Old Bank Cafe & bar sits at 232 Stafford Street in central Timaru and holds a 4.2 rating from 588 Google reviews. It keeps a Facebook page rather than a website, so it is worth checking there for hours and booking details before you visit.
Cafes that double as bars live or die on the changeover. The morning flat-white crowd is a different beast from the evening wine crowd, and the good ones keep the kitchen running through the middle of the day so nobody is stranded between menus. In a provincial centre like Timaru, where Stafford Street serves locals and travellers passing through alike, that all-day rhythm matters: a cooked breakfast early, a proper lunch, and a reason to linger once the working day ends. Weekend brunch is the proving ground — arrive before the mid-morning rush, and judge a place by how it handles the queue.
On Timaru's main street, Old Bank Cafe & bar has plainly learned how to be both cafe and bar.