Review Church Hill Restaurant - Stewart Island

the perfect combination of high-class rooms, top-class food, great hospitality, and perfect view of the ocian. thank you. for everything. we had the most lovely time.

Delightful hosts. Delicious and superb meals. Homemade crumpets a highlight. Great room with views over forest. Helpful hosts who made every detail of our stay comfortable. Highly recommended. Excellent location.

Excellent food, excellent service, excellent location. Delicious mains, including fresh oysters, rack of lamb, & salmon, followed by scummy desserts. Wines and beers to compliment the meals enhances the occasion. And a courtesy car to get you safely home. Perfect

Friendly, owner - run establishment. Great food and excellent service. Lovely hosts. We had the muttonbird starter which was delicious and the oyster soup - also delicious. It's a bit on the pricey side but worth it, all things considered of where you are and other practicalities of running a great restaurant like this. It is closed for the winter.

A fabulous dining experience, not anticipated in a village as tiny and remote as Oban, Stewart Island. Once you've tried the cozy, intimate setting and the wonderfully prepared menu items... you will go back. From delicious NZ Lamb to outstanding NZ mussels and fine wines dinners, they will be remembered. The restaurant is a very short walk from the village of Oban and Half Moon Bay. Dinner hours are limited and the place is booked early most nights, so do contact them ahead of time for a reservation. You'll thank me.

Delicious food. - I had the rack of lamb which was perfectly cooked. We shared a bowl of seafood chowder which was wonderful as well. All the staff were really friendly and made us feel very welcome.

Best place to eat on Stewart Island I reckon - and I think we tried everywhere except the fish and chip shack. It's definitely not cheap, but they've put together a thoughtful and creative menu and have a great wine list as well. Options for vegetarians & vegans are limited, but they have them and they are accomodating and keen to please, so ring ahead or talk to them about your requirements. Excellent customer service.

2 nights, 2 breakfasts and one dinner. The attention to detail in both the rooms and on the table is excellent. Quality is everywhere. Really enjoyed our stay and happy to recommend to all.

Greeted with a warm fire, drinks and a platter of food followed up by the most amazing meal. Every mouthful was a taste explosion, an experience not to be missed. Thank you for hosting such a memorable evening.

Went there for my birthday dinner after after I did the Port William back to Oban walk, its part of the Rakiura track . I dined alone. Had, three plates of food. Soup Kumera Pear Walnut and a hint of chilli. Entree paua (abalone) ravioli with lemon sage butter sauce sublime, main southland rack of lamb with seasonal baby vegetables, for dessert course had an affogato. It was a great meal. The owners were attentive great service. Great restaurant for the island.

We dined at Oban's 'Church Hill' restaurant last night and it was just WOW. I had seafood chowder (beautiful flavour, heaps of seafood, bread delicious), confit of mutton bird for main (out of this world!), and finished off with rhubarb and apple crumble (that would put grandma to shame). Service was outstanding by both the owner Dean and Danny our server. Absolutely amazing if you are looking for a fine meal near the bottom of the world! I cannot reccomend highly enough that you go and experience this place!

Stewart Island Rakiura is an amazing place - and a highlight of our trip was the amazing local fine dining experience at Church Hill Restaurant. Food was excellent and staff were so friendly - even gave us a lift to the pub afterwards!

There were no oysters available when we were there but had two relatively wild foods - mutton bird entree and paua fettuccine main. $200 for two with two glasses of wine. Food was good. The only really other choice for eating is the pub (apart from cafe and local store - fish and chip shop is closed)

The quality of food and service is outstanding. Fine dinning without fault. Beautifully presented meals of a high quality of taste. Definitely recommend.

Little gem of a restaurant, but at the time we were there they only took 6 people. So booking essential. Good food and genial host.

Deanne and Chris have created a fabulous foodie experience in an original villa on Stewart Island's Church Hill. Cosy and relaxed dining featuring unique ingredients the island is known for - a must for discerning visitors. But do check their website as it closes in the off season and in the on season make sure you book in advance. Scrumptious!

If you're going to Stewart Island and you're reading this review, stop and call to make a booking immediately. You'll be glad you did. This is the best dining option in all of Stewart Island (which isn't very many either). Bookings are absolutely essential as staff and seating is limited. Church Hill Oyster Bar is located at the top of a hill overlooking all of Oban, Halfmoon Bay and on out into the nothingness of the Southern Ocean. Having read some of the Yelp reviews, I called for a booking the day of and was turned away as they were already overbooked. I begged to be called in case someone doesn't show up (which rarely happens as there are less than 500 people on the island at any given time) to which the manager agreed. Lo and behold, I was called an hour before a table was open (7:30 seating). We arrived early and were told we could sit where we liked (there were open tables, but staff was low). The restaurant resembles a small cottage house with two rooms for seating and an outdoor patio. There isn't much room for foot-traffic and there are two stools at the bar. We chose a seat in the backroom overlooking the water and were quickly brought water, but were told it would be just a few minutes while the manager finished helping some tables. We were ready to order immediately and went for the three appetizers of oysters: Natural, Kilpatrick (worcestershire sauce, bacon and parmesan) and Deep Fried. All three were fantastic, but I definitely preferred them natural. We also decided to split the Lamb Rack which was served beautifully with three lamb cuts balanced against each other, the pototao gratin underneath and veges strewn about. It is making my mouth water to recreate this vision in my head. The lamb was fall off the bone and succulent. My husband went for a beer and I, wine, but you can't go wrong with either choice as they have many great options. For dessert we ordered off of the blackboard specials for their chocolate cake. I forget the specific name, but it was served as a three-tiered cake: hard chocolate on top, mint ice cream/fudge in the middle and a delicious thick layer of crumbly pie crust on the bottom. Served with cream and mint leaves on the side. Check out the photos, but just know that we licked the plate clean. If you are a chocolate or chocolate and mint lover, this is the dessert for you. My husband also opted for the Oban scotch as a palate cleanser, because, hey, why not? He loved it. The staff couldn't have been nicer and the experience dining in this restaraunt couldn't have been more superb. My husband and I truly had a remarkable and romantic evening at Church Hill Oyster Bar and Restaurant and long to return.

Amazing food, service and quality atmosphere. The fresh shucked oysters were by far the freshest and tastiest I've had, the rest of the seafood was prepared to excellence and everything was fresh. Would reccomend 10/10.