Cardrona Hotel - Restaurant and Pub

About Cardrona Hotel - Restaurant and Pub

Cardrona Hotel is a historic hotel, restaurant and pub in Cardrona, near Wanaka, established in 1863 as one of New Zealand's oldest hotels and one of only two remaining buildings from the Cardrona Valley gold rush era. The in-house bar and restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, popular with house-guests, locals and visitors alike.

The kitchen's focus is on traditional pub favourites with a twist, using the freshest seasonal produce from the region — Central Otago is home to some of New Zealand's top artisan food producers, and the hotel endeavours to buy local wherever possible. The wine list features top-quality drops from some of the region's best wineries, alongside a selection of premier craft beers on tap.

The hotel has stood through gold rush prosperity, a mid-20th-century closure under legendary publican Jimmy Patterson, and a later restoration, giving it a genuinely storied atmosphere. Reviewers consistently describe it as homely, warm and full of ambience, with the historic facade and cosy bar and eating areas drawing visitors out from Wanaka.

Cardrona Hotel: New Zealand's Historic Gold-Rush Pub Near Wanaka

Established in 1863, the Cardrona Hotel is one of New Zealand's oldest hotels and one of only two remaining buildings from the Cardrona Valley gold rush era. In its heyday, Cardrona was a prosperous mining settlement, and the hotel — one of four in the township at the time — offered accommodation, livery services and a coaching stop for gold miners and itinerant travellers making their way through the surrounding hills.

A Storied History

The hotel's fortunes rose and fell with the town around it. By the 1890s, as the gold rush momentum dwindled and most of Cardrona's remaining buildings were relocated to what would become Wanaka, only the Cardrona Hotel and the All Nations Hotel remained standing. The hotel's most colourful era came under James 'Jimmy' Patterson, who purchased it in 1926 and ran it until his death in 1961 at age 91, becoming the longest-serving publican in Cardrona's history — famous for rationing drinks to travellers depending on which direction they were headed over the treacherous Crown Range. When Patterson passed, licensing rules forced the hotel to close, and it deteriorated under a local recluse's ownership until Cardrona Valley farmer John Lee bought and began restoring it in 1970.

Traditional Pub Food with a Modern Twist

Today, the hotel's in-house bar and restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to house-guests, locals and visitors alike, with a kitchen focused on traditional pub favourites given a modern twist. Central Otago's reputation for artisan food producers runs through the menu, with the kitchen buying local wherever possible. Breakfast covers everything from a simple Blonde Crumpet with Cardrona honey through to a full Classic Cooked Breakfast, while the all-day bar menu leans into shareable classics like Nachos, Southern Fried Chicken and beer-battered Fish and Chips featuring Blue Cod. For dinner, reserved diners can order from a more considered menu built around dishes like Venison with kumara purée, Mt. Cook Salmon, and a Beef Wellington built to share for two.

The wine list draws heavily on the region's own wineries — names like Amisfield, Chard Farm, Carrick and Maude all feature — alongside a solid tap beer and cider selection including Cardrona's own ale and a rotating guest tap. A bakery counter also turns out fresh scones, croissants and pain au chocolat each morning from 6:30am until midday.

A Genuine Local Landmark

Reviewers consistently describe the Cardrona Hotel as homely, warm and full of ambience, with the historic facade, cosy bar and dining areas, and rose-filled gardens in springtime drawing visitors out from Wanaka for the day. Whether it's a full breakfast before heading into the hills, a shared plate at the bar, or a proper dinner in the restaurant, the Cardrona Hotel offers a genuine taste of 19th-century New Zealand history alongside food built around the region it calls home.

Signature items

• Fish and Chips
• The Royal Lamb Burger
• Beef Wellington
• Rib-Eye Steak
• Seafood Chowder
• Sticky Date Pudding

Menu

Non-Alcoholic

• Soft Drinks — Lemonade, Coke, Coke No Sugar, Raspberry Lemonade and L&P.
• Ginger Beer — A non-alcoholic ginger beer.
• Keri Juice — Orange, pineapple, apple, cranberry and tomato varieties.
• Schweppes Tonic Water/Ginger Ale — Canned mixers.
• Red Bull — Energy drink.
• Powerade — Sports drink.
• Antipodes Sparkling/Still Water — New Zealand bottled water.
• Kombucha — B Effect brand, selected styles.
• Six Barrel Soda — Selected craft soda styles.
• Chia Sisters Tonics/Smoothies — A range of tonics and smoothies.

