Cocktail hour: The Blue Door, Arrowtown

You'll find a wide selection of pre-dinner cocktails and a good variety of gin, whisky, beer and wine. Photo / Instagram

18 Buckingham St, Arrowtown.

The view: Dark, low ceiling, tiny windows, brown leather chairs in front of a roaring open fire and stone walls … pretty cool.

Know where the hottest place to be is this weekend? Not outside! With snow and freezing temperatures predicted come warm up by our open fire. Hidden down our famous alleyway just behind the Blue Door!

Posted by The Blue Door Bar on Wednesday, 23 October 2019

The vibe: A handful of tourists and locals kicking back late on a Sunday afternoon. There is live music some nights, but not when we were there.

The chat: A knowledgeable and passionate barman who could sell ice to Coronet Peak and a host of cocktails to curious thirsty people. Don't be in a hurry though, perfection takes a wee while.

The menu: A wide selection of pre-dinner cocktails and a good variety of gin, whisky, beer and wine.

The expectation: We'd been told we'd love this secret little bar down the alley, behind the blue doors ...

The reality: ... and we did. You could be in a Scottish pub or a medieval English inn - the world disappears behind the blue doors. A perfect pre- or post-dinner drinks stop. If there was live music, we would have settled in till the small wee hours.