Top Pick
#1
Editor's Pick
Pig & Whistle Historic Pub
Iconic 1940s pub — NZ craft beer & cider on tap, pub food and live music.
Cnr Haupapa & Tutanekai St · Daily 11am – late
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Daily SpotlightFriday, 28 Aug
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Lady Diva Nails & Beauty
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$$Booking advised
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// Bars
🍻Top 11 Bars in Rotorua
Pubs, craft beer and late-night cocktails.
Top pickPig & Whistle Historic Pub— Iconic 1940s pub — NZ craft beer & cider on tap, pub food and live music.
Rotorua drinks in three places: the historic corner pub, the Eat Streat strip, and a small set of specialist rooms — a brewpub, a taphouse, a cocktail bar. It is a compact and walkable night out; almost everything worth visiting is within three blocks of Tutanekai Street. Thursday to Saturday is when the city actually has a night scene, and midweek in winter several bars close early or shut entirely. Expect $ to $$ for beer, $$ to $$$ for cocktails.
Typically: $$ · Walk-ins OK · Best evening · Adults (R18 areas)
#2
BREW · Craft Beer Pub
Croucher Brewing's flagship brewpub on Eat Streat — the full Croucher range on tap plus guest beers, pub food and house-roasted coffee. Walk-ins are normal; it fills up on Friday and Saturday evenings.
1103 Tutanekai St, Eat Streat · Daily 11am – late
#3
Good Eastern Taphouse
20+ rotating taps, pub games and Rotorua's best craft beer destination.
1233 Eruera St · Wed-Sun 4pm – late
#4
Cocktail Library & Dessert Bar
Speakeasy-style cocktail bar paired with a serious dessert menu.
1129 Tutanekai St · Wed-Sat 6pm – late
#5
Ponsonby Rd Lounge Bar
Late-night lounge bar with cocktails, DJs and an actual dance floor — the place people move to once the restaurants close. Wednesday to Sunday only, and it does not get going until late. R18.
Tutanekai St · Wed–Sun, late
#6
Hennessy's Irish Bar
Classic Irish pub — Guinness, sport on the screens and a warm welcome.
1210 Tutanekai St · Daily 11am – late
#7
Vault Bar
Dim, intimate basement bar with a rotating wine list and small plates.
1112 Tutanekai St · Wed-Sat 5pm – late
#8
Our Backyard Pub
11+ years strong — Kiwi pub food, big screens and friendly locals.
1287 Eruera St · Daily 11am – late
#9
Ani's Gin Bar & Tapas
A gin bar with a very long back-bar and Spanish-style tapas, with heated outdoor seating. Open Wednesday to Sunday from late afternoon — an early-evening stop rather than a late one.
Tutanekai St · Wed–Sun 4pm – late
#10
The Salty Shekel
Local watering hole — pool tables, regular live music and cheap jugs.
Pukuatua St · Daily late
#11
Volcanic Hills Winery Tasting Room
Award-winning local winery — taste the range at the top of the gondola with sweeping lake views.
Top of Skyline gondola, 178 Fairy Springs Rd · Daily tastings
Bars in Rotorua — your questions
Where do locals drink in Rotorua?
The historic corner pub on Tutanekai Street is the long-standing local and visitor crossover, the Croucher brewpub is where the craft-beer crowd goes, and the taphouse is the specialist rotating-tap option. Eat Streat is more visitor-weighted but is the easiest place to move between venues.
Is Rotorua's nightlife any good?
It is small but concentrated. Thursday to Saturday there is genuine activity — live music at the pubs, a late lounge bar or two, and Eat Streat running until late. Sunday to Wednesday, especially in winter, expect several venues to close early or not open at all.
Can you drink outdoors on Eat Streat in winter?
Yes. Eat Streat is a covered and heated pedestrian block, which is why it stays usable through a Rotorua winter when open-air terraces elsewhere do not. It is the reason the strip works year-round.
Is there craft beer in Rotorua?
Yes — Rotorua has its own established brewery with a flagship brewpub in the CBD, plus a dedicated taphouse running rotating guest taps and a craft-focused beer garden out at Okere Falls near the Kaituna river.
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// Same list, other cities
Best bars in Auckland, Wellington & Queenstown
Ranked to the same editorial standard as this page, by the same team.
More bars in Rotorua — open data
These 4 listings are not ranked and not reviewed by us. Each one is reproduced verbatim from OpenStreetMap on 2026-08-07, with a link to the exact map entry so you can check it or correct it yourself. Opening hours are shown in OpenStreetMap's own notation.
Craft Bar & Kitchen
1115 Tutanekai Street
Hours (OSM): Mo-Fr 10:00-00:00; Sa-Su 09:00-00:00
- wifi
Brew
1103 Tutanekai Street, Rotorua
Hours (OSM): Mo-Su 12:00-00:00
Pig and Whistle
1182 Tutanekai Street, Rotorua
Hours (OSM): Mo-We 11:30-22:30; Th 11:30-23:00; Fr-Su 11:30-00:00
Hennessys Irish Bar
Hours (OSM): Mo off; Tu-Su 11:00+ "Closes Late"
Business details from OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0 — licence. Something wrong or out of date? Edit it at the source and it flows back here on the next refresh. Prefer our hand-checked picks? Read the Rotorua guide.
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