Shepherds Arms Hotel

This was my first time at this particular Speights Ale House.
As soon as we walked in, we were commenting on the nice interior — modern pub atmosphere. We were immediately greeted by the Bartender, who accompanied us to a table of our choice and handed us over the menus. He then immediately brought water to the table.
The menu was typical for The Speights Ale House and it was well-​priced.
We ordered a loaf, which came promptly with some garlic butter. Interestingly, each slice of the loaf was ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ wholemeal/​white — I hadn’t seen this before and quite enjoyed it.
I ordered the Goldfields Chicken Parcels — Sautéed free-​range chicken, sundried tomato, apricot, and soft cheeses, wrapped in golden filo pastry, topped with guacamole, on a bed of salad with crispy potatoes. The overall impression of the dish was good. The chicken filos were very tasty and the potatoes were crispy on the outside and very soft on the inside. The salad was delicious, covered in a light, flavoursome dressing. I didn’t like the guacamole — although fresh, it was very bland and didn’t really compliment the dish. I had ordered this as a main, not realising how big the two parcels are. I only had one of them and I was very full (you can order the dish with a single parcel as well). Overall, quite delicious and definitely worth a try ($ 26).
My partner ordered the Shearer’s Lamb Shank — oven-​braised with thyme and garlic in a rich Ale House gravy, topped with mint glaze and served on Ale House mash. Served with vegetables ($ 20.5 for 1 or $ 27.50 for 2 shanks). This dish wasn’t as good as mine and my partner was disappointed. The shank was obviously reheated, hence, it was quite chewy. It was also very bland. The mash was, in fact, smashed potatoes, which was misrepresented on the menu — it was also very bland. The vegetables were cooked well and were nice and crisp.
I think I’d like to come back and try one of their burgers as they looked very good coming out of the kitchen.

This review is just for the food, as I wasn’t staying there. It’s part of the Speight’s family of… dare I call them brew pubs? Speight’s is good beer, especially in that part of the world. I would recommend only stopping here for the beer, and finding dinner elsewhere, unless you want to overpay for small portions of ordinary food. My main course was 80% chips and salad, and ¾ of the remaining «meat» pie was crust and potatoes. As for ambiance, the place is rather genteel, and a great place to be on a Friday or Saturday night. Just make sure to show up AFTER dinner.

This hotel is centred in the quaint and historic area of Tinakori Village surrounded by some nice restaurants and a 10 – 15 minute walk to the city centre.
We stayed in Room 14 with the four poster bed for three nights. Note that this room is located in an annex detached from the main hotel and bar.
The room was large and comfortable with all the delightful character features one would expect from an old historic pub. The bed was very comfortable and the bathroom large with a well-​appointed spa bath.
However there are a number of things to be aware of if staying in this room. Firstly, the room is adjacent to Tinakori Road so there is road noise which disturbed me but not my partner who can sleep through practically anything. Secondly, the WiFi was sketchy at the best of times in this room. As a result I spent quite a bit of time at the bar (drinking more wine than I should have) accessing the Internet.
We also received no room service on one of the three days we were there which meant more time at the bar this time chasing the bar staff for a quart of milk. Hotel staff appeared to be thin on the ground at best.
Overall a pleasant stay which was only spoilt only by the few points mentioned above.