To celebrate my 39th birthday, I found this restaurant called Orleans here in Christchurch, New Zealand. 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+ read more

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

For a seafood fan - an entire flat fish baked and stuffed with cajun prawns - simply delicious. 1-kg of BBQ beef ribs served with tangy cucumber pickles...what a combination. . Food : 4/5 Service : 4/5 Price : $$ Place : 4/5 read more

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I had just returned from working in Antarctica for 5 months and the things I missed the most was southern food and real bourbon. I found it here. Albeit, the portion sizes were not up to par what you'd find in the Southern US, but who gives a crap, morbid obesity isn't rampant in New Zealand like it is in the States. Coincidence? Maybe. Probably not. I don't know. I'm writing this after drinking several quality bourbons. I almost cried when I saw they had Sazerac Rye. The chicken and waffles was phenomenal. The slaw was meh. But back to the bourbon. Yeah. I'm freaking thrilled about that. read more

I went here for dinner. I ordered the waffle with fried chicken and the fish..the taste were okay. Staff were friendly.. CONCLUSION = RECOMMENDED read more

Stopped in this place for lunch while on holidays. An absolute amazing layout that is in a cool precint. We shared the mumbo gumbo that was a great size for two people. With drinks about thirty a head. Would happily stop here again read more

Orleans - The mumbo gumbo. Delicious - Bars Near Me - Christchurch, CAN

This is located in a groovy little cafe precinct that you would walk past and completely miss if you weren't looking for it. we were recommended this restaurant by friends a colleagues and it did not disappoint. The meals were authentic New Orleans fare, the beer was cold and the service warm. Oh and there was live music too! read more

Orleans - Crispy prawns and cornbread on the side - Bars Near Me - Christchurch, CAN

An absolute must-visit in Christchurch. Conveniently situated next to Strange's Lane in the most hip area to come back since the quakes, Orleans flawlessly blends New Orleans soul food with the Kiwi hospitality. If you visit this establishment, bookings are not accepted for groups under 8, so be sure to arrive early. Around 8 pm the place is crawling with hungry (and thirsty) patrons. For imbibing, I recommend the Hurricane pitcher to share or the Dr. Pepper Martini. For food, you'll absolutely kick yourself if you don't order their chicken and waffles with a honey glaze. It's simply perfect, and a moderate portion size so you're not too stuffed to order and additional side or dessert (which must be the cookie sandwich). I love their curly fries, but if you need something healthier, the burnt cauliflower is fantastic (and not burnt, dispite the name). I love the jazz and New Orleans soul music that plays in the background and the decor is spot on to theme. Definitely don't miss this amazing restaurant! read more

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Probably hands down the best chicken and waffles in New Zealand. My family and I were skeptical of eating Cajun food in New Zealand, but Orleans proved us wrong. The shakes were wonderful as well!! Excellent service! Live music on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. read more

