Queenstown · Nightlife

Small bar on Steamer Wharf, open daily from noon until late, pouring boutique NZ taps with steaks and tapas alongside. It faces the lake, so it works as an afternoon-into-evening spot rather than a late one.

53 Shotover Street, open daily 12:00-23:00, with rotating independent taps and a burger-and-pizza menu; hand-cut fries run about 15 dollars and the short rib burger 28. Central enough to start a night at and busy from early evening in summer.

Upstairs cocktail bar above a fireside restaurant, down Cow Lane in the town centre behind a wooden door, going since 1997. Cocktails rather than pints, and small - phone or email ahead if there are more than a few of you.

A bar moored on the lake at Queenstown Bay, open seven days 12:00-23:00, with an upstairs open deck. No bookings and you bring your own food; it is a drink-with-a-view stop, not a late venue.

44 Shotover Street, open 07:00-01:00 daily, with Fergburger next door at number 42 serving until 02:30 and Fergbaker at 40 until 02:00. This is where the night ends for most of Queenstown, and the queue outside is part of it.