The Lookout Bar & Kitchen
What makes your venue the Best Gastropub in New Zealand?
Perched on the outskirts of Te Rapa, the Lookout is the perfect spot to enjoy a relaxed meal or toast a special occasion.
Describe the experience your customers have at your establishment – what is your food and beverage offering and why do people come back for more?
With views looking out toward the Hakarimafa ranges, our terrace is the ideal place to take in the scenery or if you’d prefer a cosy spot indoors we have three seating areas to choose from. We also have 4 large flat screen tvs for the sport fanatics. For small get together and celebrations we offer a private function room “the terrace”. We created this indoor/outdoor space so that it can be closed off from the main bar/restaurant . Better yet, it also houses it’s own bar and private entrance to that guests can enjoy a more exclusive experience. Our tasty lunch, dinner and snacks menu have something for everyone and are especially good washed down with our popular range or cold brews, wine and in house beverages.
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?
We use all local suppliers including Fed foods, Magills, bid fresh and bid food, volare, duck island, wild country sauces.
We change our menu roughly twice a year to accomodate the change of seasons.
We are able to cater to all common dietary requirements: celiac, halal, vegan, egg free, df, gf
What are your key points of difference and how have you managed to deliver them?
Our team pride ourselves in our exceptional hospitality, providing outstanding service everyday. We have a high regular clientele which we treasure as we love getting to know our customers on a more personal level.
Best Known for:
Catering
Private entrance and bar
Live music and solo artists Thurs - Sat
Have you won any awards in the recent past? Tell us about them.
We have been nominated for the Waikato hospitality awards for the following “2021 most outstanding Bar” “2023 most outstanding Restaurant” “2023 most outstanding chef” “2023 Most outstanding bar tender”
Please describe how you create ambience.
We have a live solo singer play every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night from 5-10pm which sets a lovely vibe and point of difference to our customers.
