In for an evening beer, most of the tables (but not all!) were reserved, so I was able to find a…read morespot with my pint and my laptop to watch the place slowly fill in with even more regulars. This is definitely the neighborhood watering hole and it's a friendly sort of place. Comfy vibe, I enjoyed my time here. [Review 396 of 2024 - 49 in New Zealand - 21429 overall]

Once a year when we head to Antarctica we have to stop in christchurch New Zealand to get our cold…read moreweather gear.. and this place has been talked about amongst the military every time we have a new group going with us. This place is a big hit for all us military Americans. So we always like to pass the word for the new guys to stop here. Trying different food we can't get in the states makes this worth it! Been here a few times. I wish this place was in the states and I could go all the time. We did the hot stone. I had the venison, kangaroo, shrimp and lamp. Fantastic!!

The Institution is a small craft cocktail and beer bar. The staff is friendly and generous. There…read moreare 5 local beers on tap with a selection of bottles behind the bar. They'll let you try all their beers on tap before purchase. I enjoyed all of them. The cocktail I had was also great. They have a cheese platter which is also amazing. The bar seems to attract interesting people. Both times I went, I ended up in fascinating conversations with people I met at the bar.

Super chill place with a nice upstairs bar area. We were planning to go to a few places in the…read morearea but ended up closing the night here. The bartenders were playing requests that day, asking everyone who came in to name a song on top of their mind. Drinks were strong and tasty - had the Commie Mule with the freshly crushed ginger (first choice was Dr. Orders - but no can't do as rosemary was out of stock). The beer flight was good as well as you get to try all 5 beers that they have on tap. Highly recommend on coming here.

Pomeroy's is an institution in Central Christchurch, a very traditional pub/ inn with this old…read moreworld feel. Inside, which is endearingly reminiscent of an old inn, could be a bit musty so the patio, which many a diner preferred during lunch, served beautifully on a sunny afternoon. If you're on the hunt for some local freshies, then stray no further with Pomeroy's dedicating up to 30 taps of the local suds, even a few handpulls/ on cask beers. They have a vast selection and even some that are brewed on-site with Pomeroy's and Beer Baroness branding. We enjoyed our pints outside with an order of crunchy Mac n Cheese Croquettes and sizeable Chicken Wings w/ IPA chipotle glaze. Comfort food at its finest all washed down with Pomeroy's Captain Garcia Hazy IPA. Delicious! A must for all beer lovers!

Traditional pub, decent food. Very noisy , filled with young families. If you want a relaxed…read moreatmosphere I'd try elsewhere. Decent pints.

Great food, great service, and great venue for sports or a pint. Stopped there randomly for a late…read morelunch while visiting, and was thoroughly pleased. Even had wifi so I could work a bit.

Service was great Atmosphere was very nice and location…read moreeasy to get to Food was good Had the Kilkenny beer

Nice atmosphere. Good food. We had a very long wait for food (around an hour) and when we mentioned…read moreit (even though my initial estimate of the wait was even longer), the staff was argumentative about it. For me, friendly service makes up for mediocre food but not the other way around. Ultimately, still worth a visit but unfortunately our experience was soured.

No 4 is definitely a "regulars" type of crowd. During the summers, the patio is filled every night…read morewith loud laughs, a sporting event on the TV or live music on the weekends. The average age is around 40, but on Thursdays it does draw in a good young population. With various specials featuring every day, it's a great place to unwind after work. As it's located in the Merivale/Saint Albans area, except to drop more than a few gold coins for a drink or a bite to eat, but the food is pretty tasty (put the mango back in the mango chicken salad, please!) and the drinks are made with care. Most of the beers on draught are Monteith's, so if you fancy something different, try a different spot. What makes this such a great bar (besides the taxi stand out front) are the various rooms that available. There are two separate outdoor patio areas (a larger one where live music is played with high top and low top tables and a smaller more intimate area great for a small group gathering to watch a sport match or for a birthday dinner). Inside they have a more formal dining area, a high top area and a library with a large TV and tall top tables. This is where the hen parties can go wild. It's definitely one of the top choices if you're in the area.

This place was very busy on a Saturday, but we managed to get a table in the bar by at 6.15pm…read more Not being hugely hungry so early in the evening, we opted for 3 small plates - courgette hummus, salmon ceviche and house falafel. All delicious. I particularly like the seeded biscuits that came with the hummus. We washed that down with a nice Sauvignon, leaving just enough room for a passion fruit mousse {vegan, GF, DF}. A lovely meal, only marred by the ever-increasing volume from neighbouring groups, which by 7.15 had reached the shouting stage, to the point that any music being played was totally redundant! So yes, l lovely food, but try to get a table in the restaurant, not the bar!

