Crisp winter days and chilly nights means that my intake of hot chocolates increases somewhat over the winter season, especially when in Queenstown. Unlike Wellington where the winter wind would probably freeze your core, a still day in Queenstown is an inviting one to want to sit outside. Our time at Yonder sat in this category and with blankets to snuggle and heaters above we were more than comfortable.

Yonder has been becoming quite popular recently due to social media and a few other well publicized articles. After checking out the menu at home, we thought that is looked pretty scrumptious so we headed on in for brunch. The dinner menu actually looked fantastic too; we spent a long time salivating over the sharing plate options.

There were options a plenty to sit both in or outside. We opted to sit outside because the day was absolutely glorious and the courtyard was streaming with sunlight. We ordered two hot chocolates immediately and then spent our time perusing the options (even though we had already poured over it at home!).

Funnily enough, after talking to the waitress I ended up ordering the corn and jalapeno fritters – which hadn’t even been on my shortlist! She really sold it to me so I thought I would give it a go. Andy ordered the bacon buttie burger with fries – which was a good option too. Prices were standard, which made it feel cheap because I think we were both expecting to buy more seeming we were in Queenstown and at one of the trendiest cafes! Portion sizes were decent, we were both full afterwards – but if you weren’t there was a cabinet with a range of goodies available.

For dinner, I made sure that our whole party ordered something different. I had the slow cooked pork belly which was delicious, yet I did feel like it was comparable to a nice meal at home. The pulled lamb flatbread looked sensational as did the salmon with pea puree. I don’t order chicken that often, but it came wrapped in bacon and the serving size was huge. Speaking of huge, the beef brisket…! Although no-one at our table ordered this feast, it was flying out the kitchen left, right and centre and it was enormous. It comes with chips and I would suggest definitely sharing it with some kind of vegetable on the side.