Twenty Seven Steps - what a spot! Intimate space in a lovely location with great service, expansive…read morewine selection and they are happy to make you a tasty mocktail that suits your palate. Now... the food. Epic. Seasonal. Simple. Divine. I started with their marinated tomato salad which was fresh and flavorful. Entree was the steak with potato, onion rings and veggies - absolutely incredible. Naturally I had to save room for dessert and landed on the vanilla crème brûlée (though all the options sounded amazing). It came with fresh fruit and pistachio biscotti and was a great way to round out the meal. I would come back here again and again and again. Bravo!!

Very quaint bistro in Christchurch. The food, service, wine, and atmosphere were top notch. It's…read morelocated in a very hip area of the city, too. I would not hesitate to go back there some day.

My wife and I attempted to have dinner here both of our dishes had chicken that was not fresh or…read morebad. We complained about the meals yet the chef insisted it was fresh. We explained we would pay for the sides we order but not our mains. The manager was not acomindating fighting for the dish. We eventually were able to only get one dish taken off the bill since we were exhausted with dealing with the restaurant.

Bad service and food. Veggie Kabab was raw onions and mushrooms with no seasoning whatsoever.read more

Awful, rude service and the food was poor quality. Staff appeared melancholy and the atmosphere was…read moreconstantly ruined by a slamming door and kids running in and out of the restaurant, bar area and kitchen. This is not a gastropub. It's cheap eats at inflated prices at best.

Great food, particularly the pork sliders. Very nice, trendy environment and the service was also…read moreexcellent. While it doesn't come across as a cheesy 'family' venue, it is equipped with a change table and high chairs and the staff are very accommodating. There's quite a range of low alcohol drinks. Would get five stars if they had some good NZ craft beers available.

Yet another brunch/late night option in Merivale. While it's best to make a booking, there are…read moreplenty of tables inside and out that walk-ins in small numbers (2) should be fine. We made a booking and were seated immediately at a cute little table overlooking the patio seating. The cafe is cute and no frills, but offers a full lunch menu (after 3pm, and looked amazing) and serves breakfast until 3 pm. Our coffee orders were taken immediately and water was brought to the table. We waited for over 10 minutes for our coffee to be served (one barista making coffee for the entire restaurant = sleeping zombies grumbling at tables) and for our food order to be taken. Finally someone came to our table and we ordered pancakes (with bacon, cream and strawberries) and the Big Breakfast (tomato, mushroom, bacon, sausage, poached eggs, toast, hashbrown). The food was served much quicker. The Pancakes: large and fluffy (looked whole wheat maybe?) slightly overcooked for my taste. Not enough syrup (and I don't even care much for syrup) but the bottom pancake was soggy with a concoction of strawberry juice and syrup. The bacon was cooked perfectly and the cream pairs well with the pancakes if you're not a big syrup person. Very filling meal. The Big Breakfast: The sausages were spicy for my palate, but someone with a (American) southwestern flare will love them. The bacon was cooked perfectly and the eggs were poached to perfection. I didn't try the toast, hashbrown (golden brown and crispy), tomato or mushroom as it wasn't my breakfast, but my husband cleared the plate. Overall, the food is slightly above average but no stand-out to the rest of the options around Papanui Road. The service could have been slightly more efficient, but with only one barista and a small service area, that would be hard to change. I won't rush back here for breakfast, but it definitely is a decent option if you want a quick and filling breakfast. I'll update again once I try out their lunch.

Brigittes is a merivale institution and for good reason. It is spacious with a variety of places to…read moresit. If its sunny and no wind then the outside courtyard is lovely, but if the wind comes up there is plenty of room inside and in the sheltered marquees. They have a good music selection playing, and not to obtrusively either. Service is good and attentive but not exceptional. I come here for brunch occasionally and cannot go past the mushrooms on toast. This meal is divine, huge mushrooms on pesto focaccia with truffle oil, a poached egg, and hollandaise. It basically combines everything I love breakfast wise into one delightfully delicious dish. My sister says the pancakes are equally amazing. I've had the salmon omelette and the eggs bene on previous occasions which have been good, not a step wrong. Brigittes is a popular place, and if you know you want to eat here it is well worth ringing for a reservation. I will be back to Brigittes, nothing will keep me away from the mushrooms on toast!

Decent food with a great location, but the service was severely lacking. I'm not sure whose…read moredecision it was to have only two waitresses on duty on a Saturday night, but the ladies were completely overwhelmed by a half-full restaurant. I'm hoping that our group just caught this quaint little place on an off-night, because I was really hoping to like it a lot more than I did.

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

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.

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!