Ōtoromiro Hotel
What makes your venue the Best Gastropub in New Zealand?
Established in 1870 and with spectacular views over Te Whakaraupō/Lyttelton harbour the patrons of the Ōtoromiro Hotel have been drawn to this harbourside destination for well over a century. Just 20 minutes from central Christchurch but if feels a world away on the crest on the ancient volcano.
Independently owned by Jeremy and Clare Dyer for over 20 years, they brought a wealth of hospitlity experience having owned or managed restaurants in Melbourne and London previously. On day one first to go were the pokies, seemingly the antithesis of hospitality and long before it was considered socially responsible to do so. Our chefs then and now were briefed to prepare restaurant quality meals from base ingredients to the plate utilising where possible, local suppliers and fare from our own gardens.
Whilst many chefs have flashed the pans over the years, it has always been Clare to lead the team in the kitchen driven by her passion for focusing the business on providing restaurant quality meals. Today, on a typical summer's day over 300 meals are frequently produced from our kitchen and we have gained a consistent reputation amongst locals and those further afield rating at 4.4/5 on Google with close to 700 reviews. Many of our clientele are international visitors either staying overnight in our accommodation or brought over by friends or family from Christchurch seeking an ocean view and whom expect a generally higher standard of food and service commonly offered in the pubs of Aotearoa. We believe we deliver upon that.
Describe the experience your customers have at your establishment – what is your food and beverage offering and why do people come back for more?
Customers who reserve a table can expect friendly full table service from greeting to seating right through to desserts and coffee. Whether booked or not, all will be warmly greeted and presented with menus and our daily specials.
Our menu consists of classic pub fare along with seasonal specials and international dishes inspired by the owners travels and their ethos of terroir. For instance, the pizza offerings are a perfect match for a Puglian Primitivo, the beer battered Fish and Chips paired with a Californian Chardonnay or the Butter Chicken Curry washed down with a refreshing draught lager. Invariably new customers are drawn back by the unexpected quality and unparalled experiences of your typical rural hotel.
Tell us how you showcase NZ produce / offerings? Does your menu change with the season and how is it locally influenced. How do you accommodate allergy and dietary requirements?
Whilst our menu features many staple items with minor seasonal changes, we utilise our daily specials board to "hero" fresh seasonal produce. For instance as summer comes on we'll use new season asparagus in a tart or as a side to a dish, fresh berries in a Eton Mess, artichokes from our own garden in a soup and D'anjou pears from our orchard on our Bianco pizza. The bounty from our garden predominately matures in summer which is fortunate as this is undoubtedly our busiest season. Herbs such as mint are utilised in in 2 refreshing cocktails presently and fennel finishes our our seafood chowder. In the winter months our specials steer towards comfort food such as pot pies, corned beef, beef roasts with horseradish and Yorshire pudding and gourmet bangers and mash supplied award winning Cashmere cuisine.
Our menu has a key of the most common dietary requirements and allergens and our customers are invited to discuss their requirements to our front of house staff who have full training with a back-up laminated menu in grid format explaining common allergens in our menu which in turn is communicated to our chefs with a number of drop-down options such as celiac, add gluten free bread, dairy-free, etc.
What are your key points of difference and how have you managed to deliver them?
The business of hospitality will always deliver challenges, the Ōtoromiro has not been immune, whether the World Wars, Depressions, Bush fires and more recently the Christchurch Earthquake events coupled with the Mosque shootings and Covid pandemic. A modern hotel must adapt to these challenges and we believe we have delivered. The chance discover 3 years ago of an old water reservoir for the hotel has been repurposed into a heated salt water pool which has become an enormous point of difference. Afterall, there are not many (if any) pubs where you can book in for lunch and a swim with the kids. Birthday celebrations and other significant events are also enhanced with the abilty to book in our pool area. Moreover, having long been a dog friendly venue with our vast outdoor spaces, we introduced a "dog menu' 3 years ago consisting of our house made biccies, a breakfast, dinner and "ice cream". We love our hounds coming and even have an instagram page devoted to our 4 legged visitors.
Best Known for:
Swimming pool for the kids
Vast outdoor spaces
picturesque location
Please describe your commitment to sustainability.
All rubbish is processed by Ecowaste who are commited to recycling waste. Moreover in 2024 our vision is to move to solar power to supplement our needs upon the main grid. All food waste is repurposed as fertilizer/compost by Ecowaste and if any food prepared or raw is approaching use by date we donate it to the local Cholmondeley Childrens Centre.
We also have an onsite orchard, source free range eggs locally along with many other local suppliers (Wine-Whistling Buoy vineyard, Akaroa Salmon, Lyttelton Coffee Company to name a few).
Please describe how you create ambience.
Fortunately our vast alfresco dining space has always been our drawcard and many compliment us on our well manicured garden featuring many old roses, dahlias, lavender and rhododendrons. Many of our regular customers have planted their own tree or flower too in rememberence of a dearly departed. In the cooler months customers are welcomed by a roaring open log fire in our main bar with the prospect of a mulled wine.
Our biggest night drawing in most of our loyal locals has been deemed "Fancy Friday" with them either encouraged to don a tux or join in on a themed night. Last year it was "Barbie & Ken", "SuperHero", "Punk" and "Italian night" to name a few.
House music depends upon who's duty manager on the day, Jeremy is inclined towards 80s/90s Britpop/altenative, Pen drawn to soothing jazz and Molly is rather contemporary but all is generally well recieved.
