It doesn’t take many things to make a good cafe, what’s needed is to do the simple things well. Good coffee, good food, friendly staff, a cozy shop and good location. Bob’s Weigh ticks all of these boxes but you might only remember one of them if you happen to have an encounter with Bob himself. He’s the guy working in the kitchen that greets pretty much everyone that walks into the shop with a friendly g’day, maybe introducing himself and huge smile. He’s a man that loves his job.

While Bob is friendly, you might think he’s too friendly. He’s nothing until you meet his mother. Mad Mary (she makes the jam for the toast) has a very curious presence, pink or purple hair, a strange dress sense and a wicked sense of humour, she runs all over the cafe laughing and having a good time. It’s this sense of humour that probably forced her to decorate the cafe with scales, there is weighing devices of every shape and form on the shelves and walls and Bob himself doesn’t quite know why.

The bizarre decor and the quirky staff give the cafe a very homely feel that doesn’t stop when you order breakfast. Nothing on the menu could be described as gourmet, which just adds to the allure of the place. Toast, muesli, bacon and eggs and omelettes is the faire all topped off with beautiful homemade jam and chutney. There is nothing out of the ordinary about the drinks menu, except the Chai latte. It’s not the mellow cinnamon drink you expect, it’s extra spicy and very tasty but, not for the faint of heart. The prices on are reasonable and if you bring in your own cup for a takeaway coffee, they’ll knock 50c off the price – just how it should be.

Everything about this cafe is like home, you could cook everything on the menu at home, but you wouldn’t do as good a job. You could make the jam, but it wouldn’t be as nice, same goes for the coffee and besides you would have to do the dishes. Talk to Bob, he’ll be happy to do them for you.

As far as drunk and hangover foods go, the meat pie is one of the brilliant, can’t go wrong sort of selections. It’s beauty is in it’s ubiquity, it’s always available, it’s cheap, easy and as greasy as you like. But, not all pies were created equal, a frozen supermarket pie microwaved is always inferior to the same pie oven-cooked and at the top of this pyramid of brilliance are bakeries. Not just any old chain of bakery though, the sort that claim they have world class pies, the sort that have a 4 page pie menu and the sort that people drive from miles around just “for a pie”.

Arrowtown Bakery is one of these places, now they don’t make the outrageous claims of being world famous and the bit about the 4 page pie menu was a bit of an embellishment but people really do drive from miles around to get the pies. Now, let me assure you, they don’t dissapoint. The menu consists of a heap of different chicken pies; spicy chicken; cream of chicken; chicken and cheese and plain old chicken. They also have your normal staple of mince, steak, steak and onion and steak and cheese along with a couple of not so run of the mill – bolognaise and lamb and mint. Lamb is up there with my 4 favourite meats and it lends itself perfectly to being low cooked, roasted or baked. Needless to say I was heartily impressed by a lamb pie.

Not only are the fillings brilliant but that’s not all there is to a pie, the other ingredient is pastry and it doesn’t fail to impress here either. The pastry literally melts in your mouth, the top is crisp nut not tough and the pie itself holds itself together. This in itself is part of the genius, there is nother better than not having to worry about mince down your front when you are hoeing into your hangover cure.

All in all these parcels of oven-baked pastry-laden meat are amazing. If you are in the Wakatipu, hangover or no, the 15 minute drive to Arrowtown is well worth the effort.

I absolutely love Japanese cooking (or lack of cooking) especially for lunch. The smaller portions are generally all you need and although you don’t feel completely fulfilled it is all you generally need, don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t be going for a sushi roll or a tempura soba on a hangover, but it does go suspiciously well with a spot of sake or beer.

Kappa is a little place upstairs in Queenstown mall, just a single glass door with a sign and menu hanging on it. The dining area is pretty small, only seating about 15 people and a (during winter) plastic enclosed balcony with 3 tables. The balcony feels a little bit like you are a fish, but I think come summer it will be a prime spot to have a quick bite, a glass of wine and some fresh mountain air.

The lunch menu is really limited with only the Kappa bento box, and a couple of ramen and soba dishes. You only need 1 thing however and that is the bento box. Sushi, rice, salmon, teriyaki and tempura prawns and vegetables all for the heap cheap price of $12.80. It all comes out in a cute little compartmented box with miso soup, I’d be curious to see if everything in Japan is like this, including people’s desks, houses and sock drawers.

The staff are by far and away the most polite wait staff you are ever likely to serve you and the are all to eager to help. This was especially true when we had polished off our 4th bottle of Temata Merlot/Cabernet the waitress, who had previously been offering us water (with our refusal) served our 5th bottle but not before enticing us to drink the unsolicited glasses of water she had prepared. Clearly she had our hangover in mind where our eyes were only focused on the booze, in hindsight I wish we had have accepted her offers of water.

Vknow is the sort of restaurant that you could go to once and go back week in week out for the next 10 years of your life. The only restaurant anywhere nearby, I’m certain that anyone who has dined there before and lives in Fernhill contemplates dropping in there for dinner, rather than the long trek in to town. I don’t know what it is about this sort of place, but it really does feel like you are sitting at someone’s dining table. This feeling was enhanced while we were there as we were asked to sit at the other end of a table as another couple, to who we were introduced by the waiter (and owner) as “good Queenstown locals”.

