Lionel's Bistro & Bar is a family-owned Taupō restaurant that opened on Northcroft Street in 2024, named in tribute to one of the owners' fathers. The bistro serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, giving its Mediterranean-influenced cooking a different expression across the day. New Zealand produce and an inviting contemporary room anchor the concept locally, while active table bookings and distinct menus make Lionel's feel like a complete restaurant rather than a bar that happens to serve food.
Breakfast ranges from freshly baked pastries and brown-butter granola to plates with more savoury depth. Avocado toast adds feta, salsa macha and a poached egg, while apple-crumble French toast layers apple compote, mascarpone and oat streusel. Beef short-rib hash combines crisp potatoes and shiitake with mustard hollandaise, and Turkish eggs bring dill yoghurt, spiced brown butter and coconut-cashew dukkah to sourdough. The menu balances quick coffee-and-pastry visits with dishes worthy of a slower morning.
At lunch and dinner, small plates create a natural way to share. Tuna tartare is paired with avocado, fermented chilli, capers and a squid-ink cracker; beetroot bruschetta uses whipped goat cheese and walnut pesto; and karaage chicken arrives with spicy honey and harissa aioli. The pasta section is made fresh in house each day, moving between tomato-vodka radiatori, pumpkin-and-ricotta ravioli, slow-braised beef short-rib mafaldine and clam spaghetti with garlic, chilli and white wine.
Evening adds larger plates for diners who want a conventional main after the shared dishes. Eye fillet comes with kumara fondant and Café de Paris butter, while market fish is paired with gnocchi, surf clams and bouillabaisse. Pork chop and slow-roasted lamb shoulder offer heartier alternatives. Dessert maintains the same composed style through coffee-soaked tiramisu, Basque cheesecake with fruit and lime curd, or ginger cake with spiced pear, Earl Grey custard and vanilla gelato.
Address: 14 Northcroft Street, Taupō 3330, New Zealand
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