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.

To celebrate my 39th birthday, I found this restaurant called Orleans here in Christchurch, New…read moreZealand. I did enjoy cajun and creole soul food from the USA, so it was a perfect dining option. Plus, it was a couple of blocks from the hotel. Turning 39 years overseas was interesting, since the time zone difference in the USA was a day earlier, so it allowed me to celebrate twice. With that said, I arrived here at the Orleans restaurant and bar around 8pm on a brisk Monday evening in mid September 2018. I thought initially that the restaurant itself was closed, since there was construction going on the opposite side of the street, not realizing that the restaurant was on the other side. To my relief, I was okay and entered the restaurant. I almost had cut my losses and tried to find somewhere else in walking distance, but thankful that I had found the restaurant. During my visit here to the Orleans restaurant, it was typically Monday night in the city. I guess I came in when the dinner rush was largely over and found a group of people finishing up and leaving, letting me having the entire restaurant and bar to myself. The ambiance here was very casual and basically what you'd find in a bar setting. The overall experience here at Orleans restaurant and bar was nice and quiet. Kind of like the casual attitude of the place and didn't like the loud noises when coming to such places. Maybe I'm getting old and like quiet places. Either way, Orleans was nice and cozy. I dig the decor and the service was nice, friendly, and fast, even for a place that was slowing down for the night. They told me they were closing at 9pm, but the yelp page said till 12 midnight. Probably need to change it sooner or later. With that said, celebrating a birthday here with southern comfort food was nice and definitely one to remember. While I was dining alone, it was nice and pleasant. Orleans restaurant and bar is located at 89 Litchfield Street in the heart of downtown Christchurch, New Zealand. They offer live music, but during the night I was there, there was no live music. Probably on the weekends or something. They accept major credit cards, usually Visa, which are usually a great thing for us tourist folk who live on the plastic. Not sure about parking, although street parking is your best bet. I'm not from Christchurch, but I walked it here during my holiday in mid September 2018. Hotel was nearby and I had a craving for New Orleans type of cuisine. I'm sure Christchurch's public transportation can get you here too. There's always uber, which is nice. I ended up spending an hour here, enjoying my meal and soaking up the fact that I am not 38 anymore. It's kind of disappointing, but that's life. For my meal, I ended up getting a po boy sandwich, which is basically standard for any southern style delight. Along with that, i ordered some curly fries, which ended up being some sort of regular fries curled up and spiced up to taste differently from your Burger King type fries. I finished it up with an order of sweet ice tea. I should have gotten liquor, but I figured I'll celebrate with that later on. The po boy itself was good and tasteful. It was delicious and harmoniously hit the spot after a long day of travel from Sydney, Australia. The fries were surprisingly epic and the sweet tea was interesting. With the restaurant closing earlier than I thought, I opted to get dessert elsewhere. Prices here were okay. Their menu was surprisingly and shockingly limited, but I guess that's how it is sometimes. Although the food ordered and the ambiance was pretty good, I thought for an place that served Cajun / Creole USA cuisine should have more items. 3.5 stars for the overall experience. 4.0 stars for the ambiance and the food. 3.5 stars for the service. Support local! C+

It's no longer here. I came all the way from a cruise terminal excited about the menu and it's not…read morehere.

The Craft Embassy is at the Christchurch mall upstairs. We took the elevator up and had a nice…read morepatio view overlooking the river. The food was unique and delish- right up our alley. They had tasting paddles and what tasted like a talented chef. Was happy they were open because most beer places didn't open until 4pm in the area or were closed mid week. Delish!

The Craft Embassy is a sleek gastropub located on the 1st landing in the Terrace. They have over 30…read moretap handles dedicated to a range of suds, some from lesser known breweries, therefore you are sure to be in for a treat. We enjoyed small bites and 2 tasting paddles (each with four 5oz taster glasses at ~25 NZD per paddle) on the balcony facing the Avon and the Bridge of Remembrance. Hop Federation's Field of Greens and all the 8Wired beers were tasting incredible on tap. The options were definitely solid. To pair with our suds, we had the Smoked Venison Ribs with yakiniku hoisin sauce, spring onion, sesame seeds (28 NZD). The Asian influence was quite apparent here and masked any gaminess from the meat (if any were present at all). It's a must visit for any craft beer enthusiast not only to sample the diversity of beers on tap, but to drink in the ChCh views while enjoying some tasty bites.

