This restaurant was a totally random find. After driving a couple of hours from Christchurch, we…read moreneeded a break. We cruised the streets of Timaru and there are lots of restaurants although some looked very seedy in the downtown area. This restaurant had a great sign and building and what we could see inside, looked very nice. What a lucky find! Lovely ambience with old photos of Timaru, great decor, and friendly, efficient staff. I had the soup of the day which was spinach based with a freshly baked roll. My husband had the chicken bowl which was vaguely Thai in flavor and spicy. We both loved our meals and hated to leave but we had to hit the road without dessert. Great place in every way.

The Oxford is probably the best place in Timaru to get brunch. We ate there with a party of 20 and…read moreservice was spot on. Good as!

Located attached to an old church and settled inside an old meeting hall/reception venue/sunday…read moreschool classroom, Zest offers a modern spot to enjoy a classic pizza. The wall decor features local artists with paintings of local Timaru vistas and all are for sale. The paint color is a relaxing purple-grey hue with feature walls of lime green which really brightens the large room, but the space is so vast the setting is more casual than intimate; perfect for brunch with the family or lunch with friends. The outdoor patio area was bustling with cyclists taking a break for a caffeine pick-me-up. Zest is a pizza restaurant and cafe so you can enjoy quick cafe sandwiches and coffee or sit down for an extended meal from their restaurant menu. They are most known for their pizzas, which are more of a thin crust style and come loaded with the toppings you select. They will gladly do a half and half pizza for $2 extra. One regular pizza is definitely enough slices for sharing. Mark and I split the Greek and Zest Favourite. The Greek (tomato base) has fresh roasted garlic, feta cheese, olives, chunky tomatoes, red onions and spinach and is topped with sour cream and parmesan. It is AMAZING and refreshing. The Zest Favourite has chicken, red onions, capsicums, cranberry sauce and Brie. Yum, yum, yum! but is a little more savoury than the Greek. The cranberry sauce is not overpowering as I was expecting, but is delicate and hardly noticeable. This pizza is also tomato-based. Not in the mood for pizza? Zest also has pastas or other mains to consider. Not to mention entrees or their desserts (unfortunately we were coming straight from the Cadbury Factory so we just stuck to the proteins). Zest has an extensive wine list and a moderate beer selection. The wines are mostly local NZ with some Australian selections and the beer is all NZ local. If you're in Timaru, or just passing through, I recommend stopping here for a quick bite for lunch or dinner.

Delicious salad and pizza! We got the vegetarian pizza and veggie salad and both were fantastic!…read moreThe only reason one star short is for desserts. They were good, but not nearly as good as the main dishes we got. We ordered carrot cake and the Neapolitan cheesecake. The staff was so kind and helped me choose a sweet Riesling wine which I would recommend! Definitely worth it to try for lunch or dinner, as we really loved our time here :)

We ate there yesterday after a drive down from Christchurch. Interesting fare and we were able to…read moreget half portions that suited us well. We recommend the Purple Lizard.

Quaint little Indian restaurant that has been around for over 50 years. Menu is also a pictorial…read morehistory of the restaurant and its first chef, the grandmother of the current owners. In New Zealand spices and heat in foods are very mild compared to what I am used to. A large part of their business is carry out which they call take aways in New Zealand. So I ordered my food very hot and it came very hot. I had the butter chicken which came with basmati rice, the papadam and a piece of onion nan. The butter chicken was delicious and well spiced. The rice very good, papadam and onion nan good. Recommend that you order hot only.

This place has great seating and parking. The bathrooms are new and clean. The Indian food is…read moreimpeccably authentic and delicious. The service is fantastic, which can be challenging to find in New Zealand! I'm so glad they're here in Timaru!

Winter time in New Zealand, stopped in Timaru for lunch on the way back to Christchurch and…read morestumbled across this restaurant. Every main dish item in their menu is priced at $15 and comes with complimentary tomyum soup which was really welcome on a cold winter day. The tom yum soup was quickly served while we were still considering our options, which included mainstream Thai food fare such as Green Curry (chicken/pork/beef) and Pad Thai. They also asked how spicy do you want your dish. Service was very prompt and the dishes came very quickly for our party of 9. Taste was fairly authentic with some slight tweaks to allow for local ingredients and local tastes. Some dishes were a bit too salty but my green curry was just fine.

The worst Thai food I have ever had... Cashew nuts was more like canned hot & sour sauce and Panang…read morecurry was just thick coconut milk mixed with veges. On top of all of that, the service was horrible. They were not open at all to any kind of feedback. Definitely not going back here.. even if it mean I have to be hungry. It was that bad!!!!

Best Fish and Chips in New Zealand! If you are within 100 miles, it is a must drive…read more Very fresh fish, delicious batter, perfectly cooked chips. Can't be missed!

Friendly service, very fresh fish.. We had the blue eye special. It was very fast and cooked…read moreperfectly!! Not oily

Great Spot to enjoy some pub food and cold brews in Timaru. Tried their "No Meat" Burger because…read moreit is not a plant based brand found in the US. Was not disappointed. Enjoyed a couple of pints to top it all off with family on the patio.

This is amazing! Super fast service and all the staff were friendly and nice! Would definitely…read morerecommend the iced chocolate

I came here for breakfast and coffee after checking out of my hotel. Inside it felt really urban,…read morewith tons of funky art on the brick walls. I didn't have to wait long before my coffee arrived, and shortly after that my food was also delivered. The pancakes with bacon and banana were delicious, and my coffee was great too! Overall, I would recommend this place for anyone looking to sit down and grab a treat, or meal! Not sure what their busy time looks like for service, but my experience was a happy one :)

The food was very tasty and the lunch prices were excellent…read more We learned of this restaurant from a YouTube video of a couple who visited Timaru a few years back. We were in town for a bit today and decided we needed to have lunch here. We are so glad we did!!! We are vegetarian (not vegan) and the menu was perfect for us. The waiter was friendly and efficient. The food was spiced mild as we requested. We were happily impressed. The "waiter in black glasses and black turban" who was criticized in another post appeared to be our waiter. We found him to be very nice and highly accommodating. He could not have been nicer. Anyone who had an unpleasant time here must have had other things going on. On a Sunday afternoon there were tourists and locals and everyone seemed quite happy with the food and their experience. Highly recommended when you come to Timaru.

Excellent food, very lovely and well kept. Top notch service and was busy the night we went…read more Certainly a spot the locals frequent. Very reasonably priced, highly recommend!