Gantley's Tavern is a historic stone tavern on Arthurs Point Road, about a five-minute drive from central Queenstown and one minute from the bottom of the Coronet ski field road. Built in 1863 by Irishman Patrick Gantley to provide food, drink and lodgings during the gold rush, it holds the title of Queenstown's oldest hospitality business — a building with well over a century and a half of stories in its walls.
The bar is a serious drawcard: 26 craft beers on tap, backed by local wines and spirits. The kitchen calls its style "pub fare with flair", serving a lunch and dinner menu from 12pm until late evening. Mornings have their own rhythm — from 9am daily there's Higher Ground coffee, fresh baking and a full breakfast menu, making Gantley's as much a morning café as an evening tavern. Doors are open every day from 9am to 10pm.
Seasonally, the large grassy beer garden steals the show in summer, with lawn games, beanbags and shady spots set against a mountain backdrop — a regular home for live music, wedding gatherings and birthday parties. In winter the mood turns cozy, with roaring fires inside and a fire pit built from an old boiler keeping the garden warm after a day on the slopes; prime après ski territory given the location.
Gantley's also functions as an events venue with six distinct spaces, from intimate dinners for 12 in the Green Room to the Dining Room's capacity of 50 seated or 60 standing, plus a covered deck, the sunlit Breakfast Room and the wood-burner café corner known as The Nook. Dogs on leads are welcome, and enquiries for tables or functions can be made by phone or email.
There are pubs you visit for a quick pint, and there are pubs that feel like they hold the whole story of a town inside their walls. Gantley's Tavern, on Arthurs Point Road just outside Queenstown, is firmly the second kind. Built in 1863 to provide food, drink and lodgings in the middle of the gold rush, this historic stone building is Queenstown's oldest hospitality business — and more than a century and a half of comings and goings seem to have soaked right into the walls.
The tavern takes its name from Patrick Gantley, an Irishman born in County Mayo in 1817 who led a life colourful enough to fill a book. He served with the British Army in China and India through the 1840s, escorted prisoners to Hobart, and later returned to India in charge of 150 cavalry horses. He was present at the taking of Rangoon in 1852 and in India during the mutiny of 1857. After 21 years of service he came to New Zealand, working as a jailer in Queenstown and later during a dramatic gold robbery at Clyde in 1870.
It was at the height of the gold rush that Gantley put his name to the Queenstown pub that still carries it, offering travellers exactly what a mining town needed: food, drink and a bed. The Otago Daily Times has since retraced his story, and today's tavern wears that heritage lightly but proudly. You're drinking within walls that sheltered gold rush travellers — just with considerably better beer.
Start with the taps: 26 craft beers line the bar, backed up by local wines and spirits. The kitchen describes its offering as "pub fare with flair" — hearty, well-made plates rather than fancy tricks, served from noon until late evening.
Mornings have their own rhythm. From 9am daily the tavern opens with Higher Ground coffee, fresh baking and a full breakfast menu, so it works just as well for an early flat white as for a long lunch. The switch to the lunch and dinner menu happens at 12pm, and the tavern itself stays open until 10pm, seven days a week.
The beer garden deserves special mention. Set against a backdrop of mountains, it's a big grassy space built for lingering: in summer there are lawn games, beanbags to sprawl on and plenty of shady spots for soaking up the sun with a cold pint. It's also a favourite setting for live music, wedding gatherings and birthday parties.
Winter flips the script. A fire pit — cleverly constructed, the team notes, out of an old boiler — keeps the garden warm after a day on the slopes, while inside the atmosphere turns cozy with roaring fires. Given that the tavern sits one minute from the bottom of the Coronet ski field road, it has quietly become a natural après ski stop.
Gantley's has grown into a genuine events venue without losing its tavern soul. The Dining Room is the largest space, seating 50 or hosting 60 standing, with a high wooden beam ceiling, open fire and private entrance. The covered deck takes up to 50 seated, and the sunlit Breakfast Room — also known as the SRV room — handles groups of 30 seated or 40 standing for brunch or lunch.
For something smaller, The Nook is a café-style corner by the wood burner holding 18 seated, and the Green Room at the front of the building does private dinners for up to 12, plus workshops and business meetings. Enquiries go through the website or events@gantleystavern.co.nz.
A few practical notes: the tavern is a five-minute drive from central Queenstown, opens every day from 9am to 10pm, and welcomes dogs as long as they're on a lead. Bookings can be made through the website, and general enquiries go to hello@gantleystavern.co.nz or 03 428 2569.
Come summer for the beanbags, come winter for the fire pit — either way, you're drinking in the oldest hospitality building in Queenstown, which is a claim very few pints anywhere can match.