The Free House sits in a deconsecrated church on Collingwood Street with a beer garden out the back full of yurts and picnic tables. It is the best craft-beer bar in Nelson — twenty or so rotating taps from independent breweries around New Zealand, plus a cask ale or two and a thoughtful bottle list.
There is no kitchen of its own, but a food truck is parked in the garden most evenings and the staff are happy for you to bring food in. Live music on weekends, and the high stained-glass windows make the whole thing feel less like a pub than it deserves.