Restaurant Chim Choo Ree is a chef-led dining room on Anzac Parade in Hamilton Central, serving a fusion of New Zealand and European cuisine under the guidance of Chef Jayne Kim. Since 2011 the kitchen has been bringing together flavours from across continents, aiming for a dinner experience the team describes as elegance redefined — unhurried, contemporary cooking accompanied by a dedicated drinks menu.
The setting is half the story. Chim Choo Ree occupies the former Waikato Brewery Building, constructed in 1887 and described by the restaurant as a unique, one-of-a-kind historic building. Few dinner tables in the Waikato come with that much history attached, and the contrast between the century-old shell and the polished modern cooking is central to the restaurant's character.
Dinner is served from 6pm until late, Monday through Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Sundays, although the space may host events on that day. Reservations can be made through the booking form on the website, and parties of ten or more are asked to contact the team directly. Upcoming events are listed on the restaurant's events page.
Since 2011, Chim Choo Ree has been quietly building a reputation as one of Hamilton's more distinctive dinner destinations. Set on Anzac Parade in Hamilton Central, the restaurant pairs a fusion kitchen — New Zealand instincts meeting European technique — with a setting that is genuinely rare: the former Waikato Brewery Building, which has stood on this spot since 1887. The result is an evening out that feels considered from the moment you walk in, one the team sums up as elegance redefined in Hamilton.
At the helm of the kitchen is Chef Jayne Kim. Since opening, Kim has cooked a deliberate fusion of New Zealand and European cuisine, drawing together flavours from across continents into what the restaurant calls a unique and unforgettable dining experience that transcends borders. It is a fair summary of the proposition: this is not a room doing one thing cheaply, but a chef-led dining space where the menu is meant to read as a journey between two culinary traditions.
The dinner menu is the heart of the offer. It is published on the restaurant's website alongside a separate drinks menu, so you can look over both before you book — a small courtesy that helps set expectations for the kind of evening this is. And the pairing matters: with service running from 6pm until late, Chim Choo Ree is built for lingering rather than a quick bite. The drinks list exists to sit alongside the food, and the overall rhythm of the room encourages you to settle in.
Because the kitchen works across both New Zealand and European traditions, the menu avoids the obvious. Dishes are framed by Chef Jayne Kim's fusion approach rather than by any single national template, which is precisely what regulars come back for — a dinner that doesn't taste quite like anything else in town.
The building deserves its own chapter. Constructed in 1887, the Waikato Brewery Building is described by the restaurant as a unique and one-of-a-kind historic structure, and it lends the dining room a sense of place that no amount of interior styling could imitate. Dining here means eating inside a genuine piece of Waikato history — a building that predates the restaurant by well over a century. The contrast between the historic fabric of the room and the contemporary cooking coming out of the kitchen is part of what makes a visit memorable.
Chim Choo Ree serves dinner from 6pm until late, Monday through Friday and again on Saturday. It is closed on Sundays — though the space does host events, so it pays to keep an eye on the events page, where upcoming occasions are listed; at the time of the site's last update, none were scheduled.
Reservations can be made through the booking form on the website. Parties of ten or more are asked to get in touch directly rather than booking online — a phone call to 07-839-4329 or an email to chimchooree.hamilton@gmail.com will sort it out.
So who is it for? Anyone after a proper evening out: an anniversary, a birthday, a long catch-up that deserves better than a crowded casual diner. And for visitors to Hamilton, Chim Choo Ree offers something the city's everyday eateries don't — a chef-led fusion menu, served from 6pm into the night, inside a building with a story worth hearing before your first course arrives.