Boutique hotels
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Wharekauhau Lodge & Country Estate
- Style
- Edwardian country grandeur
- Setting
- Palliser Bay-side pastures
Wairarapa Eating, drinking and dancing
Restaurants
(+64 (0)6 306 9665)
est Wine Bar & Eatery
Super-classy est raises the ante in Martinborough with a sexy interior and sophisticated service, either for a glass of wine (or three), or an upmarket lunch or dinner. Try the seafood tagliatelle in lemon cream sauce for lunch, then come back for the cumin-coated lamb rump with basil gnocchi for dinner. Mod-European cooking with serious flair.
The Square, Martinborough, Wellington 5711
(+64 (0)6 304 9825)
Saluté
On the main street in small-but-perfectly-formed Greytown is Saluté, an always-packed restaurant plating up superb gourmet pizzas and tasty tapas with a distinctly Med-African bent (we can recommend the pan-fried Cypriot haloumi with olive oil and lemon and the crispy pork-and-mozzarella risotto balls). Fab cheese plates, desserts and a kickin’ wine, beer and cocktail list to boot.
83 Main Street, Greytown, Wellington 5712
Bars
(+64 (0)6 372 7866)
Gladstone Inn
Out by itself in the middle of nowhere (Gladstone isn’t a town in the typical sense – it’s more like an area of farm land), this good-time beer barn is the place to come for hefty pub meals, a game of pool, a few raucous tunes on the jukebox and plenty of NZ beers. Bookings essential for meals during summer when things get busy.
51 Gladstone Road, Gladstone, Wellington 5810
(+64 (0)6 379 6065)
Lounge Wine Bar
There’s not a whole lotta shakin’ going on in Carterton after the sun goes down, with the exception of the very groovy Lounge Wine Bar – a laid-back mainstreet wine room with the best local bottles available to sip while you sup. On the food front, expect tapas done Kiwi-style, starring such delights as chargrilled mushrooms, smoked local sausage and marinated mussels. Lap up regular live music and arthouse movies on the side.
High Street North, Carterton, Wellington 5713
Cafés
(+64 (0)6 378 8450)
Café Strada
Masterton is a functional, utilitarian farming town without many urbane trimmings, but Café Strada shines as a beacon of sophistication. Occupying a nook next to a cinema (great for a pre-movie bite), Strada serves all-day breakfasts (if you’re slow out of bed after a heavy yesterday spent wine-tasting), before morphing into a dinner destination after dark. Plenty of local wines; occasional live music.
232 Queen Street, Masterton, Wellington 5810
(+64 (0)6 306 9040)
Village Café
Walk through the Martinborough Wine Centre into this spacious café out the back, the best place in town for a beefy breakfast, coffee and cake on the fly, a casual lunch (pizza, salads, pasta), or just some cheese and a glass of wine. Nobody seems to mind if the kids get rowdy, and the staff seem intent on out-smiling each other.
6 Kitchener Street, Martinborough, Wellington 5711
