The Hard Antler Bar

Rolling into Haast Village looks and feels like rolling into a wild west town. The low rise, sparse wooden buildings in the twilight made me feel like I was entering the official middle of nowhere. You may criticise my bravery for selecting the Fan-Tail cafe over the Hard Antler Bar, but I was looking for a vegetarian option and the guide book's description of the Hard Antler Bar unsurprisingly focussed on its large collection of stag heads.

The Fan-Tail was closed. So the Hard Antler beckoned. Their collection of stag heads is particularly impressive, but the taxidermy is not the most notable feature of the place. In fact the warm welcome, friendly atmosphere and excellent food is far more notable. I sent Annie and Theos ahead as I pretended to search the car for a jar of baby food. I thought they would be less likely to cause the entire place to drop into silence simply by entering. On the contrary, they were immediately offered a high chair and alerted to the extensive menu.

Once again, an NZ dining establishment manages to impress me by not feeling that they need to here to the standard restaurant format. The Hard Antler policy on menu is simple: you choose your main bit, and then hit a buffet for the spuds and veges. We had fish, you could choose it to be battered or grilled, although I did see some spare ribs that almost tempted me. You then hit the buffet of spuds, spud salad, chips, roasted pumpkin, couple of different salads. A polite message informs you that one generous serving per person is permitted, but no seconds. I was almost disappointed that I was not expected to scrape of my plate into a bucket a return it to the kitchen.

More gastro than any pub in london, this place gets a rating of 'top notch!' I presume that the guy from the Lonely Bigot guide book just looked through the window when it was closed and wrote the review based on the name.