I used to go here a lot when it first opened, mainly around 2015-2016. When Orleans first opened they had a fantastic menu that was simple yet delicious. Their food was always hot and on time and they worked to a "first come first serve basis" without taking reservations for parties smaller than 6. Last night me and my Mum went back to find we were not able to sit in the restaurant because they were "fully booked". Obviously this was our fault for not researching it however I'm disappointed they have changed they way they run things. They did offer to give us food if we sat at any of the bars in Stranges' Lane (three other establishments). This sounds like it would work however after our experience, theres evidence it does not. We decided to stay and sit in Capa (which used to be Vespa) We looked at the menu to find that our favorite classic dishes/ sides were gone e.g no Po boys, mac'n'cheese or cornbread as well as the fact that we couldn't order a jug of lunch as we used to before. Instead we ordered two gin cocktails, overpriced for what they were- watered down, juice like cocktails, not nearly as good as we expected from this establishment. We ordered chicken and waffles and pork belly as well as a side of grilled cheese cornbread. The food took almost 40 mins to arrive, we then had to wait an extra 5 mins for cutlery. The food had clearly been sitting out as the kumara mash on the pork belly was stone cold, the pork belly was extremely chewy and impossible to eat the pork crackle. The chicken was warm, not hot and the waffle was soggy as the syrup had been sitting on it for ages. The grilled cheese was hot however the basic recipe was flawed- cornbread on its own is meant to be sweet bread as a side. When you add cheese or jalapeños (which this had) it overpowers the cornbread - basically rendering it just bread. Whoever decided to change this recipe - I really don't think they've had/ appreciated southern American cornbread before. Overall it was extremely disappointing - which we expressed to the staff at Capa. He offered us two more drinks but at that stage we just wanted to leave. We would expect this sort of service and food at a cheap takeaways however we expected a semi-fine dining experience as we had two years earlier and it was definitely not worth the $61 we paid for in our final bill. It's my opinion that management has changed the fundamentals that made this restaurant so great. Their kitchen may be able to handle food service for four bars in Stranges' Lane but their staff certainly can't. As we left we found another couple visiting from Australia who were also disappointing in their cold food and said it had been the worse meal they had, had in New Zealand. It makes me angry enough that a great restaurant in christchurch has been changed for the worse and I have wasted money, but to have it be a poor representation to the tourists this city dearly needs, that makes me rope-able. I won't be coming back again. And I dearly hope they change their system and menu back to how it was or least find a way to improve. read more

This place was absolutely terrible. Ordered Jambalaya bites, which was a sad attempt to disguise undercooked rice with tomato paste and chili peppers. Fried chicken was overcooked and tough to chew. Yuck. read more

I checked this place out based on previous recommendations and have to say it was very good. The chicken waffles were very tasty (but the waffles a little cool), as were the potato skins. The chicken was perfectly cooked. The pecan nut tart dessert was nice but a little to pre-made for my liking (e.g. ice cream scope frozen solid in round shape :( The service was great; attentive and very friendly (but not over the top). Overall a good place for food & drink. I will likely be back. read more

My family and I stopped here while on vacation. We happened upon it while walking around Christchurch. We are from Texas so we definitely know southern food and we were very impressed. We tried the chicken and waffles, the potato sald, the burger, and fried ocra...all of it was amazing! Fresh tasting and reasonably priced. I would definitely recommend stopping by this place while in Christchurch! read more

We ended up here a couple of times while we were in Christchurch. The atmosphere was fun and the food was great. We tried the waffle stack, which I recommend, but their recommendation to be hungry or eat it with multiple people definitely applies. We couldn't come near to finishing it. read more

One of the few open options near my hotel - absolutely fantastic food. Deep South, Soul Food, Yum. Fried chicken, pork belly, slaw, ribs, CHICKEN WAFFLES.... Nice interior done up like blues bar. Get in there. Highly recommended. read more

Have had a number of good meals here, i'm a fan of cajun food so keep going back - menu changes frequently which is great because everything they add seems to be as good as the last! read more

This is a very cool place in a precinct close to the downtown bus depot. I had the spicy wings, which were delicious. I also had the rum punch cocktail -- also very good. The service was attentive and the bar space itself was relaxing to be in. read more

First time trying Orleans in Christchurch. Food was very tasty. The waffle stack was delicious and a great share. The beetroot salad was light and refreshing. We then tried the cheesecake sample and the Orleans Beignets which are incredible! Our waitress Grace was amazing and checked on us to make sure everything was going well. It made the experience that much better!! read more

Great Southern US style food in a great atmosphere. You can sit outside in Stranges lane and order from Orleans, Stranges or 9th street, all variations on the same creole style food. Food was fantastic, the manager gave us great service, chicken & waffles, Po Boys, loaded fries, pouting with dirty gravy, fried green tomatoes....all good. Desserts even better and alcoholic shakes as well. They had a great craft beer special when we ate there, a dark IPA. I can't complain about anything really. We'll probably go back later this week as a group with my work. read more