The Talisman Hotel sits at 7 Main Road in Katikati, on State Highway 2 between Tauranga and Waihi, and combines a public bar, a restaurant known as the Landing Restaurant, a garden bar and on-site accommodation.
A hotel has stood on this part of Katikati since the township's earliest years. The first, the Uretara Hotel, opened in 1877. After a drowning in the Uretara Stream, a decision was taken to rebuild on higher ground; the replacement building was completed in November 1888 and formally opened in April 1889. It was later renamed the Talisman under proprietor Alfred Shepherd. That building burnt down on 15 March 1926. The business today presents itself as Katikati's oldest hotel, tracing its line back to 1889, and is locally owned and family operated.
The restaurant serves lunch and dinner seven days, with a menu spanning pizza, seafood and standard New Zealand pub and bistro dishes. Vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free options are listed. The dining room has a gas fire for winter. Alongside the restaurant are a sports bar with a 1960s car-enthusiast theme and a garden bar.
The garden bar is the venue's main function space, seating over 100 people beneath a mature avocado tree, and is used for alfresco group dining and outdoor functions. The operators state that they tailor function menus, work with organisers on seating layouts and assist with decorations. Platters, celebration cakes and pay-as-you-go bar arrangements are offered, and the restaurant takes group bookings.
For organisers working in the Western Bay of Plenty, the Talisman is a practical option for informal delegate dinners, staff functions and post-event social gatherings, particularly where an outdoor setting and a flexible, tailored menu matter more than a formal conference-style room. Its position on the main highway and its on-site rooms also make it workable as a meal stop for touring groups. See more Bay of Plenty venues.
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