Must-see nightlife in New Zealand

Relax with a tasting rack of brews amid the rustic but hip decor, and order widely from the share-plates menu. It's all good, but we're partial to the…

This low-key, earthy microbrewery 22km east of Hastings operates out of a safari tent and a 1973 caravan. Bucolic aromas, hop vines, laid-back tunes,…

Two patron saints of cool – Elvis Presley and Marlon Brando – look down in this compact space. Shoot the breeze with the friendly bar staff over a craft…

With more than 30 taps featuring the best of NZ craft beers, Pomeroy’s is an essential Christchurch destination. Among this cosy British-style pub's other…

Epitomising the spirit of transience, tenacity and resourcefulness that Christchurch is now known for, this deliberately downcycled and ramshackle beer…

Hidden down a busy little back alley near Cuba St, gloriously garish Golding's is a bijou craft-beer bar with far too many merits to mention. We’ll single…

If Charles Bukowski was gasping for a drink in Wellington, this is where he'd come – an authentic, atmospheric US-style bar serving great cocktails, fried…

Inside an old electronics warehouse on an otherwise dull stretch of Gill St, stouts, IPAs, APAs and a new beer monthly bubble away in 10 huge stainless…

Big-city laneway style comes to Napier at this bar tucked away off Tennyson St. Look for the big neon sign proclaiming 'Who shot the barman?' and you're…

The only indications that you've arrived are the unmarked blue doors – push them open and it's like stepping into a prohibition-era speakeasy. The low-lit…

Formerly a butcher's – look for the Westlynn Organic Meats sign – this corner location is now a great little neighbourhood bar with a backstreets Bogotá…

Home base for the Coromandel Brewing Company, this pub and bistro regularly features about five of its own beers in a modern ambience. Hearty meat and…

This impressively converted warehouse is the best spot for a drink in town. Stretching across an entire city block, the bar has 21 beers on tap and 45…

Brewing real ales and lagers on-site, this cosy English-style pub in a grand heritage building offers bliss on tap. There are always more craft beers from…

Into books, much? You'll find yourself in the right kind of bind at moody Library, with its velveteen booths, board games and swish cocktails. An…

Hide by name, hidden by nature. Tucked down a tiny alleyway, Hide has successfully turned a hollow behind the main street into a garden patio. Ten taps of…

The quirky Social Club brews its own lager, ale and cider, and if you don’t like one part of the venue, simply head to another – each one feels like a…

There's pretty much nothing wrong with this hip little bar in central Hastings: cheery staff, bar snacks, craft beer, local wines, zany retro interior,…

There’s character and then some in this 1879 pub, with walls completely covered in old photos, animal heads and vintage household goods.

Wineglass chandeliers hang from the sky-high industrial ceiling at this restaurant-cum-wine bar, where you can sit in comfy booths, on raised stools or in…