The Top 10 Bars In Papanui, Christchurch

West Coast Bar & Grill, located on Main North Road, offers a good dinner and lunch spread, in addition to some rare beers. Try some Green Fern Organic Lager here, a clean hoppy lager that is stronger than average, or one of four local West Coast beers, brewed from homegrown Kiwi hops. The wine list is also impressive, featuring a number of wines from New Zealand vineyards.

The Rose and Thistle, or RAT for short, is a classic friendly neighborhood sports bar. With live DJ’s on weekends, live sports screenings, and 18 gaming machines, the Rose and Thistle has basically everything a sports bar patron could wish for. Additionally, they serve some great value all day meals.

The Carlton Bar and Eatery stands on the location of the historic Carlton Hotel, constructed in 1906 in time for the New Zealand International Exhibition. The original Carlton Hotel had to be demolished after severe damage in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, but the new Carlton Bar and Eatery carries on its tradition of great hospitality. Sample the fine seafood, or enjoy a cocktail in the nostalgically decorated bar area. The Carlton Bar hosts frequent concerts, including acts like local band CTRL-ALT-ROCK.

Vesuvio offers tapas, wine, and jazz, plus the occasional poetry reading or other events for Papanui’s artistic crowd. Poet Chris Gallavin recently did a reading at Vesuvio, and regular music act Carmel always gets patrons dancing. The team makes it a point to never close before 1am, so you can expect a great, mellow party whenever you stop by.

The Brewers Arms does a decently good job of replicating the cosy, old-fashioned atmosphere of a British pub, with unpretentious pub grub (chips, nachos, burgers) and a list of beers that stays away from better known brews in favor of rare beers like Monteith’s Original Ale and Celtic Red Beer.