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 :)

Absolutely abismal. The waitress was nice but the food either came out from the kitchen wrong, dry,…read moreor luke warm. We won't be recommending Armadillos to anyone. Wish we could get our money back. They did comp one of our steaks which we did appreciate.

All other restaurants in town were fully booked. Pleasantly surprised with great food and huge…read moreportion sizes :) Salmon and quinoa salad are excellent Food came reasonably fast and also reasonably priced too for their portion sizes Would recommend!

Good lunch special. I had the fish and chips and it was a nice sized portion. Plenty of easy…read moreparking, and a view of the church. Service was relatively quick and the place wasn't too busy.

Average food & service. We stopped by mid-afternoon after driving to Lake Tekapo for a late lunch…read moreand the restaurant was not too busy, but had a fair number of other patrons. We ordered the brisket sandwich and vegetarian burger, both of which were ok. There were many food options available. Lots of free parking available as well.

Came for lunch and was deeply satisfied…read more The restaurant itself is warm and a wee dated. We were seated straight away. The menu had plenty of options to choose from. We ordered fish and chips, ham and cheese toasty and the brisket burger. The burger was generous and juicy but a bit sweet. The fish was flaky and delicious. The toasty was perfectly crisp and had ooey gooey cheese! All in all a good experience.

Creamy seafood soup with plenty of fish, prawn and green-lipped mussels.. so yummy. Beer battered…read morecod fish with giant size french fries.. a local specialty. . Food : 4/5 Service : 4/5 Price : $$ Place : 4/5 . Halal Rest : Timaru Speights Ale House Location : Timaru City : New Zealand .

Super traditional NZ menu, seafood chowder, roasts, chops, fish and chips, and some newer treats…read more Entrees are between $20-$30, but portions are huge and easily shared by two...Nice selection of 'puddings' too. Menu tells nice history of the area. Local neighborhood trust provides easy access free internet too. The Speights brews, on tap are all very good. They're most famous for their Gold Medal Ale. (We know because of the tasting after the full brewery tour in Denedin). Enjoy!

Excellent beer and great food! This brew pub located on the…read morewaterfront is a great spot for a beer and a bite to eat. The beer is excellent and the food is good too. We tried the pizza, mussels and ribs and it was all very delicious and reasonably priced.

Okay the beer IS good but the ribs...oh the ribs!!! I was raised in Kansas City - home of world…read morefamous BBQ. This is by far the BEST BBQ I've had outside of KC in 35 years! Living in Dunedin I'm so excited to know I have good BBQ when I get a real hankering now.

My Alpine Salmon Filet, local mussels, cauliflower steak and shoe string fries with house made…read morepaired with some great wine and beers. Bar opened at 4 with drinks and bites available restaurant opened at 5pm for the rest of the menu. Food came out hot and delicious.

A nice find in a beautiful town! The restaurant features an excellent preparation of the NZ staples…read more- beef, lamb, local fish - and a full bar. The staff is engaging and cheery: Millie was especially attentive and kind to us, ensuring we had a wonderful evening in Lake Tekapo.