Cat and Jesse O.'s
Our Hamilton Favourites
- 114Hamilton Lake DomainHamilton LakeOne of our favourite spots, Hamilton Lake is where we take the kids regularly for a great family day out. The kids love to take their scooters and whiz around the paths and my boy loves football so we kick it around on the grass. It’s one of the places that I recommend visitors go to when they come to Hamilton because it’s such an iconic spot.
- 24The Verandah Cafe & Function CentreHamilton LakeIf you go to Hamilton Lake, you have to get an ice cream from The Verandah. There’s a little side-window that they serve you out of that’s always been there and the cafe is a little bit flash now since it’s been done up. Their flavours change regularly but one of our favourites is the caramel ripple. They are good decent-sized ice creams and every time we go my little one gets a tub of plain vanilla Tip Top ice cream - the kind you used to get with your fish and chips as a kid. That always cracks us up!
- 317Mavis & Co CateringHamilton EastMavis & Co is one of Hamilton’s best places to go for a tasty bite to eat and to get one of the best coffees in the Waikato. In the evening, it becomes a fantastic restaurant called Clarence and they serve pasta, wine and craft beer so we enjoy going there in the evenings too. The cafe is so popular that they’ve opened a new one in town. Jesse’s favourite is their bread and butter pudding slice - it’s so good!
- 415This is the place to go to get a good feed and an even better beer! Good George Brewing is a great local craft beer producer that serves their excellent brew from an amazing gastro-pub in town. Hamilton feels like the heart of New Zealand so it’s fitting that Good George Brewing have also started a movement called Take Back Local that’s all about encouraging Waikato residents to support local producers and cool ideas coming out of the region. Because we’ve got three kids, we don’t get to head into town often but when we do, Good George is at the top of our list.
- 52Tauhara ParkHamilton CentralOur family calls this place Callum Brae Park because that’s what the suburb is called and it is one of our all-time favourites. There is this really cool hampster wheel and Jesse ended up using it to train on before The Amazing Race to get fit. You can literally run around and around on the wheel - the kids love it. Plus if the weather is good in summer, there is a great family mini-golf place there too. Make sure you allow lots of time because there is so much to do here!