Best Eats
The Top Five Christmas Day Eats in Christchurch
21/11/2024
There’s nothing quite like a Canterbury Christmas.
Boasting more sunlight hours than most other parts of Aotearoa and with a backdrop of the Southern Alps, there are few better places in the Southern Hemisphere to enjoy a roasty-toasty Christmas.
With the region producing some of the finest beef, lamb and kai moana, the fine restaurants of Christchurch have got you covered for your indulgent needs.
From groups of friends to fun-loving families and couples, Cantabrians are spoiled for choice for a Christmas Day feed on someone else’s time and effort.
Meri Kirihimete!
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Carlton Bar and Steakhouse
Merivale, Canterbury, South IslandCome for the Bucks Fizz and Christmas Charcuterie, stay for literally everything else. The Carlton haven’t held back for their 2024 Christmas knees-up, with a festively generous offering of sumptuous sharing plates including Beef Wellington and a four-cheese cauliflower gratin. A popular spot year-round, you won’t want to miss out on the Carlton’s lively and spirited Christmas shindig.
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Fable Christchurch
Christchurch, Canterbury, South IslandChristmas eats and treats don’t come much classier. Bubbles, seared scallops and burrata on arrival are followed by locally-sourced market fish and beef fillet - all enjoyed in one of the city’s most beautifully appointed, modern-meets-traditional, dining spots. Take a stroll around the block to walk it all off before settling in at the Gin Bar to peruse their wines and refreshing cocktails.
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Garden Hotel & Restaurant
Shirley, Canterbury, South Island‘The Grandest Buffet’ proclaims the Garden Hotel for their Christmas Day 2024 offering, and judging by what’s on the menu, this might be the top pick for a Canterbury Christmas kai. The Garden have truly laid down the wero in terms of the sheer range of choice, with everything from Asian Fusion to tasty sharing plates as well as European fayre to deep-fried nibbles. A gourmet gathering at the Garden is guaranteed.
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Fig Restaurant
Christchurch, Canterbury, South IslandTry as you might, the only ‘problem’ with opting for The Fig for your Christmas lunch is it may not be humanly possible to fit everything in. Curated with generosity clearly front of mind, The Fig’s Christmas offering for 2024 takes you on a journey from locally-sourced sirloin and glazed ham to the ‘Butcher’s Block’ of chicken tikka and garlic-roasted lamb, followed by a deep dive into the moana for salmon, mussels, oysters and shrimp cocktail. Where to start, and where to end?
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The Square Restaurant & Bar
Christchurch, Canterbury, South IslandIf all you want for Christmas is indulgence, then lunch at The Square should be at the top of your wish-list. Great for whānau, couples and friends, The Square delivers a festive vibe and a guaranteed hoot. The kai is top-end and sumptuous, consisting primarily of traditional hearty favourites - Yorkshire puddings, duck fat roasties, lashings of gravy and yummy sticky parsnips. Perhaps not recommended for afternoon nappers, but it’s all part of the fun.
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