An upscale, luxurious restaurant celebrating some Asian fusion ingredients and flavors. It's…read moreprobably a special occasions type of restaurant, though we viewed it more as a welcome meal on our first day off the plane in NZ. If you're having trouble determining what to get, their "Trust the King" tasting menu is a perfect choice. The "Royal" for 100 NZD nets you their best hits plus a dessert as a bonus. With the amount of courses you are given, this ended up being such an incredible value versus ordering all separately. After a final tally, it honestly felt like a highway robbery! Here's what our table received along with expected NZD: Small plate samplers (2): Natural oyster w/ nashi pear, Smoked salmon w/ spinach leaf, galangal, chili jam, and salmon roe Small Shared Plates (2): Wild Venison Carpaccio topped w/ nahm dtok, EVOO, and spicy sesame (32 NZD); Moong dal in mixed seed salad, avocado, and fresh lime (22 NZD) Larger Shared Plates (2): Marinated yellow fin tuna w/ chilli and mandarin, coconut salad (38 NZD); Crispy Pressed Half Duck in caramelized mandarin sauce (62 NZD) Dessert: Lemongrass panna cotta, lime granita, mint (18 NZD) It was a harmonic interplay between different Asian flavors, more Thai heavy than others, and even the local ingredients such as the raw venison entering the foray. They did ask if there was anything we didn't like before serving the meal to which I never thought to mention my aversion to overly spicy food (I was thinking of exotic foods I dislike). And, lo and behold, a lot of options were definitely on the spicier end such as the spicy sesame/ nahm dtok sauce which topped the carpaccio and abundance of red chili shavings in the marinated yellow fin tuna. On the bright side, it did require me slow down which enabled me to truly relish my food. Most everything was delicious even the duck with joyfully crispy skins and dipped in a sweet honey glace (though ever so slightly on dry side in the middle). King of Snake also houses the Monarch Cocktail Bar, to which I ordered a 'Paper Crane' (King of Snake Gin, apple soju, elderflower liquer, sake; 23 NZD) to pair with my meal. A buzzy, floral, and effervescent drink to really lend to the comforting meal.

Nicest Restaurant we've been to in a long while: upscale atmosphere, exceptionally nice ambiance…read morew:super helpful staff. We shared delicious plates and wine. would recommend the prawn dumplings, blue cod, tenderloin steak bites and curry pumpkin. We thought the curry pumpkin was the best!

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.

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?

One of the best brewpubs I have been to in the world. Whatever else we may want to say about the…read moreEnglish, they understand the science of crafting a good pub, or at least they used to. Wooden tables and floors with a comfy interior that beckons you to sit, drink, think, and talk in a convivial mode. The twisted hop has all of this as well as great food and beer. They brew their own beer, or rather Jim brews it, and they specialize in English style "real ales" although they have other varieties of beer and wine as well. Real ales are ales that are cask conditioned, that is, they continue to ferment in the cask. They are also dispensed with a hand pump instead of a C02 tap. This makes them delicate and amazingly flavourful in a way that typical lagers and "bright" ales are not. The beers at the Twisted Hop are great and you will want to give yourself some time there since you will want to try them all, maybe more than once. The food, despite The Twisted Hop's English DNA, is really good as well. They have Scotch eggs (ask, or maybe don't ask, what is in them), excellent chips and fish, and everything else looked good too. If you live in Christchurch, you should be reading this while seated at the Twisted Hop. For those traveling to Christchurch, this should be on your list of stops.

We visited The Twisted Hop on the 4th of July. They were promoting a 4th of July celebration event…read morethat evening and we decided to check it out. The first small victory was the private parking the back. Though there aren't many spaces, it was nice not to have to fight street parking. We entered through the back patio door which leads onto a covered, cozy patio great for enjoying a beer with a friend on a warm day. The restaurant inside is dark and rustic, but the bar is aglow with the colorful chalkboard promoting the beers on tap that day. We spent some time with the bartender discussing the beers available and he helped us find the perfect fit for our palates (pilsner for me!). We sat at a four top table near the wall of books at the front where you can buy a book for a donation that benefits the Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund. I can get behind that! There is a spot for a stage and a counter full of board games. Awesome. For dinner, we stuck to the American-theme menu and ordered tacos and wings. They were delicious, but the tacos were definitely my favorite. Next time I would like to try something off of their real menu, which looked wholly filing and belly-warming. Do you have a favorite brew? They take special requests and will do their best to stock it for you! Definitely recommend this a top bar to spend the afternoon or the evening imbibing craft brews and devouring delicious snacks.

Kind of hard to beat this location just inside the gate of the botanical gardens. What a pleasant…read moreatmosphere it has! The food was good, not great...but good. The best part is the freshness of the sauces and vegetables thanks to the fact it's all grown right behind the restaurant. The gardens are amazing and well worth the effort to check them out either before of after dinner. We had the seafood special and the seafood stew...both delicious. It's a nice dinner out.

What a wonderful place to have dinner while in Christchurch. The location is lovely, adjacent to…read morethe botanical gardens, and the restaurant itself, is, as the name states, in the old curators cottage so history and charm abound. We were lucky to get in on this Thursday night, the place was busy but I was lucky as my concierge pulled some strings and got us a cute table for two right in front of the window overlooking the garden. A prime location, indeed! Service was a bit slow which is why not the perfect score, but that may have been due to the fact that the place was very busy as it was a holiday the next day. While they are known for their Spanish tapas, their menu has a pretty wide range. Depending on how you want to eat, you can order a range of tapas to share as your dinner or a couple of tapas to begin with and then a couple of mains. We chose to do the latter. First up, we split the charcuterie plate. This thing was huge and came with several kinds of meat as well as some bruschetta to enjoy it in. We also had the lamb tapas which also was perfect for sharing. For my main, I went with the lamb shoulder special of the day which was super tasty and very tender. My friend wanted a steak and his came out perfectly prepared as well. The ambiance is cute and the food is very good. I also liked that the location allows for a stroll before or after dinner in the beautiful botanical gardens. Dinner with drinks for two ran about $168 which was really reasonable given the quantity of food we consumed. Too bad I don't live closer as this would go on my "to go again" list for sure!