Joyful Day Out+64 3 366 2941
Ring from about 2pm and someone picks up between prep jobs. For same-evening tables and poker seats, calling beats everything else.
84 Thames Street, Oamaru · kitchen Wed–Sun
Come find us
Come find us
on Thames Street
Joyful Day Out is the grill restaurant and social poker room in Oamaru's Victorian precinct, a flat two-minute walk up from the harbour. This page has every way to reach us and a pin for the front door.
84 thames
street
street
01 / Reach us
Three ways to get hold of us
Phone is fastest while the kitchen's running. Email gets me in the quiet part of the morning. The pin gets you to the door.
we answer between services
joyfuldayout@gmail.com
Best for group bookings, event ideas and anything that needs a proper written answer. I clear the inbox most days.
84 Thames Street, Oamaru 9400
Tap the address for directions. We're in the Victorian precinct, green shopfront, two minutes up from the water.
The green one
Chalkboard out front, coals going by late afternoon. You can't really miss it.
Standing outside a limestone building and wondering? Follow the grill smoke.
Peek at the menu first
dining room, before the five o'clock sit
Mon–Tue dark
days
days
02 / Hours
When the lights are on
We run a simple week. Dark Monday and Tuesday, cooking Wednesday through Sunday, cards Thursday to Saturday.
- Kitchen: Wednesday to Sunday, 5pm–10:30pm
- Bar: opens with the kitchen, pours till late
- Poker nights: Thursday to Saturday, first deal at 7pm
- Monday & Tuesday: closed, the crew's reset
03 / Write or book
Send us a message
This lands straight in my inbox. Give me a date, a headcount, and whether you're after dinner, a poker seat, or both.
replies within a day, usually faster
After the card room? Poker seats run Thursday to Saturday, first hand at 7pm, and the room is strictly 18+. Mention "poker" in your message and we'll hold you a chair.
04 / Finding us
Thames Street, the pretty end
We're on the main street of the Victorian precinct. If you've found the harbour, the penguin signs or the steampunk playground, you're already close.
1
From the harbour, walk up Harbour Street to the corner of Thames.
2
Head into the limestone row. The precinct stretch is only a block or two.
3
Number 84, green shopfront. The card room is through the same door.
Where to leave the car
- Free parks run the length of Thames Street
- Bigger lot down by the harbour, two minutes on foot
- After dark it's quiet; daytime visitors fill the precinct
Friday and Saturday evenings get tight around six. Leave yourself ten minutes and you'll still make your poker seat.
05 / Quick answers
Before you head over
Thames Street is free to park along, and if the street's full the harbour lot is two minutes away on foot. Weekends fill up around six, so come a touch early.
Most nights, yes. Bar stools and a few dining tables stay open for people who just wander in. Friday and Saturday are the exception: if you want dinner then, book ahead.
Use the form above or ring +64 3 366 2941 and say you're after the card room. Poker runs Thursday to Saturday from 7pm, strictly 18+. First-timers welcome. The caller talks you through the first few hands.
Yes. Eight or more and we like a heads-up so we can set the room properly. Big birthdays, company parties, a private poker night for your own crew — all doable. For the bigger themed evenings, check the events page.
Walked in off the street on a Thursday, ate a steak, ended up playing poker till close. Easiest night of the whole trip.
Greg M.Wanaka, passing through
an ordinary thursday at the bar
06 / Last thing
The door's the green one
84 Thames Street, Wednesday to Sunday. Come for dinner, stay for the poker, or just pull up a stool and say hello.
84 thames
street
street
18+ upstairs. The card room is adults only and we check ID at the stairs. Dinner downstairs welcomes everyone.