5 Best Restaurants in Christchurch and Canterbury, New Zealand

One of the city's most beautiful pieces of architecture also houses one its most popular cafés. Christchurch Botanic Gardens's rare plants and nurseries sit alongside a busy dining room in this modern take on a glass conservatory. With their own vegetables and herbs just outside, the ilex chefs are no doubt inspired by the 52 acres surrounding them. Line up with the locals for well-priced and inventive seasonal soups, pies, and salads washed down with organic soda or a glass of wine. The clever cakes and desserts-in-a jar taste as good as they look. On a fine day grab a picnic blanket from the friendly staff and spread out on the impressive lawn.

Tucked away down a side street off the main road, this cute little café with a red door is packed with country locals and is fast becoming a popular visitor stop, too. Besides the great coffee, there's also an excellent selection of well-priced baked goods, including delicious muffins, and a tasty brunch menu to suit all appetites.

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.

A great place to get a coffee fix, this hip café is styled with a utilitarian look based on a distinctive red-and-white grid pattern. Careful attention to detail is evident on the food side, too, with simple house-made, organic, and locally sourced breakfast and lunch dishes. Countertop goodies are served with excellent coffee, sodas, shakes, and smoothies. Sit at the communal bar or smart wooden tables.