Treehouse Wānaka is a cozy restaurant and bar tucked away in Anderson Heights, Wanaka — a place, as they put it, for those who know. Awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2026, the kitchen is led by Head Chef Ricardo Le Roux and serves food meant to linger and leave a lasting impression. The current food and drinks menus are published on the restaurant's website.
The vibe is deliberately unhurried and intimate: low lighting, a playlist that hits right, and a bartender who already knows your order. Treehouse describes itself as a den for the curious — a space that feels more like a friend's lounge than a dining room, for people who don't need to be seen but want something worth returning to. Whether you're a local or just visiting Wanaka, the team's aim is for Treehouse to feel like your place from the very first visit.
Beyond walk-in dinners and drinks, Treehouse hosts functions, runs a loyalty rewards programme, and offers gift cards, with online table booking available. You'll find them at 3 Reece Crescent, next to b.social Taproom & Eatery and b.effect Brewery. Doors open from 4pm Wednesday through Sunday; the kitchen and bar rest on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Some restaurants announce themselves with neon signs and street-front buzz. Treehouse Wānaka does the opposite. Tucked away in Anderson Heights, this cozy restaurant and bar describes itself simply as “a place for those who know” — and in 2026, a lot more people are going to know, because Treehouse has been awarded a Bib Gourmand by Michelin.
It’s a striking honour for a venue that has never chased the spotlight. Everything about Treehouse is built around the idea of retreat: the lighting is low, the playlist hits right, and the bartender — in the team’s own words — already knows your order. This is hospitality aimed not at passing foot traffic, but at people searching for somewhere worth returning to.
Step in from Reece Crescent and the intent is immediately clear. Treehouse is designed to feel more like a friend’s lounge than a dining room: warm, unpretentious and quietly confident. The team calls it “a den for the curious” — a space for those who don’t need to be seen, but want something worth returning to, over and over.
That sense of belonging is the whole point. “Treehouse is more than a menu,” the team says. “It’s a place you feel part of, from the very first visit.” Whether you’re a Wānaka local or a visitor in town for the lake and the mountains, the invitation is the same: Treehouse is your place.
The kitchen is led by Head Chef Ricardo Le Roux, whose stated mission is to serve food that lingers — cooking that leaves a lasting impression long after the plate is cleared. The Michelin Bib Gourmand, an award that recognises restaurants delivering excellent food at good value, suggests that ambition is being met.
Alongside the kitchen, the bar is central to the experience. Treehouse is a restaurant and bar in the truest sense — a room where an evening can begin with a drink and a conversation and unfold naturally into dinner. With doors opening at 4pm, there is space for both the early-evening crowd and the long-dinner set. The current food and drinks menus are published on the Treehouse website, so you can get a feel for what’s on before you arrive.
Few venues lean into loyalty the way Treehouse does. There is a dedicated loyalty rewards program for returning guests, gift cards for those keen to introduce a friend to their find, and a functions offering for celebrations and group bookings, with details available through the venue’s functions page.
Booking a table is straightforward too, with an online reservation system linked directly from the website. Given the room’s cozy scale and the attention the Bib Gourmand is sure to bring, securing a spot ahead of time is a sensible move.
Treehouse Wānaka sits at 3 Reece Crescent in Anderson Heights, next door to b.social Taproom & Eatery and b.effect Brewery — a handy landmark for a spot that is deliberately tucked away. If it feels like a local secret, that is rather the idea; now it simply has a Michelin nod attached.
Hours are evening-focused. Treehouse is open Wednesday to Sunday from 4pm until close, and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Enquiries can be made by phone on 03 4437344 or by email at [email protected], and news and updates are shared on the venue’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
Wānaka has no shortage of places to eat. What Treehouse offers is something rarer: an atmosphere that feels like it was built for you, cooking with a point of view from a kitchen led by Ricardo Le Roux, and the low-key thrill of discovering a place that feels like it was waiting to be found. Come once out of curiosity. The odds are you will come back — that, after all, is what Treehouse was made for.