First Look: Queenstown’s Stunning New Dining Precinct Ayrburn Will Take Your Breath Away

Wānaka-based food writer Jo Elwin is blown away by the scale and quality of new Queenstown dining precinct Ayrburn, where no expense has been spared to craft the finest, unique eating and drinking experience.

Tucked away off Arrowtown-Lake Hayes Road, Ayrburn sits in a magical setting adjacent to Waterfall Park — a place that gets locals misty-eyed.

Many a scorching Central Otago day was spent picnicking in the cool, sheltered valley where the waterfall drops into Mill Creek until it was closed to the public in the 80s.

It is now time to dry those eyes, because Waterfall Park is once again part of Queenstown life with the opening of the Ayrburn dining precinct, which takes your breath away in so many ways thanks to the vision of developer Chris Meehan, who likes to have a good time over good food and wine.

Creating a hospitality offering of this scale would be impossible without an accomplished team. That includes wine and beverage manager Henry de Salengre, who says it’s a pleasure to work for someone with such passion.

Executive chef Richard Highnam masterfully brings Meehan’s good taste to the plate, with approachably tantalising menus full of southern charm.

Following the stream down from the waterfall, Ayrburn takes advantage of the 160-year-old farmland’s mature trees and historic buildings, which have been meticulously deconstructed and reconstructed so as to be fit for five-star hospitality.

The stench in The Manure Room is long gone and, where they once drank to evade authorities during the prohibition, I enjoy a curated tasting of Ayrburn wines. The label, served throughout the precinct’s five venues, has a broad portfolio of two methodes, a Marlborough sauvignon blanc, two Central Otago rosés, a pinot gris, dry riesling, chardonnay, five pinots and a late-harvest riesling — all carefully considered and well-made thanks to wine industry heavyweights Sophie Parker-Thompson and winemaker Jody Pagey.

If you’ve a penchant for something international, de Salengre has a cellar that won’t disappoint and a top shelf just as impressive and intriguing. A selection of aperitif-style cocktails and a substantial food menu make the old shed a place to shoot the s*** from 10am until 2am.

There has been no expense spared to maintain heritage and create unique venues with their own captivating personalities.

They say you can’t please everyone, but Ayrburn is doing exactly that, and general manager Lauren Christie agrees, saying they are trying to open every door for everyone, seven days a week.

Cyclists on the trail running through from Millbrook to Lake Hayes are welcome to park up, fill water bottles, charge e-bikes and use the repair kit at the bike station. Everyone is welcome to wander the grounds and just hang out. The Dairy, a cute little stone hut beautifully lined with hand-painted tiles, serves icecream.

Across a large circular green, affectionately called The Dell, construction on The Bakehouse continues. Opening in winter 2024, the largest of the venues will be a cafe-style restaurant serving coffee, baked goods and a menu of rotisserie chicken, pizza, pasta and the like. A retail area will sell deli items, meats, cheeses, bread, coffee and flowers (grown on-site) for picnickers or for people to take home.

Renovation is transforming the farm’s expansive Victorian homestead into the fine-dining Billy’s, named after the farm’s founder, William Paterson, who resided here with his large family. Before the farm prospered, they were in a small stone cottage that now houses The Burr Bar, which I have no doubt will play host to more historical moments thanks to a wee-small-hours liquor licence.

The interiors team have excelled in this sassy salon, as no detail in the precinct has been left unattended.

Furniture and furnishings are custom-made, and visual stylist Alex Watts had the enviable task of shopping with Meehan to amass a diverse New Zealand art collection. Some of it is only available to view if you are a member of The Vintners — a private club in The Woolshed loft that caters to those who prefer to wine and dine more privately.

Spaces within most of the venues will be available for private events, including The Barrel Room. This acoustically designed cave will house a baby grand piano for concerts by candlelight once Sydney-based artist Angeline Drinan completes her enchanting mural on the entrance walls.

The Dell will host larger outdoor concerts on a stage built to international standards, with a steel dome that white roses will climb over.

Lawn games, food and wine festivals, markets and seasonal events will also be held here.

In that pleasing-everyone-all-the-time vein, marketing manager Anna Kerslake, who was born and bred in Arrowtown, enthusiastically mentions “locals nights, hospitality nights and bottomless brunches. All those things restaurants may do once and not bother to do again — we’ll ensure they are regular dates on the calendar”.

Ayrburn is completely mind-blowing, and having departed, I’ve struggled with words to suitably describe the experience.

It is honestly a “you’ve got to see it to believe it” destination, and I intend to see it frequently from opening day on Saturday, December 9, onwards.

Visit Ayrburn.com for further information.

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