: good-sized portions of pasta and homemade bread and a good selection of beer and wine make this a reliable favorite. Inside, the dark decor reminds us of an old English pub or a converted stable, complete with a large stone fireplace and dark wooden beams.