Church Hill Restaurant Limited is a proudly New Zealand owned and operated business that offers fully hosted accommodation and dining on Stewart Island, New Zealand. We have an emphasis on fresh local produce, homemade and prepared to order.
Your hosts are Deanne and Chris Sara who re-established Church Hill Restaurant & Oyster Bar in 2012 and Church Hill Boutique Lodge & Restaurant in 2017.
"For us, it is all about our island and the experience we want our guests to take away with them."
Situated on the hill by the church we offer our guests wonderful views of the bay, the outer islands and the best of Stewart Island.
The News
We are currently closed and will reopen September 2019
Check out images from Church Hill by clicking our Instagram link at the bottom of the page
Another Season Finished
The 2018-19 season is now finished and we look forward to next season, but only after we have had our winter break.
It has been a busy season for us and the island. We are sorry if you have wanted to dine with us only to find us closed but we would love to see you return another time when we are open.
We would like to thank our staff for their work throughout the season and without them it wouldn't be possible for us to operate. They were a great support for us, as workers and friends and we wish them well for the winter and future.
We are excited about next season and if our plans work out we will be able to cater for more guests and in some new ways. We will keep everyone informed with our plans as we work through our options. The island is in a growth phase with tourism and it would be great for the island to have more options for those visiting us over the coming years.
We are not taking restaurant booking for next season at this time, but lodge bookings are welcome. All lodge guests are automatically booked to dine if they desire.
We wish you a great winter and look forward to seeing you next season
Church Hill's New Menu Stand
We now have a wonderfully themed menu stand at the pathway to the restaurant. This means that passers by can view what we have to offer. It was made for us by Ironic Art of Christchurch. They made a great job of representing the island world, with a cod, crayfish, hooks and anchor. It was made and delivered very quickly which was nice given the time of year.
Help Keep us Clean and Tidy
When you visit any place in the world it is important to remember what it was that attracted you to visit that place. For Stewart Island that is the beautiful surroundings, clean waters and abundant bird life. It is this way because we care about our Island and work to keep it this way. During the busy holiday times we as locals are out numbered by the visitors and that means our resources are stretched and our systems pushed to the limits to cope. You can help us out by simply putting all your rubbish in the bins, and if you find them full then carry it to the next bin or squash it down.
Water is always a precious resource and during the summer it does become hard to get as we rely on the rain for our supply. Think about that in the shower or when you brush your teeth or simply run a tap.
Share the roads and be aware at night it is hard to see people in dark clothing looking for kiwis.
If you are wanting to fish then be aware of the rules. There are reasons for quotas and size limits. There will be plenty for everyone if we all use it fairly.
We look forward to your visit and the support it gives our community and hopefully your visit will leave the island better off than when you came; that should be our aim wherever we visit.
Natures Helping Hand
We have recently been plagued with an unusual number of easterly winds. These are bad for boating and disrupt the ferries, it is also a cold wind. However it does bring up the seaweed and that is great for the gardens. We love our gardens and use them as a source of many things for our restaurant menu. I made a few trips to the beach and collected a good amount of seaweed to place among the vegetables. This will help the garden grow, and with the weather warming up the gardens are now looking very nice, and it should be a plentiful harvest.
It is great how nature takes with one hand and gives with another.
We don't use chemicals in our gardens and rely on companion planting and our natural pest catchers to control the bugs, we even use the salt water from the cray tank to kill the weeds in the paving stones.
It is always nice to have company in the garden on a nice day, even if he does eat the worms!
All prices listed for accommodation, dining, related products, and services are in New Zealand Dollars (NZD).
When paying by secure online payment YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE CHARGED IN NZD
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