Idyllic location, good food, kid/dog friendly and an impressive gin selection! We had the Tirol…read morepizza and prawn taco - both delicious. It looks like a great spot to see some live music and meet the locals. The Israeli waitress was so friendly our kids want to go back every day. She even played their favourite music

Cute taco and gin restaurant right on the beach in Akaroa. All the staff were friendly and the…read morebarbacoa tacos were amazing! And the view cannot be beat.

Great cocktails, love the passion that goes into the business, and setting and location is perfect…read more love taking people here!

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.

The beach bar was an incredible experience!!! The view and food was spectacular, but the best part…read morewas getting service from Sophie and Ava! So kind and really made our experience better. I'm coming back here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! :)

Enjoyed a great lunch right by the beach. They even had gluten free pizza which made my day. The…read moreservices was very good and all the servers were very friendly. Highly recommended.

A beautiful setting, world-class view and tasty (but limited) menu. We had fish and chips and…read moremussels, both of which were excellent and very fresh. Their wood fired pizzas looked great as well. Friendly service, and a really cool tavern-y vibe. In existence since the 1890s!

Ahhhh the old hilltop tavern, delicious food very scrumptious and the prices are high yet somewhat…read morereasonable, however the cleanliness and presentation of this tavern is poor. Ok not mad just disappointed, it's not hard to remove the dead flies from the windowsill or make the rubbish and dust out of the dunny. For a restaurant in such a prime location with a monopoly on the market for the area you would expect better. The hilltop is very rough around the edges and it would be great to see someone with a little motivation and passion for the restaurant to come in and clean it up. My last bone to pick with the hilltop is that is is never open when I wish to dine on some delicious wood fired pizza or warm chocolate brownie (and I'm not talking about the young gentleman behind the counter), I frequently drive past in my 1997 Corolla and it always disappoints me to see that the doors are closed and the chairs are up during what one could only assume would be peak hours. Me and the hubby love to discuss all of the hilltops faults but overall if you're a little bit bogan like myself then these things don't bother ya so much! And the hilltops an alright place

I walked around Christschurch for hours looking for something that caught my eye and this did! Very…read moreinviting exterior with open patio leading into the bar. I love the open interior with subtle breaks in the space to add dimension. The style is classy mixed with sports bar, something doe everyone! The service was friendly, helpful, and fast! The bathroom was so pretty I took a picture. I also love free wifi being I'm just visiting and have no other phone access. They don't hide it with passwords or usage restrictions, very easy. Full bar and lots of delicious brews on tap. I paired my veggie nacho with a crisp apple cider. The nacho, veggie option was loaded with portobello mushrooms! No skimping for the vegetarians here! No complaints here would highly recommend!

YES. This place is…read moreso unique. A restaurant/Bar where the dining area is nicely seperated from the bar area which is quite a large space. The menu is pretty unique. You pick your meat for your meatballs, your style of having them. Straight, with pasta, in a pizza and many more, and then you pick your sauce. Dessert: I highly recommend the mars bar bread and butter pudding.

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?

Food was so good I couldn't even take a picture because it was gone so fast. Their cocktails are…read moredifferent and fun combined with delicious. The staff have really fun and hopefully comfortable uniforms and are eager to help. The building is literally an old government building ( As per the name ) and it's beautifully renovated with large windows to take in the beautiful trees and scenery. Totally need to stop here if you're visiting. Probably my favorite meal and drinks so far!

Beautiful meal and ambience. We selected three small plates and some foccacia. It was good.read more

I love Strange and Co for the nice eclectic indoor atmosphere and the lovely patio. There are…read morehanging lights above your head and fire places by your table if you are dining outside. This is a great place to get drinks or a bite to eat. I've ordered bloody Mary's, Mojitos, dirty martini's, and rum runners as well as some items from the food menu such as the curly fries and shrimp on a stick. I enjoyed everything that I've ordered here, and the bartender who made my drinks was very nice and accommodating.

Super tasty food. Price is right as well. Beer selection could be better but can't complain too…read moremuch! Would definitely be a regular here.

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!

Such a great experience!…read more The service was super friendly and efficient. We were even brought blankets as we sat outside and it was a bit chilly. But was a must on a beautiful sunny day with the view! The menu was extensive but we settled on two grazing boards. One seafood the other meat. It was perfect for the four of us. The seafood was clearly very fresh and delicious. The salmon The meat plate had many delicious choices and the flavors were spot on yummy.

Waffled on this review but surprising myself by this rating. Was here on a day tour and had modest…read moreexpectations-- indeed, the menu offered to the day tour-goers who had pre-paid for their meal was good but not outstanding... ... but as someone who didn't think to pre-pay for a meal, I was still allowed to join the group (albeit had to pay on my own), and that had the benefit of being able to get whatever I wanted on the menu, and the mussels were not only excellent but well-priced. Service was okay, they completely forgot my order of seafood chowder, but the kilo of mussels I had was more than enough so in the end i just had them cancel the order. And the vibe, while a bit worn-tourist-spot in feel, was completely appropriate on this sunny day.