Great cocktails, love the passion that goes into the business, and setting and location is perfect…read more love taking people here!

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.

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.

In for an evening beer, most of the tables (but not all!) were reserved, so I was able to find a…read morespot with my pint and my laptop to watch the place slowly fill in with even more regulars. This is definitely the neighborhood watering hole and it's a friendly sort of place. Comfy vibe, I enjoyed my time here. [Review 396 of 2024 - 49 in New Zealand - 21429 overall]

Once a year when we head to Antarctica we have to stop in christchurch New Zealand to get our cold…read moreweather gear.. and this place has been talked about amongst the military every time we have a new group going with us. This place is a big hit for all us military Americans. So we always like to pass the word for the new guys to stop here. Trying different food we can't get in the states makes this worth it! Been here a few times. I wish this place was in the states and I could go all the time. We did the hot stone. I had the venison, kangaroo, shrimp and lamp. Fantastic!!

Hoppy beer hoppy life. Loved visiting this Brewery. It's been around for 6 years and has a small…read morearea to purchase beers. It is a takeaway Brewery so there is no taproom. However, we were able to sample some beers before we decided to take away! Most of the beers have a good healthy hop forward taste. If you love hops you must try these beers! Also walked away with a couple t shirts ! Will rock them in California!

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?

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.

We actually went to the location on Colombo since Manchester St was having their ticketed Fresh Hop…read moreFestival. We did debate on attending that, but the offerings and accompanying special event glassware didn't look that appealing. Manchester St looked to be more a typical brewery, housed among some warehouses, while Colombo was more a bustling beer bar with an energetic atmosphere (as a live music venue) and adjoining outdoor beer garden. We ordered a flight offered with 5 tasters. Other than the Fresh Hop which was a Pilsner, the other beers were lackluster at best, especially after already traversing the South Island for many a fresh hop and IPA. Just very dull in flavor, not as bright, and almost old and creaky-like. I was more entertained by the stag party shenanigans outside which the staff were in good spirits about -- cheehoo! Chill brewery, nonetheless, and beers did seem a little cheaper... despite their foot print across the South Island, though, know that you will find significantly better beer at the smaller breweries!

After a long day being shown around Christchurch and the countryside, all I wanted was to quietly…read moretry some new beers. Thankfully Two Thumb was right around the corner from our hotel, so I braved the frigid air and walked there about half an hour before closing. The brewery was easy to find at the back of a small business plaza down a private driveway; they have free parking here and the entrance to the brewery. Inside it was warm and cozy. It felt like a cross between a barn, working brewery, stage, and living room. They had plenty of seating of various types for groups of all sizes. Offices were along the left, with the brewing equipment in the dark behind the bar. The bar had a selection of all their beers offered on draught, as well as glass case with bottles to-go. Be sure to check this out as some of the offerings are bottles only. Two Thumb has a unique distinction for breweries on my trip: they offered 4 of their UK-centric beers on hand-pulled beer engine. This serving style physically pulls the beer from the kegs into your glass instead of using gas. Carbonation is lower leading to a creamy mouthfeel and clean full head. This isn't for everyone, but it went well on a cold night. I had a flight of beer; the glasses were generous and prices were low. I explained why I was there and disappointed it was so late, but the bartender graciously offered to let me try all their beers and said I could stay as long as I wanted. These little things mean so much. I enjoyed their beer, and took one special bottle to-go. I recommend coming here if you love beer and are in the Christchurch area!

Nice atmosphere. Good food. We had a very long wait for food (around an hour) and when we mentioned…read moreit (even though my initial estimate of the wait was even longer), the staff was argumentative about it. For me, friendly service makes up for mediocre food but not the other way around. Ultimately, still worth a visit but unfortunately our experience was soured.

No 4 is definitely a "regulars" type of crowd. During the summers, the patio is filled every night…read morewith loud laughs, a sporting event on the TV or live music on the weekends. The average age is around 40, but on Thursdays it does draw in a good young population. With various specials featuring every day, it's a great place to unwind after work. As it's located in the Merivale/Saint Albans area, except to drop more than a few gold coins for a drink or a bite to eat, but the food is pretty tasty (put the mango back in the mango chicken salad, please!) and the drinks are made with care. Most of the beers on draught are Monteith's, so if you fancy something different, try a different spot. What makes this such a great bar (besides the taxi stand out front) are the various rooms that available. There are two separate outdoor patio areas (a larger one where live music is played with high top and low top tables and a smaller more intimate area great for a small group gathering to watch a sport match or for a birthday dinner). Inside they have a more formal dining area, a high top area and a library with a large TV and tall top tables. This is where the hen parties can go wild. It's definitely one of the top choices if you're in the area.

A lovely evening spent here with my laptop on their wifi as I've just arrived in Christchurch and…read moretrying to figure out what's next. Friendly bartender who pulled me a delicious cold beer. Lots of options for drinks and food, seats inside and outside and even upstairs. Quiet, cool, comfortable. [Review 365 of 2024 - 18 in New Zealand - 21398 overall]

Dog-friendly, solid outdoor patio, and right by the trolley line so you get to see the…read moredinner-trolley-thing drive by. Focused more on beer than wine, and the food is good enough to say it's better than average, but not so much that you might actually rave about it. Calamari strips and fried chicken were both decent enough deep fried items, and the seafood chowder was good enough to hit the spot on an evening rapidly turning cool. Service was refreshingly honest (out of mussels due to a local shortage) and I think that really sealed the rating as 4* rather than 3*.

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