MK Restaurant is located in the Village Shopping Centre at 3/24 Conical Hill Road, Hanmer Springs, and opened in 2017, quickly becoming the town's number one restaurant. It was founded by Mirek and Krystyna, who have been in the restaurant industry since the 1990s, running successful restaurants across Europe before developing their passion for high-quality food here in New Zealand.
Every dish is prepared from scratch using the best ingredients from local suppliers, blending molecular and traditional cooking techniques. MK Restaurant has become especially known for what it calls the most delicious dumplings in the world, alongside creative, highly praised desserts. The elegant, welcoming 32-seat interior was designed by Albolab, and the restaurant is licensed, with no BYO.
MK Restaurant was a 2022 Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Best of the Best Award Winner, recognised in the Hidden Gems – New Zealand and Everyday Eats – New Zealand categories.
Tucked into the Village Shopping Centre at 3/24 Conical Hill Road, MK Restaurant has been a fixture of Hanmer Springs dining since it opened in 2017, quickly becoming the town's number one restaurant. Behind it are founders Mirek and Krystyna, who bring decades of restaurant experience from the 1990s onward, having run successful restaurants across Europe before settling in New Zealand.
MK's approach to food starts with a simple principle: everything is prepared from scratch using the best ingredients from local suppliers. The kitchen blends molecular and traditional cooking techniques, a combination the restaurant uses to create what it calls the most delicious dumplings in the world — a claim borne out by repeated guest reviews singling out the dumplings and gourmet pierogies as some of the best meals they've had, often served alongside a pickled salad.
If there's one recurring theme across MK's reviews, it's dessert. Guests consistently describe it as a highlight — a creative, thoughtfully executed course that the chef explains personally at the table. One reviewer called it one of the great culinary experiences of their life, while another simply advised: 'you have to try dessert.' The chefs are treated as artists here, with every dish described as a piece of art on a plate.
The restaurant seats up to 32 guests, in an interior designed by Albolab to feel welcoming and relaxed — the kind of space meant to make guests feel at home. MK Restaurant is licensed, with no BYO, and due to the limited number of seats combined with high demand, the restaurant is unable to take reservations for dessert orders only.
MK Restaurant's reputation extends well beyond Hanmer Springs. In 2022, it was named a Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Best of the Best Award Winner, picking up recognition in both the Hidden Gems – New Zealand and Everyday Eats – New Zealand categories — a strong signal that its combination of creative food and genuine hospitality resonates well beyond the local area.
Because everything is made fresh daily, dietary requirements are subject to availability, and guests are asked to let the restaurant know of any needs when booking to avoid disappointment. Families are also catered for — reviewers note that kids' meals come out quickly, alongside a drinks list that includes three different types of spa water on tap, a nod to Hanmer Springs' own thermal heritage.
MK Restaurant is open Thursday to Monday from 5pm to 10pm, and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Given its limited seating and strong reputation, booking ahead is genuinely recommended — as one reviewer put it, 'the word has gotten out and they don't have many tables.' Whether it's the gourmet dumplings, the pickled salad, or simply saving room for dessert, MK Restaurant continues to deliver what its guests describe as one of the most memorable dining experiences in Hanmer Springs.