Stunning architecture in the Art Gallery building. Contoured glass floods the cafe with light and…read moregives great outlook. Good coffee and a delicious savoury muffin. Friendly staff. Would have been four stars but had to send coffee back as lipstick still on the cup from previous user.

This is a lovely place to sit and enjoy the world passing by. Situated in the Christchurch Art…read moreGallery it has a fabulous relaxed vibe and is a great, airy space. The atrium ceiling is particularly nice. I enjoyed a good coffee here in the cafe and the restaurant looks great too. Service is professional, quick and very good. I'll definitely be back. Thank you.

Unfortunately, the food and the service ruined our experience at this otherwise charming and…read moreeclectic outdoor restaurant in the historic seaside town of Akaroa. We arrived for lunch and were directed to sit anywhere by a rather distracted young French waitress, who seemed to be one of only two people servicing a multitude of tables. We placed our orders and our drinks (an Earl Grey tea and a cappuccino) arrived quickly; however, we waited at least 25 minutes for my simple order of salmon pate and a few slices of baguette to arrive. My partner's salad was nowhere in sight and took ANOTHER 20 minutes to arrive, and when it did it was delivered to the table not by our waitress, but by the rather grumpy male manager, Carlos. The French waitress seemed completely lost as she wandered around from table to table carrying food, and the other waitress, who seemed to have more experience, was bustling around trying to pick up the slack. They came by our table more than once with incorrect orders and the general atmosphere was chaotic. As to the food, we ordered two very simple things that should not have taken long at all to prepare. My salmon pate was disappointing and not at all what I had expected. It was a tiny cup of what looked like a salmon dip more than a pate, with four slices of baguette, a couple slices of anemic-looking tomato, three slices of cucumber, and one tiny cornichon pickle which had inexplicably been sliced up into tiny ribbons. Overall, a very sad and unappealing-looking plate. My partner's smoked-salmon salad was only slightly better. Mostly lettuce with some odd other ingredients (sweet potato in a salad is, I guess, a choice). The lackluster food made it difficult to enjoy the lovely and quirky garden with its trees, flowers, kitschy decorations and birds; even a couple of free-roaming chickens. Once finished we had to go inside to pay the bill and deal with the grumpy manager man once again. He offered no apologies for the length of time we waited. We left extremely disappointed and still hungry. As my dear departed mother-in-law would say, "Well, we've been here twice. The first time and the last time."

Gorgeous garden and building. Lovely outdoor seating. Which was what we did .... sat and waited…read more Went inside initially and 3 staff milling around, one of whom finally said they would take our order outside. After quite a wait they finally did. We also had to ask to have food wiped off the table. Food took well over 30 minutes to arrive. Was tasty but overpriced at $14 for a salmon bagel with s bit of lettuce, a smear of cream cheese and maybe 50c worth of salmon. At that price I expected more. Service and attitude very poor and food didn't make up for it.

So for the first time in this holiday, I went for something other than satay (although the dish did…read morehave 2 satay skewers in it) but for me the Nasi Goreng wok was all it looked to be. The taste was delicious and the cutting of the egg and mixing it through made it all the better. A delicate balance of local flavours and fresh ingredients, although the chicken leg did seem a little out of place. For entrée it was Peking duck pancakes. Strange that the pancakes came out with the sauce, skin, cucumber and leek all wrapped up with the duck on the side. This was annoying as we had to unwrap them and put the duck inside. We had a group of 12 so negotiated a 15% discount, meaning we only paid 6% above the menu price. (All food here is +tax and +service fee, normally making the bills 21% dearer)

Dinner on the beach with the sunset. Oh yeah, it was amazing sitting around with my toes in the…read moresand and grabbing beers with friends I met in town. I loved watching everyone laugh and taking candid photos of the good times we were having. If I ever went back then I would take my friends to each here.

The Lab is such a fun place to go, with the science themed decor and menu. You can sample hand…read morecrafted ales on tap in a beaker, and most beers have a title that sounds like a chemistry lab experiment-- hence the pub's name. I enjoyed the "isotopic pale ale" which allowed me to reminisce my chemistry class days while simultaneously working up a good buzz (at 6.2% alcohol-- not even one of the highest alcohol content beers). The "Grapefruit Rye Saison" was also a great light and fruity beer. The drinks are wonderful (with amusing names), and the pizza is delicious too. My family and I loved the atmosphere and the menu.

Bad experience. Passive aggressive waiter. Fake friendliness. Too bad, could be a nice place.read more