Spent the past 2 months working in Taupo and ate quite a few meals at Dixie Browns. I continued to go back there as the service and food was great. Staff very friendly and helpful. A great ambiance and comfortable restaurant to go to for a family or business meals.
Would certainly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Taupo.

Great family restaurant with a few snugs and a deck with heating and complimentary knee blankets if you want a little more cosy.
Great food, and as other comments plenty of it making it excellent value.
The menu is pretty basic, burgers, pizza, steak etc. although there is obvious talent in the kitchen as all the food has a ‘Dixie’ twist and is always tasty and well presented.
I have dined there several times with the wife, family and extended family (lots of us) and have never been disappointed with either the food or service.

Great spot for some tasty food. Loved the stuffed crumbed mushrooms, My whole table of four enjoyed sampling it.Service from a indian lad was very friendly and without fault. he even recommended few mains which are very yummy.finally the dessert cabinet is mind blowing.. so we decided to come back just to have desserts.

Unfortunately, the whole experience here was ruined by the dishonest and illegal attitudes of the establishment.

In New Zealand it is common practice to apply a surcharge of 15% on public holidays, which is fine. However, many restaurants choose not to do this. Dixie Brown’s did have a surcharge, but did not have any signage to tell their customers (which, as well as being dishonest, is also against the law). The result was a nasty surprise at the end of our meal. We had already spent $200 on their expensive meals and were stung with an extra $30 on top.

When we mentioned this to the manager, he was unapologetic and pointed to tiny print on the menu saying ‘surcharge on public holidays’ (also not legally sufficient). However, this was in tiny print and did not specify what days were counted as holidays. The day in question was a regional anniversary day, and Taupo celebrates Auckland’s anniversary day (a city 100s of kms away). No tourists, including us, would have known it was a holiday in Taupo, and therefore would not have known about the surcharge.

Despicable, greedy, illegal, dishonest.

I will never go back.

Great family place, extensive menu and huge portions…but very very tasty. Pizzas could double as an umbrella – massive! Ribs highly recommended. Friendly staff and reasonable prices too. Began to get busy at peak times so book or get there early ( not a problem if you are feeding the nippers!). Nice lakeside view too if the weather is behaving (well it IS Taupo!!). Will definitely be back next time we’re passing through.

This place rocks! Looked up on Menu Mania last night & decided to come here for dinner & it didn’t disappoint. We are now here for lunch today & seriously considering coming back here for dessert tonight. The Vanilla Double Thick Milkshake is amazing! Love Dixie Browns!

OMFG!!!!!!! I have had Breakfast, Lunch and now Dinner. I had the Tequila Lime Chicken and it was the best meal I have had all year!!!!!! I eat in resturants at least once a week and this meal blew my mind. Bloody awesome!!!!!! The service is always good and the meals are fantastic. I had to speak to the owner tonight to just tell him how impressed I was. DIXIE BROWNS are a must stop in Taupo NZ!!!!!!

Enjoyed yet another dining experience tonight at Dixie Browns…Check out the spunky Indian chef in the kitchen wuuuhuuu!!! Jay I think they said his name was.
The milkshakes are so thick and creamy. The burgers are huge, served with chunky buffalo chips and crispy onion rings. A speciality coffee just finished the meal off nicely. Can’t wait to dine at DIXIE BROWNS again!!

I’m not sure I can praise this restaurant enough! The staff were very friendly and helpful. The menu is HUGE with so many types of dishes to choose from, and all the items were fairly priced. I loved the open kitchen setting and the lighting was just right. I ordered the butter chicken first off and it was impeccable, there was absolutely nothing I could criticise. Next, I had their banana split for my dessert. I was expecting something small and skimpy as it was only $12.90, but when it came out of the kitchen, I was so surprised! It was huge! Everything we ordered was so well presented and all were delicious. I just can’t wait to get back there for more!

