The Carlton Hotel & Steakhouse, at the intersection of Papanui Road and Beasley Avenue in an area commonly known as Carlton Corner, is a Christchurch landmark.

The hotel was constructed in 1865, just 15 years after the organized settlement of Christchurch.

Our venue is a testament to both the city’s rich history and, in recent years, to its resilience.

Let’s go back 162 years.

First opened as the Carlton Hotel in 1863, it originally served as an accommodation option for visitors to the surrounding Carlton Corner area, a prominent cattle trading site.

The hotel was built by Alfred Walter Money who had arrived in New Zealand from England in 1858. He first established stables and was deeply involved in the racing industry.

As Stephen Symons notes in his history of Christchurch pubs ‘The Watering Holes’, Money “noticed the lack of a decent hotel to serve farmers coming in from North Canterbury”.

He built and opened the Carlton, likely naming it after the prestigious Carlton Club which was founded in London in the 1840s. A photograph dating from 1885 shows a two-story wooden building on the site.

The Carlton is one of a handful of hotels in Christchurch to have retained its original name throughout its history.

The hotel was a success and Alfred Money was inventive in building up the hotel’s clientele.

As Symons notes: “To diversify the hotel’s clientele Mr Money organised a free shuttle that ran three times daily from the newly-built railway station across town to the Carlton, but it was the trade from the North Canterbury farmers that formed the backbone of his business.”

The hotel stood for 150 years on the corner of Bealey Avenue and Papanui Road.

Architect Joseph Maddison was commissioned by Ward’s Brewery to design a new hotel to be ready for the International Exhibition held in Christchurch between November 1906 and April 1907.

It was the biggest exhibition New Zealand had hosted to that point. Nearly two million people visited the exhibition during the next few months.

The new venue was re launched in 1906 and became a hospitality pioneer, featuring New Zealand’s first tap beer in 1939–1940 and its first beer garden in 1947.

The pub was demolished following the 22 February 2011 earthquake but was re-built and re-opened on 20 September 2013.

Our hotel has been well-known for years as a local watering hole for farmers and customers have told us that the Carlton is where their great-great-grandfather used to have a beer when he came to town.

The venue is proud to be a strong part of the story of the growth of hotels in New Zealand.

As well as opening New Zealand’s first beer garden, in 1940 it was the first pub in New Zealand to serve beer directly from a bulk tank and in 1954, opened New Zealand’s first drive-through bottle store.

Today Carlton Bar & Steakhouse is a large multi-purpose venue with a sports bar, steakhouse and multiple functions spaces.

We are proud of our high-quality premium steaks, live sporting events we broadcast, and the rich history of the venue.

Come in soon and say hello.