Bottled & Canned

• Emerson's Little Bird 0.0% — A non-alcoholic beer.
• Steinlager 0.0% — A non-alcoholic beer.
• Crimson Badger Ginger Beer — A ginger beer.
• Zeffer Hazy Lemonade — A hazy lemonade cider.
• Steinlager Pure Light — A light lager.
• Steinlager Classic — A classic New Zealand lager.
• Corona — A Mexican lager.
• Speight's GMA Quart — A large-format Speight's beer.
• Speight's Summit Ultra — A large-format low-carb lager.
• Guest Bottle/Can — A rotating guest bottle or can selection.

Tap Beer & Cider

• Speight's Gold Medal — New Zealand lager on tap.
• Cardrona Ale — Ale on tap.
• Emerson's — Selected styles on tap.
• Guinness — Stout on tap.
• Zeffer Apple Cider — Apple cider on tap.
• Guest Tap — A rotating guest tap selection.

Breakfast (8am-10:30am)

• Toast & Preserves — Choice of toast with house-made preserves, marmite/vegemite, or Pic's peanut butter.
• Granola — House-made granola with macadamia and almond, yoghurt, citrus curd and mandarin.
• Blonde Crumpet — House-made crumpet with browned butter and Cardrona honey.
• Ski Bum — Breakfast bun with bacon, hash, fried egg, cheddar and tomato kasundi; vegetarian option available.
• Whisky Butter Porridge — Organic steel cut oats with brown sugar apples and cinnamon crumb.
• Eggs on Toast — Poached or fried eggs on your choice of toast.
• Eggs Benedict — Bubble 'n' squeak with hollandaise, choice of salmon, bacon, or mushroom & spinach.
• Classic Cooked Breakfast — Fried eggs, streaky bacon, sausage, mushrooms, gratin and tomato with toast.
• Kids' Toast & Peanut Butter — Two slices of toast with peanut butter.
• Kids' Eggs & Soldiers — Two soft-boiled eggs with toast soldiers.
• Kids' Crumpet — Served with butter and honey.
• Kids' Porridge — Organic steel-cut oats with banana and maple syrup.

Bar & Snacks (11am-Late)

• Fries — Skin-on Makikihi fries with ketchup and aioli.
• Apres Wedges — Served with sour cream and sweet chilli.
• Loaded Wedges — Wedges with sour cream, sweet chilli, melted cheese and bacon.
• Cobb & Co Garlic Loaf — Foil-wrapped cobb loaf with parmesan and garlic butter.
• Southern Fried Chicken — Buttermilk fried free range chicken with spicy aioli.
• Nachos — Topped with cheese, sour cream, jalapeños and guacamole.
• Frickles — Crumbed and deep fried dill pickles with bloody mary dipping sauce.
• Scotch Egg — Crumbed egg with pork mince and curry mayo.
• Kids' Ice Cream Sundae — Vanilla ice cream sundae with choice of chocolate, strawberry or caramel sauce.
• Fried Pizza - Catalan Pork Sausage — Deep-fried pizza dough with Catalan pork sausage, tomato, mozzarella and chilli oil.
• Fried Pizza - Mushroom — Deep-fried pizza dough with garlic cream, marinated mushrooms, taleggio and rocket.
• Bao Buns — Slow-braised beef brisket rendang with crispy shallots, cucumber, pickled chilli and coriander (3pcs).
• Tartiflette — Baked potato gratin with bacon, shallots and Reblochon cheese.
• Soup of the Day — Chef's daily special, served with toasted sourdough.
• Seafood Chowder — Creamy seafood stock and vegetables with smoked trevally and mixed shellfish, toasted sourdough.
• Fish and Chips — Beer battered Blue Cod with tartare, lemon, smashed peas and fries.
• The Royal Lamb Burger — Royalburn Station lamb mince, havarti, mint salsa verde, roast garlic aioli, served with fries.
• The Plant-Powered Burger — Plant-based patty, lettuce, cheese, pickle and vegan mayo, served with fries.
• Korean Beef Street Taco — Kalbi marinated beef, slaw, iceberg lettuce, cucumber, chimichurri on a flour tortilla (3pcs).
• Chicken Parmy — Ham, Napoli sauce, mozzarella, served with fries and winter slaw.
• Roasted Butternut — Tamarind coconut and lime, served with rice.
• Falafel — Cucumber, tomato, tahini dressing, zhough and sumac onions.
• Kids' Chicken Nuggets — Free-range chicken nuggets served with fries.
• Kids' Nachos — A kid-friendly version of the nachos, topped with cheese, sour cream and guacamole.
• Fusspots' Pasta — Penne pasta with butter and parmesan.
• Kids' Slider — Beef and cheese slider with burger sauce, served with fries.
• Margherita Fried Pizza — Deep-fried pizza dough with tomato and mozzarella.

