Little Blackwood — Restaurant in South Island

The cocktails we had here were fine. What made us have a bad time here was seeing the treatment of other patrons.

NZ liquor laws are strict, we get it. But we saw a group of women from China being kicked out because one of them who was over 30 didn't have her passport. They hadn't even ordered anything yet, they had just sat down when one of the staff asked them to produce their ID, saying they weren't allowed on the premises without it. He wasn't rude, but he wasn't at all warm or apologetic, and I also didn't see any other patrons get asked to produce their IDs as soon as they were sat down. All but one had their passports, and the lady who didn't have hers had a drivers licence saying she was over 30. We heard the staff member saying that if they looked under 30 they had to produce their ID otherwise they had to leave.

The policy that have signposted at the bar says that if you look under 25 you will be asked for ID, so I'm not sure why this staff member said it was 30.

Either way, it felt really wrong to see this group being kicked out. People find it harder to distinguish facial features of people of other races, so the people who are going to be most disadvantaged by bars like this being so rigid with their policies are people who are not of the same race as the person making the judgement about how old they look. In this case, I think that the white male staff member took one look at the group of Chinese women who had just sat down and decided they all looked young, and his lack of effort to try and help them ruined their evening and made ours unpleasant as well.

I hope this bar could provide better training to it's staff on how to enforce their policies more empathetically and with respect for the individuals they are...

I was given a two for one drink from the ice bar (highly recommend) ordered a rum and coke and was asked for ID (which is fine I am 27 and I look 20) i provided a current nz drivers license and was told that it wasn't good enough and to provide a second photo ID... who carries 2 photo ID on a night out? Obstinate and rude staff.

Hi there Liam, Thank you for responding to this review, be it 2 months after the fact. There are a few details that I think you are overlooking or indeed were ommited to you by your staff. The first thing is my ID is in pristine condition (happy to provide photos just to drive my point home), secondly I did not have to provide a second piece of ID, I only had list all of the details on my license until I was served, thirdly and, hardly the most important thing, but the rum and coke was mediocre at best. No, the point i was trying to make with this review was in fact that while I am used to being asked for my ID due to my youthful appearance as you are so happy to point out. I am unaccustomed to the rude and frankly disrespectful manner I was subjected to whilst in your establishment. This was not the what or the why, but the how I was asked and then dismissed. I might suggest training your staff better and try putting the hospitable back into...

Queenstown is an amazing place. Amazing scenery, amazing activities, amazing people. I have been to Queenstown many times and always had a great experience. My visit to little black wood was the one and only time I have ever had a bad experience, which left my wife in tears and ruined a fantastic day.

My friend got married earlier in the evening and decided on this venue for after the wedding drinks. Me and my wife were a little behind the rest of the group, and were for no reason whatsoever refused entry. We were both non drinkers, with a 2 year old back at home, and were looking forward to a nice evening with our friends.

The bouncer belittled us in front of our friends for absolutely no reason, and made us feel like absolute scum. Just because you are bigger than a person physically doesn’t mean you can treat those smaller like dirt.

I can’t speak of the venue itself, but the people you hire are revolting. Never have we ever been treated this way. Disgusting.

Avoid unless u want to run the risk of being made to look like scum...