New Zealand's top hospitality businesses announced at industry awards

New Zealand’s best restaurants bars, hotels, and pubs have been announced as winners at this year’s hotly-contested Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence.

The winners were selected from among hundreds of hospitality operations located throughout the country – stretching across the entire gamut of New Zealand’s diverse and vibrant hospitality industry.

The Supreme Champion announced at the Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence hosted in Christchurch last night (November 3) was Hamilton restaurant and bar Smith and McKenzie Chophouse.

Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Bruce Robertson said it was highly encouraging to see the overall winner of the awards go to a regional venue outside of the bigger cities.

Mr Robertson said it had been quite some years since the diversity of winners and their regional locations had been so widely spread throughout the country. Other winners at the Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence included country pubs and lodges in remote locations, five-star hotels, and even a trendy ‘underground’ style bar.

“The incredible array of winners this year truly reflects the broad reach of the hospitality industry, and the importance this commercial sector plays within the wider New Zealand economy,” Mr Robertson said.

“These winners reflect an incredible amount of passion and commitment to their businesses, and ultimately to their customers. They rightly deserve to be recognised as the best in their class, anywhere in New Zealand.”

The Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence are judged on a comprehensive range of business-focussed criteria – such as marketing strategies, training programmes, profitability, operational procedures, and customer service.

As part of the thorough assessment programme undertaken on all entries in the awards, venues are personally visited by the panel of judges to ensure the validity of the entry, and to verify all information and data put forward.

The winners of this year’s Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence are:

Supreme champion:
Smith and McKenzie Chophouse, Hamilton

Personality of the Year:
Ron Taylor, Little Rock Bar & Nightclub, Nelson

Best bar:
Suite, Auckland

Best new/redeveloped accommodation hotel:
Amora Hotel, Wellington

Best music entertainment venue:
Sale Street, Auckland

Best sports bar:
Four Kings, Wellington

Best country hotel:
Karamea Village Hotel, Karamea, West Coast

Best new/redeveloped bar/restaurant:
The Riverhead, Riverhead, North of Auckland

Best restaurant:
Smith and McKenzie Chophouse, Hamilton

Excellence in marketing:
Rydges Wellington

Excellence in host responsibility:
Little Rock Bar and Nightclub, Nelson

Excellence in customer service:
Soul Bar and Bistro, Auckland

Best accommodation hotel:
Fiordland Lodge, Te Anau, Southland

Excellence in gaming:
The Zookeeper’s Son, Auckland

Excellence in training and staff development:
Soul Bar and Bistro, Auckland

Best beef dish:
Café Izone, Christchurch

Best lamb dish:
Mount Bistro, Tauranga

For a full list of winners and finalists, click here to go to our website.