Market Place - Christchurch

Brilliant. four of us had the choice of chefs. it was an inexpensive evening to add to wine and a cocktail, but as a special occasion it was brilliant. the food was nicely served and the taste of all dishes brilliant. beautifully seasoned. the waiting staff was nice and easy to conversate and about our food, most of them came from within 50km of chch. beautiful evening.

Delicious food and a relaxed atmosphere — nice if you’re looking to avoid the huge crowd on New Regent St. Even though it’s in the Crowne Plaza, it’s definitely not a “hotel restaurant”. I had the salmon entree and my husband had the steak with red wine sauce (which he wants to bring a bottle home with him) and the pumpkin side. I wish we had this chef/restaurant back home with us. We would order all the same again if we had to. The staff is very friendly and helpful too. They have a special wine of the month that they give proceeds toward a charity. This was a nice touch that we appreciated as well!

I joined a group for high tea on August 2nd. There were a few other tables but it wasn't too busy. Most of the dairy free high tea options were nice enough, particularly the sandwiches and the chia coconut pudding. Unfortunately they had run out of the tea I wanted, but the server helpfully suggested another option which I quite enjoyed. The service was good and friendly enough. Water was brought around just as my glass was getting low. The main downside was the in-house GF DF scone. It was very hard, I only just managed to cut it open. It came with margarine and a nice raspberry jam. I put too much marg on initially because I didn't realize that's what it was. I almost didn't eat the scone at all because it was so tough, but it tasted nice enough with the jam. Another guest came over to ask how I'd got on with my scone as she'd had the same and found it too hard to cut through. My recommendation for the kitchen would be to replace the scone with pikelets as they are easier to make dairy free while maintaining texture.

High tea was average nothing surprisingly good or disappointing. Table service and customer service in general is lacking. Didn't feel welcome didn't feel like a valuable customer to the staff presented that day. Wasn't busy at all on a Sunday afternoon. View was great sitting close to the windows.

This place has the potential to be a lot better than it actually is, the ambiance is lovely but its is let down with with attention to detail. The menus are printed off on cheap paper and it doesn't fit with the restaurant it makes it out to be. When we went the main meals really could have done with a side dish and this was not made obvious with either the menu or the waiter. My partner ordered the ravioli and it was burnt on one side, to the point half was left, they did give us a free side dish as a compliment but looking back I wish I had just not paid for that meal as what I did pay did not reflect on what we received. I did email my complaint but no response.