Antipodes rarotonga in Avarua

Was very much looking forward to dining here. Got a meat platter, but unfortunately the lamb was well done and my meat full of fat throughout, making mine inedible. When seated was given a 17 page drinks menu and 20 minutes later asked if we would like to see the dinner menu. Left hungry. Was extremely disappointed, $125 platter with the lamb well overcooked and only excuses from the owner. Have eaten all around the world and lamb that overcooked is u acceptable for that price. Bring your mozzi spray too! Nice Outlook and friendly waiting staff but final straw was when owner said the lamb was overcooked because I am a slow eater. Ummmmmm no sorry, Im not that slow that it would go from medium rare to well done as soon as it arrived on the table. Tutt tutt.

Although the service and food was fantastic I wouldnt recommend it for kids... our kids struggled to choose something they were interested in...

Man, this place blew us away. A little pricey, but a case of paying for high-quality food and service. And even better, you are taking in what are very generous portions with a cracking view. Do yourself a favour and order a share platter -- great value! Our favourite restaurant on the island thus far.

Enjoyed the food and views at Antipodes. We are vegetarian and there was plenty to eat. We had bread n dips, gnocchi, crumbed eggplant and roast potatoes. The baklava was a bit dry. Service was great. Ask for a table away from the kitchen as it was very smokey and loud.

Absolutely sensational food and location, and a real highlight of our time in Rarotonga. My wife says her lamb salad was the best meal shes ever had, which is high praise. Also the biggest restaurant bill of our trip but worth every penny.

Amazing views. Wait staff were so lovely & accommodating, these best we’ve had in Rarotonga. Went out of their way to have us covered with umbrellas when the weather started to act as though it was going to rain.The food was divine. We had the Mediterranean breads and dips with some Mediterranean cooked vegetables and a glass of wine to start.Good spacing between entrees and mains.For main we had “the philistines feast” which was outstanding.Perfectly cooked lamb cutlets, succulent ribs, a delicious array of Mediterranean baked veges and some delicious herbed potatoes.I also had the delicious house special cocktail which was a mango daiquiri and again, delicious!The meal portions are very generous and we sadly had no room to fit in dessert, although I wish we did!Would 100% go back here and recommend to others.We had tried booking early in our trip and they were fully booked. We had requested we were contacted if they had any cancellations…. And thankfully, they did!!!Highly recommend this lovely restaurant and the awesome staff here :)

A disappointing experience all round compared to our visit three years ago.A huge number of menu items not available including fish. How can this be when you’re surrounded by water, but somehow you can still order ostrich?! We tried to order four different cocktails which were unavailable and then were upsold to a $200 bottle of champagne. Our prawn bisque was inedible. Our meat platter was bland. We asked for salt and were delivered an empty shaker. Very confused and let down. Save your money and head to la casita

Booked 2nd Oct via email from NZ for dinner 21st Oct while we holidaying here, was also my partners birthday and final night for our friends returning back to NZ. Was going to be the highlight of our hols, we have eaten all around the world and this came highly recommended. My heart sank upon arrival, we were seated at a table that was an afterthought, dark and felt disattatched. Tables around us had better lighting, note that these tables emptied around us fairly quickly and sat empty.. Our table lighting consisted of one low garden light 2 foot lower than the table which wouldve showed the way down the steps if our table hadnt been there. We were given a 9 page drinks menu, without having seen a food menu and asked to select drinks, we asked for a food menu for pairing purposes and lucky we did as there was no fish left. Overpriced niceish food arrived to be consumed in the dark... We get our phone tourches out.... Waitress is oblivious, we ask for a candle...we get given a small battery candle and a hand torch... Meanwhile I look at the now empty brighter lit tables with envy and hope they offer to move us as Im eating with my phone in one hand, no such luck the waitress is only interested in what shes been trained to do, ask how our food is and did we want more drinks, really poor observation skills and lack of connection if Id been called maam one more time I wouldve hung up but sadly I wasnt on the phone to a call centre. Not the Rarotonga experience we expected. My partner had a chat to the owner we were told they are on their way to NZ to get lighting later in the year but that actually wasnt the issue, they could have shoved some proper candles on our table and created a whole new atmosphere, or acknowledged us eating in the darkest part of a terrace! They could have moved us once the other people had left to a better lit table and it would have made our night. The reviews we are reading show consistent excuses in all areas from the restaurant and no actual acceptence. Listen to your customers they pay the wages. I woke this morning begrudging the money I paid out for that experience 🙃

We had a truly exceptional dinner here. The cocktails were both amazing, and the prawns huge and delicious. We had the Philistine feast as our main the meats were delicious and sides outstanding. A truly wonderful food journey

Its just OK highlight was the view thats simply spectacular! However the unavailability of many of the dishes of the menu mostly seafood. You can look at the sea just not eat anything from it. The food was underwhelming at best. The service was also just OK too anything out of the ordinary was too hard. For the price its very "Emperors new clothes" people believing its, good because they have been told they should love it. Not the case. We have dined out every night since our arrival and this has been the biggest bill and the biggest dissapointment

This place lives up to its reputation....stunning location, great food, excellent service. Shame the sunset was a bit cloudy but thats hard to organise?!

