The Criterion Hotel Bar & Eatery is a heritage hotel and dining venue in the heart of Oamaru's Victorian precinct, at 3 Tyne Street. The building dates to 1877, built for hotelier William Gillespie on a prominent corner site and designed in an ornate Italianate style by the architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon — making it one of the town's most striking nineteenth-century buildings.
After an extensive refurbishment, the Criterion reopened in September 2022 under new ownership. It now offers three elegant dining rooms and an intimate bar, furnished in Victorian style with period furnishings and William Morris wallpaper. The menu leans to Asian-fusion and Mediterranean-style tapas built on local produce, with dishes such as aged Merino lamb, Whitestone Cheese and High Country Salmon, and the venue also offers accommodation.
The combination of multiple dining rooms, a bar, accommodation and a landmark heritage setting makes the Criterion well suited to private dinners, group functions and small residential gatherings in Oamaru.
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