The Old Mountaineers Cafe, Bar & Restaurant and Historic Photographic Gallery. Feeling Weary? Then come and relax at this iconic cafe, bar, restaurant and extensive historic photographic gallery full of character and spirit. The only business within the Aoraki Mount Cook Village officially opened by Sir Edmund Hillary. Relax with great organic coffee, excellent food with organic options available, a cold beer or wine - all with stunning views of Aoraki Mount Cook. Recommended by Lonely Planet as "their pick". Also recommended by Rough Guide. Bookings for parties, weddings and groups are welcome. The Old Mountaineers is also the home of the famous Glacier Sea Kayaking and Tasman Glacier Skiing. www.mtcook.com

A LITTLE ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE OLD MOUNTAINEERS’

The Old Mountaineers’ is big on hospitality. That’s why you’ll receive generous portions and friendly service. But our welcome goes further.

We want to be sure you have food here at our place that we would be happy to eat at home. You are our guests and at our table, so we want you to have the best possible simple, locally sourced fare available to us at this time, rather than the cheapest and lowest quality for the highest price.

That’s why you’ll find organic potatoes on the menu, organic lamb, free-range chicken, free-range eggs, no MSG in our sausages and the highest quality low-cholesterol steak mince in our hamburgers. We’re also sourcing organic steaks and organic muesli.

The Old Mountaineers’ fully supports organic, free-range and GE-free food. We are not comfortable with farming that houses animals in unhealthy and inhumane conditions, we have a healthy disregard for the latest chemicals and any tampering with nature, so that’s why you will see the organic free-range options available on the menu whenever possible.

We’re keen to offer you a wine that is not laden with chemicals. Organic wine is also available. The organic wine we offer is certified bio-organic and our personal wine of choice.

The Speights Summit beer is created through a natural brewing process and their advertising campaign says it all; ‘Don’t Mess with Nature.’ Steinlager Pure is also a beer that has no added chemicals.

Our organic fair trade Hummingbird coffee is brewed within Canterbury and is superb. Packs of Hummingbird coffee are available for sale at the counter as are a delicious selection of organic teas.

Most of our souvenirs are New Zealand-made, the books for sale are written and published by the owners or local authors, the stuffed toys are made in New Zealand and almost all of the colour postcards are the work of Mary Hobbs.

Cutlery and dishes at The Old Mountaineers’ are washed with eco-friendly non-toxic dishwasher detergent and we use non-toxic natural essential oil essences as cleaning sprays on tables and as deodorants in the bathrooms.

Please do enjoy the spirit of all that is naturally great in our country and at The Old Mountaineers’. It’s a good feeling to work with nature as much as we can. Pass it on.

WHY ORGANIC AND FREE-RANGE FOOD?

It is well documented that current conventional agricultural growing methods have a negative impact on the environment, our land, our water and also potentially your health. It doesn’t make a great deal of sense to overload your system with toxic chemicals, hormones, GE products from dubious sources and antibiotics (fed to stock). It’s also about supporting farmers who work hard to deliver chemical-free, free-range and organic produce. The focus is on food that is as natural and kind to the animals and the environment as possible.

Our certified organic lamb is locally sourced. These lambs have not been treated with antibiotics, harmful sprays and do not feed on chemical or fertilizer-drenched land. The taste is truly superb.

Our sausages have no MSG content. In our view, MSG is a chemical that doesn’t belong on your plate and its side effects don’t belong in your body. We try to eliminate as much of this as possible through careful study of ingredient content.

Our hamburgers are freshly made from the highest quality locally sourced low-cholesterol steak mince possible and are better for your health.

Our certified organic potatoes are locally sourced and have no added chemicals or sprays. They taste like a real potato and are often included in our soup of the moment.

We also have free-range chicken available that are not subjected to hormones to make them grow unnaturally quickly, antibiotics, unhealthy rearing in sheds that see no daylight and inhumane conditions that can include a spin-dry in three chlorine washes after they have been killed. The owners of The Old Mountaineers’ personally inspected the living conditions of the free-range chickens in our province. They roam on organic grass and have quite wonderful lives as chickens in fresh air and sunshine. When chicken soup is on the menu it is made from either organic or free-range chicken stock – again, no chemicals, hormones or additives. Our delicious coffee is supplied by Hummingbird and is a locally roasted, organic and fair-trade product. Organic tea and coffee is available for sale in smaller containers. Dishwashing detergents in our kitchen are non-toxic and eco-friendly which is kinder to you and the environment.

It is a good feeling to know that we are providing our guests with these options.

In the coming months we will bring you as much locally produced free-range and organic produce as possible and we hope you enjoy the results.

SALADS ORDERS

The Old Mountaineers' does things a bit differently from the norm. This is where you'll find (against all trends and in the midst of a recession) only organic meat and free-range chicken on the menu, free range eggs, organic vegetables, natural organic cleaning products for tables, non-toxic eco dish-washing detergents, non- aluminum pots in the kitchen, all for which the owners receive a lower profit margin (but possibly a higher karmic return), knowing they have offered hospitality in the truest sense of the word with our guests receiving the very best food possible.

Our souvenirs are the genuine article too. T-shirts inspired by the spirit of the area, posters of Aoraki from the 30s that have been resurrected and see new life along with postcards from photos dating back to the mountaineering days of the 1800s that bring this classic history alive. The scenic colour postcards are personal shots of one of the owners. You’ll also find a book, The Spirit of Mountaineering, which is the first volume in a series of five that traces the history of guiding in the area. It includes over ninety classic Jack Adamson photos of the heyday of climbing and guiding in the 1800s.

The word has also spread about the historic photographic gallery that adorns the walls of this classic ‘mountain hut’ and which many visitors seek out.

We're about the spirit of the place, the people and the environment - about which we care for passionately.

Recommended as the pick of the area by Lonely Planet and Rough Guide and the only building in Aoraki-Mount Cook village officially opened by Sir Edmund Hillary whose good wishes to the owners can still be seen hanging over the fireplace.