Book early but a must do on the island. Beautiful big meals.

The food was delicious, the view wonderful! Definitely book for sunset and 3 weeks in advance!

Service was outstanding.Cocktails were on point.Food...... best food on the island hands down.

Fabulous experience at antipodes. Staff are lovely and good is wonderful. North facing so there was a brilliant sunset. Amazing cocktails but the wine is equally great. Book well in advance- it’s easy to see why it’s so popular !

Friendly staff, service was quick and food was amazing with big portions. You can’t bet the view and we did some whale watching while sipping on cocktails. Great place for a special occasion!

Very busy when we got there, empty when we left. Massive choice, huge menu. Staff efficient and friendly. Reasonable value. Great views during the day. Beware, some of the platters are ginormous!

We looked forward to our visit to Antipodes as last booking canceled owing to covid closureHow disappointed we were. Ten minutes before we had a beverage menu, another 10 before wine arrived. Fifteen minutes later we had to ask for food menu. If you are short staffed reduce your covers.Maybe Paella was the wrong choice when you have lived in Spain. No resemblance to Sunday lunch in Barcelona. Same with the Spanish custard tart.Nautilus we feel is the best restaurant on the island

Beautiful location but most of the food was imported and overpriced. There also seemed to be a policy of “up selling” with our table attendant talking us into buying an extra dish for the table, that we were unable to eat and went to waste. Waste could be considered a recurring theme with Antipodes, especially considering the carbon footprint of flying in grapes, oysters, prawns, duck, ostrich etc. The creative energy of the chefs could have been much better used on locally available ingredients. A great example of this can be found on the PROGRESSIVE DINNER(see information centre), which is hosted by local people and provides examples of high quality local food, beautifully presented, at a reasonable price. A true taste of Cook Islands culture.

Booked online, as this is the only option - everytime we tried to call it would go through to Rarotongan airways? - I booked on Sunday for the following Tuesday. When we arrived they were extremely rude to us saying we hadn’t booked. They then looked to the next week and found our names a week in advance, to which she said you booked for next Tuesday. The date was never confirmed in the email confirmation. While yes maybe a miscommunication the way we’re spoken to and treated was extremely rude.

Lovely food and fantastic sunset views. Quirky spot that is obviously and institution, so worth a visit, but be prepared for high prices.

Fantastic food and drink, the sharing platters are generous so pace yourself or take a few hungry friends. The deck had a great view out over Black Rock, recommended for sundowners.

A Beautiful building & setting. The view with the sunset is magical. However the service lacks 5 star. The food was presented amazing, but the service lacked backing up this. When ordering +$150 champagne & having to pour it yourself, does not give you a good impression. Also hearing the head chef yell at the wait staff, not a good look for her & the restaurant. For a head chef your food is great but your character & respect shown to your team needs to uphold this standard as well!

Amazing food and location for sunset. Your booking lasts all night.

This place is amazing. The food was incredible. The service was great,a lot of laughs!

Lovely food, great service, best location. Only reason for 4 stars was there were a lot of things not available from the menu.

Consistently the best high end restaurant on the Island. Stunning quality fresh seafood

This is truly a top fine-dining restaurant, and a pleasant surprise in Rarotonga. The service, the food, the presentation... all great. Perhaps the one thing to work on (with a sommelieris the wine list. Highly recommended overall!

If its one thing where I love to be pleasantly surprised and thats food. We waited a whole week to dine out at the Antipodes restaurant, our last night in Raro in fact.But my god, the wait was more than worth. The staff were simply awesome. The food amazing. Recommend the Byzantine feast if youre a meat lover. Delicimo!The view, ambience, service all were top draw. This restaurant has to be on your list of places to go when in Raro. Thank you ever so much staff. My wife thoroughly enjoyed her birthday here albeit 3 days later.

We had heard amazing things about this place and the first time we went to Cook Islands they were so busy they couldn’t fit us. Second time round we made sure we booked in advance and boy it lived up to expectations.Some of the best seafood you will ever try, the view is beautiful and the staff were amazing.Highly recommend everyone trying this and booking before they’ve arrived.James Ashwin (New Zealand)

This place is superb, the staff are incredible, the view is spectacular and the menu exquisite. We were a party of 9 so just about had the entire menu covered, including their extensive cocktail menu. All the food and alcohol was delicious, it was a feast for our taste buds. Definately book into this restaurant as you wont want to miss out. It is a highlight while in Rarotonga and all the staff make this truly memorable.

