Where we ate and drank in Christchurch

During the many adventures and stops we had in Christchurch, our forever hungry stomachs demanded delicious food. And I being a little nifty with searching on Instagram (just giving myself some credit there), found us some amazing places to eat. Places in all honesty we wouldn’t have found by looking in a tourist guide book, Googling restaurants or even seeking Urbanlist’s advice. We tried them all trust me and all their suggestions turned out average. But these places, well they are worth the visit and a definite reason we were happy to keep coming back to Christchurch. We thought for our records if we ever returned, or anyone we know was going, would enjoy knowing of these awesome places.

First on the list and our first discovery whilst in Christchurch is the Container Mall.

As the name suggests, it’s a mall constructed from shipping containers. What you will find there are a handful of crafty, nicnac shops, a few clothing stores and then a delicious array of food trucks and hole in the wall food joints. Now it is a small mall of maybe 10-15 containers, however it did seem as if it was expadning so we are sure there will be more amazingness to join it. But really you cant go wrong with a few shops and some gourmet food out of a van.

Number two on our food discovery of Christchurch, and probably our favourite, would have to be the Little High Eatery.

Alex and I stumbled upon this venue whilst wandering aimlessly through the streets of Christchurch when we first arrived. We had already eaten lunch that day not too long before and I had mistaken the building for a clothing store. Well I was wonderfully mistaken when we walked inside to find an indoor food truck style court with all our favourite options on offer. They have dumplings, sushi, Mexican including tequila, pizza, Thai, burgers for everyone including a vegan (attempting to be) like me, and more!

Seriously it is food heaven and any day of the week you go it is buzzing with lines at each stall day or night. We went so many times I was genuinely sad to leave Christchurch just because I wouldn’t get to eat that burger again. If in Christchurch, or New Zealand for that matter, don’t fuss over tasting Fergberger, get yourself to the Little High Eatery and eat everything there!

Our third place we dined at and enjoyed was Francesca’s Italian. This was one of those places I had found through that nifty app Instagram. We booked dinner here to celebrate Alex’s brother Bob’s birthday and I for one was so happy it was so amazing! As it was a celebration and we indulged, this was a delicious place for that to happen. Now it turns out that its pretty hard to eat vegan in an Italian restaurant, so lets just say that my newly acquired veganism hat was taken off for an evening.

But of course you cannot have a celebratory evening without a food and delicious cocktails right? Which brings me to the fourth destination that we fell in love with whilst in Christchurch. On our way to Francesca’s for dinner, we thought drinks first were in order. Right next to the restaurant was a pretty well known tourist street, which Alex and I had actually never heard of and whilst writing this blog I cannot remember its name. But on this street is so many cafes, desert bars, and bars!

We located a pretty funky looking establishment and went inside. Upstairs we found a booth next to the window that looked down on the street and ordered some cocktails. The cocktails were amazing, as were the craft beers the men ordered. They were so good we had another round and would have stayed for a third if we wouldn’t have missed our dinner reservation. We visited other bars after dinner but nothing was quite a hidden and special as The Institution.

So we have covered lunch, dinner and beverage destinations, but what about breakfast or brunch if you are like us?!

Well there are two amazing spots we located that are funky just in themselves and you should visit them on that basis. But they also serve amazing food for all diets.

First would be Happy Sunday, and really with a name like that why wouldn’t you be happy to stop by?!

We went here for brunch, because lets face it we are on a veryyyyy long holiday and we don’t like alarms. Their food is amazing and I can say lots about it, but really just look at the food and decide for yourself.

The second breakfast joint/brunch venue we actually visited a number of times but only got to enjoy the inside once, because every other time it was closed, was Addingtong Co-Op. It was right around the corner from one of our Airbnb stops whilst in Christchurch and recommended to us by the owner. Inside is a coffee shop, a café and a little store, hence Co-Op. We were too late to try their menu and their vegan pancakes I had Insta-stalked way too much, but everything else in there including their cakes and coffee are delicious.

So possibly the most food focused post we have ever written, but one that has us hungry and drooling over all that food we ate. If you are in Christchurch, try these places out, or even just check them out. They are all super cute, a little hidden from the main roads (bar the container mall, that’s pretty obvious) and serve amazing New Zealand food!

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