Wine, Bubbles & Dessert Wine

• White Wines — A selection including Amisfield, Chard Farm, Carrick, Maude, Lake Hayes, Coxs' Vineyard and house Chardonnay.
• Red Wines — An extensive selection including Pisa Range, Two Paddocks, Maude, Hawkshead, Chard Farm, Brennan, Coxs' Vineyard, Amisfield, Te Mata Estate, Clearview, Jim Barry, Yalumba, Trinity Hill and Grant Burge.
• Speciality Wines — Including Brennan Gewurztraminer, Te Kano Blanc De Noir and Amisfield Fumé Blanc.
• Dessert Wine — Lake Hayes Noble.
• Bubbles — A selection including Lindauer Prosecco, Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Amisfield Brut, Maude Brut NV and Quartz Reef.

From The Bakery (6:30am-Midday)

• Cheese/Date Scone — Freshly baked daily.
• Croissant — Freshly baked daily.
• Pain au Chocolat — Freshly baked daily.
• Almond Croissant — Freshly baked daily.

Dinner (From 6pm, Reservation Only)

• Local Leaves — With house-made vinaigrette.
• House-Made Doughballs — With garlic herb butter and parmesan.
• Arancini — With mushroom, taleggio and black garlic aioli.
• Venison — With kumara puree, candied beetroot, herbed chevre and confit shallot.
• Royalburn Station Lamb Shank Pie — With potato mash and red wine jus.
• Beef Ragu Pasta — With parmesan and gremolata.
• Mt. Cook Salmon — With potato mash, broccolini and beurre blanc.
• Potato Gnocchi — With mushroom, truffle cream, rocket and hazelnut.
• Rib-Eye Steak — Savannah beef with hand-cut fries, peppercorn sauce and local leaves; available after 6pm only.
• Beef Wellington (for two) — With mushroom duxelle and prosciutto in puff pastry, served with potato mash and Pernod creamed spinach.
• Sticky Date Pudding — With butterscotch sauce and vanilla bean ice-cream.
• Classic Tiramisu — A classic Italian dessert.
• Pistachio & White Chocolate Cheesecake — A pistachio and white chocolate cheesecake.
• Affogato — Pure New Zealand vanilla bean ice-cream, biscotti and espresso.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a reservation for dinner?

The dinner menu is for those with a restaurant reservation only; casual diners should order from the bar menu.

What are the hotel's opening hours?

Open 7 days from 8am, into the evening, all winter.

Does the menu change often?

Yes, all menus are indicative and subject to frequent change due to produce availability, and the dinner menu changes regularly.

Is there a bakery on site?

Yes, freshly baked goods including scones, croissants and pain au chocolat are available daily from 6:30am until midday.

What is Cardrona Hotel known for historically?

Established in 1863, it's one of New Zealand's oldest hotels and one of only two remaining buildings from the Cardrona Valley gold rush era.

Are there vegetarian and vegan options?

Yes, including the Plant-Powered Burger, Roasted Butternut and Falafel, several marked vegan or vegetarian.

Is there a kids' menu?

Yes, covering breakfast, bar snacks and mains including nuggets, nachos, pasta and a slider.

Tips

• {"body":"The dinner menu is reservation-only; walk-in diners should order from the bar menu instead.","title":"Book ahead for dinner"}
• {"body":"The dinner menu changes regularly, so it's worth calling to check what's on before you visit.","title":"Call ahead for the current dinner menu"}
• {"body":"A beer-battered classic served with tartare, lemon and smashed peas.","title":"Try the Blue Cod fish and chips"}
• {"body":"Fresh scones and pastries are available daily from 6:30am until midday.","title":"Visit the bakery counter in the morning"}

Good to know

• {"family":"A dedicated kids' menu is available across breakfast and the all-day bar menu."}