My son took me out to Dixie Browns for my birthday treat, and wow, what a treat it was!!! We were greeted at the door by smiley happy staff members. Within minutes we were offered drinks (once again with happy smiley staff) which just makes the experience of dining out so enjoyable, you smile and someone smiles right back at ya:) The menu was amazing to say the least.The layout was simple and direct. The prices were affordable. My son had the delicious Butter Chicken, he said it was Devinne. The presentation of the food was impeccable. I had the salmon and scallops MY GOD!!!….to die for! We shared a humongous banana spilt, lashings of whip cream and crushed maltessers on top. We rate this heavenly place on earth a 5/5…keep up the good work guys, we WILL be back with friends and family. Spread the word..DIXIE BROWNS ROCK!!!

I recently holidayed in NZ and discovered Dixie Browns. As I travel frequently I was rather surprised by the really yummy food. The menu is huge so there is something to cover every ones tastes. I landed up eating breakfast, Lunch and dinner at Dixie’s as the meals where all so nice, the service was excellent and the views from the restaurant are awesome. I highly recommend this one if you are in Taupo.

I have come to Dixie Brown’s numerous times when passing through. I have even told people what a great place to eat. Ate here yesterday passing through will not eat there again. I ordered the Big Breakfast my plate was cold so of course my food went cold quickly, the hot buttered toast that came with it was not popped in a toaster so was just bread, asked waiter to toast, they did but by this time my meal was nearly finished, had to eat fast cause food was going cold. My mother ordered Eggs Benedict, and they forgot the Hollandise Sauce, Salmon was really salty. Not Good. My sister order pasta she got a nice dish. Hot plates really Help. When we told the Waitress about sauce she didn’t even care. So you will not be getting our money again. Ti’s pricey.

4 of us arrived around 8pm on Friday night having perused the other offerings in the vicinity and returning to our first choice – Dixie Brown’s. Somewhat famished, we ordered our drinks while trying to decide what to have from the varied and rather mouthwatering selections on the menu. Meanwhile, the breads we had ordered arrived within 10 mins and were demolished – the salsa was divine. Having finally decided on mains, these arrived within about 10 mins of the bread plates being removed. We all agreed both during and after our mains that our meals were indeed delicious, with the only negative being that one of the “rare” steaks wasn’t quite as rare as expected. All in all though I think we can recommend the following 4 dishes with confidence…
Lamb Shank
300G “Ladies” Steak
Steak & Ribs
Steak & Scallops

My only caution would be read the menu carefully because if you want to get 3 courses, better bring you stretchy pants and a big appetite!! We were eating very late after a long day so were rather hungry, which admittedly may have influenced our enthusiasm a little.

All in all, a fine dining experience for 4 adults with wonderful food, a few drinks and breads for under $170- great value!

Our major disappointment was we originally planned to return for breakfast but we’re still too full from the night prior.

My wife and I had brunch here and were impressed by the menu and speed of service. The ambiance and food could not be criticised. We were impressed also by the architecture and layout.

My partner and I found this restaurant about a year ago and we have found ourselves going back often! It has become our favorite place to eat. The ribs are AMAIZING and so are all the other dishes we have tried. Very kid friendly and reasonable prices.

Strange dining experience! Despite ordering Starters and Mains, all the food came at once. Seemed to have very inexperiencecd wait staff who couldn’t have cared less.Entertainment was a fight that broke out on the street in front. Food was below par and pricey. Best thing is the view – but through the car park. Would never eat here again.

Had a long weekend break in Taupo and went to Dixie Browns for dinner, it was delicious, didn’t have enough room for desert which was a disappointment! Lovely staff, I left a tip something i have never done before. Went back next night too-well had to try more delicious food, once again no room for desert. Highly recommended.

Fantastic food excellent views wish I lived in Taupo I would eat there every day staff are happy and friendly

Five stars doesn’t seem enough for this restaurant. We had brunch at Dixie this morning & were very impressed. The meals were wonderful, with large servings for reasonable prices. The wait staff were very helpful and friendly. We wouldn’t hesitate to go back again & I hope we get to do so before we leave.

I was very impressed with this place starting with the greeting when we entered the place to the food and the views.Our waiter was new and very nervous but bent over backwards to try and please .My wife has several food allergies and the owner was very happy to get the chefs to make something special for her and she enjoyed it very much.(gluten free) My ribs were probably the best I have ever had and we finished with a very nice Irish coffee which actually is made the proper way which so many places don’t do anymore.Over all the prices where pretty good the music very pleasant and not to loud and the service excellent