Fiddlesticks is serious! I did not realize how long they've been around until I saw food pics here…read morethat are 10 yrs old. From the pics, it looks like they've really upped their game! We got in here on a Friday night without a rezy and so glad we did since most people have one. First time I've had an alcoholic ginger beer, with a twist of lime, so divine! Our server gave us the low down on what were the serious kitchen movers, which was spot on! We started with the fried chicken thighs appetizer, just brilliant presentation and tasty with homemade "ranch-like" drizzle, pickled onions, and micro greens. Our mains were the lamb and the grilled salmon. The attention to detail was impressive. The server explained that the potato's used for the lamb are roasted with wagyu fat, which have gave them a smoked, perhaps beefy flavor. The tastiest roasted potatoes I have ever tasted. The salmon was perfectly seared at medium rare, but I think my American palate has become use to medium texture, but still divine! My only suggestion would be to use French green beans as they are more tender than the typical green bean and would better compliment the presentation of the salmon, but that's just getting into the Minutia, perhaps the name for Fiddlesticks next location!

I wanted to eat somewhere this afternoon near a park and with an opportunity to enjoy the sunshine…read more I was not disappointed at Terrace Tavern. Menu has many options and they were serving brunch until 3 PM on Sunday. I opted for sharing the corn and and crab soup with my aunt, and having the grilled cauliflower with halpumi, couscous and arugula salad. I was very impressed by the number of vegetarian options at this Gastro pub like spot. Most of the patrons were seated near the door or outside. Many were enjoying beers and snacks that afternoon. I was also super happy that the food was not overly salted. In fact I could've used a little bit more but was glad for them to err on the side of less. Service was friendly and helpful; the only drawback was that I asked for my bill three times before it came.

We stopped here for lunch and I orDered the Pastrami sandwich and a glass of Sauvignon blanc. My…read morehusband ordered the oysters and they were not tasty. My sandwich was great. Menu had some great items and they have free Wi-Fi

Still avoiding Asian food due to going to there later this month, I decided on Western food for…read moredinner. The food seemed reasonably priced and was less than a ten minute walk from my hotel, so why not? FYI this will be the last business on your left as you walk through the parking lot. Anytime Fitness is on the right, and this business is currently next door to a brewery (who might be moving, so do not count on that if you are reading this months from now). You walk in and order at the counter. I decided on appetizers of onion rings, fish goujons, garden salad, and a mai tai. Here are my thoughts: Onion rings: I really liked the consistency of the batter. It is very crunchy, but there is no flavor. You are really going to need to try to salt and pepper the food, and this is coming from someone who cooks with very little of either (per my dad's opinion). Fish goujons: This is the same batter as the onion rings, so this is where I get my "have experienced better" rating. I do not recommend using the same batter for each. The batter for onion rings needs to be more light and airy compared to fish when battering. The fish was also pretty bland, so when you add a bland batter, the appetizer is even more bland. I only ate 3 pieces because the food was not good. Seasonal salad: I ordered no dressing, as I had learned from a previous restaurant that a random salad dressing will be assigned if you do not specify. There was something strangely spicy in this salad - jalapenos? As a Texan that is what they tasted like, but culturally I was confused because we do not put jalapenos in salads. Mai tai - This was pretty good. I could have used a large portion, but otherwise delicious. I can see if you want to come here and just have that without the food. One thing I noticed is that Christchurch apparently does not have a no-smoking ordinance within X number of meters. Even though there was a plastic covering around the patio since it was cold, there were cracks within the covered awning. The smoke can penetrate through these cracks, so be aware that just because you are "inside" an awning does not mean you are immune to the smoke. If you have asthma or allergies, keep this in mind as 3 of the employees were smoking at the table closest to the door. I think I will pass next time!

I have been in Christchurch now for three days and have found a new home. With a large variety of…read moredelicious beer and outstanding food... it begs the question... why go anywhere else?

Honestly we didn't have many options. We had 3 other options and the main reason we ended up here…read morewas because the prices per meal were a bit lower. We didn't learn until we sat down and read the menu that the prices were only lower because this was a 'tapas' style restaurant. Whoops. So we ended up spending a lot of money on a little bit of food. But since the food was good I left it a good rating. The drinks looked amazing but we were hungry and tired and not in the mood to add a hangover to our morning. Apparently it is all about their alcoholic milkshakes but the sugar would have kept me up all night and it was a freezing cold night and we didn't have a car and the hotel was a far walk from town. We ended up sharing the deviled eggs app, the Venison balls, and the sliders. We ordered 2 beef sliders and one chicken slider and both were good. The beef was better so just order 3 of those. Afterwards we weren't full but also weren't still hungry. Probably would go to the other restaurants next time.

Best food and cocktails in town with a great ambiance, music, etc. We were lucky enough to have the…read moreregular music line up followed by a great live band. Try the fried chicken and sweet potato salad, best this side is the southern US. Adorable bartender who knows his craft with delightful cocktails such as "Atticus Finch" and the "Scarlett O'Hara". We tried everything on the menu and were not disappointed. Even a pool table for those interested. Cheers to Boo Radley's for their clever name and charm!