Hospitality | Tai Tapu Hotel
A taste of history The Tai Tapu Hotel is celebrating 160 years of offering hospitality to hungry and thirsty customers. Originally providing accommodation and sustenance to drovers moving stock on the three-day trek from Banks Peninsula to the Addington Market, the restaurant at the hotel is as popular today as it ever was. It’s the casual, relaxed country feel that appeals and the authentic historic character that has been maintained in the style and décor of the hotel. The first and, to this day, only hotel in Tai Tapu, was built in 1856 when Edmund Shakespeare erected an accommodation house called Shakespeare’s Accommodation House. Shakespeare’s care to build a sturdy building is evident today with the timbers still being in remarkably good condition. The front of the hotel was built of kauri, black pine and totara and it most likely had a thatched roof. In 1861 the hotel was granted its liquor licence and became known as the Ellesmere Arms Hotel, the name it retained until 2003. In the 1860s the hotel was also a popular stopping place for the Cobb & Co coach on its daily return trip from Akaroa to Christchurch. Like all country pubs, the Ellesmere Arms Hotel has a “horse-in-the-bar” story. It is said that Wendy, a well mannered pony, would knock at the public bar door before entering and
consuming the odd pint of best bitter, until she became noticeably pregnant and her liquid intake was changed to water! In 2016 the Tai Tapu Hotel no longer has yoking yards to rest cattle, but it remains a unique country hotel in a spectacular setting nestled at the foot of the Port Hills and overlooking the picturesque Halswell River and the Tai Tapu Golf Course. The hotel employs three qualified chefs all dedicated to serving the very best gastro pub fare. The a la carte restaurant has a wide selection of delicious meals, from lighter salad options to main meals with appropriately quirky names, such as Oh My Cod, Mr Crackle ‘n’ Pork, Divine Duck and The “Man Steak.”
Platters, pizzas and wines in the sheltered courtyard are another dining specialty, while the Sports Bar has live rugby, a juke box, pool table, dart board and a TAB pod. Opened in 2015 on the site of the former stables, is a wonderful purpose-designed spacious function venue. It has quickly become an extremely popular venue for all kinds of events – from weddings and anniversaries to conference dinners and fundraising shows. It is indeed a magnificent structure with its spectacular cedar front doors and rear bi-fold doors opening out onto a private patio and grassed outdoor area.
Hotel hours: 11.00am – late Restaurant hours: 12.00pm – late • Full menu served all day • A la carte menu and bar snacks • Function centre • Full bar service • Full catering – canapes, platters or buffet. You will forget you are so close to Christchurch when you take the drive out to the country and the Tai Tapu Hotel. CT Tai Tapu Hotel 780 Old Tai Tapu Road Tai Tapu Selwyn Canterbury 7672 T (03) 329 6819 E taitapuhotel@xtra.co.nz www.taitapuhotel.wix.com/tai-tapu-hotel — Advertising Feature
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