About us

We’re a passionate, fun-loving & hardworking family

​Ministry of Works Bar & Eatery was founded in 2015, and is now owned and operated by Twizel locals Sebastian and Jacinda Burke. The industrial fit-out of our bar pays homage to Twizel’s “Ministry of Works” era. It is a social meeting place with a casual dining setting, so pop in, kick back and relax. Enjoy a great selection of local craft beers and New Zealand wines, and get yourself a bite to eat too.

We feature award-winning Burkes Brewing Co beers on tap, along with a great selection of other brews from independent NZ breweries. Our sunny beer garden is a fantastic place to catch up with friends and family, while the kids play at the playground in front of our venue.

Our people

We at MOW Bar are a family of passionate, fun-loving and hardworking people who love the hospitality industry. We are committed to doing the right thing for our staff, guests and community.

That’s why having the right people in our team is one of our goals. We strive to hire people who believe in the same values as we do.

Our values

HOSPITALITY
At MOW Bar we treat one another the way we would like to be treated. We invite our guests in our home and strive to deliver a world class customer experience, every single time. We work hard to continue to improve our service. And we demonstrate interest, empathy and understanding. We want to be the highlight of everyone’s day.

TEAM
Our team is our family and there wouldn’t be a MOW Bar without these beautiful people. We are hardworking and are proud on what we do. We love to kick ass, but we also love do fun things together. Having that tight social bond makes our team a winning team.

PERSONAL GROWTH
Professional development is one of our pillars. We are on a quest for ever-improving professionalism, creativeness, innovation and communication. We value each other’s strengths and encourage our staff to grow. We work hard to up-skill and train each other. There’s no progress without learning, and here at MOW Bar and we love to learn.

FOOD AND DRINK
Working in the hospitality industry comes with a passion for food and drink. Good food and drink of course. That is why we work with fresh, organic and local products and we create our dishes from scratch. We source and accept only the best ingredients possible and we work with New Zealand made/grown products wherever we can.

Twizel

You will find us in the small town of Twizel, the heart of the Mackenzie Country. Surrounded by mountains and lakes there’s always something to do!

In summer you can spend your days chilling out or boating at Lake Ruataniwha (a popular lake for big rowing competitions too). In winter you can chase the snowcapped mountains and go for a ride on one of the ski fields. There are so many hikes around us that you could do a hike a day and fishermen and hunters here are never bored too!

With Mount Cook in our backyard, Tekapo only a 45min drive up, and the Wanaka/Queenstown region only a few hours down, this is the best, central place to settle on the South Island. Fancy a day with your toes in the sand and the smell of the sea? It will only take you less than two hours to get to the coast.

All these reasons above are why we love Twizel’s environment. And don’t forget about the lovely community too! Being a town of only 1,850 permanent inhabitants, Twizel has a very strong and supportive community. Sports activities are pretty big here: we have our own climbing wall, gym and squash location; the golf club is a much visited location of most Twizilians; and you will find many team activities like badminton, football and basketball. Markets and events of all sorts are also regularly organized and there’s always a place to in town go for some good food and drinks!

It’s simple… We love good food & good drink

Get in touch with Ministry of Works Bar & Eatery today to make a booking