Right in the heart of Hanmer Springs, directly opposite the hot pools, Monteith's Brewery Bar is everything a bar and restaurant destination should be. The menu leans on the best local fare and wines, with substantial platters made for sharing, and the mood is friendly, fun and something for everyone. Indoor and outdoor fireplaces keep things cosy through the seasons, and famous Monteith's beer flows on tap.
The kitchen runs from lunch through dinner: light meals like the bento bowl, Doorstopper toastie and beef sliders give way to pub classics — Monteith's beer-battered fish & chips, schnitzel with gravy, burgers and the Premier Pub Steak — then bigger plates at night, from venison medallions and roasted pork belly to five Loaded Schnitzels and steaks with your choice of sides and sauce. Share platters for three to four people, a full kids menu and a dessert list rounded out with coffee make it an easy fit for almost any group.
There's no need to book — walk in and the team will find you a table, with a waiting list if things are full. The week has its own rhythm too: steak specials on Monday and Tuesday, a chicken special on Wednesday, and live music with Heineken pint specials every Sunday from 4pm to 7pm.
Monteith's Brewery Bar sits right in the heart of Hanmer Springs, directly opposite the hot pools, and it makes the most of that spot. It's the kind of place that works before and after a soak, at lunch, at dinner and anywhere in between: Monteith's on tap, a kitchen turning out everything from beer-battered fish to loaded schnitzels, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, and a welcome that suits solo travellers just as much as whole families.
The Hanmer Hospitality team describes Monteith's as everything a bar and restaurant destination should be — the best local fare and wines on the menu, substantial platters perfect for sharing, and an atmosphere that's friendly, fun and something for everyone. They're famous in Hanmer for three things in particular: delicious dining, family and friends get-togethers, and the famous Monteith's beer on tap.
The kitchen covers the full day. Lunch might mean a bento bowl of udon noodles topped with crisp chicken, a beef slider trio, crispy hawker rolls or the Doorstopper — a genuine doorstop of a toastie with a lashing of three cheeses, grilled until bubbling and served with tomato relish and your choice of bacon or mushroom. Pub classics anchor the main list: Monteith's Fish & Chips, with fish of the day coated in the brewery's own beer batter; crumbed schnitzel with fries and house-made gravy; the 200g Premier Pub Steak; and burgers in beef, crispy chicken or vege form.
Come dinner the plates get more ambitious. Venison medallions with spicy kumara mash and a port and red wine jus, slow-roasted herb-stuffed pork belly, herb and lemon-crusted salmon steak and a vegan kumara and chickpea curry all sit alongside the pub staples. Then there are the Loaded Schnitzels — 350 grams of crumbed chicken under toppings like the nacho-style Mexican, the Napoli-and-pepperoni Italian, the Caesar, the Texan or the fully-loaded Carnivore — plus a steak menu offering 300g ribeye or 400g rump with two sides and a sauce of your choice.
Platters are a Monteith's specialty and are designed to be shared between three to four people. The seafood platter stacks pan-fried and skewered prawns and scallops, chimichurri mussels, smoked salmon, a crisp fried fish fillet, pan-fried salmon and crumbed prawns with warm breads, dipping sauces and salmon pate. The meat platter answers with seared rump steak, Moroccan lamb, pulled pork, crispy chicken and steamed dumplings with roti bread, slaw and dipping sauces. Smaller appetites are covered too, with snacks like loaded fries, potato wedges, nachos, corn-chip crumbed chicken dippers and a seafood basket.
Families are well looked after. The kids menu runs from mac & cheese and battered fish & chips to corn-chip fried chicken, a beef burger and a cheese, ham and pineapple pizza on a pita base, finished with a kids-sized sundae and drinks like the floaty Coke. For grown-ups, the dessert list goes big — a tall Ice Cream Glory, gooey caramel banana cake, cinnamon-sugar donut balls, spiced apple crumble and a vegan Snickerlicious slice — while the coffee menu covers mochaccino to chai, with syrups and alternative milks. Wine drinkers get a locally focused list spanning Marlborough, Waipara, North Canterbury, Hawkes Bay and Central Otago, from sparkling piccolos to Central Otago riesling.
There's a reason to come back through the week. Monday and Tuesday bring steak specials from 5pm, with Angus rump served with chips, salad and sauce. Wednesday is chicken night from 5pm. Sunday winds down with live music from 4pm to 7pm and Heineken pint specials — an easy way to end a Hanmer weekend.
Monteith's Brewery Bar doesn't take bookings — simply come in and the team will find you a table, and if it happens to be full, a waiting list system will get you seated as soon as possible. You'll find it at 47 Amuri Avenue, open from 11am to 9:30pm every day of the week, directly opposite the hot pools, so plan your soak around your schnitzel.