The Currach Irish Pub is an institution on Aotea / Great Barrier Island — as its own team puts it, no trip to the island is complete without a visit. Housed in a 120-year-old villa that was one of the Blackwell family's original homesteads, and sitting across the road from a stunning beach in Tryphena, the Currach is at once a restaurant, bar, event, music and art venue.
The kitchen is led by head chef Shane Pynegar, who hails from the UK and has worked in a number of fine dining establishments, ably assisted by his team — many of whom, like so many on the island, have fallen in love with island life. The menu is fresh, seasonal and packed with local ingredients, with nightly chefs' specials that are often themed. The wood fired pizza oven turns out Italian-quality pizzas on a house thin-crust base, with gluten free and cauliflower bases available.
Behind the bar you'll find the largest range of tap beers on the island, spanning traditional brands and boutique craft brews — a selection that has helped the Currach earn international recognition and awards for its craft beer and atmosphere. Irish music runs deep here: musicians are always welcomed and encouraged to play, and Thursday is jam night.
Beyond food and drink, the Currach offers cozy accommodation and holiday packages, making it easy to base a whole Aotea escape here. Reservations are highly recommended for groups of six or more, and the pub is open every day from 4pm till late.
There are places you stumble upon, and there are places people plan an island trip around. The Currach Irish Pub in Tryphena firmly belongs to the second camp — its own team describes it as an institution on Great Barrier, and no trip to the island is complete without a visit. The pub sits across the road from a stunning beach at the southern end of Aotea / Great Barrier Island, pairing proper Irish hospitality with a genuinely serious kitchen.
The building is a big part of the charm. The Currach's home is a 120-year-old villa and one of the Blackwell family's original homesteads, and its current custodians see themselves as merely looking after this beautiful old building for its next chapter. Step inside and you'll find more than a restaurant and pub: the Currach doubles as an event, music and art venue, and has been internationally recognised as an award-winning pub for its craft beer selection and fantastic atmosphere.
An Irish pub has its own special kind of magic, and it is often seen at play here — people singing, dancing and having a good time even when they least expect it.
Behind the pass is head chef Shane Pynegar, who hails from the UK and has worked in a number of fine dining establishments, ably assisted by his team — many of whom have, like so many on the island, fallen in love with island life. The menu is fresh, seasonal and packed with local ingredients, changing through the year, and the chefs' nightly specials are often themed, so it always pays to ask what is on.
The kitchen's range is broad. Start with sweet and sour cauliflower with spicy peanuts or kimchi fritters with miso aioli, then move on to mains like the Angus Scotch fillet steak with café de Paris butter, beef cheek with smoked mash and crispy kale, chargrilled lamb rump with shakshuka sauce and goat's cheese, pan fried snapper, market fish and chips, or pork and fennel sausages with onion gravy. Desserts change too, but look out for the lemon meringue tart, the New York style cheesecake for two, and an affogato made with Baileys or Jameson.
The wood fired oven is a real point of pride, turning out Italian-quality pizzas on the pub's own recipe thin crust base, topped with house made tomato base and mozzarella. The line-up runs from a simple garlic pizza and a classic Margherita to a pepperoni hot honey topped with burrata, a Mediterranean with prosciutto, lemon zest ricotta and truffle oil, and a Moroccan spiced lamb finished with harissa yoghurt. Gluten free and cauliflower bases are available, so everyone at the table can join in.
On the bar side, the Currach boasts the largest range of tap beers available on the island, spanning traditional brands and boutique craft brews. Music runs deep in the pub's identity: there is a great range of Irish music, visiting musicians are always welcomed and encouraged to play, and Thursday is jam night with an open mic — bring an instrument or just a voice.
The Currach is not only for the evening. Cozy accommodation rooms and holiday packages make it easy to base an entire Aotea escape here — wake up across the road from the beach and do it all again. If you are visiting with a crowd, note that reservations are highly recommended for groups of six or more, and the pub opens every day from 4pm until late.
Whether you arrive for a wood fired pizza after a day on the water, a slow pour from one of the island's deepest tap line-ups, or a Thursday night that turns into a singalong, the Currach delivers a rare combination of history, heart and a kitchen that punches well above its weight.