4 Best Restaurants in Christchurch and Canterbury, New Zealand

This restaurant's laneway setting and beautifully restored two-level building gives it a London pub feel. With food and drinks to suit all tastes, it's a popular hangout for locals day and night. Plush dining rooms and a wide covered veranda lead to a manicured garden that is also a year-round source of produce for this busy kitchen. The pizzas are hard to skip (try the salmon), and the lime-and-coriander-crusted fish is a treat. Staff go out of their way to make you feel at home for brunch, lunch, dinner, or a drink anytime. The emphasis here is on seafood, vegetarian, and vegan dishes. The Dux also brews its own acclaimed beers.

Now a popular café for locals, the Powerhouse building used to contain a small hydroelectric generator that supplied power to the old Queen Mary Hospital and a few streetlights. Today, it opens at 8 am offering a great brunch menu to suit all tastes with local and free-range ingredients used in dishes that are all house-made.

This eatery's clever take on Asian fusion has won rave reviews from locals thanks to its selection of carefully crafted dishes that are perfect for sharing. It's set in the beautiful Old Royal Hotel Building on the waterfront, and the atmosphere is stylish and relaxed.

This inner-city pub anchors the emerging South Town neighborhood of the Central Business District, and this big indoor–outdoor space has plenty of atmosphere. Menu items range from contemporary pub food to Mediterranean cuisine, all made using local produce. You cant beat the souvlaki served with Greek donuts. They often have live music, and there's a pool table in the back.