The Cardrona Hotel is a drawcard for summer hospitality and a destination for artisan style food, premium craft beers and top regional wines within its relaxed country garden setting. Angela Cook is head chef of the historic country pub and her focus is on retaining its popular hospitality legacy.

“The hotel has been well established for decades and people love it. Our daily menus reflect its heritage offering many classic pub dishes people enjoy and some with an extra twist.”

Breakfast is served daily until 10.30am followed by a substantial all-day snack and bar menu  while evening dining provides a bistro style menu with friendly and welcoming service.

For the summer season new sharing style plates have been introduced, ideal for travellers stopping off while driving through the renowned Cardrona Valley or locals and visitors enjoying a day or evening out.

“We have something for everyone,” says Angela. “The new Vege Tostada and Deep Fried Pizza are delicious dishes on their own or for sharing and our crowd fave Venison Fillet is back on the summer evening menu.”

“People return regularly for our Southern Fried chicken and we regularly get messages from customers asking if our popular frickles (deep fried gherkins) and seafood chowder are still on the menu.”

She says the hotel’s produce driven menu evolves with the seasons.

“Our menus reflect this distinctive region with an ever increasing abundance of vegetables grown in the gardens within the hotel grounds.  My food ethos has always been produce driven with a focus on animal welfare and we are fortunate to source so many quality ingredients within this region.”

“We try to strike a balance between using local produce while keeping some ingredients authentic such as sourcing pickles and spices for the fried chicken from North America and keeping the cheese for the Tartiflette as true as possible.”

With its rustic charm and spectacular mountain setting the hotel is a hub for great hospitality and high country accommodation.

“It’s unique in that we truly have a broad customer base with inhouse hotel guests making up a big portion of our evening diners including families, couples, friends and solo travellers from all over the world,” says Angela.

“We are a destination for Kiwi holiday makers visiting the region and have a strong following with both Wanaka and Queenstown residents. And we can’t forget our Cardrona locals who although small in number are huge supporters as well.”