The Stoaker Room Wanaka is the Wānaka branch of The Stoaker Room Bistro & Bar, set in the heart of Central Otago at 3 Mountain View Drive. Its style of cooking is what the team calls Barrel Cuisine: local produce grilled, baked, steamed and smoked in French Oak Pinot Noir barrel cookers, known as Stoakers. Part BBQ, grill, oven and smoker all at once, the Stoaker is a versatile system in a rustic converted wine barrel, built for natural ingredients and feasts made for sharing.
The idea was born in the sunny Central Otago summer of 2008, when a fire ban on the banks of the Kawarau River pushed Wild Earth Vineyard owner and former commercial diver Quintin Quider and Stormalong Stanley of Stewart Island to improvise with an old wine barrel. They smoked and steamed salmon and freshly caught seafood over wood chips and water, discovering a unique oaky flavour. Many barrels later, those patented Stoakers now power the restaurant's busy outdoor kitchen, with Wild Earth Wines — Quintin's award-winning Central Otago label — as part of the same story.
At the Wanaka site, coffee is poured from 10am, the all-day lunch and dinner menu runs from 12pm with last dinner orders around 7:30pm, and the bar stays open until 9pm, seven days a week. Takeaway is available online or through the free The Stoaker Room app on Apple and Android, or by phone, with a discount for takeaway orders. Gift vouchers are also offered.
Beyond the bistro, the team caters weddings and special events with fully mobile Stoakers, an offering past couples consistently praise for its professional service and distinctive food. A sister restaurant operates in Cromwell on State Highway 8B.
Tucked at 3 Mountain View Drive on the Cardrona side of Wānaka, The Stoaker Room Bistro & Bar does something no ordinary grill, oven or smoker can. Here, local Central Otago produce is grilled, baked, steamed and smoked inside French Oak Pinot Noir barrel cookers that the team calls Stoakers. They call the style *Barrel Cuisine* — simple fine food, harnessing nature, made for sharing.
The idea was born during the particularly sunny Central Otago summer of 2008, on the banks of the Kawarau River. Facing a fire ban and a gathering of hungry friends, Wild Earth Vineyard owner and former commercial diver Quintin Quider teamed up with Stormalong Stanley from Stewart Island to find a way to cook without an open flame. All they had was an old wine barrel.
They chopped the barrel, rigged a makeshift heat source, added wood chips and poured water into the bottom to protect the oak. Then they smoked and steamed fillets of salmon and freshly caught seafood — and tasted a unique oaky flavour they knew instantly was something special. That riverside experiment has since grown into a fleet of patented Stoaker cookers, each a rustic converted wine barrel, now powering the restaurant's busy outdoor kitchen.
The Stoaker is a versatile cooking system that fits in a category of its own. It has similar functions to a BBQ, but it isn't just a BBQ, grill or oven — nor is it just a smoker. It combines all of these techniques into one system: natural ingredients, oak and steam come together to create feasts built for sharing. Seafood and salmon were the very first things ever cooked in a Stoaker, and they remain at the heart of what the kitchen does. The barrels are fully mobile, travelling to weddings, catering jobs and special events — and you can even buy your own Stoaker to bring the wild to your backyard.
The Wānaka bistro is open Monday to Sunday from 10am to 9pm. Coffee starts flowing from 10am, an all-day menu runs from 12pm, and the kitchen takes last dinner orders around 7:30pm, with the bar open until 9pm. The mood is relaxed and welcoming — exactly what founder Quintin and partner Sue envisioned when they opened The Stoaker Room: great food and wine, simply crafted for sharing good times with friends.
The wine story runs deep, too. Quintin grew Wild Earth Wines into an award-winning Central Otago brand, born from the same rugged landscape and pioneering spirit, and it remains closely tied to the Stoaker Room dining experience.
The Stoaker Room has built a strong reputation as an event caterer, with mobile Stoakers appearing at weddings across the region. Couples consistently rave about the results — reviewers have called the food 'a true highlight' and 'the best wedding ever', praising professional, friendly service and dishes that exceeded all expectations.
Can't dine in? The Wānaka kitchen also does takeaways. Order online through the restaurant's takeaway page, download the free Stoaker Room app on Apple or Android, or call 03 445 4841 — and you'll enjoy a discount when you order takeaway. Gift vouchers are available as well, if you'd like to share the Barrel Cuisine experience with someone else.
Whether you settle in for a long lunch, stop by for a morning coffee, or order a barrel-smoked feast to go, The Stoaker Room Wānaka serves up a taste of Central Otago you won't find anywhere else.