We had the crudo, grilled ostrich, Moroccan spiced chicken salad, and baklava. I wouldnt have the baklava and cocktail again. Both were a bit one-dimensionally sweet for our taste. However, the savoury dishes were absolutely amazing and I would highly recommend.

This place is a must do! Location, view and ambience here are fantastic! Food is exceptional and staff are efficient and professional. A great asset to Rarotonga!

Excellent service, lovely views and the food was fantastic. Despite being short staffed due to covid the staff were lovely. We had a prawn starter special that was superb. Fish platter for mains - also excellent, and custard tart for dessert. Keep some space from dessert.

We went to antipodes for dinner last night and it was absolutely incredible!! Food was cooked to perfection, the service was great and the atmosphere and views were amazing. Would definitely come back here again, thanks Antipodes team!

Great location, friendly staff and a stunning view.In their first week back open after the border opening, Antipodes is hitting its straps very quickly.We (5 of usshared three platters- the antipasto, (hummus, baba ganoush, crudo, breads, olives etc etc)- the Philistine (ribs, lamb chops, caponata, rosemary potatoesand- a quite remarkable seafood platter (huge shrimp, oysters, scallops, calamari, Mahi Mahi etc etc)and on each platter we had to push through to clear them, portions are large.We had to decline desserts as we had no room left for them, and that was a miscalculation on our part.Highly recommend as a final night splash out, or for a special occasionbtw - the cocktail options, wine list and single pour spirit options are excellent as well.

Highly recommend to all. We have just had THE most stunning meal with superb service. Fine dining with a million dollar view. We booked again for Saturday night in case we missed out.

The front of house and manager were obnoxious and we didn’t appreciate the way they treated us and continued to treat us while we dined, however the rest of staff were beautiful. We wanted to return because the food was amazing, but we really didn’t feel welcome. I really feel sorry for the staff because they were, truely lovely.

We visited here in July this year. This would be the worst and most ridiculously expensive Restaurant on the Island.The most arrogant manager we have ever experienced. It was a really disappointing experience. So sad as the Island is close to paradise and really struggling in this terrible time.

Fabulous food and amazing setting. Fish of the day was gorgeous and just the right serving size. Hubby had rib eye steak and said it was fabulius

Celebrated my 60th Birthday here and loved it!!! What a beautiful spot, almost felt like we were in Europe!!!! Great food, excellent service, could not fault anything, highly recommend!!!

The venue is great as we got to watch a wonderful sunset. The sunset though was the only good thing about the experience. Drinks took 45 mins, an entree and dinner item took 3 hours. The ordered steak was raw on one side and overcooked on the other. The Mashed potatoes had huge chunks of raw garlic in it. Drinks and food were forgotten so that people left starving since their food didn’t arrive. So we left hungry but had enjoyed a beautiful sunset… and it only cost us $300 dollars ): (for 3 adults)

Food was incredible. We had a dinner platter and it was a highlight of our holiday. Cocktails were great also.

Amazing food and service, so good that we went back twice! The staff are friendly and certainly want your experience to be fantastic (thanks Rosie). The food is crafted with care. Certainly pay a visit or more when you are in Rarotonga.

We love this restaurant! On our 5 day trip to Rarotonga we went 3 nights for a meal. The food was always well presented and absolutely delicious. It was 5 star eating. Their staff were extremely helpful and the setting was beautiful. Its a MUST visit when you travel to this island.

staff were amazing! food pretty good, a bit pricey, but that was expected. the VIEW to DIE FOR. so good! lots of drinks to choose from, plenty of food options too :)

by far the best meal we had in rarotonga!!! that view was just incredible.the staff were so attentive and the food was amazing.would highly recommend to anyone visiting rarotonga it was such a lovely evening!!the tiramisu was divine too, all the food was so fresh

Wow wow wow. I have found the finest restaurant in all of Rarotonga. Amazing service, great atmosphere and fantastic food. Will come here every trip from now on. Can’t recommend more highly...

Great tasting food and very well presented. Had an awesome time there and the staff were very friendly. Its a little pricey but the food makes up for it.

Set in a lovely spot high on the hillside above Black Rock. A large rambling building with decks ideally set to watch the stunning sunsets and even, if you are lucky, watch whales as they migrate. Newly renovated inside with 3 very modern commercial kitchens and a stunning suite with its own pool for an intimate getaway. The seafood platter for two was both brilliant value and deliciously presented. Definitely on the return to visit list for us !!