UPPER HUTT, NZ – 1 September 2026: Wairarapa hospitality operators Theo Wijnsma and John Richards officially open The Duke Bar & Restaurant at Aston Norwood Gardens today, bringing across the Remutaka Hill the food, service and personality that helped make their former Brac & Bow restaurant the #1-rated restaurant in Featherston, South Wairarapa on Tripadvisor.

And, in keeping with tradition, the name has four legs.

Having named Brac & Bow after their dogs Bracken and Bowie, Wijnsma and Richards have named their newest venture after another much-loved member of the family – Duke, their Great Dane.

The move represents considerably more than a change of address. In just three-and-a-half weeks, the pair and their team have transformed Aston Norwood’s former function space into a warm, character-filled restaurant and bar, ready for one of the property’s busiest periods of the year and the arrival of thousands of visitors for its annual Blossom Valley Festival.

For Brac & Bow regulars, however, there will be one very familiar sight. The distinctive Brac & Bow bar has made the journey from Featherston and been painstakingly reinstalled as a centrepiece of The Duke.

“Many hands, an expert timber craftsman also known as Dad, and a truck conquered the winding road over the Remutaka Hill to get it to its new home at Aston Norwood in Kaitoke,” says Richards.

“We wanted The Duke to have its own personality, but we also wanted to bring a little bit of Brac & Bow with us. There are so many memories attached to that bar – first dates, birthdays, family dinners and celebrations, and probably a few stories we’ll never know about.

“We think our Brac & Bow regulars will feel an immediate sense of nostalgia when they see it.”

A NEW HOME FOR A FAMILIAR STYLE OF HOSPITALITY

The Duke builds on the style of hospitality Wijnsma and Richards have developed over almost a decade: thoughtful cooking, genuine service and places where people simply enjoy spending time.

“We’ve never believed good hospitality needs to be complicated,” says Wijnsma.

“People want delicious food, a great glass of wine, friendly service and somewhere they genuinely enjoy being. That was at the heart of Brac & Bow and it will be at the heart of The Duke.”

The menu is contemporary bistro at heart – generous, recognisable food with personality, shaped by seasonal produce, European influences and the occasional nod to Wijnsma’s Dutch heritage.

Starters ($18) include Scallops with parsnip purée, smoked maple drizzle, cherry pearls and prosciutto chips, and Gin & Beetroot Cured Salmon with pickled red onion, dill crème fraîche and microgreens.

The menu also reimagines some of the dishes and flavours Brac & Bow diners loved. Spring Lamb Two Ways pairs twice-cooked lamb shoulder with pea purée, minted vert and cream of pepper, while the ever-popular 250g+ Silver Fern Farms Sirloin gets The Duke treatment with red wine jus, caramelised onion and a truffle mushroom croquette.

There’s a generous approach to sides, too. Rather than ordering them separately, seasonal sharing plates are included with every main and served family-style to the table. Main courses, including sides, are $44.

Desserts start at $15, from the indulgent Louis XVI Chocolate Melange – chocolate tart, chocolate velvet shortbread snap and meringue clouds, to Vanilla Pannacotta with strawberry rose consommé, strawberries, white chocolate and mint, and Whittaker’s Chocolate Profiteroles. For those who prefer a savoury finish, Torched Goat’s Cheese comes with candied walnuts, beetroot kawakawa jam, smoked pear and bread crackers.

Local sourcing remains important, with the kitchen looking to producers from the Wairarapa, Wellington region and throughout New Zealand, while the wine list brings a little of the Wairarapa over the hill, showcasing the region alongside a carefully selected collection of wines from around the country.

“The Remutakas might separate us geographically, but the producers, wines, people and relationships we’ve built in the Wairarapa remain a huge part of who we are,” says Richards.

A BIGGER HOSPITALITY OPERATION

Opening The Duke is part of a much wider undertaking at Aston Norwood.

Wijnsma and Richards have also taken over the property’s weddings and functions operation and the on-site Chalet accommodation overlooking the gardens, which has been refreshed ahead of spring.

The independently operated Three Trees Cafe has also undergone an interior upgrade and menu refresh, complementing the wider hospitality offering at Aston Norwood. With Blossom Valley setting an immovable opening deadline, there was little time for hesitation.

“We probably could have chosen a quieter time to open,” Richards laughs.

“But Blossom Valley gave us our deadline. We knew The Duke needed to be open and ready for 1 September, so there really wasn’t any option other than to crack on with it.”

The result gives The Duke its own identity while retaining the flexibility Aston Norwood needs for its established weddings, functions and events.

A GROWING HOSPITALITY FAMILY

The Duke joins Wijnsma and Richards’ other hospitality businesses, Mother Goose Bar & Kitchen and Brac & Bow Catering.

Mother Goose is located near Tauherenikau Racecourse in the renovated historic premises long known as the Tin Hut, while Brac & Bow Catering creates menus for weddings, events and special occasions at venues throughout the Wellington region, as well as bespoke in-home dining.

For Richards, who grew up in Featherston, opening on the other side of the Remutakas isn’t about leaving the Wairarapa behind.

“Brac & Bow was incredibly special to us. We built friendships there, not just a customer base, and learned a huge amount about the kind of hospitality people respond to,” he says.

“The Duke isn’t about recreating Brac & Bow. It’s about taking everything we loved and learned from it and giving it a new home.

“We’ve got more room to play, extraordinary gardens around us, a fantastic events business and the opportunity to introduce what we do to a whole new community.”

“And we brought our bar,” adds Wijnsma. “So we haven’t completely escaped our past.”

The Duke Bar & Restaurant is now open at Aston Norwood Gardens, 1747 State Highway 2, Kaitoke, Upper Hutt.  To book visit: https://astonnorwood.co.nz/the-duke-restaurant

A “thank you” to Sharon Garrett for sending this article to The Upper Hutt Connection.

02/09/26