The decor consists of country style tables and chairs, and a vast array of art. The art are comic like water-colours depicting a random selection events and things to do, such as “Jumping around in Australia” with a paining of a couple of silly looking Kangaroos. Even though Vknow is situated right next to a road and the carpark is just there, you don’t notice it, there is hardly any traffic on the road and the large windows look out onto a few trees and gardens, all in all it’s very pleasant.

The menu consists of a very New Zealand (or maybe Queenstown) like selection consisting of lamb shanks, venison and fish. Don’t get me wrong, I love this style of food and the meals here did not fail to disappoint, my seared venison with mushroom risotto was exceptional if a little bit small and the lamb shanks with garlic mash and gravy was amazing. All of this great tasting food and reasonable prices is definitely a winner with our bill coming in under $100 for 2 meals and a bottle of wine.

I had been told that Vknow’s wine list was impressive and so it should be, considering the name. Due to being cheap arses we grabbed a bottle of the “budget and good” “Vknow bloody good red”. Turns out it was a bottle of the Australian Oxford Landing GSM, which I really enjoyed, not overly dry and definitely not too fruity. Often when you order the cheapest bottle on the list you walk away regretting your decision, but in this case I most certainly was not.

As far as Vknow goes catering to the world’s share of aching heads it gets my vote, not only do they have a takeaway menu (who would have thought, takeaway fine dining), they also host “Bluff oyster” evenings and beer and wine tasting sessions. I’m told that Danny the owner really loves his beer and wine judging by our experience I can imagine one of these sessions would be a great experience, educational and entertaining.

Funky music, art and comfortable surrounds are the order of the day at Joe’s Garage. Being one of the bigger cafes in Queenstown it doesn’t have the compact, claustrophobic feel that other coffee shops around here give off. The dining area is quite sparse with a few tables and a full length breakfast-style bar which over looks the food preparation area. There are few things better in my opinion than an open kitchen, being able to see the staff preparing your coffee and meals is something that more places should do. The only problem is it can be hard to grab someone’s attention to order another coffee or food as the staff are busy with their back to you, a small price to pay for the great atmosphere.

The coffee is great at Joe’s (as it is in most places around here), this particular blend/roast is a richer flavour than I am used to but it definitely is not overdone. The quality of the end product is, like most things in this cafe, exceptional. I have seen the dread-locked barista singlehandedly pumping out a ridiculous number of cups high quality coffee in short succession and personally have not tasted a bad cup. No burnt coffee, bitter coffee and the presentation is always top notch.

My only complaint is a distinct lack of raw sugar, I always take a little bit of sugar in my coffee and personally think that white sugar is a waste of time. It does not provide any flavour while raw sugar adds just the slightest hint of caramel. I think a lot of coffee drinkers are in the same boat as I and there really is no reason why sachet’s of both can’t be on the tables.

For food, I think Joe’s is certainly one of the best places in Queenstown for a queezy stomach or an aching head. It has a good range of salads, cereal and hot breakfast on the menu, rounded out with a couple of bratwurst rolls. My personal favourite meal is “The Joker”, it is a toasted roll, bratwurst, bacon and egg. This is certainly full of flavour and meat and certainly won’t dissapoint with it’s size. All in all the meals at Joe’s are superb, they aren’t necessarily the cheapest but they are definitely worth every cent.

Joes Garage Coffee Machine

Probably my biggest complaint about Joe’s Garage is the clientele, often the feel given off from the other customers is one where they think you should get out of their coffee shop and town. People have mentioned this to me about other places in Queenstown, but I have only ever noticed it at Joes. I think it is magnified by people sitting in the dining area with their dogs under the table and not caring if anyone else has a problem with this – that is what the outdoor eating area is for!

Overall I love the place and regularly recommend people to drop in for a coffee and breakfast.

Motogrill is one of those places where the first time you walk in there, you don’t actually feel like you belong. The staff probably won’t look up from the newspaper they are reading, or break from the conversation they are having with the 3 guys leaning on the counter. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t being unfriendly or rude, work may not actually be why they are there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, I’d be the same if I were them. There isn’t a problem with getting a coffee though, you will get it and it will be good. It just won’t be the all smiles and how can I help that you will get at Starbucks, and don’t get me started on Starbucks.

Which leads me to the next point, the food. The Motogrill steak sandwich may be one of the best lunches in Queenstown, it is definitely not overdone. Served on toasted bread, seasoned with parsley (It might not actually be parsley) and complete with partly melted cheese,tomato and lettuce it is everything you could hope for in a sneak sandwich, and let me tell you, I’ve hoped for a lot of things in a steak sandwich. The pasta salad is another favourite of mine – beans, spiral pasta, chicken, tomatoey sauce and some shaved parmesan. One of the things about everything at Motogrill is the size. They definitely aren’t skimping on the portions, which on a hangover is exactly what you want.

All of this is great, but there is one glaring problem for Motogrill to be the ultimate cafe for a hangover cure, this is of course the fact that Motogrill is closed on Sundays. Now I know that the staff are snowboarding on Sunday’s or recovering from their hangover and who am I to blame them? But seriously guys, you get us addicted with your awesome steak sandwiches and then refuse to open and serve us scrambled eggs and cappuccinos for breakfast on a Sunday.